CZ 75B Failure to Feed

[M1A4ME]

All mine have the factory springs in them, or factory replacement in the DUTY P07 (didn't replace it for wear or problems, replaced it with a later P07 captured recoil spring assembly - hate messing with a spring when trying to get the slide back together.)

The reason a lot of people replace their factory recoil springs is for competition shooting.

A lighter recoil spring works better with lower recoiling ammo.

A lighter recoil spring keeps the front of the pistol (nose dive) from dipping down more when the recoil spring returns the slide fully forward.

A heavier recoil spring may help with your problem if it's from ammo catching/dragging somewhere on the feed ramp or as it enters the chamber.  I'd still keep looking for that spot and polish it up if you find it.

They (the people making/selling springs) say the flat spring last 3 to 5 times longer than the older coiled wire springs.  I've never replaced a spring on a pistol for wear.  Only on a couple rifles that were older than me or nearly as old.

Good luck with the pistol and be careful out on the road trip.

[EndangeredSpecies]

Pretty sure the dirty extractor has been causing my hang-ups.

Didn't got a shot of the giant glob of goo behind it.
Before:







After:



That hunk of crud in the notch is right were I was having problems inserting cases by hand. Really hard to clean in there without taking it out.

Now - what's the trick to getting it back in???

[EndangeredSpecies]

Okay - ya got me!
The trick to re-installing the extractor was to take a break and let my thumb rest a moment, to regain the strength (and the will) to hold the extractor against the spring in the correct position.
Then, easy as pie.

[EndangeredSpecies]

All back together.
Hand-racked through 40 rounds in 4 different magazines.
20 went without a hitch - 1 factory, 1 aftermarket magazine.
Next 2 mags, 1 factory 1 OEM, each produced ~ 5 FTF. Factory one didn't want to close on the first round.

So, Disassembled. Cleaning and waxing all 4. Problematic ones marked with white tape on bottom.

Initial inspection - nothing glaring which may require tuning, that I can see:











Sidebar - for those wondering, I have performed a little magazine tuning before (didn't know that's what it was called.)
Savage 93r17. I bought a couple spare 5-round magazines. 1 blue, 1 stainless. Both Savage-branded. BOTH were exceptionally difficult to remove from the mag well.
I compared them to the factory one, which worked just fine. Found slightly oversize, and one the feed lips were not the same shape. So I filed 'em a hair, compressed them in the vise, and tweaked the lips a hair on the one.
Also replaced bottom-plastic and trigger guard with DIP aluminum guard and bottom-metal.
Factory mag runs great. The 2 "aftermarket" ones are still a bit tight, but I can pull them out with my fingernails instead of needing pliers or a screwdriver. All 3 feed just fine.
Sidebar over! Back to the CZ.

[tdogg]

Yeah, the extractor is difficult to clean completely without pulling it.  You can get it pretty clean with a good scrubbing with an old toothbrush and solvent and then using gun scrubber spray/brake cleaner to flush out the grime.

Now that it is clean, you should feel by hand (stripped slide only) how smooth a cartridge will slide up the breechface and lock in under the claw.  Make sure it is smooth and snag free and also that the extractor claw holds the cartridge against the breechface unassisted.

Oh and you should lightly stake the extractor pin back in place so it doesn't drift down during use and jam up the action.

Cheers,
Toby

[EndangeredSpecies]

Yeah, the extractor is difficult to clean completely without pulling it.  You can get it pretty clean with a good scrubbing with an old toothbrush and solvent and then using gun scrubber spray/brake cleaner to flush out the grime.

Now that it is clean, you should feel by hand (stripped slide only) how smooth a cartridge will slide up the breechface and lock in under the claw.  Make sure it is smooth and snag free and also that the extractor claw holds the cartridge against the breechface unassisted.

Oh and you should lightly stake the extractor pin back in place so it doesn't drift down during use and jam up the action.

Cheers,
Toby

Great advice all around!
Will do.

Thank you.

[EndangeredSpecies]

After all that, in hand-racking test I got 30 perfect feeds & extractions, followed by 9 out of 10 jams.
I couldn't figure out what was wrong with Magazine #4 - one of 2 factory mags that came with it.
Brought it back to the shop - proprietor/gunsmith couldn't figure it out, either. But he was kind enough to disassemble it, inspect it, and put it back together. Assembly was the same, but he thought it felt "better".
Actually, he said both mags felt fantastic - so I guess the clean/wax was a success.
Bought snap caps so as to no longer perform feed tests with live ammo.
With the caps, got 40 out of 40 and it feels great.
Can't wait to get back to the range in 2 weeks.

Thanks again for all the help!
 

[Rmach]

I read most of the posts, and IMO, a new 75 should not have this issue.  I always try to troubleshoot any issues with a new handgun instead of returning for warranty work. In your case, you went above and beyond, and I think that gun will still have issues without factory intervention. It's brand new and under warranty, so send it in to get it fixed or replaced, just my opinion.

[EndangeredSpecies]

I read most of the posts, and IMO, a new 75 should not have this issue.  I always try to troubleshoot any issues with a new handgun instead of returning for warranty work. In you case, you went above and beyond, and I think that gun will still have issues without factory intervention. It's brand new and under warranty, so send it in to get it fixed or replaced, just my opinion.

I've convinced myself that swabbing the barrel without disassembling the slide forced all the grime into the extractor.
And the magazine issues were due to improper reassembly.
I guess I'll find out in range sessions over the next couple months. If POI continues to converge to POA, and it has no more hang-ups, I'll call it good. If it continues to have failures and mis-haps, I'll send it back and rely on the trusty revolver (and XD45) until it gets sorted.

[SI VIS PACEM PARRABELLUM]

I read most of the posts, and IMO, a new 75 should not have this issue.  I always try to troubleshoot any issues with a new handgun instead of returning for warranty work. In you case, you went above and beyond, and I think that gun will still have issues without factory intervention. It's brand new and under warranty, so send it in to get it fixed or replaced, just my opinion.

I've convinced myself that swabbing the barrel without disassembling the slide forced all the grime into the extractor.
And the magazine issues were due to improper reassembly.
I guess I'll find out in range sessions over the next couple months. If POI continues to converge to POA, and it has no more hang-ups, I'll call it good. If it continues to have failures and mis-haps, I'll send it back and rely on the trusty revolver (and XD45) until it gets sorted.

If you are going to swab the barrel without disassembling the pistol the you should be doing it with the slide locked open. That makes no sense otherwise because yes you are just pushing crud back into the gun.
As to your accuracy issue I'd bet a good sum that the mechanical accuracy of the pistol is just fine and It's you who just hasn't gotten accustomed to the pistol yet. No pistol goes through a break where it starts out shooting as far off as you described earlier.

[EndangeredSpecies]

SVPP - I think you’re right - we’re both getting broken in.

I had the slide open, but barrel wasn’t removed. Gunk still needs to go somewhere. Extractor? Firing pin? Mag well? None are great.

I’ll keep learning, and keep shooting, and see if we get better together, or if we just have an incompatible relationship.
Kinda counting on the former at this point.

[SI VIS PACEM PARRABELLUM]

I have been shooting my CZ PCR nearly exclusively for the past couple years and shooting it pretty well. I recently picked up another P-07 which feels completely different in my hand. First range trip and there it was I was pushing my group of center by 3 inches. I didn't think there was an issue with the gun so I've spent some time with it and my groups have found their way back where they should be. Switching platforms can throw you a curve sometimes even if it's one you've used in the past.

[SoCal]

You should not need to wax mags.,keep it "show room" clean, etc.  Get in touch with CZ-USA.  They will handle it

The 75 was designed for military use, dirty, un-cared for but totally reliable.

[M1A4ME]

One of the older members here recommended waxing the mags in some advice he posted (several years ago).

I tried it on mags. that worked fine and I could feel the difference in how easy it was to load them and how easy it was to "thumb" the rounds out when unloading them.  I also noticed how easy it was to keep them clean and shiny (just wipe them down with a dry paper towed when I came in from wet working conditions and they shined like a freshly oiled magazine - and they didn't rust).

I just finished up disassembling, degreasing and putting two coats of wax (Nufinish) on about 15 10, 13 and 15 round Shield Plus magazines the other day.  No doubt it helps as I was loading the 13 and 15 round mags with my thumb.  Even modified followers are tough to reload in those larger sized Shield Plus mags.

Wish they were stainless steel like the XD and Shield mags, but they aren't.  I hate rusty magazines.

OP, glad your stuff seems to be working now.  Good luck with it.

[Rmach]

I always disassemble and clean my handguns and mags after each range visit.  I clean them using Breakfree CLP, and I have not had any issues over several years.