I've been looking for a CZ 75 Massada for a while, before I finally bought one through a GunBroker auction. I had bid on other CZ 75 Massada pistols, but the price always ended up higher than I wanted to pay. I finally purchased one in November 2022 that was affordable, but that's because the finish was in poor condition. But the barrel was good, and I knew I could get it refinished. So I'm now working on my first CZ 75 project gun.
The CZ 75 Massada has interesting markings, with a Jewish Menorah on the slide. The CZ 75 Massada was made for Israeli government use. I haven't found a clear answer on who used it in Israel, but I think it was used by their National Parks service, and possibly other government agencies. Massada (also spelled Masada) is now an Israeli national park, so that would make sense that their National Parks service would have requested it to be stamped this way.
I sent an email to CZ to ask when this particular serial number was made and who it was made for, and they told me the Production Date was 5/2/2007, but they said they were not allowed to tell me what agency purchased it in Israel. The import stamp is discreetly located underneath the trigger guard and reads "C.A.I. GEORGIA, VT - MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC - CZ".
Edit: I learned after I originally posted this that CZ stamps the date of production above the extractor. I did not realize the significance of that rollmark. So the production year is actually 1992, rather than 2007.Here's the starting canvas for this project. I'll be posting more pictures to show the progression of this restoration project.
Please let me know if you have experience with the CZ 75 Massada, or if you know any cool facts about it's history.
