How I got my 97B to feed hollowpoints

[CZ75BSA]

After trying all the standard stuff, I noticed that the tip of my feed ramp tilted down sharply at the end, and that was usually where the hollow points would hang up.  The edfe of the hollow-point bullet nose would hit the turned-down section, which was only about .12" long, at a much steeper angle than the rest of the feedramp, and this would cause it to catch and then "nose dive" down into the ramp, rather than up into the chamber.

Reluctantly (because I hate to take a chance on significant mechanical alterations)  I took my dremel and ground the turned section so that the entire feed ramp is a constant slope.  In other words, I removed the curve at the end.  The entire feedramp is now slightly steeper, but has no downturn at the end.
Since the feedramp is still not as steep as my 1911 style pistols, I figured this was worth a try.  Of course I also repolished the feedramp when done.

It seems to have worked.  I cannot honestly say the fix has been 100% successful, since I had ONE "nose dive" yesterday, but the reliability feeding hollow points must be at least 99% now (previously it was much less than 90%)

If you also try this, please report back for the benefit of other 97B users.
Thanks !

[Lazarus]

Good show!
Thanks for your interesting observation. As you may know, curving the feed ramp is a no-no on 1911 pistols for the same reason, and will cause the same jamming problems there too.  I was also a little curious when I noticed this particular detail on my 97b barrel.  Now the next question is: if I order a new barrel from CZ, will it also have this curve ground into the feed ramp?  I am tempted to weld up the bottom part of the feed ramp and straighten it out that way.  Anyway, nice going!
-Lazarus

[Boricua322]

Lazarus as I have posted before, "Have you altered your magazine catch yet?"  With the magazine farther up the bullet does not hit in this area.  I am going to see if I can now feed SWC in my 97B now.  I need to shoot it to know for sure so I will post with the results.

God Bless

[CZ75BSA]

On my 97B, the magazines have a very small amount of play at the base:  maybe .020" at most...no where near the .050-.060 that some people report.  They seem to have just about as much "slop" as is to be expected from anything that has to allow for mass-production tolerance variation.  It didn't seem like a "flaw" at all, although it could be more perfect.
That is why I chose to modify the feed ramp instead of futzing with the mag catch.

I have 2 factory mags and 4 Mec-Gar Witness Mags (absolutely identical).

[Lazarus]

That brings up an important question and that is...is the magazine sitting too low in the gun, or is the feed ramp incorrectly rounded?  If anyone has a EAA version to compare, perhaps there are some answers there.  One are I would look at first is how close the mag follower is to the slide stop - trying to avoid premature slide lock.  I wonder if the factory started curving the feed ramp as a quick fix for the fact that the magazines ride a little low in the gun?  Question for those who are familiar with the history of the 97b...did the Mec-Gar magazine get designed for the Witness first?  Were there original 97b magazines not made by Mec-Gar?
BTW - after more than 6 weeks, I haven't heard a peep from Mec-Gar USA.  I imagine it is no more than a single person with a phone and computer, so perhaps our Italian members might be able to extract some information from the main Mec-Gar factory in Italy?  Hint, hint!
-Lazarus

[Boricua322]

Lazarus,
With all the chat on this forum on this topic all have said the same.  CZ just uses Witness mags, I guess it was easier so that they would not have to design something else.  But we all know that that was an error, with a pistol so well made it is sad to see the short cuts that were made.

God Bless

[CZ75BSA]

Another 100 rounds, a mixture of Gold Dot Hollow Points and Remington 185 gr. Hollow points:  100% reliable.

For my pistol, this really seems to have been the key to feeding hollow points.

It seems so obvious that I am surprised CZ didn't keep a contant-slope feedramp to begin with.
Of course, CZ doesn't make 1911s, and I have a couple 1911s to compare with.  My modified feed ramp is still not a steep as a 1911 feedramp.  I was always surprised that a 1911 can feed ANYTHING with such a steep, short, feedramp and that seem at the barrel-throat...but they obviously do work fine.

Good Luck all !  Be careful with those dremels !

[ut83]

What you have to realize is the 1911 will feed mostly anything..in a gun properly setup with a polished frame/feedramp and a proper throating on the barrel, is the mag lines up much higher than the 97 does.  Im glad you got yours fixed..but CZ still needs to fix the problem....

BTW on a part such as Mag release to frame ht. dimension, .001-.003" would be a loose tolerance.  NOT .020" and certainly not .060"...Ive seen the .045-.050 guns..and this is just not acceptable.

CZ gooned the 97 in production and is trying to bandaid the problem with a new base plate.......ohhhh ahhhhhh.

Sorry...My personal belief is fix it right or dont fix it at all.

Shoot well.........

[jwc007]

Quote:did the Mec-Gar magazine get designed for the Witness first?

As the .45 EAA Witness predates the CZ97B, the easy answer to that is YES!  Production of the .45 Witness was started during the 1992/1993 model year.

But MecGar did not make the EAA Witness magazines at first.  At that time, Tanfoglio made it's own magazines, and they were very well made. Unfortunately, I only have 2 of those original Tanfoglio marked magazines that came with my older Blued .45 Witness.  The rest of mine are Mec-Gars.

Also, over in the CZ Clone area, there was a very interesting thread on the .45 Witness Magazines.  Please note that the center magazine in the pics is what the newer .45 Witnesses are being shipped with.  The magazine that came with my newer Wonder Finish .45 Witness, has no dished area at the top forward feed area of the magazine tube.  The older Tanfoglio Magazines are the same way.  I'm thinking that I would like to get some more of the Newer style magazines.  I'll have to check with ArizonaGunrunners to see if they have the new ones, as I'm not going to pay EAA's markup!

p201.ezboard.com/fczechpi...1390.topic

BTW, both of my .45 Witnesses fed anything and everything (HP's, FMJ's, SWC's), right from the shipping container.   There's no reason why a CZ97B could not be made to do the same.  Have to second what UT83 said on this one!

[Fordzilla]

My 97B is (as far as I know) current production, and my mag sits high in relation to the ramp, with the bullet noses hitting about mid-way up the ramp, far above the "curve" at the bottom.  Is CZ working out the bugs and is mine the latest iteration, or did I just get lucky?