Broken Barrel Lug

[prickett]

Today at a steel match I broke my CZ97's barrel lug.

Looking around, it appears I'll need to drop $185 for a replacement.  Does anyone know a cheaper source?  Also, I heard there is a new, better feeding barrel now.  Mine is an older model.  Will the new barrel fit older models?  Where can I find the new model?

TIA

[AZ_CZ]

CGW, $158.00, new style

http://cajungunworks.com/miscellaneous.html

[derweibhai]

Please post pictures of the damage, doesnt sound like a common problem, but I would really like to see what happened.

I had a 75B .40 barrel severely peen the lower cam and had to replace that barrel as well. May both have been heat treatment issues.

[prickett]

Here is a picture of the broken barrel:



Thanks for the info on the replacement barrel.  Is any hand fitting required to use a new barrel in an old model?  If so, what does that involve?  Simple filing?

[czsuby]

My 97B barrel broke the exact same way. Old type barrel. The new barrel had to be worked a little with a file.

[schmeky]

I have heard of a broken barrel lug before, but only once.  It is rare.  Just for the record, what load do you typically run and with what recoil spring?

Some of the new style barrels may need fitting, some drop-in.  The fitting is on the rear lugs that mate with the breech face.  Best to use a mill, but a pair of "V" blocks and a file work fine.  "V" blocks are fairly inexpensive, but ensures perfect parallelism and loading of the rear lugs.

[prickett]

230 gn. TCN over 6.2 gr. WSF.

Not sure what weight spring.  Can't remember.  I'm sure its what ever is recommended on this forum as that is where I would have gotten the info from.

Is it a bad thing if I have no clue what a V block is or how it is used?   

[schmeky]

pricket,

I understand, I tend to think like a gunsmith (if you call that thinking -  ).  I'll take a pic of a 97 barrel in a V-block and how to use the file showing how it's done.  You can find V-blocks on Ebay, from Enco, Amazon, Shars probably has them as well for around $45.00.   Proxxon 24262 series are very good, see the link.

http://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-24262-Precision-V-Blocks-2-Piece/dp/B000SCUWJY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1384177557&sr=8-3&keywords=v+blocks

[schmeky]

Here is how to fit a new style 97 barrel with a V-block.  First, clamp the barrel in the block with just enough force to hold it in place.  Set a feeler gauge (in this case .0015") sandwiched between the top of the V-block and the bottom of your file.  Position the file over the barrel lugs and slide the barrel up into the file until it just touches the file.  Clamp the barrel tight. 

You will now have approximately .0015" of the barrel sticking up just above the edge of the V-block.  You can now file this amount off since the V-block is hardened, the file will only cut the barrel. 

Since the new barrel did not fit into the slide initially, the .0015" is an arbitrary starting point.  Keep taking .0015"-.002" increments until the barrel will smoothly and fully lock-up.

[prickett]

Here is how to fit a new style 97 barrel with a V-block.  First, clamp the barrel in the block with just enough force to hold it in place.  Set a feeler gauge (in this case .0015") sandwiched between the top of the V-block and the bottom of your file.  Position the file over the barrel lugs and slide the barrel up into the file until it just touches the file.  Clamp the barrel tight. 

You will now have approximately .0015" of the barrel sticking up just above the edge of the V-block.  You can now file this amount off since the V-block is hardened, the file will only cut the barrel. 

Since the new barrel did not fit into the slide initially, the .0015" is an arbitrary starting point.  Keep taking .0015"-.002" increments until the barrel will smoothly and fully lock-up.

Outstanding description!  Thanks.

[prickett]

Just a follow up...

I contacted CZ about my broken barrel lug and they said due to the new barrel design, they would replace it (even though it was outside the warranty).  I sent it in in mid November.  As of today, it is still sitting in CZ's repair depot waiting for a barrel.

[Chris B]

My barrel lug sheared off today as well.  It's a 2010 model and I was using a mild LRN reload.  I had been using a stronger recoil spring but switched back to the stock one trying to cure a stovepipe issue.

[prickett]

It took four months for them to fix, but they fixed it under warranty even though the gun was out of warranty.  I've shot the new barrel 2 or 3 times now and it does seem an improvement.  I've had no F2F with RNFP bullets (used to have about a 1% failure rate).

[Chris B]

I called CZ USA today.  I could either send in the whole gun and have a 6 week wait, or just the slide and barrel and have a week turnaround time.  They sent me a FedEx label and I'll report back with the results.

[Chris B]

Got my barrel and slide back today. 



Seems the feed ramp is longer and has a shallower angle than the older version.  I'll use it at our match Saturday.