Any one own a CZ52?
 

Went to the gun store today to play with a Makarov that I want to buy. The Guy behind the counter showed me a CZ52. Big gun. Finish and machining were horrible, but what do you expect from an Eastern Block gun? Any opinions on it?

i owe a CZ but its not the 52, but i do really like the way it fires plus its got a fairly nice feel to it, but i've never seen one were the finish and machining were good, might want to check out one of there clons, machine is much better and its a lot cleaner

What do I expect from an Eastern Bloc gun? Depends on the particular country of origin, the company making it, and the era it was produced in. East German Makarovs, depending on the era, were some very nice pieces, produced with refitted tooling from Walther factories located in East Germany during WWII. Czechoslovakia is the home of CZ, maker of the piece you're asking about, and CZ makes some damn fine guns (some rather nice hunting rifles too). The CZ-75 is well-regarded as a seminal design in auto-pistols, and has a number of features that were copied for various Western guns. Hungary made probably the finest Kalishnikovs around, barring certain Russian factories (and such Kalishnikov derivatives as the Valmet and the Galil).

Now the CZ52 itself wasn't that great a gun. I found the ergonomics pretty awful and don't care for the calibres it is usually found in (and there are variants with different calibres out there). If you can find a CZ75, you will find a much better designed and built weapon, and it will serve as well as any other modern combat autopistol in its' price range, if not better. Fit and finish won't be up to standard of many Western manufacturers, but at the price you usually find CZ's, who cares? You should be more interested in how reliable it is and how well it shoots. It's too inexpensive to be pretty.

The big advantage to the CZ75 is the low bore height in comparison to your hand. It means that the axis of travel is close to the top of your fist producing much less muzzle flip than taller designs.

Thanks Moonduck. Off to research the CZ75 now.

If you can, look for a CZ85. Same gun, but with a few minor mods that make it worthwhile. The cost difference is negligible, and they may have simply absorbed the differences into the CZ75 and called it a day.

Basically, the 85 had three-dot sights and other minor upgrades like chamfering of the feed areas and such. Very minor stuff, but worthwhile considering the minimal price difference. The market on 75's can also occasionally be wierd. You can still find non-imports that were somehow brought in before it was legal for CZ to import. They can, for no apparent reason, be more expensive. 85's are all made after that issue was resolved.

Disclaimer: My CZ info is a few years old. You are right to do your research.