Hi, All. Been a long-time visitor to the CZ Forum, and a sometime poster (other clubs). Recently, I purchased a CZ 75B compact. Since I've experienced the same magazine issue that some owners of the P07 have, I wanted to share my observations with the hope that they may relieve some of your concerns and perhaps save some folks the hassle or returning their pistols to CZ.
I've read all the comments on this thread--the causes, the cures, the inconvenience, and the disappointments. Some folks suggested that it might be temperature related (magazines expand and contract); some suggested that the magazines might be out of specification (too wide); some suggested that the "bulge" in the magazine well might be trapping the magazines; some suggested that the stickiness might be relieved by holding the slide, rather than the grips, while depressing the magazine release; some suggested that the issue was polymer-related; and some suggested that the problems were inherent in some early production runs. Some also suggested that it was perfectly normal, and that the sticky magazines of the P07 were designed that way to accommodate the Czech Police who preferred not to have drop free magazines on their CZ 75D compacts. Since my CZ 75B compact is all steel, has a tried and tested design, and is not the lineal descendant of the CZ 75D compact, not all causes pertained to my pistol. Admittedly, some magazines and some pistols might be defective. But it got me thinking.
What all of the comments appeared to have in common was that, whether intentionally or otherwise, the clearance between the magazine and the magazine well in the pistol is meager. Thus, even at optimum temperatures, given normal manufacturing tolerances, sometimes one magazine may stick, sometimes both, sometimes neither. Holding the grips while depressing the magazine release compresses the grips into the magazine, thus decreasing the clearance even more. That's why the magazine drops more freely (if not completely) when the slide rather than the grips are held while depressing the magazine release.
I experienced the sticky magazine with the original grips. When I replaced the orginal grips with CZ's cocobolo half-checkered grips, the problem persisted. To prevent the grip screws from coming loose, I installed rubber O-rings around each grip screw. Still, the problem persisted. Firing the pistol with dirty ammunition (Remington UMC) made the stickiness worse, again suggesting that this was an issue of clearance. I cleaned the pistol, and the magazine was back to its normal stickiness.
I gripped the pistol firmly, and pressed the magazine release. The tighter my hand gripped the pistol, the stickier the magazine became. Neither magazine would fall freely when my grip was very tight. I reached for a screwdriver and backed off the grip screws a little bit, then a bit more. With each turn, I pressed the magazine release. When both magazines fell freely, I stopped! Hopefully, the rubber O-rings will help to retain the grips and the grip screws in place.
Why the clearance is so slight is another issue: Perhaps it was intentional (no defect)? Perhaps the magazines are too wide (defective magazines)? Perhaps the magazine well is too narrow (defective frame)? Or perhaps the grips intrude too deeply into the magazine well (defective grips)? Of course, the "solution" only works if the firearm has grips which may be loosened. If the grips cannot be removed, there may be other solutions to lessen the compression on the magazine when the grips are grasped. But in my case, at least, both the cause of the issue and the solution have been identified. I hope this helps others.
