cz-52 any good? - The Firearms Forum

new sks 2005 · 01-29-2007, 01:41 PM

i was thinking about getting a cz-52 are they worth the money???

Mosin_Nagant_Fan · 01-29-2007, 01:58 PM

It's a good, reliable, and accurate pistol. It has a larger charge then a 9mm (7.62 Tok. is 7.62x25 and the 9mm Per. is 9x19mm), but the bullet is smaller. (9mm = .354 / 7.62 = ~.30)

The only problem I've heard is the original firing pin being somewhat fragile, where the tip breaks off, most imports have an aftermarket pin installed. You can also find new ones for cheap, mostly $25-30 new steel. Also, watch for surplus ammo, some have been reported to jam the in the barrel with the next round going in behind, making for a very hard extraction. I think it's mostly the pre-1980s kind that jams. (J&G, the ones I order my Mosin-Nagant ammo from, no longer carries it, it seems)

Anywho, just ask questions to whom you are buying from and you should be good to go.

mrmeval · 01-30-2007, 12:07 AM

It's 28+S&H
http://www.makarov.com/cart/52parts.htm

I'm not real thrilled with the other offerings unless I could disable the decocker completely. They are also very expensive.

Another way of fixing a broken firing pin is to mill a channel in the firing pin that has the tip broken off and silver solder in the right sized heat treated pin to replace the tip.

http://www.gswagner.com/cz52/cz52pin.html

LDBennett · 01-30-2007, 07:19 AM

Both my son-in-law and I have CZ-52's. I reload for them both. The gun is accurate, well made, and uses a unique bolt locking arrangement (roller locked). It is fun to shoot.

The word is "Don't dry fire it and firing pin will be fine".

The original surplus ammo that was out there was not for the CZ-52 but for a machine gun version of the same cartridge. It was way too hot. Hornady originally issued reloading data for it then later issued a warning that their data matched the machine gun ammo. They then re-issued the data at the correct lower levels. Some CZ-52's were broken using the machine gun ammo or reloads at the machine gun level. Hornady did their homework the second time and the data is now safe but DO NOT use the surplus machine gun ammo.

The CZ-52 is a lot of gun for so little money. I have not done this but I am told that there is a 9mm barrel for it and using that barrel would give you a fine gun with readily available ammo. Perhaps someone else can enlighten us on the 9mm barrel conversion.

LDBennett

Oneida Steve · 01-30-2007, 07:41 AM

Buy a CZ-52 and enjoy it. You will not find a better-made gun for the money.

cosmo05 · 02-07-2007, 01:31 PM

Got three of them, great pistols, nice fireball too! For the price your getting a good hard hitting pistol that's reliable.

Pistolenschutze · 02-07-2007, 05:05 PM

I've heard nothing but good things about them, SKS. In fact, I'm about to order one myself. As LDB pointed out, the only possible downside is that the ammo available for them is mostly milsurp hardball at present. I would not be surprised though, if that changes soon since a LOT of these pistols have been sold in the U.S. now.

pakmc · 02-18-2007, 05:32 PM

I had the 9mm barrel for the CZ-52, it didn't shoot to point to aim and i didn't think it was very accurate. I sold one of my 52's and the man wanted the 9mm barrel also, Done deal, I was glad to get rid of the barrel. I've still got one in .30 cal. with the built in muzzel brake. It's for sale. I'm not real impressed with it either. I just like the guns like they come. "O", I'm down to my last four. (CZ52's) Pat

new sks 2005 · 02-18-2007, 08:24 PM

i decied to buy a nagant instead of the cz-52 but i still might get one yet!!!

rfawkes · 01-15-2008, 08:12 PM

I have 2 CZ 52s. One kept original 7.62x25 and one I converted to 9 mm with a barrel from Sportsmans Guide. They are great guns that shoot well. Ammo is available both milsurp and commercial. The 9 mm is cheaper to shoot but I have no complaints with either one. I changed out the firing pins and recoil springs with Wolf springs and they are just like new guns.

BIGBOOMER · 01-16-2008, 07:14 PM

I have several CZ52s. They are one of the most accurate autopistols you can buy at any price and are a real bargain. With the hot ammo they are extremely flat shooting for a pistol and are accurate out at 200m (220yd). They are a blast to shoot.
I had a barrel rupture in one of them, probably because of a combination of hot machine gun ammo and a weak recoil spring, but nothing else was damaged. I ordered a 9mm barrel as a replacement and it shot fine except for some feeding problems. I did a little tweaking of the lips of the magazine so that it presented the shells at the correct angle and it became very reliable.
The only problems with the 7.62s have been ammo related. With some ammo that has very hard primers you have misfires and have to cock the hammer and hit it again to make it fire. If you run into such ammo, don't buy anymore of it. With proper ammo they are very reliable.
The advise given in postings above on dryfiring it are right on target. Refrain from it and you should have no problems. If you do break a firing pin, they are available from J&G Sales, and probably other places.
By all means, buy one of these great pistols and have fun with it!!!

Best regards, BIGBOOMER

piglatinhater · 01-17-2008, 11:30 PM

I checked J&G sales and they don't have any.
Wheres the best/cheapest place to buy?

cosmo05 · 01-28-2008, 02:05 PM

I have 3 CZ 52s and 2 TT-33s. I like the 52s better than the 33s, only because of trigger slap on the 33s. Like someone else stated, watch the firing pin. I can say from my experience you won't go wrong with a 52, a whole lot of fire power in small package, and fun to shoot. I have had great performance with Romo ammo.

Plundering Bill · 02-17-2008, 07:45 PM

I got several a few years ago when the cost was a lot better than now. When I got them, they came with 2 mags, a nice leather holster and a cleaning rod. They have found happy homes in several of my vehicles.

barnetmill · 02-18-2008, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmo05

I have 3 CZ 52s and 2 TT-33s. I like the 52s better than the 33s, only because of trigger slap on the 33s. .....

For me it is the opposite, the CZ-52 slaps the heck out of my trigger finger. The pins tend to walk about also on these guns. For shooting I would choose the Tokarev and from a point of design both are interesting. The CZ-52 of course has the most interesting design. Interesting does not mean better and to my knowledge other than the 200,000 run made for the CZECH army, the design of this gun was never used elsewhere.

In blow up tests the tokarev design is stronger. The russians make the most reliable weapons.

AJshooter · 03-26-2008, 08:29 AM

i have a cz52.. its wonderful. just like the other guy said , it has a heavier charge than the 9mm and a smaller bullet diameter . and in shotgun news ive seen bulk ammo (1000 rds) for around $140 or so. its worth the buy. but get a better firing pin because theyre very brittle and they will eventually break on you , and you might not know til you get to the range. and that sux. but it is a very accurate. sounds off the wall, but if you figure how to aim it, you could hit a man sized target at 100 yards.

woad-yurt · 04-16-2008, 10:28 PM

I have 2 of 'em. I'd rather have one of them than a .45. Add $50 to the purchase price to cover a Harrington spring & trigger kit. The difference is incredible and you won't have the brittle-firing-pin-breaking-unexpectedly problem anymore. They're incredible if you tweak them a bit, kind of like a Chevy small block. You can have a real monster for cheap.

artabr · 04-17-2008, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barnetmill

For me it is the opposite, the CZ-52 slaps the heck out of my trigger finger. The pins tend to walk about also on these guns. For shooting I would choose the Tokarev and from a point of design both are interesting. The CZ-52 of course has the most interesting design. Interesting does not mean better and to my knowledge other than the 200,000 run made for the CZECH army, the design of this gun was never used elsewhere.

In blow up tests the tokarev design is stronger. The russians make the most reliable weapons.

Barnetmill, you stated that the design was never used eleswhere. You over looked Heckler & Koch's complete rifle line and the MP5. also the German MG-42 ,one of the best machine guns ever made and is still in use in some forms by Spain and Germany. These all used the delayed roller lock system.

Art

Vectrexer · 05-18-2008, 03:33 AM

I have nothing but good things to say about mine./ And it is usually in the bag as a second range pistol for the day.

gandog56 · 05-22-2008, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by new sks 2005

i decied to buy a nagant instead of the cz-52 but i still might get one yet!!!

I got BOTH!

Santa · 07-06-2008, 03:49 PM

LDBennett -- thanks for the heads up on ammo. I had thought that the CZ-52 was designed to handle subgun ammo, so it was good to see your comments here.

Okay -- now down to brass tacks. The CZ-52 is a bit odd and does have its faults. They tend to point low. They tend to concentrate felt recoil in the web of the hand -- painfully. Blast and flash are intense. Those are the biggies.

A couple of pointers -- put a finger on the hammer when de-cocking it (by pressing upward on the safety past "safe"). There was a history of failed decocker safeties and the Czechs might not have retro-fitted all their guns with updated safeties. Better safe than sorry. Grasp the forward third of the slide fully in your weak hand to cycle the action. The grasping grooves at the slides rear are effectively decoration. Clean all the preservative grease off of the firing pin, it's channel in the slide and so on. This will cure most failures to fire ammo with relatively insensitive primers.

Enjoy. Neat gun. I don't think they could be properly re-created by a US manufacturer for less than a thousand bucks retail -- and no one will ever try. So get yours now.

DallasGunCollector · 08-25-2008, 09:53 PM

Nice site, I found a couple CZ52's in a private auction. Don't know much about them, they are in bad shape. I did find this site: http://www.lonestarfab.com/projects/thecz52/f5_cz52.htm This guy does a really good job with the pictures and how to break it down. Does anyone know of any other sites inwhich has more information about these guns?

LDBennett · 08-26-2008, 07:22 AM

CZ-52's are readily available in the surplus marlet place today. All are in good to excellent condition and usually include a holster and a spare magazine. Checkout the Shotgun News dealer ads and you will see them for sale (must buy through an FFL transfer or regular dealer and they charge for that priviledge but not all that much). SOG international sells them for $120. These guns shoot 7.62x25 ammo that is usually available in the surplus market (Tokarev ammo) but probably not locally.

Beat up versions are worth virtually nothing when you can get near new ones for less than $200 out the door, with all the fees included.

LDBennett

yodar · 10-10-2008, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oneida Steve

Buy a CZ-52 and enjoy it. You will not find a better-made gun for the money.

---------------------------------------
YES ! I have several. they are accurate (1 soup can lid at15 M)

When some assh*le decides he wants to display how big his glands are by shooting .30 carbine in a ruger bearcat or a .454 casull I respond with my loudenboomermitspitzensparken what the eff was THAT gun

yodar

BADHTML · 12-30-2008, 06:33 AM

If anyone can give me a heads-up on a source for spare magazines for the CZ 52 7.62 x 25mm please give me a holler or post it. I've been looking all over the place and have come up empty. When I do find a source they turn out to be sold out! Lots of great info here, thanks to all who have contributed. I've learned a lot in the short time I've been here and can't thank you enough. Bought mine on a lark really and finding out I may have made a pretty good buy. It was certainly cheap enough and the ammo isn't that expensive either, though the machine gun ammo does concern me a bit, having bought some of the bulk military surplus in the spam can and also some Wolf brand, which I'm less concerned about. Thanks to all for the great input!

01-29-2007, 01:41 PM	#1
new sks 2005 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: out on the plaines of colorado!! Posts: 84	cz-52 any good? i was thinking about getting a cz-52 are they worth the money??? -->

01-29-2007, 01:58 PM	#2
Mosin_Nagant_Fan Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Montgomery, AL Posts: 1,832	Re: cz-52 any good? It's a good, reliable, and accurate pistol. It has a larger charge then a 9mm (7.62 Tok. is 7.62x25 and the 9mm Per. is 9x19mm), but the bullet is smaller. (9mm = .354 / 7.62 = ~.30) The only problem I've heard is the original firing pin being somewhat fragile, where the tip breaks off, most imports have an aftermarket pin installed. You can also find new ones for cheap, mostly $25-30 new steel. Also, watch for surplus ammo, some have been reported to jam the in the barrel with the next round going in behind, making for a very hard extraction. I think it's mostly the pre-1980s kind that jams. (J&G, the ones I order my Mosin-Nagant ammo from, no longer carries it, it seems) Anywho, just ask questions to whom you are buying from and you should be good to go. __________________ Long Gun Collection: M38 Mosin-Nagant Carbine Russian 1950 SKS Winchester 1300 20Ga Western Field Single-Shot 16Ga Sears Ranger .22S-L-LR Bolt-Action Rifle Marlin 795 Semi-Auto (Brother's) Handgun Collection: Springfield Armory XD9 Service Last edited by Mosin_Nagant_Fan; 02-25-2008 at 06:53 PM..

01-30-2007, 12:07 AM	#3
mrmeval Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 25	Re: cz-52 any good? It's 28+S&H http://www.makarov.com/cart/52parts.htm I'm not real thrilled with the other offerings unless I could disable the decocker completely. They are also very expensive. Another way of fixing a broken firing pin is to mill a channel in the firing pin that has the tip broken off and silver solder in the right sized heat treated pin to replace the tip. http://www.gswagner.com/cz52/cz52pin.html

01-30-2007, 07:19 AM	#4
LDBennett Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hesperia, CA Posts: 5,718	Re: cz-52 any good? Both my son-in-law and I have CZ-52's. I reload for them both. The gun is accurate, well made, and uses a unique bolt locking arrangement (roller locked). It is fun to shoot. The word is "Don't dry fire it and firing pin will be fine". The original surplus ammo that was out there was not for the CZ-52 but for a machine gun version of the same cartridge. It was way too hot. Hornady originally issued reloading data for it then later issued a warning that their data matched the machine gun ammo. They then re-issued the data at the correct lower levels. Some CZ-52's were broken using the machine gun ammo or reloads at the machine gun level. Hornady did their homework the second time and the data is now safe but DO NOT use the surplus machine gun ammo. The CZ-52 is a lot of gun for so little money. I have not done this but I am told that there is a 9mm barrel for it and using that barrel would give you a fine gun with readily available ammo. Perhaps someone else can enlighten us on the 9mm barrel conversion. LDBennett

01-30-2007, 07:41 AM	#5
Oneida Steve Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 1,028	Re: cz-52 any good? Buy a CZ-52 and enjoy it. You will not find a better-made gun for the money.

02-07-2007, 01:31 PM	#6
cosmo05 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 51	Re: cz-52 any good? Got three of them, great pistols, nice fireball too! For the price your getting a good hard hitting pistol that's reliable.

02-07-2007, 05:05 PM	#7
Pistolenschutze Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Colorado Posts: 13,094	Re: cz-52 any good? I've heard nothing but good things about them, SKS. In fact, I'm about to order one myself. As LDB pointed out, the only possible downside is that the ammo available for them is mostly milsurp hardball at present. I would not be surprised though, if that changes soon since a LOT of these pistols have been sold in the U.S. now. __________________ --Pistolenschutze (Pistol Shooter)

02-18-2007, 05:32 PM	#8
pakmc Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: South east Houston Tx. Posts: 7	Re: cz-52 any good? I had the 9mm barrel for the CZ-52, it didn't shoot to point to aim and i didn't think it was very accurate. I sold one of my 52's and the man wanted the 9mm barrel also, Done deal, I was glad to get rid of the barrel. I've still got one in .30 cal. with the built in muzzel brake. It's for sale. I'm not real impressed with it either. I just like the guns like they come. "O", I'm down to my last four. (CZ52's) Pat

02-18-2007, 08:24 PM	#9
new sks 2005 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: out on the plaines of colorado!! Posts: 84	Re: cz-52 any good? i decied to buy a nagant instead of the cz-52 but i still might get one yet!!!

01-15-2008, 08:12 PM	#10
rfawkes Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Elizabethtown, IL Posts: 29	Re: cz-52 any good? I have 2 CZ 52s. One kept original 7.62x25 and one I converted to 9 mm with a barrel from Sportsmans Guide. They are great guns that shoot well. Ammo is available both milsurp and commercial. The 9 mm is cheaper to shoot but I have no complaints with either one. I changed out the firing pins and recoil springs with Wolf springs and they are just like new guns.

01-16-2008, 07:14 PM	#11
BIGBOOMER V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: The Great Northwest Posts: 265	Re: cz-52 any good? I have several CZ52s. They are one of the most accurate autopistols you can buy at any price and are a real bargain. With the hot ammo they are extremely flat shooting for a pistol and are accurate out at 200m (220yd). They are a blast to shoot. I had a barrel rupture in one of them, probably because of a combination of hot machine gun ammo and a weak recoil spring, but nothing else was damaged. I ordered a 9mm barrel as a replacement and it shot fine except for some feeding problems. I did a little tweaking of the lips of the magazine so that it presented the shells at the correct angle and it became very reliable. The only problems with the 7.62s have been ammo related. With some ammo that has very hard primers you have misfires and have to cock the hammer and hit it again to make it fire. If you run into such ammo, don't buy anymore of it. With proper ammo they are very reliable. The advise given in postings above on dryfiring it are right on target. Refrain from it and you should have no problems. If you do break a firing pin, they are available from J&G Sales, and probably other places. By all means, buy one of these great pistols and have fun with it!!! Best regards, BIGBOOMER __________________ Use Enough Gun. Do all your hunting BEFORE you shoot!

01-17-2008, 11:30 PM	#12
piglatinhater Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 42	Re: cz-52 any good? I checked J&G sales and they don't have any. Wheres the best/cheapest place to buy?

01-28-2008, 02:05 PM	#13
cosmo05 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 51	Re: cz-52 any good? I have 3 CZ 52s and 2 TT-33s. I like the 52s better than the 33s, only because of trigger slap on the 33s. Like someone else stated, watch the firing pin. I can say from my experience you won't go wrong with a 52, a whole lot of fire power in small package, and fun to shoot. I have had great performance with Romo ammo.

02-17-2008, 07:45 PM	#14
Plundering Bill Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Richmond, Virginia Posts: 6	Re: cz-52 any good? I got several a few years ago when the cost was a lot better than now. When I got them, they came with 2 mags, a nice leather holster and a cleaning rod. They have found happy homes in several of my vehicles. __________________ *Some people are like Slinkies...just the thought of pushing them down a staircase can bring a smile to your face!!!*

03-26-2008, 08:29 AM	#16
AJshooter Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: virginia Posts: 10	Re: cz-52 any good? i have a cz52.. its wonderful. just like the other guy said , it has a heavier charge than the 9mm and a smaller bullet diameter . and in shotgun news ive seen bulk ammo (1000 rds) for around $140 or so. its worth the buy. but get a better firing pin because theyre very brittle and they will eventually break on you , and you might not know til you get to the range. and that sux. but it is a very accurate. sounds off the wall, but if you figure how to aim it, you could hit a man sized target at 100 yards.

04-16-2008, 10:28 PM	#17
woad-yurt Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2	Re: cz-52 any good? I have 2 of 'em. I'd rather have one of them than a .45. Add $50 to the purchase price to cover a Harrington spring & trigger kit. The difference is incredible and you won't have the brittle-firing-pin-breaking-unexpectedly problem anymore. They're incredible if you tweak them a bit, kind of like a Chevy small block. You can have a real monster for cheap. Last edited by woad-yurt; 04-16-2008 at 10:29 PM..

05-18-2008, 03:33 AM	#19
Vectrexer Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 10	Re: cz-52 any good? I have nothing but good things to say about mine./ And it is usually in the bag as a second range pistol for the day.

07-06-2008, 03:49 PM	#21
Santa Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 13	Re: cz-52 any good? LDBennett -- thanks for the heads up on ammo. I had thought that the CZ-52 was designed to handle subgun ammo, so it was good to see your comments here. Okay -- now down to brass tacks. The CZ-52 is a bit odd and does have its faults. They tend to point low. They tend to concentrate felt recoil in the web of the hand -- painfully. Blast and flash are intense. Those are the biggies. A couple of pointers -- put a finger on the hammer when de-cocking it (by pressing upward on the safety past "safe"). There was a history of failed decocker safeties and the Czechs might not have retro-fitted all their guns with updated safeties. Better safe than sorry. Grasp the forward third of the slide fully in your weak hand to cycle the action. The grasping grooves at the slides rear are effectively decoration. Clean all the preservative grease off of the firing pin, it's channel in the slide and so on. This will cure most failures to fire ammo with relatively insensitive primers. Enjoy. Neat gun. I don't think they could be properly re-created by a US manufacturer for less than a thousand bucks retail -- and no one will ever try. So get yours now.

08-25-2008, 09:53 PM	#22
DallasGunCollector Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1	Re: cz-52 any good? Nice site, I found a couple CZ52's in a private auction. Don't know much about them, they are in bad shape. I did find this site: http://www.lonestarfab.com/projects/thecz52/f5_cz52.htm This guy does a really good job with the pictures and how to break it down. Does anyone know of any other sites inwhich has more information about these guns?

08-26-2008, 07:22 AM	#23
LDBennett Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hesperia, CA Posts: 5,718	Re: cz-52 any good? CZ-52's are readily available in the surplus marlet place today. All are in good to excellent condition and usually include a holster and a spare magazine. Checkout the Shotgun News dealer ads and you will see them for sale (must buy through an FFL transfer or regular dealer and they charge for that priviledge but not all that much). SOG international sells them for $120. These guns shoot 7.62x25 ammo that is usually available in the surplus market (Tokarev ammo) but probably not locally. Beat up versions are worth virtually nothing when you can get near new ones for less than $200 out the door, with all the fees included. LDBennett

12-30-2008, 06:33 AM	#25
BADHTML Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 2	Re: cz-52 any good? If anyone can give me a heads-up on a source for spare magazines for the CZ 52 7.62 x 25mm please give me a holler or post it. I've been looking all over the place and have come up empty. When I do find a source they turn out to be sold out! Lots of great info here, thanks to all who have contributed. I've learned a lot in the short time I've been here and can't thank you enough. Bought mine on a lark really and finding out I may have made a pretty good buy. It was certainly cheap enough and the ammo isn't that expensive either, though the machine gun ammo does concern me a bit, having bought some of the bulk military surplus in the spam can and also some Wolf brand, which I'm less concerned about. Thanks to all for the great input!