Here's a range report on my new CZ83.
I secured a variety of .380 ammo - mostly FMJ, but also a small supply of what I expected will be my carry ammo. My intent today was to fire enough ammo through my new pistol to become comfortable with it, and to see if it had any preference for any particular brand, bullet weight, FMJ vs. JHP, etc. I also wanted to prove out my three magazines.
The ammo that I fired was:
Sellier & Bellot 92gr. FMJ
Speer Lawman 95gr. FMJ
PMC 90gr. FMJ
Hornady Critical Defense 90gr. FTX JHP
I also bought a box of Winchester White Box FMJ, but due to time constraints I did not fire any of that. Maybe next time - I want to see how it handles that flat-nosed bullet.
My process was to load all three magazines with 12 rounds of each brand, then fire it all at varying ranges and techniques. For instance, I fired from ranges of 3 yards out to 20 yards, with the majority of shots taken from 7 yards. I fired mostly from a Weaver stance, but I did fire a few magazines one-handed using both my right (strong) hand and left (weak) hand.
The targets that I used were "home-brew", using 11"x17" printer paper, and I applied two 3-1/4" orange stick-on dots to each (somebody gave me a roll of these years ago and I still haven't used 'em all up). Each 11"x17" target sheet got one 12-round magazine full, with each dot getting six rounds.
First, let me say that I was very satisfied with the performance of the pistol. Function was 100% - no failures-to-feed, no failures-to-fire, no failures-to-eject, and the slide locked back on an empty magazine each time. If I were to complain about anything, it would be that by the end of the range session I was starting to feel a little sting from the trigger.
My practice from here out will be to carry this pistol with the hamer down over a loaded chamber. The de-cocking process that I found works best for me is to simply hook my gun hand thumb securely over the hammer and take the "weight" of the hammer on my thumb, pull the trigger and let the hammer move slightly forward, then release the trigger (which causes the hammer-block to move out to block the hammer from striking the firing pin). I then simply let the hammer move forward ender thumb-control until it rests against the hammer-block. However, on my son's CZ75 this same technique doesn't feel like it works as securely. On his CZ75 I have to grasp the rowell hammer with my weak hand thumb and forefinger, and use a two-handed technique to lower the hammer. I think that the difference has to do with the shapes of the hammers.
The pistol showed no discernable preference for any of the ammo I tried. My best group from each, fired from a Weaver stance and taking my time to align the sights on the center of the dot, were all about the same size with any variation well within the error of the shooter.
My best group was with the Hornady, fired from 7 yards, and measured about 1-1/8":
I normally suck at one-handed shooting, but using my right hand I thought I did pretty well. (I won't show you my weak hand group - a man's got to know his limitations, as Clint Eastwood said.):
In this gun I think I've found the perfect carry pistol! Coming from a guy who traditionally carried a 5" all steel 1911, this pistol is light and easy to conceal. With 13 rounds of JHP in the gun plus 24 more in two spare mags I do believe that I should find that to be enough, and personally I feel confident in the modern .380 ACP ammo.
Yep! I think this just might be my "Forever Gun"!
