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"Hasn't this been out for a while?" Yes, yes it has. This review was selected via Patron vote and was Patron funded. If you enjoy reviews free of industry reliance, and would like to see something specific reviewed please consider becoming a Patron of GBGuns. Patrons see videos when they're uploaded; days to months before they are public on YouTube and when the funding has reached a usable level the Patrons select what will be purchased and reviewwd with it.
Why A CZ75-BD? As stated above, this review was for the Patrons. They had voiced, "something classic" and we bracketed down to a runoff between a Sig P226 and a CZ 75 variant. Obviously a CZ 75 variant won and as I was about to jump on an SP-01 I was reminded that it needed to be classic so I compromised and got a "BD" model which is the decocker model of the semi-updated "B" model.
What is it? The CZ 75 BD is an all-steel, DA/SA duty-sized gun. As a "classic" pistol this was designed long before standardized accessory rails or red dot optics became a requirement for a handgun. Despite the all-steel construction, these are available at a reasonable price thanks in part to nearly 50 years of production and designs and original tooling coming from communist era Czechoslovakia. Overall design borrows from the Browning High Power, but the slide rides inside the frame creating a visually shorter slide.
Who's It For? In short, these days this is a pistol for someone of a particular taste. At just over 35oz this is not the lightest pistol for carry, but the DA/SA with a decocker lends itself well to carry. No red dot, no rail for lights, the CZ 75 BD is a classic handgun configuration. With a set of night sights I could see it serving as a bedside gun or duty gun for those who have practiced or are unlikely to need a weapon-mounted light. CZ USA defines the CZ 75 BD's purpose as being "home defense".
Those who appreciate historical firearms, or are well-trained in classic pistol fighting will find this to be a quality pistol.
Slide-in-Frame? This CZ 75 trait, ironically, was one of the early misconceptions that inspired me to being YouTubing. It was long said that the shorter slide meant that these pistols had a lower bore axis. That is incorrect. The slide is no shorter than most other slides, we simply see less of it because the slide rides inside the frame instead of outside. A positive of this comes for those who like to shoot with their thumbs high, or who have a habit of letting their thumbs rub against the slide. The major negative is that it will require either small hands or additional training to get good at running the slide in a hurry. While Teya had no issue grabing it, my larger hands mean that one digit of a finger is longer than the slide is tall. As a result when I try to grab the slide, even with a deliberately shallow grab the pressure of my grip ends up on the frame instead of the slide. This is something that can be trained around, but will require learning time.
Take a Look at the CZ 75 BD in the tabletop video below. Please note that I deliberately ordered an anti-Constitution state compliant model as there have many complaints that such guns are never covered. Fortunately after nearly 50 years in production there are plenty of standard-capacity magazines available.
Specifications:
Product Name: CZ 75 BD – 9mm
SKU: 91130
MSRP: $649.00
Chambering: 9mm Luger
Magazine Capacity: 16
Magazine Type: Double Stack
Frame: Steel
Grips: Plastic
Trigger Mech: DA/SA
Sights: Fixed Three-Dot
Barrel: Cold Hammer Forged
Barrel Length: 4.6 in
Weight: 35.3 oz
Overall Length: 8.1 in
Height: 5.4 in
Width: 1.4 in
Safety: Decocking Lever, Safety Stop on Hammer, Firing Pin Block Safety
Pricing as of date article was written
Check links for current pricing
This was not my personal pick, as I personally don't like the slide-in-frame design of the CZ 75, but as you saw in the tabletop I was very impressed with the build quality and trigger feel of the CZ 75 BD. I was a bit concerned with how the beavertail felt ready to bite my hand under recoil, but perhaps the heavy weight of the pistol and longer slide would help soak up some of that. With a handful of aftermarket standard-capacity magazines in hand I hit the range for the standard GBGuns protocol:
Cold Shots: Truly the first rounds through the gun. No warm up, no practice.
Multi-Mag: With nearly 50 years of production, the CZ 75 magazine pattern is in wide use and so there are many aftermarket options. We bought a few to see how they worked.
Full Magazine +1: Suprisingly some modern guns still struggle with this. It's a test of how much play is in the magazine as well as how the slide cycles with pressure. This is also when I do my best to learn the trigger.
What's For Dinner™: A test to see what ammunition the gun will eat. Does the gun feed the round from slide lock, will it cycle and feed another round of the same type, does the slide lock to the rear on empty, and is there any notable point of impact change with different loads.
For this gun we used the following ammunition:
Priced and linked where found at the time this article was written
50gr +p Liberty Ammunution Civil Defense $28.99 / 20 at Bud's Gun Shop
70gr Federal Frangible $31.99 / 50 direct from Federal
115gr Winchester Silver Tip $16.56 / 20 at Firearms Depot
115gr Speer Gold Dot $26.59 / 20 at Sportsman's Guide
115gr Hornady American Gunner $18.35 / 25 at Global Ordnance
115gr Blazer Aluminum-cased FMJ $11.99 / 50 at True Shot
124gr Federal Premium Tactical HST $39.99 / 50 at Target Sports USA
124gr Federated Ordnance FMJ thanks to Ammo Squared
124gr PMC SFX JHP $22.99 / 20 at Bud's Gun Shop
147gr PPU Defense Line JHP $23.74 / 50 at Sportsman's Guide
165gr AMMO, Inc /stelTH $24.99 / 50 at Palmetto State Armory
Range Ammo was Browning 115gr FMJ $115 / 500 at Ammunition Depot
Sights & Trigger Control: on a 6" spinner target at a distance of 12 yards. We got this from Titan Great Outdoors and use it to gauge how learnable the trigger is and usable the sights are for forced, timed, precise shots.
Practical Accuracy: Five shots from a distance of seven yards at a one inch target. This isn't so much about printing a tight group as it is a culmination of our shooting experience and time for us to collect thoughts prior to making a conclusion.
After Shots: Final impressions and reflections from the range session.
The entire process for the CZ 75 BD can be seen in the Shooting Impressions video below:
Ammunition seen in our Shooting Impressions video was made possible by our Patrons and supporters of our ammunition savings account through Ammo Squared.
On the Range I was pleasantly surpised and am now even more greatful for our wonderful Patrons for selecting this pistol. The lack of malfunctions meant I didn't have to manipulate the slide much, and as I had hoped the weight soaked up enouch recoil that the beaver tail didn't bite me too much. I did end up with a tender spot on my hand, but not as bad as some other guns. The trigger is delightfully smooth in both single and double action and overall the gun is very easy to shoot.
If I were to make any change to the gun (basic end-user changes) I'd simply swap the sights for a set my fading eyes can better discern. Similar to the experience with the Bailistik Defence Adam 9b, on a heavy all-steel gun like this front strap texturing turned out to not be necessary, even when shooting on a hot and sweaty day.
I can see why the Patrons are fans of this gun and given its historical roles am happy to have it in the collection. I was also able to convince Teya to give it a try; her reactions can be seen in the short video below: