Ceska Zbrojovka. Yearbook 2012

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SPECIAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION 2012

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DAN WESSON ECOp. 10

SCOTLAND’S MACNAB: GROUSE, RED STAG AND SALMON

BESTNEW

AFRICA ARGENTINA SCOTLAND

ON THREE CONTINENTS

AWESOMEHUNTS

550 912 WINGSHOOTER

EXHIBITION SHOOTER

TOM KNAPPNHL LEGEND

BOBBY HOLIK

CZ 75 P-07 DUTY ODp.2

2012’s

CZ CUSTOM’S 75 LONGSLIDE SUPPRESSOR-READY P-07 DUTY DAN WESSON .45 SPECIALIST

TESTED:

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

From the Publishers oF GuNs & Ammo

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cz-usa.com 1www.cz-usa.com

JustifiedBy J. GutHRieThe CZ 75 P-07 Duty has successfully passed its performance review.

Quick sHotBy JoeL J. HutcHcRoftBringing everyone’s favorite rimfire calibers together in one fine package.

dan Wesson ecoBy PatRick sWeeneyMeet the best 1911 ever built for lightweight carry.

macnaB QuestBy mike scHoByA CZ Ringneck and CZ 550 get put to the ultimate test in the highlands of Scotland.

tHe RetRoBy James taRRTHE CZ 83 redefines the classic approach to practical carry.

styLe, meet functionBy mike scHoByA new CZ stack gets a double-size workout in Argentina.

nyatiBy kevin e. steeLeAfrica’s ‘Black Death’ demands a rifle you can depend upon.

tHe sPeciaListBy PatRick sWeeneyIn the home or on the street, this .45 is poised to protect and serve.

anti-veRminBy PatRick sWeeneyThis CZ 527 is a tackdriver and a stellar rodent-reducer.

medaL of vaLoRBy BaRt skeLtonDan Wesson braves the crowded 1911 market with an excellent entry.

BustedBy eRic R. PooLeThe easiest and most affordable way to start shooting trap.

RefinedBy stan tRZoniecDan Wesson perfects the concealed carry Officer’s Model.

a famiLy affaiRBy Payton miLLeRA “one size fits all” solution to the family shotgun.

BRaWnBy Wayne van ZWoLLThe bank-vault bolt-action of the CZ 550 is the standard.

enduRance RunBy mike scHoByThe CZ 912 autoloader is put to the ultimate field test: 2,000 rounds on Argentina doves.

afRican dReamsBy mike caRneyA .30-’06 delivers another memorable quest to the dark continent.

LonGsLideBy James taRRBoring reliability and excellent accuracy in any package from the CZ custom shop.

PUBLISHER Chris Agnes

EditorialEDITOR IN CHIEF Eric R. PooleMANAGING EDITOR Gloria ShytlesCOPY CHIEF Kimberly Jo DolbeeART DIRECTOR Erik SiembabSENIOR DESIGNER Luu MaiDESIGNER Luke BourisCATALOG DESIGNER John PodolankoGROUP ART DIRECTOR David KlecknerPRODUCTION MANAGER Terry BoyerPHOTOGRAPHERS Michael Anschuetz Sean Utley

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Jeff ParoCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Andy GoldsteinSENIOR VP, GROUP PUBLISHER, HUNTING AND SHOOTING Mike CarneyVP, GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jim BequetteVP, GROUP PUBLISHER, FISHING Steve HoffmanVP, STRATEGIC SALES AND MARKETING Ted GramkowVP, CONSUMER MARKETING Peter WattVP, MANUFACTURING Deb DanielsVP, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Howard StevensFINANCE DIRECTOR Derek SevcikDIRECTOR OF MARKETING & SALES DEVELOPMENT John WhiteSENIOR DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION Connie Mendoza

scan tHese taGs with your smart phone for more information on your favorite firearms from CZ and Dan Wesson!

Get the free mobile app athttp://gettag.mobi

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.CZ-USA 2012 is published by InterMedia Outdoors Inc., 512 Seventh Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, New York: (212) 852-6649; FAX (212) 302-4472. Copyright 2012 by InterMedia Outdoors Inc. All rights reserved under international and Pan American Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permis-sion of the publisher is strictly prohibited. CZ-USA 2012 is published by InterMedia Outdoors Inc. under license from CZ-USA.

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handgun at home on a cop’s duty belt,

you wouldn't be wrong for thinking of a

compact carry gun instead. The hammer-

forged barrel is 3.8 inches long, and the

pistol weighs just 1.7 pounds.

The P-07 had a new glass-reinforced

polymer frame but retained a lot of

features that made its predecessor,

the CZ 75, popular the world

over. The CZ 75 has a fol-

lowing in most other countries the way the

1911 is loved in this country, and with good

reason. It is extremely reliable, robust

and arguably has the best ergonomics

of any double-stack pistol on the planet.

The guts of the P-07 were a close copy

of the CZ 75, and it utilizes the good, old

Browning tilt-barrel operating system, but

the slide sits inside the frame, giving it a

very low center of gravity.

CZ 75 P-07 DUTY

When this new polymer-framed pistol hit the shelves in 2009 you could have tipped me over with a feather. Most shooters would never think twice about polymer since almost every new design incorporates substantial amounts of plastic, but this pistol was stamped “CZ-USA,” a company that over

the years ferociously clung to its walnut-and-steel roots. There have been one or two polymer-frame models in the catalog over the years, but not many. I own a couple of CZ rifles, and they don’t have so much as a molecule of plastic anywhere, not even the magazine follower, and here is a CZ-branded pistol with a polymer frame. Was this blasphemy a good move on the part of this legendary company?

The P-07 Duty was originally designed

to compete for European police and

military contracts. And it won. As soon

as the specs were released by Ceska

Zbrojovka (CZ) in the Czech Republic,

the firm’s American subsidiary CZ-USA

started clamoring for pistols. It was easy

to see that the P-07 had a lot going for it

and would appeal to the American public.

Although the name implies a full-size

ThE CZ 75 P-07 DUTY hAS SUCCESSFULLY PASSED ITS PERFoRMAnCE REvIEW.

By J. GUTHRIE I Photos by SEAN UTLEY

Justified

New for 2012 is the suppressor-ready

P-07 Duty. The ½x28 threaded muzzle

accepts most supres-sors made for the U.S.

market. The sights on this variation are higher than

normal. They will clear one-inch diameter

supressors.



one of the major upgrades to the P-07

was the double-action trigger pull, albeit

one already found in the CZ 75B. Dubbed

the omega trigger system, it is essentially

a simplified version of the original trigger

on the CZ 75 but has a slightly lighter and

much smoother pull. My Duty averages

11 pounds, five ounces on a double

action draw. It is not as light as a striker-

fired single action, but for a DA auto, it's a

big improvement over the original.

The system also provides second-

strike capability, something most

striker-fired pistols do not have. once

the pistol is fired, the slide cocks the

hammer, providing a short, light, single-

action trigger pull of slightly more than

four pounds thereafter.

Should you want to stop mid-magazine

and put the pistol on Safe to assess

your target, there is an ambidextrous

decocking lever or a manual, two-position

safety, depending on how you choose to

configure your Duty. That is the coolest

feature of the P-07. The pistol ships with

ambidextrous decocking levers, but the

end user can swap those for a traditional

two-position safety lever in about five min-

utes. The parts are included. The manual

safety allows for cocked-and-locked

carry, a great option if you are not a fan of

the heavy, double-action trigger pulls.

After fieldstripping the pistol, simply

cock the hammer, pivot the extractor

down and use a flat edge to pry the left-

side decocking lever out of the frame. It is

attached to the right-side lever by way of

a transfer bar. A small coil spring is cap-

tured by the decocking lever’s transfer

bar, and it is removed with the lever. The

right-side decocking lever can now be

rotated up and pulled off the frame.

To install the new safety, slide the

right-side lever into place after press-

ing down the trigger transfer bar. Leave

it sticking straight up. Press down on

the ejector and slide in the left-side

safety lever so the transfer bar locks

into the right-side safety lever. That’s

it. Since it is a manual safety, you do

not need the little spring that came

out with the decocker. The magazine

release can also be swapped from side

to side in just a few seconds. CZ-USA

is kind enough to provide a handy ani-

mation on its Web site that illustrates

these procedures better than I could

ever hope to write them.

The molded frame is very up-to-date

and wears the "must-have" tactical rail

for lights and lasers. I tried a few differ-

ent units, and they all attach.

The triggerguard is plenty big

enough for gloved fingers. The grip

panels are reminiscent of grip tape, so

there is no worry of losing the pistol,

even in moist conditions or while wear-

ing padded gloves. Two small pads of

this texture are also molded into the

frame just ahead of the trigger to give

the shooter a tactile index point for the

trigger finger when idly standing by.

A lanyard loop sits on the grip frame

and could be easily ground off should

you want to minimize the profile for

concealed carry.

having shot my fair share of CZ 75

pistols, I was very interested to see

how the P-07 handled. I figured the

reduced weight might affect balance.

The grip is very well designed and

shares similar angles and dimensions

that made the 75 so popular with

shooters initially. Under recoil, the low

center of gravity makes it very control-

lable, not that a 9mm or .40 S&W are

real recoil generators. My controlled

pairs were just that, controlled and on

target. The pistol points naturally and

handles great.

I had no malfunctions due to the

proven operating system and a huge

external extractor. Really, the only

rubs against the P-07 were some

rough edges on the slide serrations

(I slingshot the slide

forward on reloads)

and fire controls. The

manual safety is a bit on

the thin side and tough

to operate quickly. The

polymer sights are

dovetailed and have a

white, U-shaped outline

at the rear notch. The

front dot pattern works

well enough, but night sights are a

must for a carry or duty pistol. CZ-

USA does have night sights available

and is currently working on several

different heights.

The sights sit on the absolute ends

of the slide to provide the maximum

amount of sight radius, but the ham-

merspur is covered to a degree by a

rear sight that slants backward. Get-

ting to the hammer for a single-action

first shot is a little awkward, though it

isn't a huge issue since the first shot

out of the holster will very likely be

double action. In terms of holsters, CZ

offers a few options and most holsters

made for the XD will work as well.

Like so many other CZ-USA firearms,

the P-07 is a simple, reliable and clean

pistol that is very affordable. It’s not all

steel, but the P-07 Duty is all CZ.

THE SYSTEm PRovIdES A SEcoNd-STRIkE cAPABILITY, SomETHING THAT moST STRIkER-fIREd PISToLS do NoT HAvE.

CZ 75 p-07 DUTY

TYPE: Double-action, exposed-hammer autoloader

CalibEr: 9mm (tested), .40 S&W CaPaCiTY: 16 (9mm) barrEl: 3.8 in.; rifling six grooves,

1:9.7 twist OvErall lENgTh: 7.3 in. WEighT: 27.2 oz. (1.7 lb.), empty griPS: Molded stippling on grip

panels, serrations on front- and backstrap

FiNiSh: Matte black or oD green TriggEr: 11 lb., 5 oz. double-action pull,

4 lb., 1 oz. single-action pull SighTS: Fixed; white-dot front and

white-outline rear

ACCUrACY resUlTs

Bullet Avg GroupType (gr.) (in.)

Black hills EXP JhP 115 3.12

Remington +P Golden Saber 124 2.86

hornady TAP CQ JhP 147 3.16

Remington Golden Saber 147 3.03

Winchester PDX1 JhP 147 3.86

The pistol ships with an ambidextrous decocker that can be swapped by the user for a manual, two-position safety in just five minutes.

The angled slide contour not only provides the P-07 Duty with a modern appearance, but guides the eye to the front sight.

all P-07 Duty pistols feature an integral accessory rail under the dustcover, a trend that is all but expected on current service autos.

The standard low-profile sight is dovetailed and is located at the most rearward position for the greatest sight radius.

Not everybody wants a switch-barrel rimfire, but I happen to like the idea. It seems like I’ve always been intrigued with switch-barrel guns, and the CZ 455 holds a lot of appeal for me.

Quick ShotLiving in Illinois, I can’t hunt with

high-powered centerfire rifles (well, except for coyotes). On the other hand, I do a lot of hunting with rimfires. A lot of guys I know own separate rifles for shooting .22 LR, .17 HMR and .22 WMR. I actually know a guy who owns 20 to 30 different .22s.

I’ve owned quite a few rimfires over the years including a really nice, accurate .22 Magnum. Unfortunately, I sold it years ago, regrettably.

I do enjoy hunting with the .22 Magnum, and while I have never owned a .17 HMR, I think it has an application in the small-game and varmint hunting fields as well.

Imagine my interest when I received a CZ 455 American in .22 LR along with an extra barrel in .17 HMR this year.

The 455 is nicely endowed. The particulars are shown in the ac-companying specifications list, so I won’t go into detail here. Suffice it to say, the 455 feels like a “real” rifle, not like a budget rimfire. Fit and finish is excellent, as is the trigger pull. The trigger on my sample measured 3.8 pounds according to an RCBS trigger-pull gauge. While there was a bit of takeup, it breaks crisply and consistently. As you can see from the accompanying accuracy results, this 201/2-inch-barreled bolt gun is no slouch in the accuracy department.

The bolt mounted safety on the CZ 455 blocks the movement of the firing pin and disconnects the sear from the striker when engaged.

CZ 455

cz-uSa.com 7www.cz-usa.comwww.cz-usa.com

cz-uSa.com6

BRIngIng eveRyOne'S FAvORITe RIMFIRe CALIBeRS TOgeTHeR In One FIne pACkAge.

By JOEL J. HUTCHCROFT I Photos by SEAN UTLEY

cz-uSa.com 9www.cz-usa.com

Undoubtedly, the nice trigger helps to contribute to its fine accuracy.

The advantages of a switch-barrel rimfire are essentially the same as for a switch-barrel centerfire rifle. The biggest one, in my book, is that you can shoot different car-tridges—in this case, three—in the

same action with the same trigger system. Doing so allows you to become extremely familiar with that one trigger, and that translates into better shooting.

Switching barrels on the 455 is very simple and straightforward. All you have to do is remove the magazine, the bolt and the two stock screws, and pull off the triggerguard, triggerguard plate and

THE BiggEST AdvANTAgE iS THAT YOU CAN SHOOT diFFERENT CARTRidgES iN THE SAmE ACTiON wiTH THE SAmE TRiggER SYSTEm.

CZ 455 AmeriCAn

Type: Bolt-action Caliber: .17 HMR, .22 LR, .22 WMR (interchangeable barrels) CapaCiTy: 5 barrel: 20.5 in., 1:16-in. twist (.22 LR, .22 WMR), 1:9-in. twist (.17 HMR) Overall lengTh: 38.2 in. WeighT: 6.1 lb. STOCk: Checkered walnut with sling swivel studs FiniSh: Blued steel, oil wood Trigger: Adjustable; 3.8-lb. pull (as tested) SighTS: none; dovetail base for scope mounts;

Lux .22 LR barrel includes an adjustable rear and hooded front sight

ACCurACy results

velocity Standard extreme 50-yardAmmunition (fps) Deviation (fps) Spread (fps) Accuracy (in.)

.17 Hmr

Federal 17-gr. v-Max 2,612 39 87 0.72

Hornady 17-gr. v-Max 2,547 26 91 0.56

Winchester 17-gr. v-Max 2,554 24 80 0.69

CCI 20-gr. FMJ 2,370 10 20 0.69

.22 long rifle

CCI 32-gr. Stinger 1,635 14 27 0.64

CCI 40-gr. Select 1,212 9 18 0.95

Federal 40-gr. gold Medal Target 1,230 6 14 0.55

Winchester 40-gr. power-point 1,282 23 54 0.88

.22 Wmr

Federal 30-gr. JHp 2,108 32 63 1.00

Federal 30-gr. Sierra JHp 1,906 34 74 0.91

CCI 40-gr. Maxi Mag 1,880 41 73 0.73

Winchester 40-gr. FMJ 1,812 15 29 2.00

Accuracy is the average of five five-shot groups fired from a sandbag benchrest. Velocity is the average

of 15 rounds measured 12 feet from the muzzle.

the stock. Then, loosen the maga-zine housing screw at the rear (one or two turns is all that's needed) and the two barrel-retaining screws. Finally, pull the barrel off the front of the receiver. Insert the new barrel, tighten the barrel screws, tighten the magazine housing screw, replace the triggerguard and plate (minus the spacer if you are switching to either of the magnum chamberings), place the barreled action into the stock, and tighten down the stock screws. That’s it. It takes less than 10 minutes. (Don't worry, detailed instructions ship with each rifle.)

I first received the 455 set up for .22 LR and .17 HMR. A few days later I received the Lux .22 LR spare barrel, which has an adjustable rear sight and a hooded front sight. In the

meantime, I contacted CZ-USA and ordered a .22 WMR barrel to complete my set. With the rifle and three extra barrels, I took it to the range and proceeded to run it through a rather lengthy shooting session. I have to say that doing all that rimfire shooting (five, five-shot groups with 12 different loads)

was very therapeutic. The fact that this little rifle produces such tight groups certainly helps to make the project a fun one. If you haven’t fired your favorite rimfire in a while, you really should get out and shoot it. Better yet, pick up a CZ 455 American with an extra barrel or two, and join the fun.

GalleryofGuNs.comSee photos and specifications of the gun men-tioned in this article, and order from an inven-tory of 1,000s—all online through gun Locator. It’s easy and convenient. Shooting enthusiasts can enjoy the Shooting Times Research Center, featuring everything from consumer promo-tions, news and featured articles to gun reviews, shooter’s ed and the Shooter’s gateway. Make GalleryofGuns.com one of your favorites!

www.cz-usa.com

rings are currently available from various aftermarket manufacturers to grab the proprietary CZ integral dove-tail bases. The rubber pad keeps the stock from sliding in the shoulder. The trigger is adjustable for weight.

CnC laser checkering offers a tactile gripping surface. it's perfectly executed every time.

8 cz-uSa.com

cz-usa.com 11

When the venerable Lightweight Commander came along, I snatched it up, and life was good. Well, semi-good. In order for it to be good enough, that 1911 required a certain amount of overhauling. In fact, it required a lot of it.

I still have that pistol, but not because it’s my primary carry gun. I have many more choices these days, and the choices from Dan Wesson don’t need any work to be ready.

The latest offering fills the niche that my old Commander did. Differ-ent though, the Dan Wesson ECO needs no extras. Out of the box, it’s ready for the job—fully loaded with what would have been unobtainable extras back in those days.

The ECO is the size of an Of-ficer’s Model 1911. It has a slightly shorter frame (Enough to take one round away from the 1911’s usual magazine capacity). However, this absence also makes the ECO easier and more comfortable to carry. The shorter frame is less likely to hang up on clothing or print against the drape of a shirt or jacket worn over a holstered handgun. And, as a credit to Dan Wesson pistolsmiths, the ECO fea-

tures the problematic corner on its 1911 frame rounded and smooth.

When you carry a handgun in an Inside the Waist Band (IWB) holster, your belt acts as a pivot point. The muzzle of your carry gun contacts your hip, the hip contact pushes the muzzle outboard, and the pivot on your belt pushes the back end of the slide into you.

In extreme cases, the contact between the grip safety and your body can feel as if the gun is being surgically introduced to your kidney. But, if you loosen your belt, the hand-gun can flop around. This is perhaps the only instance where being bigger around the middle is a good thing, as the less wasp-waist you have, the less pivot your pistol has.

Rather than packing on pounds, you can simply choose to carry a handgun like the ECO that features a shorter barrel and shorter overall length. The Officer’s Model size 1911’s typically have a three or three-and-a-half inch barrel, to preclude the pivot. Hence, the Dan Wesson ECO is a carry gun. (Or for those still packing the full-size 1911, a backup gun.)

On top, the ECO wears a set of tritium-driven night sights, one

Some 25 years ago, I found myself with some back pains. It took a while to figure out the exact source, but the basic reason was simple: I worked in a gun shop. Said gun shop was adjacent to a big, danger-

ous city. We all carried, and my chosen piece was a full-size, all-steel 1911. As if that wasn’t a contributor, my daily routine involved wearing extra magazines, backup guns, and even the occasional knife. I needed to ease up on the mission load I was packing.

MEET THE BEST 1911 EVER BUILT FOR LIGHT-WEIGHT CARRY.

DW ECOEcoDan

Wesson

www.cz-usa.com www.cz-usa.comcz-usa.com10

By PATRICK SWEENEY I Photos by SEAN UTLEY


cz-usa.com 13

insert in each of the front and rear. Line them up as a figure eight, and your sights are easily aligned. The sight design is inspired by the Heinie Straight Eight dot concept, but the rear sight is shaped with a ledge, a front face that is square to the bore. Championed by many respected tactical shooters, these ledge-style sights offer the user an emergency cocking surface. Use your belt, holster, doorframe, whatever is handy, if you’re suddenly restricted to one-handed use and have to manipulate the slide.

In-between the sights, in their dovetails, is a serrated rib. The rib is machined out of the top of the

slide, and the serrations on its top are ultra-fine—fifteen lines on top of the slide that’s not much wider than a quarter-inch. When you first see the MSRP of the DW ECO, consider that such a rib and the sights would set you back on the order of $500 and six month’s wait from a custom gunsmith. (More money and longer if the ‘smith is really good and has a backlog to prove it.)

The slide perfectly matches the three-inch barrel, with

the slide

lightening cuts done as abbreviated ball-end cuts. The ball-end cuts were a feature of the earliest 1911s, a feature changed by Colt during World War I to speed up production. It’s just a cosmetic feature, but I like it. Additionally, the slide and frame are dehorned in such a way as to ensure that neither cuts or rips.

The frame and mainspring hous-ing have very clean, regular and precise checkering. Twenty-five lpi is the Dan Wesson standard. The frontstrap has been lifted, and com-bined with the high-ride beavertail grip safety and a slender thumb safety that’s also serrated with a shelf. The ECO is compact, an easy-to-pack pistol. On the bottom of the frame there is no bolt-on or added magazine well funnel. This is a compact carry pistol, and that would

compromise too much in terms of carrying concealed.

However, the magazine well is gently tapered to make reloads easier,

without adding bulk.In the old days, for a

custom gunsmith to announce that he had arrived, he’d take a

standard 1911 and chop it down to

something of this size. The problem was not in the chopping, but reli-ability department once it had been reduced in size. Many a would-be “master” gunsmith found that he had taken a working 1911 and turned it into a very expensive paperweight.

The typical result from a new pistolsmith looking to move up was malfunctions galore. And the easiest way to make those malfunctions appear was to shoot the suspect pistol weak-handed or limp-wristed.

So, I took the new ECO and I abused it. No, I didn’t throw it in the dirt, dunk it under water, or any-thing of that nature. I simply shot it weak-handed only. For all the ammo I had with me, some three hundred rounds straight.

Shooting with one’s off hand, or support hand, is typically work. Heavy triggers make it very easy to work into a flinch, or other problem.

On the other hand, the ECO had a nice trigger—one that’s good enough to perform as a competitive Bullseye gun.

The end result from this function test was an hour of shooting, and fifteen minutes spent picking up brass. Ten pound’s worth of lead and copper downrange. The ECO refused to co-operate with my plans of find-ing its weakness.

The recoil spring system, and the lack of a barrel bushing, has a lot to do with the reliability of such an abbreviated 1911, but I think it has as much to do with the fact that the pistolsmiths at Dan Wesson know how to make a pistol. Even a compact pistol.

Not every pistol is perfect. My ECO features a right-handed safety.

Were I to be packing this (particularly as a backup)

I’d order an ambidextrous safety to be installed.

The grips are nice and durable, but for all that and the very useful grip-ping ability, the slabs measure a bit thick for my tastes. I’d have to shave them down to thin them, but why when the enormous 1911 aftermarket caters to such things?

The sights are useful in two areas: both for being night sights with tritium inserts, and for the rear sight being shaped such that you can use it as a cocking lever. If you have the triple-whammy of a locked slide, only one hand available for work, and an existing threat to deal with, you can use the rear sight to quickly rack the slide and get things going your way again.

I like the ECO—a lot. For a guy who has a safe full of 1911s, many of those expensive custom 1911s, I’m really tempted by this one. As the one I obtained for testing was only the second production sample from Dan Wesson, they’re going to want this one back. How unfortunate. Given the amazingly reasonable price this one lists for (I mean, for a lightweight Officer’s Model, dripping with custom features) it won’t take long to save up for another.

Get yours, or get in line behind me.

So, I TooK ThE NEW ECo ANd I ABUSEd IT. No, I dIdN’T ThRoW IT IN ThE dIRT, dUNK IT UNdER WATER, oR ANYThINg of ThAT NATURE.

The no-glare, 25 lpi slide serrations lead up to the night sight near the

muzzle. They’re perfectly blended with the shape

of the slide.

The ledge-style rear sight is a growing trend in the

tactical community since it offers one-handed slide

manipulation.

The frontstrap of the ECO wears 25 lpi checkering—the Dan Wesson standard.

Accuracy and reliability are finally acheived in an Officer’s Model 1911. The combination has been accomplished with a carefully fitted bushing-less match barrel and slide fit along with a full length guide rod.

The trigger is flawlessly executed.

www.cz-usa.com

Dan wesson eCo

TYPE: Single action, recoil operated semiauto

CAlibEr: 9mm, .45 ACP (tested) CAPACiTY: 7+1 bArrEl: 3.5 in. (tested) or 4.25 in.,

DW Match OvErAll lEngTh: 7.25 in. (tested) or 8 in. WEighT: 1.6 lbs. griPS: G10 FiniSh: Duty black TriggEr: Aluminum, 4 lb. SighTS: 3-Dot, ledge-style,

tritium-filled

cz-usa.com 15

The three sporting gentlemen put pen to paper and send three estates a letter. In the letter they notified the estate’s owner of their intent to poach either a stag or a salmon from their property in the next 48 hours and deliver the said salmon or stag to the door of the main house.

If the estate owner accepted the challenge and if they get away undetected the estate owner needs to make a 50 pound donation to charity. If they are caught, the offenders will have to make a 100 pound donation to charity. To protect their real identity they collec-tively signed the letter with the Nom de plume, John Macnab.

From this original tale the Macnab challenge grew into an organized sporting adventure.Today, it is generally recog-nized as shooting a stag, a brace of grouse and catching an Atlantic salmon all in one day…I can only guess as to why they shortened time frame and increased the bag limit, but that’s just how it is.

I read about the Macnab off and on in sporting titles over the years and then last season while sitting in an elk camp with Alice Poluchova

of CZ-USA, I suggested we try for a Colorado Macnab—elk, grouse and trout. She rebutted, “Why don’t we just do the real thing?” Having a shortage of red deer, red grouse and Atlantic salmon in my neck of the woods, I decided to start looking for an outfitter who could accommo-date. We found the ideal kilt-wearing candidate at the SCI show in Reno

The tale of the Macnab stems from the 1925 novel John Macnab written by John Buchan. In sum-mary, the book centers around three high rolling Scots who have become bored with their daily

lives so they concoct a plan to add a little bit of zest to stave off the mundane.

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Questmacnab

A CZ RINgNeCk ANd CZ 550 geT PUT To THe UlTIMATe TeST IN THe HIgHlANdS oF SCoTlANd.

By Mike SchoBy

CZ 550

CZ RINgNeCk

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Nevada —Michael McCrave, (Michael McCrave Hunting limited, huntingva-cationsscotland.com)

“I can organize it,” he said, “but I’ll have to find the perfect setting, one with a good population of both grouse and stags and a quality river in close proximity. let me check into it and I’ll get back to you.”A couple of weeks passed before Michael called,

“I found it! The estate borders Bal-moral castle (for those unfamiliar with Balmoral, it is the Queen of england’s summer residence in Scotland...not a bad zip code) and the fabled River dee flows through it.”It sounded ideal so we booked a week for later that fall.

We quickly found out that booking a hunt in the United kingdom is the

easy part, handling the details of actually hunting there is something entirely else. luckily, Michael made it possible (without his help, bringing a firearm into Scotland would be akin to climbing Mount everest in bare feet). After flying into london then onto edinburgh, Scotland, we were met at the airport and whisked away to the hunting estate near the

town of Ballater. After briefly meet-ing with the gamekeeper Ab (game-keepers, as the name implies, are the guide in charge of the hunt for a particular estate), we unpacked, sighted in and readied ourselves for the following morning.

dawn broke clear and still, the sun barely poking above the mountain as we finished the last of our tradi-

tional Scottish breakfast. Contrary to popular belief it was not whisky, but bangers and eggs. It had been decided that I would get all of day

one to try for my Macnab and Alice would have all of the second day.Climbing into land Rover defender 110s, we headed up the mountain and quickly exchanged the heavily forested bottomland for the open heather-covered moors. We had barely reached the top when we spotted a covey of red grouse working their way through a thick patch of heather. I jumped out and uncased a 28-gauge CZ Ringneck. Plunking two shells in the twin chambers, I headed after them. The covey ducked down to hide then as I neared, they burst from the thick cover as if shot from a cannon. even though I expected it, I was still startled and before I knew it the birds were quickly rocketing out of range.

My first barrel caught a bird square and dropped him, the second just pulled feathers and the bird set his wings and sailed across a valley

My firSt Shot waS not far Behind hiM, and after a quick lead recalculation, the Second charge Brought hiM down to earth.

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with the rest of the covey. one for two, not excellent, but not a bad way to start off the morning. Putting the bird in the back of the Rover, I cased the gun and we headed off again in search of stag, but hadn’t gone 100 yards before a single grouse scurried from the light heather to the heavy stuff and sat tight. Scarcely believing my good luck, I exited the vehicle and with a quick, high-legged step through the cover headed to where I last saw it. When I reached within 30 yards, the grouse exploded upward, instantly catching the wind. My first shot was not far behind him, and after a quick lead recalculation, the second charge brought him down to earth. It was barely 9:30 and I had one leg of my Macnab eliminated.

We crested the top of a highland moor, shut off the truck and started glassing. As luck would have it, stags were everywhere. It was all fair chase—no high fences on this

property—so seeing this many stags is not always the norm. A group of 300 animals fed quietly on the far mountain a mile away, while a group of 50 or so fed directly above us. What caught our attention was a bachelor group of six stags. In the group were two shooters and they were in a position for a relatively easy stalk. Checking the wind, we decided the best route would be to circle around the herd and work in from the downwind side.

After walking for a mile or so we crept up over a small ridge that was keeping us out of sight from the group of stags. They were still there, now bedded 250 yards away. Crawl-ing on hands and knees we closed the distance to 200 yards. I crawled up next to Ab and cycled the bolt to chamber a round. The stag was slightly quartering away as I laid the CZ 550 in .30-’06 over my pack placed on a small heather mound. I pushed the trigger forward to set

it, and then slowly started applying light pressure as the crosshairs settled on the shoulder. At the shot, the stag dropped instantly. The Federal cartridge propelling the 180-grain Trophy Bonded Tip bullet worked perfectly.

It was barely past noon and I had two of the three species for the Macnab. We loaded up the land Rovers and headed off the hill in search of the elusive Atlantic salmon. Within a half an hour we were out of our hunting boots and into a pair of waders that I had exchanged Ab the game keeper for Ian the ghillie (yes, everyone has a title and role in the sporting life of Scotland). Ian is part guide, part biologist, and part management professional. He has a 14-mile stretch (or “beat” as it is called locally) of the dee and controls the number of people who fish it—for our little endurance test he reserved several of his best pools for our exclusive use.

Walking down to the first pool I caught a glimpse of a large salmon break the surface. Then another, and another. This river was loaded with fish!

Considering most people do not achieve the Macnab because of the difficulty in catching an Atlantic salmon, I felt lucky. I truly hit the right time and the right place. I unspooled some line off the reel and Spey cast across the river. As the fly drifted to a stop below, I took one step downstream and recast, swing-ing the fly across the pool again. I repeated this process until I had worked through the entire pool from top to bottom covering every pos-sible lie a salmon might inhabit. No fish, but no worries. It was probably just a matter of trying a different fly.

Reselecting a new pattern, I worked the pool again. Then I did it again with a different rod rigged with a sinking line. I was starting to get worried when the line came to a sudden stop. As instructed, I paused for a second before lifting the rod tip to set the hook. The fish was there, strong and heavy—fresh from the sea and ready to fight. I could feel his power as he shook his large hooked-nose head back and

forth in the current. Then as quickly as he was on, he was off. Heart-broken, I fished for the next several hours, not taking a break to eat or drink. I only threw in the towel when it became too dark to see the water. The River dee only gives so many chances and that one was mine.

So as the clock ticked down to midnight I resigned myself to the fact that the Macnab had eluded me, but in the end it was a worth-while adventure that I’m glad I tried. Along the way, a unique slice of the sporting tradition Scotland offers was revealed.

over the next couple of days Alice took a nice stag and a brace of grouse as well, but like me, no Atlantic salmon filled her net. We both plan to return, and I am confi-dent we’ll get the job done. We’ll have a secret weapon next time. Alice let it slip that CZ-USA could possibly offer

a limited edition, harpoon rifle—fittingly called the model dee.

IF YOU GO Traveling to the Uk with firearms is no easy task. In fact, it is a monu-mental bureaucratic pain that any civilized country with a head on its shoulders should be embarrassed to subject hunters to. Be that as it may, if you want to bring a firearm, you can do it but you have to jump many ridiculous hoops. The first step involves using a reputable outfitter and getting all of your paperwork turned into that outfitter months ahead of your trip. After packing a rifle and shotgun through england and Scotland, I don’t care do it again and recommend borrowing one of Michael McCrave’s rifles and shotguns while you’re there.

Mike McCrave Hunting Limited huntingvacationscotland.comIan Murry, Dee Fishing Ghillie [email protected]

i puShed the trigger forward to Set it, and then Slowly Started applying light preSSure aS the croSShairS Settled on the Shoulder.

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Due in large part to America’s emerging CCW nation, the number of compact and subcompact pistols—most with polymer frames—has exploded. New owners, however, soon learn that ease of carry does not necessarily translate into an enjoyable experience at the range.

Small, light pistols are easy to carry, but are hard to aim and shoot accurately at any speed. And try shooting a lot of rounds during practice. Nobody takes a pocket gun out to the range for a day of plinking. After bouncing from one end of the spectrum to the other, many of us who carry are choosing a midsize pistol to be more practical. It’s the middle ground between shootability and ease of carry. This is exactly where the CZ 83 is at home.

The CZ 83 is an all-steel 12+1 .380 automatic with a 3.8-inch barrel and a weight of 26 ½ ounces. It’s also available in a blued finish, or this satin nickel version seen here. Besides the growing trend to chamber carry guns in .380, this one can also be had in a .32 ACP variety. In .32, the CZ 83 comes with a 15-round magazine. Although CZ refers

to this as a compact gun, it’s not a pocket pistol. Rather, it’s a midsize steel gun built durable enough to withstand even the rigors of police or military duty. The CZ 83 is nearly identical to its predecessor, the 12-shot 9x18 Makarov-chambered CZ 82. The CZ 82 could be found in the holsters of European law enforce-ment up until just a few years ago.

Not surprisingly, the CZ 83 has a very European appearance (less the Euro magazine release behind the floorplate of the magazine). The slide is reminiscent of a PPK, but the simi-larity ends there. To be honest, the first time I saw a CZ 83 my expecta-tions were low, but the more I shot it the more I liked it. One of the reasons for my growing favor toward it is that the slide has such an unusual profile and because it has a fixed barrel. Fixed barrels are good for two reasons: They make the gun more accurate, and they put the bore very low in the hand. This reduces felt recoil and muzzle rise. As opposed to most American-designed pistols where the serial number is marked on the frame, the CZ 83 wears its matching serial numbers on the

With a massive surge in the number of states allowing for concealed carry, the number of people who are getting firsthand knowledge of what it’s like to carry a firearm regularly has

gone up dramatically. For years, many of those people could only “talk the talk.” Now that they can “walk the walk” they are discovering that carrying a full-size pistol isn’t always an option.

RetroBy JAMES TARR I Photos by SEAN UTLEY

THE CZ 83 REDEFINES THE ClASSIC APPROACH TO PRACTICAl CARRy.

The

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CZ 83



barrel hood and slide. As the barrel is attached to the frame, technically the barrel is the receiver.

like its big brother—the CZ 75—the 83 is a DA/SA automatic that can be carried cocked-and-locked in Condition One. The ambidex-trous safety is not a decocker. The safety cannot be engaged when the hammer is down, but the pistol does have an internal hammer rebound safety. After decades of shooting 1911s, I use a thumb-high hold with everything, and the safety of the CZ 83 lends itself well to this. It clicks on and off in a very positive manner. The thumb safety is ambidextrous, as is the magazine release. I wouldn’t want to carry the pistol Condition One until I had practiced getting the safety off during the drawstroke a number of times. The serrated safety isn’t small, but my spoiled thumb is used to the oversize combat ledges now found on 1911 thumb safeties.

For this evaluation I tested a satin nickel CZ 83. The frame and slide have a matte nickel finish, but all the controls and small parts are matte blued (including the triggerguard). I prefer the looks of an all-blued

gun personally, but I’ve also rusted blued guns with sweat. That won’t happen with nickel. The double-action trigger pull on my CZ 83 is stiff and noticeably heavier than what I’ve experienced with used 82s and 83s. That’s very common, and the great thing about all-steel trigger systems is that the more times the trigger is pulled, the smoother and lighter that pull gets. CZs are built for a lifetime of hard use.

The frame of the pistol is big enough for me to get my whole hand around it, which is a definite plus when it comes to managing

recoil. The front of the triggerguard is checkered as well, since there are some that like to place the support hand’s index finger on it.

The flattop slide is serrated, and the CZ is equipped with black plastic grips, the bulging palm sections of which are checkered. The grips feature a prominent ridge below a finger groove, which made for a comfortable grip but made it almost impossible to access the magazine release without turning the pistol in my hand. The magazine baseplates are removable for cleaning, and the magazines have three unmarked

index holes at the rear to wit-ness the fourth, eighth and 12th rounds levels in the magazine. The followers were constructed of black polymer.

The sights on the CZ 83 are good for a gun this size. The rear is a dovetailed notch, and the front is a post slid in from the front and secured with a roll pin. On used CZ 82s and 83s, I’ve seen plain black rear sights combined with a vertical white-line insert in the front sight that works quite well. The sights on this new gun wore three, bright green dots. This turned out to be luminous paint. When I hit

the sights briefly with a flashlight, they glowed as brightly as the finest tritium insert sights available. After 10 minutes, they still glowed, but more faintly. Whether or not they’ve been exposed to light and glow, these dots provide a very good sight picture.

The hammer is a spur type and comes down far enough there might be hammer-bite issues for people with very large hands using a high grip, but I didn’t experience such issues. The safety body actually forms a part of the beavertail on the frame just under the hammer and pivots on a pin. This design seems robust, but results in an unexpected gap between safety and frame at the rear of the pistol when the safety is in the Off position.

There are only a few ways to disassemble a pistol with a barrel permanently attached to the frame. To disassemble the CZ 83, first remove the magazine and make certain that the pistol is unloaded. lower the safety off. Pull down on the trigger guard until it clicks and stays open. Retract the slide all the way back, then lift up on the rear of the slide. It will pivot upward, and once it is high enough to clear the rear of the barrel, pull the slide as-sembly off the front of the pistol.

Once apart, the pistol reveals a polished feed ramp that per-fectly blends with the barrel. As the barrel is fixed to the frame, that feeding angle will stay the same no matter what. This gets part credit for the 100 percent reliability I’ve experienced with the CZ 83.

The recoil spring fits around the barrel and is a simple single-coil design. After removing the grips by way of the slot-head screws, you can see that the mainspring fits around the hammer strut. Further disassembly for cleaning or mainte-nance is not recommended.

If extensive firing has been done, CZ recommends taking apart the magazine and firing-pin mechanism. Removing the firing-pin assembly

should not be difficult for anyone who has ever done the same with a 1911—as the procedure is identical. Push in on the firing pin with a punch until it clears the firing-pin stop, then slide the stop downward while covering the end of the slide with a finger so the firing-pin assembly doesn’t fly across the room. CZ-USA has the instruction manual posted on its Web site, as well as a video showing how to field strip the pistol if you have any trouble.

In this age of defensive auto pistols the size of cigarette lighters cham-bered for .380 and 9mm, the thought of purchasing (much less carrying an all-steel .380) might seem unneces-sary to people. While there is no arguing that 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP are all more powerful and effective cartridges than the .380 ACP, the fact is that if private citizens ever need to use their legally carried firearms, the lion’s share of those encounters will occur at conversa-tional distances with no intervening barriers apart from clothing. While it’s roughly the same size as many

WhiLE iT’S RoUghLY ThE SAME SizE AS MANY PoPULAR NiNES, ThE Cz 83 iS MUCh MoRE CoNCEALABLE.

Like the CZ 75 and DW 1911, the CZ 83 features a thumb safety that locks the hammer to the rear.

CZ 83

TYPE: DA/SA, semiauto CaLibEr: .32 ACP, .380 ACP

(tested) CaPaCiTY: 12 (.380), 15 (.32) barrEL: 3.8 in. OVEraLL LENGTH: 6.77 in. WEiGHT: 26.5 oz GriPS: Black plastic FiNiSH: Satin nickel TriGGEr: 12 lb. DA/5 lb. SA SiGHTS: Three dot, green

luminescent, fixed (front), drift adj. notch (rear)

The trigger guard wears checkering for those shooters who prefer to place the support hand’s index finger in front of the guard during firing.

Finished in blue, the controls and grip contrast well on a satin nickel-finish CZ 83. Controls are oriented in the same ergonomic locations as most classic semiauto pistols.

popular polymer nines, the CZ 83 is much more concealable. That extra weight is certainly an advantage over the light-weights when it comes time to pull the trigger.

Ammunition manufactur-ers didn’t sit idly by while gun companies introduced more variations of carry pis-tols using .380, so premium hollow points in this caliber are easy to find. Modern defensive ammunition is far superior to what you could find on the shelves just 20 years ago, and the .380 ACP JHPs of today are designed to expand even when fired out of the ultra-short barrels of subcompacts.

Taking the CZ 83 out to the range was fun. Not only does the fixed barrel provide great accuracy, recoil isn’t a four-letter word. Range vol-unteers couldn’t outrun the gun, and we could keep all shots inside the A-zone of an IPSC target at 10 yards

as fast as we could pull the trigger. At 15 yards the front sight would rise up to the top of the silhouette target under recoil, then go straight back down to nestle in the rear sight. Because the CZ is so flat-shooting, I was able to track the front sight during the entire recoil impulse.

I know someone who recently bought a CZ 83 for a female new to shooting, and the choice makes perfect sense to me. Remember,

the ideal self-defense pistol is not only one you have with you, but one that you don’t mind practicing with and that hits hard enough to get the job done. The older I get, the more I real-ize that bullet placement is more important than caliber. If the pistol you’re shooting has so much muzzle blast and recoil that you hate to practice with it or can’t find your sights after the first shot,

it’s not serving you well. Personally, I’d carry a .380 before I’d carry a .357 Magnum. Even with premium JHPs, the CZ 83 is tame. And while a 90-grain JHP at 1,000 fps is no magnum thunder hammer, thousands of violent threats have been fended off by less powerful cartridges. The CZ 83 has good ergonomics, is very controllable at any speed, holds 12 +1 rounds, and has an MSRP of only $444. What’s not to like?

I know someone who recently bought a cZ 83 for a female new to shootIng, and the choIce makes perfect sense to me.

accuracy results Bullet Weight Avg. Velocity Standard Make (gr.) (fps) Deviation Group (in.)

Black Hills FMJ 95 922 21 2.2

Cor-Bon Pow’R Ball 70 1,077 22 3.2

Hornady XTP JHP 90 981 13 1.8

Accuracy results are the averages of four five-shot groups at 25 yards from a sandbag rest. Velocities are the averages of 10 shots measured with a Shooting Chrony F-1 Alpha chronograph 12 feet from the muzzle.

While the all-steel CZ 83 is not a pocket gun, it is a conceal-able, light-recoiling pistol that points naturally and can be had in a choice of a blued finish or satin nickel.

With its ejection port profile, slide serrations and exposed extractor, the CZ 83 exhibits a relationship to the CZ75.

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„If future generations ask us what we arefighting for [in World War Two], we shall tell them the story of Lidice.“

William Franklin Knox, United States Secretary of the Navy (1940 – 1944)

The L Id Ice MovIe coMeS To MovIe TheaTreS aLSo IN The USa! ThIS IS The STory oF The czech vILLage oF LIdIce, The STory oF ordINary peopLe, Who ThroUgh aN abSUrd coINcIdeNce caMe INTo The Way oF hISTory. The ScreeNpLay by zdeNeK MahLer, oFFerS a vIeW oN The TragIc FaTe oF LIdIce IN The 2Nd WorLd War FroM aN UNUSUaL perSpecTIve. IT coMeS cLoSer To The MISForTUNe oF peopLe IN LIdIce ThroUgh INTerperSoNaL reLaTIoNS, eSpecIaLLy Love, WhIch STaNdS aT The begINNINg oF The WhoLe STory. ThIS IS The epIc FILM FULL oF eMoTIoNS, WhIch poINTS oUT hoW SeeMINgLy a SMaLL ThINg aS a Love LeTTer caN chaNge The coUrSe oF hISTory aNd caUSe a Tragedy.

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S I N C E 1 9 3 6ČESKÁ ZBROJOVKA

„If future generations ask us what we arefighting for [in World War Two], we shall tell them the story of Lidice.“

William Franklin Knox, United States Secretary of the Navy (1940 – 1944)

The L Id Ice MovIe coMeS To MovIe TheaTreS aLSo IN The USa! ThIS IS The STory oF The czech vILLage oF LIdIce, The STory oF ordINary peopLe, Who ThroUgh aN abSUrd coINcIdeNce caMe INTo The Way oF hISTory. The ScreeNpLay by zdeNeK MahLer, oFFerS a vIeW oN The TragIc FaTe oF LIdIce IN The 2Nd WorLd War FroM aN UNUSUaL perSpecTIve. IT coMeS cLoSer To The MISForTUNe oF peopLe IN LIdIce ThroUgh INTerperSoNaL reLaTIoNS, eSpecIaLLy Love, WhIch STaNdS aT The begINNINg oF The WhoLe STory. ThIS IS The epIc FILM FULL oF eMoTIoNS, WhIch poINTS oUT hoW SeeMINgLy a SMaLL ThINg aS a Love LeTTer caN chaNge The coUrSe oF hISTory aNd caUSe a Tragedy.

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S I N C E 1 9 3 6ČESKÁ ZBROJOVKA

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Whether your game is sporting clays, trap, skeet or the upland

fields, there is no shortage of sexy stack-barreled offer-ings, so why enter another beauty into the pageant?

“Filling a niche is what we were after,” says Dave Miller of CZ-USA. “There are lots and lots of good over/unders out there today, a fact we fill well with our Redhead, Sport-ing and Upland models, but we saw a need to have something with some stylish good looks, Old World class but at a price that still allowed guys to use it in the field.”

Noting the amazing scrollwork and hand-engraved sideplates, I broke open the gun and inserted a brace of filthy-burning Argentine

loads that substituted for real cartridges into the chrome-lined bores. I spied a lone dove screaming across the milo field, headed in our direction. Nodding as if I were still paying attention to Dave, I shoul-dered the gun and pulled feathers with the bottom barrel. The dove went into a tailspin, rapidly fluttering to stay aloft when the top barrel caught him and brought him down for keeps. “Well, it shoots as good as it looks,” I responded.

I snapped open the gun; the hulls ejected over my shoulder, leaving twin contrails and that oh-so-good smell of freshly burnt powder that not even Chanel No. 9 can compete with. I grabbed two more cartouches and closed the breech. The boxlock action was smooth but tight and promised to wear in very well.

The Wingshooter balanced remark-ably light and easy between the hands, and the 28-inch barrels provided enough muzzle weight to aid follow-through. But those were just the mechanical specifications; the real delight was in the finer details. For a production-grade gun, the Turkish walnut stocks and Schnabel fore-end were remarkable, and well-executed 18-lines-per-inch checkering provided purchase as well as a classic look. While not needed for doves, the three-inch chambers and interchangeable chokes make it a gun for all seasons, all game. Tipping the scales at just over six pounds, the Wingshooter is a full-size gun without being unduly heavy or cumbersome. It straddles the line between being light enough to carry but not kicking like a mule.

The doves were starting to fly now, and I brought down bird after bird with surprising regularity. As anyone who has stood next to me on a sporting clays course will attest, I am no fine specimen with a scattergun. My brain has been too-long intoned with sight alignment, breath control and trigger squeeze to be any more than just passable with a shotgun, but on that sunny day in Cordoba, Argentina, I felt like Tom Knapp…at least until Tom Knapp, CZ-USA pro shooter, strolled down the field edge to see what all the noise was about. Handing his CZ 912 autoloader to a field technician (they used to be called bird boys in a less

PC era), Tom turned to me and said in his characteristic booming voice, “Mind if I give that a try?”

Even though I knew he was going to make my feeble attempts at wing shooting look like I was an amateur, I begrudgingly handed over the gun. The first dove dropped without a twitch; the second unlucky pair dropped out of the sky in unison. After that, the puffs of feathers blended into each other, with Tom and Dave (who is Master-class and a good trick shot in his own right) taking turns with the Wingshooter, making the sky rain feathers. When

because even if I can’t ever shoot like a master, at least I can look good missing.

straight shooting wasn’t a challenge anymore, the duo turned to off the shoulder, then one-handed, then over the head and finally from the hip. Their miss percentage didn’t leave the single digits. I made a reso-lution then and there to either get better with a shotgun or start shooting with worse shots. No matter what I do, I’ll likely bring the Wingshooter along

Meet FunctionBy MIKE SCHOBY

A NEW CZ STACK gETS A DOUBlE-SIZE WORKOUT IN ARgENTINA.

CZ WINgSHOOTER

The Wingshooter is a full-size gun without being unduly heavy or cumbersome. It straddles the line between being light enough to carry but not kicking like a mule.

cz wingshooter

TYPE: Over/under GAUGE: 12, 3 in. CAPACITY: 2 BArrEl: 28 in. OvErAll lEnGTh: 45.5 in. WEIGhT: 7.3 lb. STOCk: Turkish walnut FInISh: Blued TrIGGEr: Selectable SIGhTS: Brass bead

26 cz-usa.coM

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Triple River have offered their services as custom gun makers and professional gunsmiths for 30 years. Located in the heart of the Ozarks in Warsaw, MO, Triple River’s gunsmiths bring over 80 years of collective experience to your gunsmithing project. Whether you are looking to repair your grandfather’s gun or if you want to have a custom gun built from scratch, we are here to satisfy your needs and desires. We take pride in every firearm that we have the privilege to work on.

Triple River offers general gun repair, rebluing, restocking, refinishing as well as sales for firearms of all makes and models. We specialize in rebarreling, restocking and customizing CZ and Brno rifles, general gun repair, rebluing, restocking, and refinishing firearms of all makes and models. Triple River is the only CZ-USA authorized warranty center for Safari Classics rifles. Triple River is a federally licensed firearms manufacturer and dealer. Rifles and shotguns can be shipped directly to our location for services, and when complete, can be shipped directly back to you with no additional paperwork required. Our shop is open 6 days a week, Monday - Friday from 8am - 4pm Saturday from 8am - noon.

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Over the last 10 years I have come to rely upon the CZ 550 Safari

Magnum rifles as my choice for Cape buffalo and other danger-

ous game. In that time I have taken four buffalo and a slew of plains game with these rifles, and my life has often de-pended upon them. Rugged, reliable and deadly accurate, the CZ 550 Safari Magnum is the choice of most African

professional hunters, and I have learned through hands-on

experience why this is the case.

WHAT MAKES A BUFFALO RIFLE?First and foremost and without exception, a buffalo rifle has to fire every time you pull the trigger. Selecting a rifle for dangerous game is the same as selecting a handgun for self-defense. Reliability must be your primary concern, and your final selection must be rendered dispas-sionately and without compromise.

Second, a proper buffalo rifle must feed, extract and eject without a hint of sticking or jamming. Third, the rifle needs to be rugged enough to stand up to the rough use it will receive.

Make no mistake—properly hunting buffalo is a very physical activity. At first light you’ll be riding

along the two-tracks, cutting the blocks in search of fresh sign. When it is found, the foot chase begins, and you’ll be dragging your rifle for hours as you follow the trackers through dense thorn thickets and jesse. You’ll belly-crawl across sand-filled dongas, clamber up and over termite mounds and in some cases wade through waist-deep estuaries and marshes. Count on the fact that your rifle will take a beating, to say nothing of yourself.

Finally, which may surprise some, the rifle needs to be accurate, and by that I mean capable of put-ting one bullet atop the other at a distance of 50 yards.

THE SAFARI MAGNUMThe CZ 550 Safari Magnum is often referred to as a Mauser 98 clone. It’s true to some extent, but the real story is that the CZ 550 action is an improvement over the century-old Mauser design.

Such new features include a heavier firing pin with a unique locking nut that retains the powerful coil mainspring on the firing pin. Also, the weight of the firing pin combined with the coil spring deliv-ers both fast lock time and reliable ignition of even the hardest primers.

Of all the animals I have hunted around the world, none fires my blood as does the Cape buffalo. Were I able, I would ceaselessly hunt nyati until I grew sick of the pursuit. Then I would concern myself with other

matters and interests, all the while realizing that eventually the buffalo madness would return and my lust for the chase would send me back into the bush, following their spoor.

By Kevin e. Steele

AFRICA’S ‘BlACk DeATh’ DeMAnDS A RIFle YOu CAn DepenD upOn.

CZ 550 SAFARI MAgnuM

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Additionally, the CZ 550 has a more robust bolt stop and fixed ejector. notable as well is the ejector groove, which is cut through the bottom of the undercut bolt head rather than through the locking lug as on the original Mauser. The 550 undercut bolt face helps prevent double-loading, as can happen with a fully re-cessed bolt face on a Mauser. Finally, the CZ uses a fore-end screw that mates to a dovetail block inset into the underside of the barrel. This cre-ates a third point of contact with the stock in addition to the normal fore and aft guard screws. All combine in a rifle that‘s brutally tough.

I have found as well that the CZ hammer-forged barrels are consis-tently accurate—whether it’s a rimfire or a magnum. The single-set trigger is reliable and easily adjustable. In the “un-set” mode, they break cleanly at around three to four pounds of pressure, which is perfect for a dangerous-game rifle. Setting the trigger at the range helps the shooter determine the utmost accuracy potential that the rifle is capable of.

no other manufacturer of produc-tion rifles offers such great range of calibers for dangerous game as

CZ. The Safari Magnums can be had in .375 h&h, .404 Jeffery, .416 Remington, .416 Rigby, .450 Rigby, .458 Winchester, .458 lott, .500 Jeffery and .505 gibbs.

HUNTING NYATIhaving settled the issue of which rifle to take on a buffalo hunt, let’s take a look at actually hunting Cape buffalo.

First and foremost, remember that the key to killing buffalo is this: never shoot until you are absolutely certain of where your bullet is going to hit, and as Robert Ruark correctly stated, use enough gun.

This may come as a shock, but based on my personal experience the .375 h&h cartridge does not make an ideal buffalo or elephant rifle. I have taken buffalo with the .375 and witnessed other hunters take a half dozen more in my pres-ence. All the buffalo died, but none dropped to the first shot. When I take the shot, I want the buffalo down and unable to get back up. Finishers are cheap insurance, but a follow-up on a wounded bull never gives you better than 50/50 odds that things may end in tragedy.

A much better choice for buff and elephant begins with the .404 Jeffery and one of either the .416 Remington or Rigby. My personal choice has become the .458 lott, a round that has proven itself to amateur and professional hunters in the decade following its commercial introduc-tion. In fact, I was the first to take a buffalo with the commercially loaded lott in 2001, and it has not let me down since.

The first step in putting down a buff with one shot is to get close—and then get closer. Fifty yards is ideal, and 25 is even better. Following years of conversation with other

hunters and experienced phs, it ap-pears to me that most buffalo horror stories begin with the hunter either botching his first shot or not having a thorough understanding of the Cape buffalo’s anatomy from all angles. Rest assured that a heart/lung shot will indeed kill a buffalo, but it takes time to happen. Within that time, you have given that buff the opportunity to charge, should he desire to die in that manner.

When the time comes to pull the trigger on a buffalo, I always advise to forego the classic heart-lung shot and aim for the high shoulder, the result of which is broken shoulders or a shattered spine, both of which will anchor that buff to the ground.

With all that said and digested, though, remember clearly that despite all your experi-ence, knowledge, skill and best intentions, things can still go frighteningly wrong. not all dangerous encoun-ters result from a charge of a wounded buffalo. here are a few tales from the dark side.

TALES TO BE TOLDOur group had picked up the trail of a good-size herd that was moving quickly toward an area of heavy cover. They were looking for an afternoon nap. After awhile, our ph realized that the buff would get to the thick stuff before we were able to catch up to them. knowing that sorting a bull out of the herd once they reached sanctuary would be impossible, he came up with an alternative plan.

We halted in a spot with a fair degree of open grass-land spotted about with

trees. The ph then sent a tracker out to the flank and told him to run upwind of the herd. It was his hope that the scent of the tracker coming back to them on the breeze would send the herd back our way in their retreat. Ideally, we would be able to watch them as they passed and hopefully pick out a good bull on the edge of the herd.

Things don’t always go the way you plan. The tracker did his job, and as his scent wafted to the buffalo, they abruptly turned and stampeded back along their trail. The rumbling

hooves of the oncoming buffalo filled our ears and rose to a mighty cre-scendo as they rapidly covered the 300 yards between us. A rising cloud of dust appeared to our front, and we suddenly realized that instead of passing to our flank, the herd was headed in our direction.

Catching sight of the leading element in the herd, our ph shouted for my wife and the trackers to get behind some trees to our rear, while he and I faced down the stamped-ing buffalo.

The ph then began shouting at the oncoming buffalo while he jumped up and down, waving his hat above his head. I immediately followed his example, all the while doubting his sanity, not to mention my own.

Incredibly, the leading buf-falo stopped not 20 yards in front of us, as we jumped around like lunatics. The buffalo to the rear of the front element rammed into those ahead, nudging them closer toward us.

As the buffalo stopped in a lurch, we snapped our rifles to our shoulders and covered those animals closest to us, the muzzles of our guns swaying back and forth across the snorting phalanx as we searched their eyes, hoping see a clue as to their next intentions. That’s what we watched—their eyes.

The standoff lasted only seconds, but it seemed far longer. Abruptly, the herd turned to our left and bolted off, a mass of surging black bodies amid swirling dust as they gave us a berth of mere yards. As the herd thundered by, we never did see a good bull.

Rugged, ReliaBle and deadly accuRate, the cZ 550 SafaRi MagnuMS aRe the choice of MoSt afRican pRofeSSional hunteRS.

Once fresh spoor is found, the hunters dismount, make a plan and begin the follow-up.

Trackers carry a hindquarter of buffalo after a successfulhunt, as the PH leads the queue and the hunters follow.

This bull fell to the author’s 550 Safari magnum in .458 Lott. The rifle is topped with an Aimpoint dot sight.



Another dangerous situation that one can encounter when in pursuit of buffalo is to run into an animal that has been previously wounded either by a poacher’s bullet or snare. While I have not personally run afoul of an injured buffalo, I did once face down a young elephant bull in a sandy donga whose trunk had been almost completely severed by a snare. luckily, despite the fact that he appeared within 40 yards of us and could dimly see us, the wind was in our favor, allowing us the chance to move quickly up a slope and out of his path. I am pretty certain that if the wind had identified our party as human to the elephant, he would have charged those he believed to be responsible for his serious injury.

unfortunately, the same cannot be said for a couple of friends of mine on their first buffalo hunt with me. They were following the track of a group of dagga boys when at last they caught sight of the bulls. The ph raised his binos for a better look and noticed that the largest bull had a bloody, suppurating wound on his shoulder. he was unaware that a wounded bull was in the area, and as the bull was also a good trophy, he instructed one of my friends to take him.

The first shot was not a good one, and upon impact, rather than retreat-ing, the enraged bull immediately charged the three hunters. All three commenced firing at the buffalo, and thankfully, six rounds later, it col-lapsed at their feet.

Then there are the tales of the “buf-falo that won’t die.” This happened to my friend hermann, who was on his second buffalo safari with me. he and his ph had been tracking a small herd that contained a fine old bull. They closed within 50 yards of the animal, and hermann fired his .416 Reming-ton, placing the bullet squarely in the heart and lung kill zone. As the area in which they had found the buffalo was fairly open, hermann was able to put two more rounds into the bull, the last breaking his shoulders and knocking him down.

Despite the bull absorbing 1,200 grains of lead, resulting in broken shoulders along with other internal injuries, he attempted to stand. her-mann had quickly reloaded, and as the bull tried to rise, he rapidly fired three more rounds into the struggling animal. The buff attempted yet again to regain its feet, and two additional rounds from the ph’s .416 Rigby finally settled the issue.

Add it up. That bull had absorbed a total of 3,200 grains of medicine, nearly a half pound, before dying.

Still and all, the absolute thrill of buffalo hunting comes from the ever-present possibility that things can go wrong. The closer you are to the buffalo, the greater the danger, and therein lies the adrenaline rush so much sought after by purists in the pursuit of nyati.

I know many men who have killed their buff at what I consider to be long range—more than 50 yards. To my mind, these folks have totally missed the point of buffalo hunting, which is to get as close as possible so that you can hear their bellies rumble and inhale the musky cattle scent through your nostrils. The thrill is incredible.

If the wind is right and you are very quiet and unmoving, you will be astounded at how close you can get to a buffalo—or how close a buffalo might get to you. Case in point:

The Zambezi Valley had suffered a drought, and the country was dry and brittle. We had been follow-ing buffalo spoor since first light, and on toward noontime we found ourselves headed up the slope of a small rise. The ground was parched

and gravelly, with sparse tufts of brown grass shooting up here and there amid shattered mopani trees whose tops had been lopped off by feeding elephant. hot and thirsty, my mind had begun to wander, and I found myself dreamily gazing up at the stunningly blue sky and its merciless sun. I was suddenly torn from my reverie by my ph, who had dropped to his knees and was pull-ing me down toward him.

“Quiet! Don’t move!” he hissed.less than 25 yards in front of us, a

small herd of buffalo were shuffling down the slope, themselves seem-ingly burdened by the oppressive heat of the late-morning sun. They were spread over a 50-yard front, but I realized with a start that a cow and her calf were walking directly toward us.

She continued straight on. I could easily make out the snot running from her broad nose and her wide horns, the tips of which were as sharp as the talons of an eagle. I shuddered involun-tarily as I realized that one swipe of her headgear could flay me from belly to brisket.

With nothing to conceal us but the thin veil of branches extending from the thorn bush behind which we hid, my hands tightened around my CZ 550 as we could only hold our breath and pray she didn’t register our presence.

I can still vividly recall her head swaying from side to side as she ambled past not 12 feet from our hiding place, followed placidly by her calf.

We waited for them to move on a good distance before we stood. I readily admit I was shaking a bit,

like you do when closely avoiding a wreck. I suppose that’s a good analogy because if she had seen or heard us, or caught our scent, we would have been in a wreck for sure. That said, however, I would never trade that experience for anything, and it’s a perfect example of why I would rather hunt buffalo than any other game.

I suppose that one reason buf-falo hunting remains so intoxicating for me is that when hunting these animals, you never have an idea of

what to expect. The unknown is a compelling reason to continue the chase. Anything can happen when hunting; simple mistakes, poor marksmanship, a shift in the wind or just bad luck will put you in harm’s way. Indeed, it is the danger that makes buffalo hunting so addictive.

My best trophy to date resulted in the hunt of a large floodplain along the banks of the Zambezi. papyrus reeds towered tall, their fluffy tops gently swaying in the early-morning breeze. Between them lay grassy plots struggling to survive in the deep, sandy soil. Jungle-like growths of trees resided along still, stagnant ponds and inlets of water, the after-math of a heavy rainy season.

We spotted a good-size herd of buffalo foraging amid the reeds and took up their track. Testing the wind with his ash bag, my ph got us positioned atop an anthill so we could watch the herd as it fed just beyond us. unable to pick out a good bull, we descended and very slowly and carefully moved closer to the herd.

Buffalo bellows, grunts and the bleating of calves filled our ears as we crept into position for a better view. My blood was up as we were doing what I love— getting right into the herd, as close as possible. The buffalo were milling about in front of us, crossing from left to right and back again in a never-ending stream. The earthy odor of cattle dung and the strong am-monia smell of urine filled our nostrils.

Doubled over, we crept even closer. Suddenly, a group of cows and young

My Blood waS up aS we weRe doing what i love —getting Right into the heRd, aS cloSe aS poSSiBle.

More than a dozen buffalo hunts have taught the authorthat express sights or an optical dot are preferable toa variable scope when hunting nyati in the thick stuff.

Loading a bull buffalo into the Cruiser is no small task; loading two is a Herculean effort!

The author’s biggest bull to date measured nearly 44-inches. A single 500-grain solid from the Lott put him down for the count.



bulls picked up their heads and looked straight into our eyes. We were busted.

The buffalo retreated and we followed. They crossed through a wooded area with Daryl and me on their heels. The earth ended at a bank below, which stretched a broad and deep estuary filled with papyrus. As we reached the edge, we watched in amazement as the entire herd swam away from us and into the reeds, their bodies plowing through the black water like bovine juggernauts. One of the last animals to reach a dry hummock amid the reeds was an old bull. he stopped and turned to look at us over his shoulder. his action seemed a dare. “Catch us if you can.”

Truth be told, we could not, as there was no manner of convey-ance to see us across the water and into the reeds. Wading or swimming was out of the question, as monsto-rous crocodiles called this morass home. lunch struck us as a better alternative.

As we rested beneath the thatched roof of the outdoor dining room at Masau Camp, we received a radio

it’S a ShaMe, But adding the Big five to youR tRophy RooM today will coSt alMoSt aS Much aS the houSe itSelf.

call from ph Buzz Charlton, who was chaperoning a group of Spanish hunters. he reported seeing a group of three dagga boys not far from camp. Two of the three appeared to be quite good. My ph sent two of his trackers out to the location to “put them to bed,” and we intended to pick them up later in the afternoon.

As I rested in my bed I could hear the water of the Zambezi as it gently lapped the shore outside my chalet. The tranquil sound lulled me to sleep, but not for long—there was a knock at my door. I looked at my watch and saw it was 3 o’clock. gathering up my gear, I walked the short distance to where the land Cruiser was parked, and climbing up into the high seat, we took off.

The sun was still high as the truck ground its way along the sandy tracks to an area of tall grass and stunted trees. We met the trackers who had been sent out earlier to locate the buffalo, and they reported that the animals were about a half mile away bedded beneath some trees. My ph and I chambered rounds into our rifles and quickly followed the trackers’ lead.

not long after leaving the road, we came across an old lion kill. Four hooves detached from their legs were the last vestiges of what was once a buffalo calf. Continuing on, we reached our destination about a hundred yards from the bedded buffalo. The ph called a short conference.

“kevin, you come with me, and we’ll get as close as we can without spooking them. We’ll try to sort out the best bull, and when they get up from their nap, you can take him,” he said.

“Roger that,” I replied, as we began our stalk toward the sleeping beasts.

We advanced one foot at a time. I carefully made certain to step exactly where the ph had footed, avoiding the cloying thorns and carefully side-stepping dry twigs and branches. The wind was perfect, blowing in our faces away from the slumbering buf-falo, and we finally stopped behind a small bush no more than 25 yards from where the buffalo lay.

peering intently through our binocu-lars, we could only confirm that there were three buffalo under the tree, but

try as we might, we could not make out any of their headgear. nearly an hour ticked by as we waited for the buffalo to rise. At last, they did.

I was on the sticks, but I still could not make out the horns beneath the shadowed tangle of tree branches obscuring my view. The wind shifted, bringing our scent to their nostrils, and in a rush, they made off.

The sun got lower and lower in the sky, and the shadows lengthened as we followed behind the buffalo. Making our way from cover to cover, we tracked them to a place where several big trees gave them cover. They knew we were on their back-trail, and we hoped that as the light waned the buffalo would grow less careful, as they are known to do, and wished for an opportunity for a shot before last light.

Moving closer to the trees behind which the buffalo had taken sanctuary, we were rewarded when one bull stepped clear of the protec-tion of the foliage and turned to look right at us just 50 yards away.

The bull’s horns were long and sweeping, then turn-ing up to pointed tips. his boss was full and craggy. I slapped the fore-end of my CZ .458 lott into the fork of the shooting sticks I had been carrying and squinted through the express sights, settling the big ivory bead on the bull’s shoulder.

I was just about to drop the hammer when from the left came another of the three bulls. This one seemed to dwarf the first. I shifted my sights to this bull, and holding just below his sweep of horn I pressed

the trigger just as I heard the ph say, “Take the one on the left.”

When the bullet reached the bull, he dropped dead in his tracks.

“I was a bit ahead of you there,” I said to the ph as I cranked another round into the chamber. The other two bulls quickly moved off, and as they did the ph said, “Yeah, that first one was good, but when the other one came out from behind the tree, I thought, Wow, he’s even better.”

“Well, looks like everything worked out just fine,” I said.

“That was a great shot. he never moved,” the ph replied.

night was falling rapidly as it is wont to do in Africa as we moved forward to inspect my buffalo. This bull had it all: long, deeply curved horns and a heavy boss. The tape later put him at 43 ½ inches, making him my biggest bull to date. The shot had hit at point of aim, cleanly breaking his neck. The CZ 550 Safari Magnum in .458 lott had chalked up another one-shot stop.

I’ve come to believe that any buffa-lo, of either sex, hunted at close range and taken fairly, is an experience you

will never forget. Trophy qual-ity is indeed secondary to the experience for the dedicated buffalo hunter. I have found that my hunts for the smallest and biggest were equally thrilling and rewarding, as is accompanying another hunter on his stalks and kills. With buffalo, the hunt itself is where you will find your greatest satisfaction. The kill means your magical time in the bush is over.

Many of us lucky enough to go on African safari will be unable to afford taking the classic Big Five of elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and leop-ard. It’s a shame, but adding the Big Five to a trophy room today will cost as much as the house itself. But buf-falo are plentiful enough and economical enough for the great majority of hunters to pursue, and they will remain so for quite some time. It is for this reason, that the Cape buffalo is the most hunted and coveted dangerous game in Africa.

The mighty Zambezi flows toward the Indian Ocean just east of the Mopata Gorge.

A small herd of buffalo, including a very good bull, retreats across a lily-covered estuary of the Zambezi.

This old cow, taken for camp meat with a .375 H&H CZ-550, sported horns with a forty-inch spread.

The Specialist

The Specialist is your basic full-sized 1911 with a Picatinny rail for a dustcover—except little is basic about it. First, the slide, frame and barrel have a level of fitting that’s only seen pistols hand fitted by wise ‘smiths long in their years. Dan Wesson gunsmiths are more than skilled craftsmen, they’re obviously shooters. During my inspection, I can see the hours spent filing little-by-little before lapping and checking fit. These 1911s pass the most critical scrutiny. Having spent many years working as a gunsmith (and a lot of that time spent on 1911s), when someone hands me a pistol, the second thing I do (after checking to make sure that it isn’t loaded) is to check the fit. Yes, the feel of the slide on the frame, and the fit of the barrel as it locks up, sure. But there’s more to it than just that. What does the slide sound like, moving on the frame? Can you hear the toolmarks chattering over each other? Or is it a smooth, almost sinuous hiss as polished steel slides over polished steel?

When the slide collects the barrel, links up and closes, does it sound like a collec-tion of parts brought together? Or is there a click-click-click like purpose to each

movement? Solidly- fitted parts ring when they are closed with more than a gentle nudge. Many snick, some even sing.

While the near-musical note of the clos-ing differs from gun to gun, the similarity between well-fitted 1911s is this: they almost all ring like a bell when you let them close. Not so close to full slide-lock, that’s just abuse. But to let the slide close from halfway, you can tell a lot about a fitting by the sound of the “snick” as it shuts.

The Dan Wesson Specialist I’ve just evaluated has such a positive, assertive closing sound that I actually stood there

The Dan Wesson line of 1911s, built under the ownership of CZ-USA, have always been exceptional. As a ready-to-go, out of the box 1911, they have always surprised the market as a great value delivering custom features, the highest

accuracy, and the best reliability. You could buy something with a longer spec sheet or higher price, however, you couldn’t pos-sibly get as much in return. The Dan Wesson lineup has now been changed, and the results are impressive.

By Patrick Sweeney I Photos by Sean UtLey

IN THE HOME OR ON THE STREET, THIS .45 IS POISED TO PROTECT AND SERvE.

DW SPECIAlIST

36 cz-uSa.comwww.cz-usa.com www.cz-usa.com

Between the set of tactical ledge night sights runs a Clark-style serrated rib across the top of the slide designed to eliminate glare.

37cz-uSa.com

Dan Wesson specialist

TYPE: Single action, recoil operated semiauto

CaliBEr: .45 ACP CaPaCiTY: 8+1 BarrEl: 5 in. OvErall lEngTh: 8.5 in. WEighT: 2.31 in. griPS: G10 FiniSh: Matte black Duty TriggEr: Aluminum, 4 lb. SighTS: 3-Dot, ledge-style,

tritium-filled

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for a few seconds and just opened and closed it to soak in the sound. It was that interesting—and promising.

Once I was over that, I scanned the features. The top of the slide has sights in transverse dovetails, with the rear sight utilizing a tactical ledge to allow “belt-” or “boot-racking.” This is a technique developed (as best I can determine) by the los An-geles Police Department. If you need to one-handed rack your slide, hook the sight on your belt, holster, or sole of the boot and shove it out and away from yourself. The usual ramped rear sight does not allow this. Dan Wesson took a large combat sight and carved the face to produce this stop-ridge. A belt or holster will catch the rear sight, and you can rack the slide that way. Plus, the sights have night-sight tritium inserts, one dot over the other, in Heinie’s Straight

Eight pattern. line the dots up, figure “8”, and your sights are aligned in the dark. It’s very intuitive.

The top of the slide is also ser-rated, with lateral grooves down the rib. I took one look at that, and estimated it would take a fistful of hundred-dollar bills to duplicate it in the hands of a custom 1911 pistol-smith. Consider the savings a gift from Dan Wesson.

On the frame, there is an integral accessory rail machined into the dustcover. The slide stop pin is recessed, and its hole in the frame beveled. Some take the beveling of that hole too far, cutting an edge that is too angled and deep. The Specialist has the bevel cut at a shallow angle, and just deep enough to make it so that it’s easy to disassemble, but not so much it removes a large part of the barrel lug and frame integrity. The

flush-trimmed slide stop pin is now out of the way of your trigger finger when your finger is outside of the trigger guard. You do not risk pushing the slide stop out of the frame, and yet it can still be disassembled.

The safety is ambidextrous. It clicks up and down with the correct amount of authority, and stays where set it.

The grip safety appears to be from Ed Brown, and probably is. It’s easier to simply purchase forged grip safe-ties from Ed Brown than to try and machine them oneself. In any case, it’s the highest grip safety you can get on a 1911, and it puts your hand as high behind the gun as is possible. Inside the frame is a scalloped com-mander hammer, and combined with the fitted, match aluminum trigger, the drawstroke of the trigger is clean, crisp and purposeful.

The frame features a flat main-spring housing. long ago, I gave up trying to figure out which type shoots better for me—flat or arched. I sup-pose were I vying with the top dogs for the Single Stack Championship of the universe, it would matter, but I’m not. I can pass any qual course, and beat most anyone I compete against. So, flat it is.

The mainspring housing is check-ered, and at 25 lines to the inch, matches the checkering on the front-strap. The checkering is straight and even, and the individual diamonds are square and sharp.

The (very) tactile grips are G10, a synthetic selected for its impervios-ity—to everything. It’s immune to things that would discourage or even kill you; solvents, lubricants, radiation and high-voltage electrical current. These grips will never chip, fade, discolor or break. The surface is machined with an interesting pattern. Rather than a traditional checkered pattern, the surface of the grips are machined (that’s the only way you can form G10, without incurring hideous expense).

The front of each grip panel is machined with overlapping circular depressions to lock your fingertips in place until you relieve pressure. The rear half is machined with grooves that slant down, front to back, and resist the torquing forces of rota-tion in recoil. Short of slathering glue onto your hand or pistol, I’m not sure there’s a way to ensure a more secure hold.

Finally, there’s the magazine well. It has a funnel around it, which bolts to the mainspring housing by means of an industrial-type Allen-head screw, and recessed into the funnel at the rear. The funnel is shaped to match the contour of the grip panels, and the funnel’s magwell bevels line up

with the frame as if they were cut from the same piece of barstock. I have always been leery of the bolt-on funnels, and those of my 1911s that have them, the bolt is locked in place with a generous amount of loctite.

Details are fun, and a well-fitted pistol is always appreciated. How-ever, shooting is what matters.

From the trigger to the hammer, every control wears serrations. a scallop cut made to the left g10 grip panel provides easier access to the magazine release.

DUring my inSPection, i can See the hoUrS SPent fiLing LittLe-By-LittLe Before LaPPing anD checking fit.

The Specialist features a Dan Wesson match barrel chambered in .45 aCP. Just like other Dan Wesson 1911s, this one has a close-tolerance fit with its barrel bushing.

a lightweight Commander hammer is protected by the beavertail grip safety.

The Specialist also comes with an ambi-dextrous thumb safety.

cz-uSa.com 39www.cz-usa.com


I didn’t get to spend as much time evaluating the Specialist as much as I would have liked. Short time? Absolutely, you see, the Specialist I had is the first, and until a few days after I had to return it, it was the only finished specimen of the Dan Wesson model extant.

The trigger is clean and crisp, and encourages accurate shooting. The grip safety puts the frame deep in my hand, and recoil was eaten up by the added weight in the dust-cover rail. That small, extra weight below the boreline and forward of the hands aids recoil control, while the aggressive grips keep the Specialist locked into my hands. The precisely-fitted barrel delivers the goods accurately downrange.

It has been a long time since anyone realistically tested a brand-new 1911, looking to discover just how reliable or unreliable it might be. A modern 1911 is reliable. Customers expect it and Dan Wesson delivers. I did not an-ticipate, nor did I experience,

any malfunctions while shooting the Specialist. It fed everything, and shot slightly to the right of point-of-aim. If I were permitted to perform a long term test, I’d have to slightly adjust the sights to hit point of aim for me. Groups? We’re talking about a one-hole gun. It groups very well.

As a daily carry gun, you are in for work with the Specialist. There is a reason Dan Wesson also offers Command-er and Officer’s-sized models. They are still more popular for carry.

As a duty gun for a law enforcement officer allowed to carry a personal purchase, all you need is to couple the Specialist with a compact light, put it inside one of the many duty holsters available for this type of 1911, and you’re set for anything you’d ever expect to cover during your shift—and a few things you wouldn’t.

We’re talking about a one-hole gun. it groups very Well.

The rough texture G10 slabs, 25 lpi frontstrap and flat checkered main-spring housing blend together for a sure grip. The serrated Ledge sights carry a vile of tritium in forming the Straight 8, low-light sighting system.

The Specialist features a deep funnel for the magazine well, helping make reloads quick and intuitive. The Specialist frame offers an integral Picatinny rail with three notches to accept most current pistol accessories.

Recently, I caught up with Tom Knapp, CZ-USA exhibition

shooter, along the edge of a grain field outside of Cor-doba, Argentina. We were there to work…if you can call testing the new CZ 912 autoloader and Wingshooter over/under shotguns “work.” Between flurries of birds, bandaging fingers, chug-ging water and reloading shotguns, I interviewed Knapp about shooting, guns, professional life and what he does for fun when not shooting.Mike Schoby: What got you inter-ested in shooting?Tom Knapp: Like so many other kids, I was brought into it through my family, both in the form of hunting and recreational shooting.MS: What are your favorite firearms?TK: That is a tough one to answer. I mean, regardless if it is a rifle, pistol or shotgun, if it goes bang, I like it. I am enjoying shooting the CZ 712 and 912 autoloaders, but since I grew up shooting Winchester Model 12s I still have a soft spot for them today.MS: How much do you shoot in a given year?TK: I shoot around 40,000 12-gauge shotshells a year and countless rimfire car-tridges.

MS: How can someone get started as an exhibition shooter? TK: Making difficult shots is a small part of exhibition shooting. If anyone is going to succeed, he must have public relations and communications skills first and foremost. Knowing how to market and promote goes a long way, and there is always the need for some showmanship. I caution young shooters to be careful what they wish for. If they succeed to go the full gamut, they will need to forfeit their personal desire for family and friends. Most family lifestyles will not support the exhibition style of life. MS: How much practice does it take to become good?

TK: The amount of practice involved with exhibition shooting is based on muscle memory. If you can’t do everything within your show script in your sleep, you have not had enough practice. If your live-show schedule contains 100 live shows for that year, that would be enough practice in its own. My practice contains more gun handling and loading techniques, keeping emphasis on safety and muzzle direction than shooting.MS: What is your favorite trick shot?TK: My favorite shot is based on consistency and the difficulty level. This would be my balloon routine, where I have four balloons on the ground and launch two clays in the air. I shoot one of the clays, then come down and shoot each balloon with an individual shot, then find the falling clay and shoot that before it hits the ground.MS: Lots of shooters and hunters idolize you. Do you have any shoot-ing idols?TK: I saw Herb Parsons on a TV show in 1959. I was nine years old. This special display of marksman-ship stuck in my mind from then on. I never got the chance to meet or watch Herb live, but the idea of making a living with a gun (the correct way) stayed in the back of my mind until it became reality. That same film has been preserved on

DVD, which you can purchase at showmanshooter.

com.MS: Final question:

When you eat, sleep and breathe shooting, what do

you do for fun?TK: Fish. I’m from Minnesota. Besides shooting and hunt-ing, the next most important

thing to a Minnesotan is spending time with family and friends out on a lake, winter or summer.

Tom Knapp

Tom Knapp

Interviewwith

By Mike SchoBy

BeHInD THe TrICKS oF A WorLD CLASS exHIBITIon SHooTer.


CZ-USA has been importing the 527 for some time now. It’s a scaled-down Mauser action that’s fed by a magazine of five rounds. In the case of the 527 Varmint, those rounds should be of a suit-able varmint load in either .17 Remington, .22 Hornet, .222 Remington, .221 Fireball, .204 Ruger or .223 Remington. (Not interchangeably, of course.)

Once you’ve selected the chamber-ing, you have a rifle that’s a lightweight. Depending on options, it will check in between six and seven and a half pounds. It’s an ultra-reliable varmint rifle, and one you can easily mount a scope on.

Until now, you had to pick from a few attractive—but not exactly varmint shooting—functional stock designs. The originals are the European-style stocks, such as are on the Lux and FS. European hunting is usually either driven game, offhand at moving critters, or from stands. The idea of lying down on the ground, and consuming a carton of ammunition in a day’s time while shooting rats would puzzle the average European hunter. And so, the stocks are meant for offhand shooting. No more.

At a recent industry gathering, Jason Morton of CZ-USA revealed a new 527 Varmint set in a varmint stock. My first thought was that it was a prone stock—not a stock intended for varmint shooting.

ENTER THE 527The 527 Varmint features a stock with a pistol grip turned sharply downward.

This gets the right hand in the proper position for shooting prone. The comb is higher, straighter and the front end of it comes much more forward than one on an offhand stock. The high comb gets your head correctly located behind the scope, and its extended profile allows the shooter to establish optimal eye relief. I crawl up on a stock like no-one else, so a long shelf at the front of the comb is extremely important.

The forearm has two raised panels; one on each side with a flat bottom. The raised portions provide a secure hold if you are the type of shooter who prefers a hand-held support position. For those who shoot off a front rest, resting the weight of the rifle on the flat fore-end helps to keep the rifle upright and stable. If you prefer to shoot from a bipod, the 527 Varmint has a pair of sling swivel studs up front, one for a carry sling, and another that can be used with a bipod adapter to give the rifle a set of legs to lean into.

The magazine is an all-steel, single-feed box magazine.

The scope ring and mount system is proprietary to CZ. Generally, I’m not given to clamp-on ring-and-base systems. Most are fragile, and fabricated just to meet a price point. They just don’t provide the assuredness that I usually get with a robustly-engineered set. Not so with rings from CZ-USA. The rings are machined from steel, and the clamping surface is engineered directly in the receiver rings of

To hose a ‘dog town, you need the right gear. The chief tool remains an accurate, reliable rifle, one that will keep working no matter how many rounds you send through the barrel.

Anti-VerminBy PATRICK SWEENEY I Photos by SEAN UTLEY

THIS CZ 527 IS A TACkDRIVER AND A STELLAR RODENT-REDUCER.

CZ 527 VARMINT

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the rifle. Not bolted-on aluminum, but machined steel. The scope will expire long before the rings give way.

Underneath, the 527 Varmint uses the CZ single set trigger, an adjust-able mechanism. With a normal pull of the trigger, it operates with a standard amount of pressure. However, if you push the trigger forward first (until you feel it click) it will set, requiring less pressure and a crisp, light trigger pull to fire the rifle—giving the shooter the feel of a match rifle’s trigger. Both pulling or setting the trigger is an adjustable experience, and CZ-USA includes complete instructions on how to adjust these settings. For the standard pull, weight, creep and over-travel can be adjusted. For the set trigger operation, only weight can be adjusted.

The safety on the 527 is a large lever positioned to the right side of the cocking piece. When you press it up, to “Safe” it blocks the firing pin and locks the bolt in place. Bring it down to fire.

The barrel measures 24 inches long, and has a heavy profile. Inside, the chamber is a .223 (not a 5.56 NATO) dimension. Since 5.56 NATO ammunition is not designed

for varmint vaporizing, it isn’t such a big deal. The 1:9-inch twist rate allows the option of using heavy bul-lets. During testing I learned that the 1:9 twist is right on the edge for the heavyweight 75 and 77 grain bullets. Some rifles shoot these weights just fine, while others do not.

With bullet weights of 40 grains up to the mid-60s, you should have a plethora of choices in terms of accuracy. For varminting, pick a fragile, accurate bullet and push it fast for less drop at longer range.

MY EVALIn testing the 527 Varmint, I used a Bushnell Elite 6500. It certainly

proved up to the task. Black Hills Ammunition was chosen to send 60-grain Hornady V-Max bullets downrange. I started out check-ing zero and getting a feel for the trigger. It didn’t take long to determine that someone close to me in shooting style had zeroed the rifle, for it was pretty close. It only took a few groups to get on at 100 yards where I then settled down to shoot small groups. Somehow I managed to shoot four sequential groups of bragging quality, and my heart pounded so hard that I could see the reticle move against the target.

This little rifle not only wants to shoot, it demands to shoot. As a varmint-shooting machine, it ranks high. At an MSRP of $885, there isn’t a better deal in a bolt action rifle chambered in .223. It would be difficult to just lay hands on a heavy-barreled .223 at that price, let alone one with a proper prone-shooting stock. Then add the extra sling swivel, adjustable trigger, and the demonstrated level of accuracy, and it becomes a hard deal to pass up.

The relief cut in the comb allow for easy removal of the bolt. The bolt release lever is located on the left side of the receiver. The magazine release is positioned to the side just forward of the trigger guard. The bolt throw is 90 degrees, which is required for the two opposing bolt lugs to engage the mating surfaces in the receiver. The grip of the target style stock is sharply turned down and comfortably provides a resting place for the firing hand. The safety lever is located just behind the bolt handle and is a two-position type.

CZ 527 VARMINT

TYPE: Bolt action CalibEr: .17 Rem., .204 Ruger,

.221 Fireball,

.22 Hornet, .222 Rem.,

.223 Rem. CaPaCiTY: 5 barrEl: 24 in., 1:9-in. twist OVErall lENGTH: 40.4 in. WEiGHT: 6 lb., 4 oz. STOCK: kevlar FiNiSH: Matte black TriGGEr: Single or set SiGHTS: None

Magazines will work in any 527 model with the same chamber.

The “mini” Mauser forged bolt features a long-claw extractor and controlled round feed.

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ThIS LITTLE RIfLE NoT oNLY WANTS To ShooT, IT dEmANdS To ShooT.AS A VARmINT-ShooTING mAChINE, IT RANKS hIGh.


V ariations of the 1911 automatic pistol are as nu-merous as the stars in the heavens, so it seems. After 100 years of experimenting and improving upon John Browning’s famous creation, the law

of averages might dictate that there’s just no way to improve on it any more. The Dan Wesson Valor is evi-dence that’s not the case.

By BART SKELTON

DAn Wesson BrAVes The croWDeD 1911 mArkeT WiTh An excellenT enTrY.

DW VAlor

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medal of Valor

The author prefers the Heinie Ledge Straight Eight setup, which presents a stacked-dot sight picture, to the common three-dot arrangement.

As a fan of the 1911, i’m always interested in shooting good ones, and i’ve recently had the chance to handle a dandy. Dan Wesson began making .45s a few years back, and it seemed a little odd to me. over the years, i always thought of Dan Wesson as strictly a revolver company.

When i was a kid, my dad had sev-eral Dan Wesson revolvers around. They were cased and had quick-change barrels in various lengths. The concept was a popular one, and the revolvers were of fine quality.

Daniel B. Wesson, the great-grandson of D.B. Wesson, who

co-founded smith & Wesson, started Wesson Firearms company in 1968. it was Wesson’s intention to manu-facture the world’s finest revolver, and he accomplished that to some extent in the ones he produced. The company manufactured several models in various calibers through 2000, when it was bought out.

The year 2000 was also when Wesson started developing a 1911-style automatic pistol. in developing its 1911, it was the company’s intention to stay with the same idea it had in making revolvers: make the best, most accurate out-of-the-box pistol it could.



in 2005, Dan Wesson Firearms was sold again —this time to cZ. cZ is one of the world’s largest pro-ducers of firearms. With the solid backing of cZ-UsA, Dan Wesson is now climbing its way to the top in the custom 1911 pistol market.

i first fired a Dan Wesson 1911 several years back at a media event, and i was quite impressed with the several models of pistols i shot. i recently received a new stainless steel Valor .45 automatic from Dan Wesson, and my posi-tive impressions are continuing to escalate. The Valor is one of those pistols that feels almost perfect immediately upon handling it. it’s a full-size, all-stainless defensive pistol with a clean look and great handling attributes.

That clean look i mention comes from the stainless steel finish, lack of forward cocking serrations on the slide, checkered stocks that are nice and thin (just the way i like them), fine checker-ing up front and at the back, and overall many tasteful appointments.

The pistol is fitted with a high-quality aluminum trigger made by Greider Precision. The trigger is solid and provides a smooth, drag-free draw. Upon dry-firing the Valor, i was pleased right away with the crisp, and relatively light trigger pull. i measured the trigger pull with an rcBs pull scale at 3½ pounds. Along with the nice trigger, the Valor features a match-grade hammer and sear.

The checkering on the grips is aggressive enough, and, combined with the excellent 25-lpi checker-ing on the front- and backstrap, the Valor is easy to get a good hand-hold.

The pistol features an ed Brown custom beavertail

grip safety and thumb safety. each are fitted

perfectly into the pistol’s frame and work smoothly—par-ticularly the thumb safety, which has a nice, crisp feel when

activated to either on or off positions. coming

from ed Brown, you know they’re high quality, too.

one of the first things that gener-ally catches my eye when looking over a new pistol are the sights. The Valor is set up with heinie ledge straight eight night sights, one of the most effective pistol sight systems currently available.

i’ve never been a real fan of the three-dot sight system, which involves two dots on the rear and one on the front. The straight eight system features a large dot on the front sight and one small dot on the rear directly underneath the notch. This configuration is one of the best and allows the shooter quicker ac-quisition in low-light situations than the conventional three-dot setup.

Dan Wesson fashions the Valor’s frame and slide from forged stain-

less steel, and the barrel and bushing are Dan Wesson-manufactured match-grade parts. The slide’s ejection port is flared, and the frame’s magazine well is bev-eled for quick magazine insertion.

check-mate provides the magazines for Dan Wesson, and the Valor comes with a pair of eight-rounders. i like the check-mates quite well,

as they’re durable, well-made and have proven themselves to work like a charm. check-mate maga-zines have a patented follower that eliminates forward movement.

Upon examining the Valor thoroughly, i was pleased with the overall fit and finish. The pistol is very tight, and it’s clear that Dan Wesson’s craftsmen have done a

good deal of hand-fitting and -filing, which i wasn’t expecting to this degree. The slide-to-frame fit is outstanding, and there’s no side-to-side play or rattle whatsoever.

The lines are very clean, and the entire gun is well polished with no sign of machine or tool marks. The “Valor” logo is tastefully placed on the left side of the slide just over the

slide stop, leaving the rest of the side slab of the slide clean.

considering how nicely the Valor feels right out of the box, i was anxious to get it out to a range. i carried it and several brands of am-munition out to my desert hideaway and burned some powder. i started out with Black hills 230-grain hol-lowpoints, loading a few magazines and plinking at various targets between 10 and 20 yards.

The Valor handled very well and felt great in my hands. The aggres-sive checkering ensured positive control, which provided a rock-solid sight picture shot after shot. The weight and balance of the five-inch gun made for quick recovery and target acquisition, and the recoil was pleasant.

After getting the feel of the Valor, i set up a 30-yard sand-bag rest and started shooting groups. results are shown in the accompanying table. over-all, the Valor performed very well, providing good accuracy.

i’d be interested in conducting

UpON ExAmiNiNg ThE VALOR ThOROUghLy, i wAS REALLy pLEASEd wiTh ThE OVERALL fiT ANd fiNiSh.

The Valor features a white outline tritium-insert front sight made by Tri-jicon, which makes finding the dot in low light much easier.

The 25-lpi checkering on the front- and backstrap makes a firm, secure grip easy to get.

The Valor incorporates high-end parts such as Ed Brown’s beavertail safety and thumb safety—all fitted perfectly.

The trigger is of the highest quality and fit. It’s manufac-tured by Greider Precision and measured 3 ½ pounds.

Dan Wesson Valor

TYPE: single action, recoil-operated semiauto

CaLIBEr: .45 AcP CaPaCITY: 8+1 BarrEL: 5 in., DW match oVEraLL LEnGTH: 8.8 in. wEIGHT: 2.4 lb. GrIPS: VZ slim line G10 FInISH: matte, stainless steel TrIGGEr: Greider solid aluminum; 3.5 lb. pull SIGHTS: heine ledge straight eight


further experiments with the pistol using handloads, as those average groups can likely be improved.

In all fairness, New Mexico winds took a toll on my accuracy testing and certainly played a role in the reported groups from that day. Regardless, any out-of-the-box

handgun that prints a two-inch group from my rest is outstanding in my book, particularly at the 30-yard mark.

Out of several hundred rounds I fired through the Valor, I experi-enced only one malfunction, and that was the very last shot using

Cor-Bon Powerball ammunition. The case failed to eject, which I attributed at the time to the posi-tion I was holding the pistol on the sandbag. I experienced no other malfunctions with the pistol whatsoever.

Dan Wesson advertises that the Valor offers everything you need in a 1911 pistol and nothing you don’t. I agree with that statement entirely. The Valor is a straight-forward, finely built, accurate and reliable pistol that anyone would be proud to own.

While the price tag might seem high to some shooters, you’re really getting your money’s worth in this gun. In the case of the Dan Wesson Valor, it truly lives up to its name.

The Valor handled Very well and felT greaT in my hands, Thanks To The Thin VZ grips.

AccurAcy results

Bullet Muzzle Standard Avg. .45 ACP Weight (gr.) Velocity (fps) Deviation Group (in.)

Black Hills JHP 230 852 13.4 2.00

Hornady TAP FPD 230 776 9.0 2.25

Cor-Bon +P JHP 165 1,156 3.7 2.75

Cor-Bon Power Ball 165 1,138 8.2 3.75

Accuracy results are averages of two five-shot groups at 30 yards off a sandbag rest. Velocities are averages of five shots measured on a PACT chronograph set 10 feet from the muzzle. Abbreviations: JHP, jacketed hollowpoint.

With its sharp checkering, excellent sights and tight fit, the Valor is an excellent choice. Best of all, it’s 100 percent American made.

e is the reason stereotypes exist.” I told myself as my

fingers were crushed from four individual digits into an unrecognizable pulpy mash. When the beast in front of me released my hand from his handshake, I noticed, in a detached way common to car crash victims, that my hand now sort of resembled a foot.

Ah, stereotypes. Everyone hates them.

People claim that they don’t have ‘em and are

super sensitive about them in our all too PC

world. But when I was told I would be spend-

ing a weekend busting clays with Czech-born

NHL legend Bobby Holik to raise money for

Colorado Youth Outdoors, I couldn’t help

myself. I instantly formed a mental picture—a

stereotype if you will.

While stereotypes are often inaccurate, in

this case my mental image was spot on. And

it is not just me. I doubt anyone is surprised

to learn after meeting Bobby that he played

in 1,314 games in the NHL, scored 747 points

and won two Stanley Cups. He just looks like

a seasoned hockey player—large in stature

and well-muscled. The ultra large hands,

with fingers that seem to have too many

knuckles, or knuckles in the wrong places

are crisscrossed with scars. Yes, he looks

like a stereotypical hockey player, but where

stereotypes fail is they are often only one

dimensional and based on looks alone.

What I didn’t expect, was to learn

that Bobby, as a person, was

anything but stereotypical. After I

spent some time with him, what

I discovered was a thoughtful,

well-spoken and kind person.

A supportive father and dedicated husband.

Not to mention a hell of a shot. After getting

trounced by him on the clays course for a

couple of days, I sat down to pick his brain on

shooting, hockey and life.

Mike Schoby: Did you grow up with firearms

and shooting?

Bobby Holik: No, I grew up in the Czech

Republic, behind the Iron Curtain. It wasn’t

exactly easy owning firearms. However, I

did get to shoot while in the military, and my

grandfather was a hunter.

MS: What made you want to shoot?

BH: Probably that we couldn’t do it.

It was a forbidden fruit. That, and I loved

all things American from an early age.

Next to cheeseburgers, few things are more

American than firearms. That combined with

the early memories of my grandfather and

the fact that I really respect and admire the

Second Amendment.

MS: So how did you get to the USA?

BH: Well, I was playing hockey for the

Czech national team and I planned to

defect here and claim political asylum,

which was common for athletes to do

back then, but then, as luck would have

it, the [Berlin] Wall came down, Commu-

nism evaporated and I was free to legally

emigrate to the United States.

MS: So what guns do you enjoy shooting

the most?

BH: I have always enjoyed handguns and

shoot a CZ 75 and VZ 58 regularly, but this

sporting clays game is something entirely

new for me and I can see the beauty in it. It is

really challenging. I like walking around the

course and seeing that every shot is different.

Yeah, I think a CZ sporting shotgun will be in

my safe soon.

MS: What do you enjoy most about shooting?

BH: The skill it takes, for sure. I mean, it is a

total hand/eye coordination thing and there is

a mental component as well. Then, of course,

there is the competitive side. Obviously, I

am a very competitive person and through

shooting I can compete against friends or just

myself. I can always improve upon what I did

the time before.

MS: How did you get involved with CZ-USA?

BH: It was pure coincidence mixed with

heritage. I was in a gun store in the States

and I picked up a CZ handgun. Of course,

I was familiar with CZ from my time in the

Czech Republic, but I didn’t know they were

imported here. Being proud of my heritage, I

contacted the USA division of CZ and asked

if I could help them with its marketing efforts.

Alice [Poluchova] agreed, and now I oc-

casionally get to attend charity shoots such

as this Colorado Youth Outdoors event.

MS: So where do you shoot?

BH: Well, believe it or not, even though I

played for East coast teams, I love the West.

So the wife and I bought a ranch in Wyoming.

Out there, I can pretty much shoot whenever

I want. In the winter, we have another ranch

in Florida so my daughter can ride her horses

year around—so I get in some shooting down

there as well.

MS: Ok, I have to ask…how many bones did

you break playing 18 years in the NHL?

BH: Mine or other peoples?

MS: That’s a wrap.

Interviewwith

By Mike SchoBy

ON SHOOTINg, HOCkEY ANd LIFE.

BOBBY HOLIK

Bobby Holik

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I had just broke five for five on a trap range right off the start with my new CZ 712 Target model shotgun. After a quick testfire, we fired the stations on Range 6 at the Peoria Skeet and Trap Club in Illinois. This was Payton’s range, one he visits for a few rounds each Thursday, so beating him wasn’t in my agenda—and shooting a new and unfamiliar shotgun, I certainly didn’t expect much in terms of score.

THE SHOTGUNThe new 712 Target is an entry-level shotgun manufactured by Huglu in Turkey and designed for trap. It offers good quality and reliability without requiring a big investment.

Unlike the field models, the stock on this 712 Target features a pronounced, target-style down-turned grip. The grip is cut into the slab of your average walnut. Though plain by wealthy standards, the deep color and grain are actually quite nice and understated. The finished product is a feature that CZ-USA feels saves the consumer some extra money while offering real function.

The 712 Target is a specially configured design for trap shoot-ing, and when handling it on a range, it immediately becomes ap-parent that isn’t your typical shotgun you’d bring to the field. The 30-inch barrel and long stock balances very well with each other. Part credit goes to the gas and action return spring assembly’s location within the forend. It’s a unique feature to the CZ 712 that helps set it apart from all other semiauto shotguns. Most semiau-tos place the action return spring assembly inside the buttstock, which shifts more of the shotgun’s weight to the rear.

Besides the Trap-length 30-inch barrel, the 712 provides fea-tures that are unique to Trap shooting. This 712 utilizes a 14¾-inch length of pull—¼-inch longer than a standard model. “Target guns are typically a little longer,” says Dave Miller, project manager at CZ-USA, “so we made the 712 Target with a stock that’s a ¼-inch

longer than a field gun.”Additionally, the 712 Target uses a barrel that’s chrome

lined and polished. “Trap guns have either a 30, 32, or 34-inch barrels,” Miller adds. “We didn’t want to design the 712 Target with a 32- or 34-inch barrel because the 712 receiver already measures 8¾ inches. You’d need to find a gun

BustedBy ERIC R. POOLE I Photos by SEAN UTLEY

THe eASIeST AnD MoST AffoRDABle WAY To START SHooTIng TRAP.

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52

“There you go,” said Payton Miller, Guns & Ammo executive editor. “You’re on a roll now.”

CZ 712 TARgeT




case longer than the standard 52 inches to carry it to and from the range.” The engineers at CZ-USA considered everything.

The 712 Target comes with five caps on each type of choke—full, Im-proved modified, modified, Improved cylinder, and cylinder. You won’t find back-boring tricks in the 712 Target barrel because back boring changes the patterning when shooting with aftermarket choke tubes that were not matched to the bore.

Touch the bottom of the target with the bead and watch the bird shatter. I found that the 712 Target shoots with an 80/20 bias, some-thing Dave Miller indicates that a modern Trap gun with stepped rib should carry. This fraction indicates

that 80 percent of the pellets will strike above the centerline of an aiming point. “If you were to take the gun, lay it on a benchrest and look down the rib, you’ll see a flat line,” says Miller. “If you put the bead on the center point and fire a shell against a patterning board, the angle should deliver 80 percent of the shot high of center on the target’s aiming point. field guns and sporting guns are designed to shoot 50/50.”

Some trap shotguns achieve the results of an 80/20 bias by raising the comb to make it shoot high, but the shooter can see the rib climbing up. “Have you ever heard of the phrase, ‘stacking beads,’” Miller asked. “That was the old trick to hit trap style

targets. The reason for the figure eight and such modifications to trap guns in the last 30 years was to get away from recoil. If you have a higher comb and less drop, less felt recoil is perceived. But we’ve evolved. Higher stepped ribs are what’s ‘in’ with the modern trap shooting world. Just look down the rib.”

The receiver presents chromed controls. The charging handle isn’t oversized and protrudes ¾ of an inch to the right of the receiver. The bolt release button is standard as it would be on a field gun also, but chromed for subliminal location. Underneath is a chrome-plated loading gate (or elevator as it’s commonly called—depending on which job it’s doing). To the rear of the elevator is a bolt

…YOU CAN BEgIN TO SEE whY TRAP IS A SPORT ThAT’S EASY TO gET INTO, ANd AffORdABLE TO gET gOOd AT.

Furniture is made from simple walnut, though checkering is still done by hand.

The lines of the CZ 712 shotguns are clean and understated. Serra-tions extend from the receiver and along the rib to reduce glare.

From the crossbolt safety behind the trigger, to the bolt re-lease, controls on CZ autoloaders are finished in chrome.

CZ 712 TARGET

TYPE: gas operated, semiauto GAUGE: 12, 3 in. CAPACITY: 2+1 BARREL: 30 in. OVERALL LENGTH: 52.5 in. LENGTH OF PULL: 14.75 in. WEIGHT: 7 lbs., 8.5 oz. FURNITURE: Turkish walnut, hand

checkered FINISH: Matte black TRIGGER: 8 lbs. (tested) SIGHTS: fiber optic, green (front),

brass bead (center)

lock back button that does as its name describes. With it, a shooter can ghost load a shell, which will allow one shell to sit on top of the elevator while waiting for the action to cycle. Since even the great exhibi-tion shooter Tom Knapp can’t outrun the speed of the action cycle in a 712 with each pull of the trigger, I’m not sure that ghost loading helps in terms of how fast the action operates (though it does remove a step in the process since the shell doesn’t have to be sprung from the three-shot magazine tube). And when the action is made ready and the crossbolt safety is set to the fire position, the single-stage trigger draws cleanly with almost a ¼-inch of travel.

like all 712 and 912 shotguns, sighting is accomplished with a short, fiber-optic green front sight

and a little brass bead in the center of the rib. You could shoot a figure eight technique if that’s what you prefer, but the glowing green sight near the muzzle is the only thing you need to contrast with a bright orange target. I found that all I needed to do in order to dust birds streaking away from me was to place them on top of the green and keep the shotgun moving. no. 8 does the rest.

LAST SHOTTonight I’m cleaning a shotgun that costs $625. When you consider that I spent just $6 to shoot 25 birds in a given round, you can begin to see why Trap is a sport that’s easy to get into, and affordable to get good at.

I finished my first two stations with a clean sweep on seven birds before

I missed a couple of unexpected fast flyers to the right. I missed a couple more, then corrected my mount before picking up a hit streak again. I quickly got used to the 712 Target and never had a malfunc-tion. It performed as reliably and delivered shot as well as others it patiently stood poised in the shotgun rack next to.

Before the final round was com-plete, improper technique and my slow time to break the shot caused me to fire a miss as the bird safely fell below the horizon. Until then, I was feeling pretty confident in my odds of beating Payton at his own game and winning the round. With a one-sided grin, Payton leaned over my shoulder and whispered, “In this game, when you fix one leak another always appears.”



When I’m carrying concealed, my first choice is an Officer’s Model. Naturally, I became interested when I learned that Dan Wesson unveiled the Dan Wesson Concealed Carry Officer, or CCO. The CCO is a 1911 with a Com-mander-length barrel on an Officer’s Model frame. For those who like the

balance, control and sight radius of a long barrel but prefer the concealability of a small frame, then this is the piece for you.

While it may seem odd to tradi-tionalists to have a 1911 with a long barrel and short frame, handling reveals its position in the scheme of things rather quickly. The shooter benefits from a longer sight radius and less overall weight. To a lesser degree of importance, noise and muzzle blast occurs farther away. Thanks to the weight and shorter grip, the CCO is an easier gun to carry concealed. I particularly like this configuration because when I’m carrying, the shorter grip and the beveled mainspring housing doesn’t rub so abrasively against my body or hinder my movement.

To reduce weight, both the frame and mainspring housing are made from anodized aluminum. To aid the shooter with grip control while under recoil, both the front and rear of the grip frame feature a new chain link pattern. Additionally, the frame is undercut beneath the trigger guard, which helps to compensate for what a shorter grip does in terms of reduc-ing real estate to grip.

Dan Wesson uses the proprietary black ceramic Duty coat from its parent company, CZ-USA. This coating has the benefits of a matte patina without the debris-catching bead-blast finish so common today on custom 1911s.

The CCO is evenly polished, espe-cially around the trigger guard and

the top of the slide. Slide serrations were cut sharply without any burrs, and all the sides on the gun were pancake flat without any dishing from the final finishing station.

The front sight blade features a white target ring surrounding a tritium vial, and the rear sight has two white tritium dots for fast target acquisition in low light. The rear sight is low profile, melted somewhat into the slide and is drift-adjustable for windage. The rear notch is well-defined and when lined up with the front sight, allows just enough light

RefinedDW CCO

The CCO uses a medium length trigger that’s hand-fitted to the alloy frame. An undercut behind the trig-ger guard offers more grip.

The cocobolo Shadow grips have a distinctive laser-etched pattern and the frontstrap features a chain-link pattern for enhanced control.

By STAN TRZONIEC I Photos by SEAN UTLEY

DAN WeSSON perFeCTS The CONCeAleD CArry OFFICer’S MODel.


on each side of the blade for perfect sight alignment.

Operator controls—slide release, safety and magazine release—are standard 1911. To keep the gun as slim in profile as possible, there is no safety lever on the right side of the gun. I found this safety lever has a very distinctive detent from safe to fire, assuring positive feedback on the condition of the gun.

The mainspring housing is flat with, as the name implies, a very slightly beveled frame, and there’s a memory groove on the beavertail safety for added comfort and improved grip.

The CCO features a medium-length aluminum trigger shoe that makes up the difference between the shorter mainspring housing and the space to the trigger itself. Trigger pull on this gun averages 3½ pounds of pull with just a hint of slack. The hammer is of the competition breed—lightweight and Commander styled.

The Dan Wesson match barrel is 4¼ inches long and fitted per-fectly by hand to the slide and barrel bushing for accuracy. The polished feed ramp is mirror smooth, and the ejection port has been relieved for 100 percent reliability.

The CCO comes with a pair of handsome Shadow grips, which are

cocobolo and laser-etched in a very distinctive, stippled pattern. Two magazines are supplied, and the CCO carries a limited five-year warranty.

At the range, the gun was a joy to use. Even with the shorter grip, there was more than enough gun to hold on with larger hands. The pistol recoiled pleasantly, and with lighter bullets such as Winchester 185-grain FMJ, the gun behaved much like a 9mm.

In 1968, Dan Wesson started his company in an old schoolhouse in Monson, Mas-sachusetts. He was proud of his

accomplishments in the revolver field, and I don’t believe he ever imagined his name would grace a 1911. If he were alive to witness the progression of Dan Wesson pistols, he would have been as pleased with how they came out as I have been with this one.

Thanks To The weighT and shorTer grip, iT is easier To carry This gun concealed.

The CCO sports a lightweight hammer and tritium-filled ramped night sights. The dehorned grasping grooves on the slide are perfectly executed.

AccurAcy results

Bullet Velocity Standard Avg GroupType (gr.) (fps) Deviation (in.)

Remington MC 230 817 6 2.00

Winchester FMJ 185 839 9 3.25

Winchester JHP 230 853 17 1.75

Notes: Accuracy results are averages of three five-shot groups at 25 yards off a braced rest. Velocities are averages of 15 shots measured on an Oehler Model 35P chronograph set 10 feet from the muzzle. Temperature was 65 degrees. Abbreviations: FMJ, full metal jacket; JHP, jacketed hollowpoint; MC, metal case

DAN WessON ccO

TYPE: Recoil operated, semiauto CalibEr: .45 ACP CaPaCiTY: 7+1 barrEl: 4.25 in. OvErall lEngTh: 8 in. WEighT: 1.62 lb. griPS: Laser engraved cocobolo FiniSh: Matte black, ceramic Duty TriggEr: Aluminum, nonadjustable,

3.5 lb. (tested) SighTS: Three dot, tritium

The match-grade barrel is mated to a stainless, well-polished and beveled bushing. The slide is finished in a black-ceramic Duty coating used on CZ handguns.

It’s been over a decade since CZ-USA

began importing Turkish-made

shotguns from the Anatolian concern of

Huglu. They pretty much run the gamut of

action type—side-by-side, over/under and

even the gas-operated autoloader.

A NEW MODELThe CZ 712 Adjustable is a solid, no-frills,

three-inch chambered 12-gauge field gun

with a 28-inch chrome-line barrel and a

“lighter-than it feels” 7.6-pound curb weight,

a byproduct, no doubt, of its anodized alloy

receiver and the fact that the action return

spring assembly is in the fore-end rather than

the stock.

What sets the 712 Adjustable apart from

the standard walnut-stocked 712 is an

adjustable, recoil-reducing synthetic stock

system from ATI. The ATI Akita stock not

only permits four positions between 12 and

14 inches of length of pull, but the cheek

rest also affords the shooter a choice of

comb height. This stock is manufactured

specifically for the CZ 712 by ATI. Because

no action parts are located in the stock,

the 712 is the only semiauto shotgun on

the market to accept such an aftermarket

stock. When drawing a bead on the target,

up against the shoulder pocket is the

removable ATI Scorpion buttpad. This pad

is engineered with unique recoil-absorbing

material from PolyOne.

Dave Miller, project manager for CZ-USA

indicates, “Originally the idea was to employ

a user-friendly tactical shotgun stock on a

sporting gun. I saw that as a pretty good idea

for women and kids. It has a tremendous

amount of drop and toe, and the high comb

is ideal for women who often have difficulty

getting their head down on the stock.”

Actually, women and kids aren’t the only

ones who can benefit from an adjustable

stock. Larger, adult male shooters often need

a shorter than normal stock if they’re wearing

heavy clothes (think waterfowl or late-season

pheasant) or are obliged to shoot from

unorthodox “field-expedient” positions.

Since the action return spring is located

up front with the gas system rather than in

the stock, the ATI Akita stock simply bolts

on as if the 712 were a pump. Actually, the

term “simply” kind of clouds the issue. It

was necessary for ATI to design an 6061 T6

aluminum adapter that helps to marry the

stock and the receiver.

The 712 Adjustable was conceived as a

straight-ahead sporting gun. Fine by me. I like

busting clays as much as the next guy, but

when I do—whether I’m shooting skeet, trap

or sporting clays—I like to use something that

is—first and foremost—a hunting gun.

RANGE DAYEverybody wants to run the table on a

round of skeet, but I’ve always viewed it

as a tune-up for birds. I’m happy to drop a

few clays shooting from a low-gun position

with a real-world smoothbore if it’ll lessen

the chances of me embarrassing myself on

the dove opener, or during a cornfield push

for pheasant.

So a couple of the staff decided to join me

in shooting the Model 712 Adjustable at our

local Skeet range. The ammo? Federal Gold

Medal 12 gauge featuring one ounce of No. 8

shots backed by 3¼ drams.

This range day struck me as a fairly

democratic arrangement. Eric Poole, editor

of InterMedia Outdoors’ special interest

magazines, is taller and longer-armed than

I am. Gloria Shytles, managing editor, is

smaller, shorter-armed and new at the skeet

game. I’m in the middle, which, I figured,

would provide a good indication of the

adjustable stock merits of this 712. We shot

two rounds apiece of Skeet in exceedingly

blustery fall conditions.

The 712 Adjustable ran through its paces

flawlessly. Recoil was negligible, and reports

from the field indicate that, even with three-

inch magnums, the recoil is, if not pleasant,

at least tolerable—which speaks well of the

ATI recoil pad. Simply depressing an oval

button on the stock’s underside unlocks it,

allowing the user to set the desired length.

Despite the fact that the clays were at the

mercy of strong intermittent gusts, we had

a blast. Since Eric had been cleaning my

clock on the pistol range, I kind of figured it

was time to get even. He’s essentially a rifle

and handgun guy, so I figured he’d go into

vapor lock with a shotgun. Unfortunately,

he’d just taken a wingshooting course which

stresses a low gun position, a fast (almost

delayed) mount and a compressed swing.

Not to mention a total, almost Zen-like focus

on the target.

After Eric smoked the first five or six

birds, I knew it wasn’t going to be a walk-

through. But I’d shot this range before and

finally managed to catch up with him on the

straight overhead No. 8 station. No. 8 is a

place where, if you have to think about what

you’re doing, you’ve already missed—which

is exactly what he did. I didn’t.

Overall, everyone concerned acquit-

ted themselves well. And so did the 712

Adjustable.

CZ 712 ADJUSTABLE

By PAYTON MILLER

A “ONE SIZE FITS ALL” SOLUTION TO THE FAMILY SHOTGUN.

FAMILY AFFAIRA

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He nodded, leveled the .505, and pulled the trigger (this would have made good film). In concert with the concussive blast, the muzzle went vertical. The man staggered and lost his footing, landing hard. Like a baton, the 11-pound rifle soared through the air, end-over-end.

I retrieved the rifle while the fellow picked himself up. “Golly,” he grinned sheepishly. No harm to anything but his pride, I decided. Certainly none to the CZ 550.

IN THE FIELDMy first hunt with a 550 dates years ago. The rifle, a 9.3x62, downed a mountain goat and a moose in British Columbia with Norma ammo loaded with 250-grain Swift A-Frames. Equipped with a 4X Ca-bela’s Alaskan Guide scope, it shot the Swifts flatter than traditional 286-grain softpoints. The goat was scrambling away at 220 yards when the first bullet struck. The second landed as the billy halted at 250.

The moose appeared, as moose often do, between the chalk arcs of its antlers far away. We sneaked through a maze of alder, willow and spruce. The bull rose when we got inside 40 steps, then dropped dead to my shot through its shoulders. Still with me, this CZ 550 has one crossbolt behind the magazine, a fore-end with reverse-angle tip that

on current rifles has been upgraded to round. For hunting in a remote place, where durability and reliability matter, it remains a go-to rifle.

Later I carried a 550 in .30-’06 with Federal ammo to hunt deer on the prairie. It endeared itself to me, a solid rifle with the checkered walnut and long extractor I covet and the heft to make slinged-up prone as steady as sandbags on a concrete bench.

THE ACTIONThe CZ 550 is essentially a modified Mauser, so its action has a muscular double-square-bridge profile. It looks, and is, as rugged as an ar-mored personnel carrier. You fasten a scope with mounts that clamp on to integral 19mm dovetails front and rear. The big, flat footprint of the receiver makes for plenty of bedding area and epoxy bedding ensures full contact at recoil lug faces on the most powerful 550s. Magnums have a second, barrel-mounted lug that bears against a steel stock insert to distribute thrust. The fore-end screw and double crossbolts on these rifles are absent on CZ 550s chambered to less potent rounds.

The traditional two-lug bolt on the 550 features a full-length Mauser extractor and controlled-round feed. A fixed ejector emerges from a slot below the left locking lug

He loaded up as if the rifle were a .30-’06, thumbing the cigar-size .505 Gibbs rounds onto the follower as if he’d done it every day. In fact, he had never fired a rifle this powerful. I suggested he stand, rather than bench it.

CZ 550Brawn

By WAYNE VAN ZWOLL

THE BANK-VAULT BOLT-ACTION OF THE CZ 550 IS THE STANDARD.

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cz-usa.com60



as the bolt reaches the end of its throw. A Winchester Model 70-style bolt stop arrests the left lug. The two-position thumb safety locks striker and bolt. The adjustable

trigger is CZ’s own, a single-set mechanism you can ignore or push forward to set the trigger for a lighter pull. All-steel bottom metal includes a one-piece guard

bow and magazine housing, and a hinged floorplate secured by a button in front of the guard.

Most CZ 550s are stocked in plain American walnut, either in

the Czech Republic with imported wood or stateside after the bar-reled action arrives at the Kansas City headquarters of CZ-USA. Laminated wood is an option; so is Kevlar-reinforced fiberglass (with aluminum bedding block).

SAFARI-STYLEThe brawny profile and construction of the 550 complement accurate barrels. Even the bigbores, I’ve found, print small groups. The Safari Classic is as fancy as the 550 gets and is chambered for traditional Africa-inspired rounds—the .404 Jeffery, .450 Rigby, .500 Jeffery and .505 Gibbs—as well as for the .300 H&H and .338 Winchester, .338 Lapua, .375 H&H and .416 Reming-ton. A mercury recoil reducer in the buttstock is standard on rifles in .500 Jeffery, .505 Gibbs and .338 Lapua. Safari Classics, which start at around $3,000, feature trued and lapped actions glass-bedded into figured walnut. Iron sights and barrelband front are standard. You can add options including a muz-zlebrake, rust blue, ebony fore-end tip and special chamberings.

The CZ Safari Magnums cham-bered in .375 H&H, .458 Win-chester, .458 Lott and .416 Rigby list for half as much as the Safari Classics. Besides a more limited choice of chamberings, Safari Mag-

nums feature fore-end-mounted swivel studs and plain walnut. (Laminated and Kevlar-fiberglass stocks are available, too.) You can buy a .375 Field Grade for just $1,180. I’ve used Federal’s Trophy Bonded .375s on animals as big as buffalo. A professional hunter who culled elephants with a .375 told me he preferred it to a .458 because “hurling 500-grain solids makes my head hurt. Also, I get as much penetration with the .375—some-times more.” A CZ 550 in .375 holds a capacity advantage over most of its competitors: The magazine takes five belted magnums. I also like the 25-inch barrel. It enhances the cosmetics and balance, and puts muzzle blast a comfortable distance from your face. Barrel contours on bigbore CZ rifles are just right, though the stocks are a tad generous. These rifles point quickly, but hang well on target. They’re stout, but not ponderous.

On most CZ Safari rifles, a bar-relband front sight complements a

trio of rear leaves, two folding. Their shallow V notches feature white center lines for fast aim. And the company offers 15 heights and sizes of front sights, so you can tailor the irons for any load you want.

At 9½ pounds, the CZ 550 in .375 is no mountain rifle. But that heft makes it more civil at the bench and helps with offhand aim when you’re out of breath shadowing a Zambian tracker who’d qualify for the Boston Marathon running backward. Weight also contributes to ac-curacy. My handloads—300-grain Herter softpoints launched at 2,420 fps by 81 grains of H4831—printed inside 1¼ inches. My friends Sam Shaw and Rich McClure got similar results. In fact, the CZ shot the smallest groups of four .375s on the line that afternoon. Thank the hammer-forged barrel and, of course, that single-set trigger, which broke at 2¾ pounds as-is and one pound when set. I’ve cradled and shot just about every CZ rifle, from the 452 rimfire to the UHR (Ultimate Hunting Rifle). The UHR is an eight-pound 550 with a 24-inch barrel in .300 Winchester Magnum. Designed for accuracy at extreme range, it comes with a one-MOA guarantee at 600 yards. I hung a bullseye at 500, hiked back to the line and snugged up the sling. Despite a cold wind, my five-shot volley centered in the black with a respectable group.

The .375 Safari Magnum had years earlier instilled dreams of long grass and crinkled footprints the size of manhole covers. Still, I had yet to get cozy with a bigbore Safari Classic. Jason Morton of CZ-USA took care of that with a beautifully stocked rifle in .404 Jeffery.

But that’s another story…

ThE BrAWNY prOfiLE ANd cONsTrucTiON Of ThE 550 cOmpLEmENT AccurATE BArrELs. EVEN ThE BigBOrEs, i’VE fOuNd, priNT smALL grOups.

The 527 M1 American handled bullets as heavy as the Remington 62-grain match—and put them into a ⁄ -inch group.

For riflemen who practice their skill on coyotes, the 527 M1 excels. It’s nimble and deadly accurate.

CZ’s 550 American Safari Magnum (top) costs considerably less than the Safari Magnum Express (above).

Even with ancient handloads, this CZ .375 prints one-MOA groups. Thank the hammer-forged barrel.

CZ’s Ultimate Hunting Rifle, a 550 in .300 Win. Mag., drilled this group at 500 yards.

W hile best known for its big iron, CZ-USA offers a lovely light-

weight bolt action for small cartridges. The 527 I pur-chased a few years back is chambered in .221 Fireball, one of my favorite car-tridges. The newest of 527s, the M1 American, features

the straight-combed stock shooters in the U.S. pre-fer, a 22-inch barrel and a

detachable three-shot box magazine. Choose a walnut stock, black synthetic or, on the Ul-

tralight Predator, camo-finished synthetic. Weight is just under six pounds.

I snared a 527 M1 for testing a few weeks ago. It wears attractive straight-grained walnut, nicely checkered. The comb height

is just right for a Weaver K6 mounted low. Alas, CZ-sup-

Push the trigger forward to set it for a 14-ounce pull. The safety is off when thumbed back.

SVELTE SMALLBORE

plied rings hike my 4.5-14X Weaver Grand Slam well above the barrel and pull my cheek from the stock.

You can also get rings for CZ rifles from Talley, where Gary Turner offers quick-detachable versions so that you can easily remove a scope for travel or iron-sight use. And you can replace it with no loss of zero. I snugged the screws and scrounged ammo.

A February storm left the range frozen under drifted snow, so after checking trigger pull (2¾ pounds, crisp, with a set weight of 12 ounc-es), I impatiently waited for a thaw.

Prepared to run a few magazines through this rifle and write with manufactured enthusiasm about another .223 in a world awash in .223s, I was instead truly smit-ten. The 527 M1 American handled

as if I’d been born cradling it. The trigger broke with such crisp consis-tency that I didn’t bother to set it.

The perfect match of action size to cartridge dimensions impressed me. No extra steel here, but nei-ther did the rifle seem awkwardly spare. It had the appeal of those early .22 rimfires no one born after Dwight Eisenhower’s presidency can quite remember. It was, in a word, enchanting.

And that was before I fired it. Two of my first groups measured 3⁄8 inch. And the 1:12 twist de-livered half-MOA accuracy with bullets as heavy as Remington’s 62-grain match.

CZ 527 M1 AMERICAN

TYPE: Bolt action CAlIbER: .223 Remington CAPACITY: 3+1 (detachable box) bARREl: 22 in. OvERAll lEngTH: 40.5 in. WEIgHT: 5 lb., 14 oz. STOCk: Walnut FInISH: Blued TRIggER: Single set, adjustable SIgHTS: None (drilled and tapped for

scope mounts)

By MIKE SCHOBY I Photos by SEAN UTLEY

THE CZ 912 auToloadEr is puT To THE ulTimaTE fiEld TEsT: 2,000 rounds on argEnTina dovEs.

Endurance RunCZ 912

The mark of a good shotgun comes in many forms: fit, feel, style, grace, weight, and balance are just a few of the more important ones. But when it comes to

semiauto shotguns, reliability trumps them all. To put it another way, no matter how good a gun points, balances or looks, if it fails to go bang, or only goes bang once before jamming up, it isn’t worth much. With an extended reliability field test in mind, i headed down to Cordoba, argentina to test out the newest autoloading offering from CZ-usa—the 912.





at first glance, the 912 fits all of my requirements for style and function. The high gloss walnut furniture is finished nicely and has a better-than-average figure. The receiver is crafted from alloy, which reduces overall weight as well as shifting the point of balance slightly forward to improve swing and follow through. at 7.4 pounds, the gun is no featherweight, but no obese bruiser either. in fact, it’s nearly ideal for a day of hunting or sporting clays.

on the first morning, the doves flew well. it had been a couple of years since my last trip to argen-tina, so i was not only trigger happy,

but rusty—a poor combination for the trial of a gun. But over the course of several hours, i managed to run 750 shells through the 912 doing my best to look like i knew how to bring down wildfowl. i won’t bore you (or embarrass myself) with the hit percentage, but let’s just say the gun functioned fine—misses (of which there were many) should be blamed on the shooter (me) and not the gun. in the three cases of shells, i only had a handful of fail-ures to feed, none of which could be attributed to the gun. in all cases the failure could easily be blamed on the horrible shells acquired in argentina. Bulged plastic hulls,

the first, except i shot better. i was getting accustomed to this shotgun and the angles of incoming targets. When we broke for lunch i had put another 750 rounds through the 912, making for a complete field test of 2,000 shells.

The gun passed with flying colors. it shot well and cycled fine. of course, during the last 200 shells i observed the opera-tion begin to slow in its return to battery. The gas system was beginning to succumb to relentless fouling from the filthy ammunition and lack of oil. in these last few boxes, there was an occasional failure to feed, but much of this has to be blamed on the shells. Even the ones that weren’t physically damaged were dirty, leaving more gunk per shell in the gun than an entire box of faithful federals or Winchesters. Two-thousand shells fired in a day and a half. any gun loaded with this ammo is going to choke, so i was impressed.

all-in-all, the CZ 912 is a hell of an autoloader. it has stylish modern looks and is joined with high-tech features such as an effective recoil-absorbing pad. Best of all, the 912 meets a real world price of less than $500 and has the one feature i cherish the most: it goes “bang” every time.

WHEN WE BrOKE fOr LUNCH I HAd PUT ANOTHEr 750 rOUNdS THrOUgH THE 912, MAKINg fOr A COMPLETE fIELd TEST Of 2,000 SHELLS.

More doves were shot at than actually hit, but the CZ 912 assuredly fired every shell true.

CZ 912

TYPE: gas operated, semiauto GAUGE: 12, 3 in. CAPACiTY: 4+1 BArrEl: 28 in., five screw-in chokes OvErAll lEnGTh: 50 in. WEiGhT: 7.3 lb. FUrniTUrE: Turkish walnut Finish: matte black, hard chrome TriGGEr: single, 8 lb. (tested) siGhTs: green fiber optic (front)

and severed brass cases should not be included in the failure to feed category as they wouldn’t have fed in a break open single shot, let alone an autoloader.

That afternoon, i got my eye in and got used to the swing (made a tad heavy, but smooth with an “argentina-style” extended maga-zine) and fired another 500 rounds, for a total of 1,250 shells expended. normally, i clean guns every night as a matter of preventive main-tenance, but for this evaluation, i decided to forgo the effort in cleaning to see how the 912 would perform under such conditions. The following morning was just like

FREE OF WORKThis was my first trip to Africa, but the fourth ticket I had bought in as many years. Work obligations had snatched the dream from me for three consecutive summers. This year, I was not to be denied.

When my feet hit ground of the Dark Continent, I was on the soil of South Africa, ready to head eight hours northwest to the Kalahari, as the guests of Harry Claassens’ Mata Mata hunting lodge. Mata Mata literally translates “If you give, you will receive.”

Four years of planning and three disappointing cancellations later, it was surreal to actually be in-country.

Just four weeks earlier, I had chosen the CZ 550 chambered in .30-’06 for this trip of a lifetime. Kevin Steele, publisher of Petersen’s Hunting, assured me with his personal experience that it was the perfect rifle for my plains game adventure. I liked the idea of using a rifle ruggedly proven on every con-ceivable animal roaming the land.

The 550 was adorned with a classic 4X Weaver steel tube. I don’t consider myself a rifleman—not by any stretch of the imagination. I’m much more

comfortable with a recurve bow and sharp sticks. And while I had brought my pet Hoyt and Dalaa recurve bows along for the trip, I didn’t want to be cooped up in blind for a week over-looking a waterhole on my first trip to Africa. I wanted my boots in the sand of the Kalahari. I wanted to see, hear, and smell as much of this experience as I could take in.

RANGE CHECKSighting in and using Hornady 180-grain SST, my first group off the bench was astonishing. I have the privilege of working with some of the finest rifle shots in our industry: Scott Rupp, editor of Rifle Shooter magazine; Joseph VonBenedikt, editor of Shooting Times; Mike Schoby and Craig Boddington of Petersen’s Hunting; Eric Poole editor of InterMedia Special Inter-est Publications; David Fortier of Shotgun News, and many others. All accomplished rifleman in every sense of the description and all eager to lend advice, instruction and encouragement as I prepared for the trip. Peering through the spotting scope at the target some 100 yards

African DreamsA .30-’06 DElIVERS ANoTHER MEMoRABlE quEST To THE DARK CoNTINENT.

By MIKE CARNEY I Photos by JOHN HAFNER

s the mass of gemsbok thundered out into the open through a cloud of dust, lafras, my PH, barked sharp instructions: “Mike! Third in from the right. Shoot!”

I asked, “Third in from the right? “Which group?” “The far right,” he hissed. “Shoot now!” I was more than a little hesitant. All I could see of the animal third from the right was hind. To be more specific, only part of the hind, in what looked like a sea of gemsbok—and they all looked like shooters.

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CZ 550

distant, their unselfish investment in my shooting instruction was starting to appear. My first group measured just over an honest inch, something heretofore I was incapable of producing with any rifle.

Was it an aberration? Groups two, three, four and five demonstrated otherwise, consistently hovering an inch. The 550 was definitely proving itself to be a shooter. Furthermore, it delivered these results without the use of this model’s set trigger. The CZ single set trigger is designed to reduce trigger pull to ounces. And the break is as crisp as glass breaking. Continuing with a variety of Hornady and Federal .30-’06 loads in 165- and 180-grain weights, I was producing groups at the bench that would make my instructors proud. It was hard to come up with a load that the 550 favored over others, but at the end I selected the heavier 180-grain Hornady SST to take on my hit list: kudu, gemsbok and eland.

BREAKING THE SHOTAs I felt lafras’ growing frustra-tion with my unwillingness to let lead fly back on the savannah, I remembered what Steele had told me weeks earlier: “Be prepared to shoot at only parts of an animal. opportunities at specific trophies in the bush are fast and fleeting, and you will have an accomplished tracker on hand if you need a follow up shot.” Still, for a boy from the Midwest who grew up on the double-lung mantra, ass shooting an animal just doesn’t come natural. When in Rome…

Even through the sound of the moving herd, I knew I hit the gemsbok exactly where I aimed. lafras and the tracker were gleeful, “Nice shot Mike, get in the truck.” It was as if they were waiting all day to show off their collective recovery skills. Ten minutes later, laughing to

myself as they methodically shuffled through a veritable ocean of tracks in the sand with no discernable clues, the tracker pointed West.

“There he is Mike. Shoot him again,” lafras instructed.

Standing broadside, the gems-bok was alone 100 yards from my position. I couldn’t see the right ham where I previously aimed the 550 and placed a Hornady SST. “Are you sure that’s him?” I questioned. Evidently, that’s not the thing to say to a PH and his tracker who just solved the Rubix Cube of tracks to earn you a follow up shot.

I don’t speak Afrikaans, but I was pretty certain that their response was an enthusiastic “yes” peppered with colorful adjectives and col-loquialisms reserved for just such client occasions.

The next shoulder shot laid the gemsbok prone, and lafras and his tracker approached the animal very seriously. They applied a well rehearsed foot maneuver to trap his long, pointy horns to the ground.

Apparently the gemsbok has a deserved reputation for exacting final vengeance on his foes. The “Desert Warrior” is not one to be trifled with during recovery.

lafras offered me hearty congratulations while his tracker wagged his finger to simulate pull-ing a trigger while whistling some not-so-sweet nothings. My first

African trophy. I thought I would wake from a dream and discover I was not actually here.

In camp that evening, Harry and his wife Jolane, a former stewardess for South African Airlines, greeted us with smiles and stories as we looked at all the day’s trophies already hang-

ing by the cleaning station. It was a great end to the first day on safari.

OTHER TROPHIESDuring our five-day trip, Brian lisankie from Aimpoint took a beauti-ful zebra, blesbok, impala and gems-bok; Michael Kinn of Federal took the same quartet; Jason Hornady bagged a magnificent gemsbok; Tom “one-Shot” Taylor of Mossberg checked in a gorgeous red harte-beest, a gemsbok, blue wildebeest and a kudu; And Rick Bednar took a magnificent eland, warthog and a kudu at 35 yards with a 10-Point crossbow. later in the safari, my 550 downed a massive kudu, an impala and finally I grassed a fat warthog with my recurve bow.

Jason Morton, CZ-uSA marketing director, was on point during safari with Kevin Steele filming an episode of “Petersen’s Hunting Adventures TV.” The pair managed to collect a great show featuring eland, red hartebeest and kudu trophies.

The accommodations and profes-sionalism of the Mata Mata staff, from the skilled PH’s and trackers to the game butchers and cleaners, is first class. I look forward to the next African safari as well as the day I can bring my wife and daughter. Without question, it’ll be at Claassens’ Mata Mata and when that time comes, we’ll be joined by my faithful CZ 550.

“ THERE HE Is MIKE. sHOOT HIM AgAIN,” LAFRAs INsTRuCTEd. sTANdINg BROAdsIdE, THE gEMsBOK wAs ALONE 100 YARds FROM MY POsITION.

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Longslide

Angus Hobdell has been shooting IPSC and USPSA for decades. He’s won more U.S. and international titles than anyone can easily recall. In addition to the fact that he’s still actively competing as a sponsored CZ shooter, he operates CZ Custom (czcustom.com) in Phoenix, Arizona. CZ Custom does all of the custom pistolwork for CZ-USA and any CZ owner who wants specific work done. In addition to custom gun-smithing, Angus and his crew work very closely with CZ-UB of the Czech Republic and CZ-USA in Kansas City, Missouri. Each year the custom shop produces a number of one-off or limited-run guns, and sometimes those models make it into the CZ-USA catalog of new offerings.

This year, one of the new models from the custom shop is the CZ 75 Longslide (LS). The LS was created by combining the CZ 75 frame wear-ing a short dustcover to the long CZ Tactical Sports (CTS) slide. There are two models: the “B,” which is single-action only, and the CZ 75 LS-P, which is a DA/SA pistol. While they are being produced in-house at CZ Custom, they will be available soon through any CZ dealer. I acquired an LS-P for testing and was reminded again why this all-steel gun is still so successful in competition.

By JAMES TARR I Photos by SEAN UTLEY

BORING RELIABILITY AND EXCELLENT ACCURACY IN ANY PACKAGE FROM THE CZ CUSTOM SHOP.

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The CZ 75 LS-P is chambered in 9mm and starts with a standard steel CZ 75 frame. If you’ve never picked up a CZ 75, you don’t know what you’re missing. The late Guns & Ammo contributor Col. Jeff Cooper loved the 75. With its dis-tinctive humpback grip, he liked the feel of this CZ in his hand so much so that he styled the legendary Bren Ten 10mm auto after it. This frame is slightly undercut under the triggerguard and utilizes a high-rise beavertail, but there’s no 1911-style grip safety.

The CZ 75 has been in existence since 1975—long enough that there are numerous aftermarket grips available to fit every style and hand size. The preproduction LS-P I received wears traditional check-ered and contoured black plastic grips, but Angus informed me that the standard grips would be black rubber. The custom shop also offers a number of aluminum grips of vary-ing thickness that also look and feel great in the hand.

The front of the triggerguard is serrated, but the front and back of the frame are smooth. In a small or stiff-recoiling gun, a smooth frame might be an issue, but the weight of the LS-P matched with its low bore dimensions provides a soft shooting

There are not many custom shops, large or small, that can say they’re run by an active world-class pistol competitor. That is the case, however, with Angus Hobdell and CZ Custom. The result is a

seemingly endless supply of interesting variations on legendary CZ products.

CZ 75 CTS LS-P

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combination. It didn’t feel like the gun could ever work loose in my hand. This is not a small gun, and it has a long reach for the first double action shot, so if you do have small hands I’d recommend trying one first.

Designed for competition and target shooting, the LS-P has an extended magazine release and ex-tended, ambidextrous thumb safety. The thumb safety is not too large, but it does protrude. It sticks out far enough that dropping the pistol on its side won’t pop out the magazine, as it’s larger than the maga-zine release button. I’ve seen this happen more times than I can count in competition, especially when the pistol in question has a light maga-zine-release spring. On the Longslide, the mag-release spring is full power.

It wouldn’t be a CZ Custom Shop product if the pistol didn’t have a trigger job.

The LS-P I received had a smooth 7.7-pound double-action and a 3.8-pound single-action pull. Advertised trigger pulls are seven to 7.5 pounds for DA and 3.1 to 3.4 pounds for SA. This great trigger can be partially credited to the fact that all internals have been polished smooth.

The LS-P can be carried like a 1911—Condition One, cocked and

locked. Personally, I don’t find the thumb safety to be as user-friendly for that purpose as the ones found on modern 1911s so you should prac-tice with this pistol before making a complete transition. CZ Custom has replaced the standard recoil and hammer springs with reduced-power springs, which greatly soften the trig-ger pull and cut down on muzzle dip

during rapid fire, but combine with the extended firing pin installed in the pistol, it does not affect reliability. The pistol sports an attractive skeletonized hammer that is a bit small for easy cock-ing by hand. As there is no decocker, the only way the hammer can be lowered on a live round for a DA first shot is by hand, and this small hammer spur makes that a delicate proposition.

The trigger is smooth and wide. There was a lot of takeup in my gun on the

single-action pull, but the reset was short and audible. There was almost no overtravel. I could see that both the hammer and the underside of the slide had been ground and polished to provide a smooth working gun. Several CZ 75 models have firing-pin safeties, but those extra parts always affect the weight and quality of the trigger pull. As the LS-P is designed for competition, it does not feature an internal firing-pin safety, but the hammer does have a half-cock notch.

The standard CZ 75 has a 4.7-inch barrel, while the longslide sports a 5.4-inch barrel.

As a result, the long slides come into the U.S. oversize and have to be precision machined and then hand-fit to the frame. The CZ 75, with its inside-the-frame slide design, is designed to be completely interchangeable, but the CTS was designed for a different gun, so these are the only CZ pistols that you’ll find with a hand-fitted slide. While not as

tight as a custom-built Dan Wesson 1911, the slide-to-frame fit on the LS is excellent. There’s almost zero play.

The preproduction example I received had a stainless steel recoil-spring guide rod, but production models will have a polymer guide rod “to reduce cost on a gun that’s al-ready expensive due to hand-fitting,” Hobdell explained.

The undercut post front sight has a red fiber optic insert, and the rear sight is the CZ version of the justifi-ably renowned Bo-Mar adjustable Champion. I would have preferred a larger notch, as there was not a lot of daylight around the front sight, but that’s just my personal preference.

Longslide guns are all the rage in modern action-pistol competition, as the increased sight radius helps competitors hit those difficult targets more quickly. The top of the slide has been flattened and serrated. This is ostensibly done to reduce glare, but if you’ve got a proper sight picture, you can’t see the top of the

slide. Some competitors go for any advantage they can get, perceived or real.

Not too long ago, I had an op-portunity to spend a couple of days visiting the CZ Custom Shop in Phoenix. Angus Hobdell is a trans-planted Brit who relocated after his native government outlawed all the “dangerous” guns he made a living shooting and working on. He loved the Phoenix area and set up shop. Hobdell employs five people, includ-ing a machinist from South Africa. He and Hobdell began good-naturedly insulting each other in Afrikaans while I was standing by. Everyone who works in the shop shoots, including Rob, who’s a USPSA GrandMaster. Between the Afri-kaans, Hobdell’s attempt to teach me Cockney rhyming slang and Rob’s Jersey accent, I felt like I needed a Universal Translator.

“The problem is I’m speaking in English, but you’re listening in American,” Hobdell explains.

IT woULdN’T BE A CZ CUSToM ShoP PRodUCT If ThE PISToL dIdN’T hAvE A TRIggER JoB.

CZ 75 CTS LS-P

TYPE: DA/SA semiauto CalibEr: 9mm Luger CaPaCiTY: 19 barrEl: 5.4 in.OvEralllEngTh: 8.7 in. WEighT: 41 oz. griPs: Rubber Finish: Blued TriggEr: Double action: 7 lb., 12

oz.; single action: 3 lb., 13 oz. (tested)

sighTs: Red fiber optic (front), Kensight adjustable (rear)

75

Controlsareverylowprofileandbeveledtoreducesnags.Thesafetyprotrudesmorethanthemagazinerelease.

Thegripsonproductionmodelsaremoldedrubberwithtactilecheckering.

likea1911,theCZ75CTsls-Pcanbecarried“cockedandlocked”andoperatedwitheitherhand.

Thespring-poweredextractorfollowsthecontourofthefamiliarejectionportreliefcutonthisCZ75.

As opposed to most of the automat-ics Americans are familiar with, the frame of the CZ 75 rides inside the frame rails as opposed to the outside like other semiautos. This makes for a very narrow slide. Combined with the low bore, this design reduces the amount of slide available to grip, so I was pleased to see that the slide on the CTS LS-P was serrated both front and back for positive manipulation.

The LS-P arrives with two extended 19-round magazines—a definite plus. Standard CZ 75 magazines hold 17 rounds of 9mm and fit flush with the frame. Like other CZ 75 magazines, these drop free from the gun and have black plastic followers to consistently

guide the stored rounds. The pistols are function-fired at the CZ Custom Shop and are supplied with a test target. My sample came with a target illustrating a five-shot, 1.2-inch group fired at 25 yards.

At the range there were no sur-prises—boring reliability and excellent accuracy. It was interesting to note

how many shooters asked me, “Hey, what’s that?”

The fiber optic front sight works well indoors and glows as brightly as a battery-powered red dot sight in direct sunlight.

As CZ Custom is a true custom shop, the shop can build you a model cham-bered in .40 S&W or one that’s tricked out for fastest practical shooting event. They can add aluminum

grips, a magwell—almost anything you can desire.

Hobdell’s plans are to get the CZ 75 CTS LS-P approved for use in the IPSC Production Division, which is ironically dominated by the CZ 75 SP-01. Whether you compete or not, this is a longslide that looks great and shoots even better.

My saMple caMe with a target illustrating a five-shot, 1.2-inch group fired at 25 yards.

accuracy results Bullet Weight Avg. Velocity Standard Make (gr.) (fps) Deviation Group (in.)

Hornady 147 XTP 147 944 17 1.8

Black Hills FMJ 115 1,103 15 2.1

Hornady TAP/FPD 124 1,089 13 1.9

Accuracy results are the averages of four five-shot groups at 25 yards from a sandbag rest.Velocities are averages of 10 shots measured with an F-1 Alpha chronograph 12 feet from the muzzle.


CZ-USA is making efforts to get the CZ 75 CTS LS-P approved for use in the IPSC Production Division.

The CZ 75 CTS LS-P features a light-gathering fiber optic front sight. The top of the slide is serrated to reduce glare.

Documents

Ceska Zbrojovka. Yearbook 2012