Big Boy .45s Part III: The CZ97

The Czechoslovakian firm of Ceska Zbrojovka was founded in 1921 and produced a variety of weapons as well as other products. The firearms produced up through WWII were well made but otherwise particularly forgettable being the normal style of European small caliber handguns of the day. During the Nazi occupation the plant converted to solely manufacturing and repairing military firearms. After the post WWII Soviet expansionism engulfed the Republic the plant was once again making small arms full-time and seemed to hit its stride with the model 52. Mother Russia wanted the plant to make their own version of the Tokarev T-33 however the managers and Czech government stood fast and designed their own pistol (the model 52) around the Soviet 7.62X25mm cartridge. The model 52 was an ingenious internal design with about an ugly exterior as could be found. Nonetheless the pistol was a success and actually squeezed more velocity out of the Soviet round than the Tokarev was capable of producing. At that point in time they claimed it to be the most powerful pistol in the world.

In 1975 CZ produced their masterpiece, the model 75. This became a much copied pistol and is one of the best platforms for the 9mm cartridge that has been produced.

In 1997 CZ brought out a larger brother to the model 75 in hopes of capturing the market of .45 ACP shooters that was so prevalent in the U.S. This pistol has never caught on to the extent that the Model 75 has and it cannot be due to the accuracy so I must attribute its failure to capture the market to its size. The CZ 97 is a massive pistol. If Andre the Giant were still alive he would love this handgun. In comparison to the other two pistols tested for this review it has the largest grip circumference. Look at the pictures below and see where my thumb connects with my middle finger; my fairly large sized hands get all the way around the Taurus 0SS with the thumb reaching just past the knuckle.

On the SIG P220 Match the hand still comfortably and positively gets around the grips with the thumb almost reaching the knuckle.

On the CZ 97 the thumb does not even get past the fingernail.

While the grip is not the most positive of the three pistols reviewed it is very easy to shoot, recoil is no problem, and accuracy is absolutely devastating at short to medium yardage. Here are the specifications:

Weight: 2.4 lbs
Overall Length: 8.3 in
Barrel Length: 4.8 in
Height: 5.9 in
Width: 1.4 in
Frame: steel
Grips: wood
Trigger mech.: SA/DA
Sights: fixed
Safety elements: Manual Safety, Safety Stop on Hammer, Firing Pin Safety, Loaded Chamber Indicator

The 97 holds two more rounds than the SIG and two less rounds than the Taurus OSS. As with the SIG and the Taurus the 97 is a Single Action pistol and can be carried cocked and locked. However the first round may be fired Double Action by carefully lowering the hammer down on to live round. The 97 does not have a decocker to do this safety and quickly for you; CZ has advertised that they have built one with a decocker, but I have not seen one hit the shelves yet. The single action trigger pull is short, crisp, and fairly light. Sights are of the three dot variety but without night sights. The grips are of a very attractively checkered walnut.
I want desperately to like this pistol. I have a soft spot in my heart for the CZ line-up based upon my experiences with the series 75 9mm models. They are very accurate, have excellent ergonomics and I love the way the checkered rubber grips fit my hand. The 97 has a similar appearance to the smaller 9mm models and shares the superb accuracy potential, but alas, it is too large of a pistol to be practical. It is way too large for concealed carry and while it would have excellent potential as a house defender it lacks night sights, which I think are essential, and there are other excellent .45 Caliber pistols with smaller grips frames and larger round count with the requisite glow-in-the-dark sights.

Let's see the targets:

Two target showing 20 rounds fired at each from a range of 21 feet:

Target on the left was shot at a range of 31 feet with 10 rounds. Target on the right was shot with 20 rounds at a range of 40 feet.

The next target was fired at a range of 50 feet with 20 rounds (not the 12 rounds marked on the target).

Conclusions:

All three of these pistols (Taurus OSS, SIG P220 Match, and the CZ97) are excellent and a great choice for home defense. The SIG has an advantage with a front blade night sight and a slight bit more accuracy at longer ranges, but is handicapped by having the lowest round count.

My choice would be for the Taurus OSS for four reasons: Ergonomics, Economics, Accuracy, and Round Count.

Ergonomics: the fit of the grip is supurb even with the 12 round double stack magazine in place, the controls are all easy to reach and just the right size, it is a natural pointer.

Economics: the OSS was the least expensive of the three with an MSP of $623.00 (I paid $449.00), the CZ 97 has an MSP of $709.00 (I paid $550.00) and the SIG 220 Match SAO has an MSP of $1,115 (the dealer had it priced at $1,100 but took four no longer used pistols in trade).

Accuracy: this is about a tie between all three; the OSS just might have been the least accurate if you measured to the closest 16th of an inch but it was still highly accurate for it's defensive purposes.

Round Count: the OSS will keep you in the fight for 2 more rounds than the CZ and 4 more rounds than the SIG 220.

Taurus sometimes takes a beating on the gun chat boards but I have to wonder how many of the problems are operator error, poor lubrication, and poor shooting from someone who spends more time typing opinions that putting shots down range.

Big Boy .45s Part II: The Taurus OSS


The OSS is a full sized handgun that Taurus produced as their entrant to the Army’s trials when they were looking to replace the Beretta 9mm. The Army wisely was taking another look at the .45 ACP but rather unwisely suspended the trial and ordered another load of Beretta 9mm pistols. Don’t get me wrong, the Beretta is a good pistol, but the 9mm hardball ammo that the Army is saddled with puts the Beretta at a disadvantage.

The OSS is a striker fired pistol with a steel slide (and barrel of course) resting atop a polymer frame (which is available in black or desert tan), a 5.25 inch barrel and boasts a capacity of 12 + 1 rounds of the time and battle tested .45 ACP ammunition. Although it is a service sized handgun it feels smaller than it is primarily due to its conservative width and grip circumference, balance, and fairly light weight of 31 ounces. In part one of this series which began with the SIG P220 Match I lamented that the SIG was only designed with an 8 round magazine despite the grip frame’s girth. The side to side width of the OSS is 1.15” compared to 1.28” on the P220. The front to back length of the grip is 2.06” on the OSS versus 2.16” on the P220. The SIG is measurably larger but the Taurus OSS gives you four more rounds.

Taurus designed a very unique firing system for the OSS. This new pistol can be operated in Single Action, Traditional Double Action (first pull is double action and subsequent shots are single action), and it has Second Strike capabilities.

Let me explain:

It can be carried “Cocked and Locked” in single action mode (which is out of the norm for most striker fired pistols). As with most single action pistols, you merely rack the slide and engage the manual slide safety by pushing it up until it blocks the slide. The ambidextrous slide safety on the OSS is located in the familiar spot where John Browning put it on the 1911 pistol and fortunately it is “right sized” so it is useful, but not in the way. Unfortunately, many custom gunsmiths have tended to offer obnoxiously large ambidextrous slide safeties that inhibit my grip and could be in a position, when holstered, to be bumped into the “off” position rendering the pistol ready to fire. The single action trigger has a pull of about 6 pounds and gives a good positive release after ¾ of an inch of take-up. This is not the super-light trigger of many custom tuned 1911s but this set up is better for shooting situations. Sometimes, with the adrenalin rushing, there can be an involuntary movement in the fingers that would cause a negligent discharge if you were using a 1911 with a 2 or 3 pound trigger pull. With the ¾ inch of take-up and then hitting the 6 pound trigger pull your conscious self should realize that your finger has contracted and you could avoid the negligent firing.

After racking the slide and engaging the manual safety you can push the safety upward again which de-cocks the striker and makes the first shot a double action pull whereby the first trigger pull both cocks and released the striker to fire the pistol. Pushing the safety up to de-cock the striker the shooter then can decided whether to leave the safety on or remove it so that the pistol can be operated in the DA mode without having to remember to remove the safety. The double action trigger pull has a little take-up and then a smooth and consistent 8 to 9 pound roll through the positive release. This is one of the best double action pulls I have encountered on a striker fired pistol and I would not hesitate to carry this in the double action mode.

Unlike most pistols, the OSS allows the shooter a second strike on the primer if the shot fails to go off. In other words, if you pull the trigger and the pistol goes “click”, instead of “bang” you can pull the double action trigger again and the striker will automatically cock and be released into the firing pin striking the primer a second time. Quite frankly, in all the rounds I have sent down range I have rarely had a centerfire cartridge fail to go off (rimfire cartridges, yes; it happens more often when the powder is unevenly distributed around the rim). However, after reading Jim Cirrillo’s book (Cirrillo was a highly decorated NYPD officer who survived 17 shootings while on the stakeout squad) he mentioned that in his numerous gun fights he usually only heard his first round go off even though in most of those shootings he emptied his service revolver and many times emptied his back-up revolver as well. After he fired his first round his auditory system shut down until the shooting stopped. Therefore under a stress-shooting situation you might not hear that your pistol did not fire and the second strike may save your life.

The OSS appears to be an amalgamation of some of the best combat pistols available today:
· The slide, full length guide rod and recoil spring has clearly been borrowed from Glock.
· The slide safety is from the timeless design that John Browning put on his 1911 pistols.
· The take-down is a Browning 1911 and SIG hybrid. You rotate the take-down lever downward, a la SIG, but pull it out of the slide just like a 1911.

The grips however are all Taurus. This company has designed some of the best rubber grips on the planet in order to tame the recoil of the mighty .357, .41, and .44 Magnum revolvers. This auto pistol’s grip is nicely checkered and contoured to provide a comfortable and positive hold on the pistol. The overall feel and balance makes the OSS a natural pointer and contributes to better accuracy.

My only complaint about the OSS is the sights. The design and execution is fine, but they are standard white 3-dot sights and, in my opinion, any modern fighting pistol should come standard with some type of night sight. The sights are adjustable for windage which has been totally unnecessary on my pistol.

In shooting I did experience quite a few failures to feed as I racked in the first round. I found that utilizing the sling-shot slide release technique rather than the employing the slide release fixed this problem.

Let’s See Some Targets:

All targets fired on with Fiocchi or Winchester 230 grain hardball, unless otherwise noted.

Three targets from 21 feet.

Three from 31 feet.

50 feet

75 feet.

The next couple of targets were fired using a technique developed by the aforementioned Jim Cirillo. Cirillo found that as his eyes got older he had more difficulty focusing on the front sight. However, he found that if he learned what the rear of the slide looked like when the pistol was positioned to be properly sighted then he could use the rear slide profile to accurately fire his pistol. He referred to this as "slide indexing" and felt that it was a worthwhile for everyone to practice as there have been times during shooting when the rear or front sight might come loose and fall of the pistol. He had students practice this technique by placing black electrical tape over their rear sights. Here are two targets fired upon utilizine Cirillo's slide indexing technique at 21 feet.

Over all, the Taurus is a fantastic pistol. It provides excellent target accuracy bordering on match quality. The Army would be well armed with the OSS and I hope the pistol trials are revived.

Big Boy .45’s

SIG P220 Match SAO, Taurus OSS, and the CZ 97B

Part I – The SIG P220 Match SAO Model

Lately I have been focusing these blog reviews on concealed carry handguns. While this has been fun and certainly meaningful, it wasn’t always satisfying as I tried to get tight groups with small and sometimes very high powered handguns shooting hot ammo. Time for a change and nothing is more satisfying than shooting a big service-sized .45 ACP, one that was built large enough to get the most out of the cartridge, and watch those fat holes appear on the paper down range.

Now, while all of the pistols reviewed in this three part piece are a little too large for concealed carry, they are perfectly suited to the defense of your home. When night has fallen, the house is still and suddenly the dog jumps to alert from a sound sleep, there is no need to rely on the small pistol you carry concealed all day. Now is the time for night sights, a pistol large enough to get a solid grip on and chambered for the largest caliber you can shoot accurately. One that will drop the assailant dead in his tracks or has the capacity to hold off the multiple intruders until the police arrive. Additionally, if a natural disaster strikes, social order spirals out of local law enforcement’s control, and you’re on your own for a few days, then all bets are off and you can (and should) carry the largest caliber and capacity firearms in your battery. That 5 shot .38 special snub you normally carry can rest easy as a back-up gun when you strap on the Big-Boy .45 and sling your carbine or shotgun of choice over your shoulder.

On to the P220 Match
A couple of weeks ago my favorite Boise gun dealer, Cliff, called to tell me that he had sold the remaining firearms that I did not want to move out here to the land of 10,000 lakes. He asked if I wanted a check forwarded but I wanted to look over his offerings on GunsAmerica.com first. That’s where I saw the P220 Match; so for a very minimal cost after applying my credit, off she flew to my local FFL dealer. $35.00, some paperwork, and a call to the State Police to verify my upstanding reputation within the community and I was out the door with a new handgun.

Let’s start with the pistol’s specifications:
Caliber: .45ACP

Trigger Pull SA: 5.0 lbs

Overall Length: 8.30"

Overall Height: 5.50"

Overall Width: 1.50"

Barrel Length: 5.00"

Sight Radius: 7.20"

Sights: Adjustable Target Sights

Weight w/ Mag: 33.6 oz

Mag Capacity: 8 Rounds

Finish: Natural Stainless

Grips: Black Polymer Factory Grips

The specs also state that this gun is not compliant with the regulations in Massachusetts and California so if you live in either of those former Soviet Satellites you have my sympathies.

In addition to adjustable sights, this pistol also has a night sight on the front sight which is a nice touch. This being a “Match” set-up SIG has taken their standard P220 and lengthened the slide to accommodate a full 5 inch barrel instead of the 4.4 inch barrel on the standard P220. It also has adjustable rear sights which I had to only turn 2 “clicks” to the right. Most SIGs come only equipped with fixed sights and are extremely accurate out of the box, but many shooters wouldn’t accept it as a target pistol without the adjustable sights even though I only had to move them over a gnat’s hair starboard. The P220 Match also has the option of coming in a single action only configuration which is the model I am reviewing here. This is quite a departure for SIG as they have made their mark as a traditional double action pistol maker. The pistol sports a slide safety mounted to the frame exactly where the 1911 trained shooter would expect this it to be. Thankfully the safety has been carefully designed to be small and unobtrusive while still being efficient in a shooting situation. The SAO only trigger pull is set at 5 pounds. It has a little take up and a crisp, determined break with the 5 pounds of pressure. I like the 5 pound trigger pull much better than the 3 pound pull I have found on many 1911 pistols. Three pounds is too light and could contribute to a negligent discharge, 5 pounds is heavy enough to maintain control over the trigger without being so heavy that you pull your shot off target. The pistol also comes with a tactical accessory rail in case you desire to hang a flashlight or laser sight on it. To me this, and the front night sight, signal SIG’s acknowledgement that people are going to use the P220 Match pistol for defensive purposes as well as competition shooting.

My only disappointment with the P220, and this goes for the entire 220 series, not just the Match model, is the capacity of eight rounds. With a width of 1.5 inches this is a fairly wide bodied handgun and the magazine well in the grip frame could easily be enlarged to accommodate a double stack magazine without enlarging the frame itself.

How does she shoot?

Well she' a SIG…utterly reliable and undoubtedly more accurate than my skills can squeezed out of her.

Eight rounds of hardball fired at 21 feet:

Eight rounds of hardball fired at 31 feet:

Eight rounds of hardball fired at 50 feet:

While this pistol is very accurate, it did not produce the 8 rounds in 1 ragged hole that I was hoping for. Undoubtedly I was hoping for too much and I realize that I was hoping that this pistol would turn me into an 8 rounds in 1 ragged hole shooter. The pistol is probably capable of doing that in the right hands.

Glock Model 36 With Federal Arms Ported Barrel
I first reviewed the G36 in June of 2007 and was favorably impressed. I had the Gunsmith at Impact Guns in Boise put on a set of Hi Viz fiber optic sights which tightened the groups a little more and put a Pierce magazine extender on it which made it easier to hold. I felt that the pistol would make a fine concealed carry weapon however I could not find a way that was comfortable (in terms of physical comfort and psychological comfort or the perceived notion that no one could notice I was carrying it). That was recently corrected by the installation of the Clip Draw attachment. The only other issue with the G36 is that the recoil is fairly stiff slowing down the shooter’s recovery time for follow-up shots. Well, there are remedies for that as well.

First, a little more about the G36 itself. When Glock set out to make the G36 they went back to the drawing board and built it from the ground up. In 45 ACP they already had two models, the full-sized model 21 and the “Baby Glock” model 30. The model 36 was not just a cut down version of the full-sized model 21. Glock had already done that with the model 30. The 36 was their answer to their customers who wanted a .45 that was easier to carry concealed. To do this Glock had to design their first single-stack frame; this reduced the capacity from 10 + 1 rounds in the model 30 to 6 + 1 in the model 36. However this also reduced the width from 1.27 inches wide to 1.13 inches wide. This may not seem like much but every millimeter counts when you are carrying in a pocket holster or an inside the waistband rig. The reduced width remedied other complaints that the model 21 and 30 were too wide and strained some shooter's hands.

All of the Baby Glocks ( model 26/9mm, model 27/.40 S&W, model 29/10mm, model 33/.357 SIG, and models 30 & 36 in .45 ACP) have proven themselves to be very accurate pistols. One of the stories I have read claims that the Baby Glock Barrels are designed and manufactured on different machinery than their other barrels which provides the sub-compact models with a tighter fit and greater accuracy. I have not been able to confirm this allegation so I do not know if it is true or the product of range myth and shooter embellishment. Another published source that I do trust states that the double recoil springs not only help control the recoil but slightly retard the blowback of the slide just long enough for the bullet to exit the barrel before retracting. This allows the bullet to exit without being affected by any slide movement.

Going back to the recoil issue. Lone Wolf distributors offers a drop-in ported barrel from Federal Arms. The ported barrel extends about one inch beyond the slide which I have found to be a negligible difference when carrying inside the waistband utilizing the Clip Draw device. Although Federal Arms states that their ported barrel is of match quality, I did not find its performance to be quite as good as the factory Glock barrel in terms of accuracy. Additionally I had quite a few failures to feed with the Federal Arms barrel; luckily these seem to have smoothed out now that I have over 200 rounds through it. The real advantage to the Federal Arms ported barrel is in recoil reduction. In shooting the factory stock barrel and the Federal Arms ported barrel side-by-side I would estimate that the Federal Arms barrel reduces felt recoil by about 35%.

Factory Stock Barrel Targets:

12 rounds of Remington UMC 230 grain FMJ at 21 feet.

12 rounds of Remington UMC 20 grain FMJ at 21 feet.

My favorite load for the G36, the Remington Golden Sabre 230 Grain JHP at 21 feet.

Targets fired from the Compensated Barrel:

12 rounds of Winchester 230 grain FMJ at 21 feet.

12 rounds of Remington Golden Sabre 23o grain JHP at 21 feet.

12 rounds of Winchester Personal Defense 230 grain JHP ammo fired at 21 feet.

12 rounds of Fiocchi 230 grain FMJ ammo fired at 21 feet.

12 rounds of Fiocchi 230 grain FMJ at 31 feet (still good practical accuracy)

12 rounds of Fiocchi 230 grain FMJ at 50 feet. Clearly we have found that my limit for practical accuracy ends between 31 and 50 feet.

As I stated earlier, a critical examination of the targets with the factory Glock barrel and the Federal Arms ported barrel shows that the factory barrel gives slightly better accuracy. However, the recoil control from the ported barrel is an acceptable trade-off for the slightly better accuracy.

Smith & Wesson Pro-60, Model 640, and Model 340
A “J” Frame Paradise
(Click on images to enlarge)

My personal favorite for carry has, over the past several years, been the small S&W “J” framed model 340. In terms of carrying a “J” frame Smith I must certainly be in good company because Smith & Wesson catalogued 36 different j-frame models for 2008. You can get one is .22LR, .22 Magnum, 38 Special +P, and .357 Magnum (their .32 H&R Magnum has apparently been discontinued). You can get them with a 1.7 inch barrel, 2.1 inch barrel, 3 inch barrel, and 5 in barrel. Most have fixed sights, but some of the 3 inch barrel models and all of the 5 inch models have adjustable rear sights. For the front sight you can get a traditional ramp (with or without the red ramp insert), Hi-Viz fiber optic, regular night sights or the larger XS Dot night sights. You can choose one in light weight Scandium, Stainless Steel or Carbon Steel that has been blued, nickel plated or a combination of blued and case color hardened. I suppose we should not leave out the grips; you can get several different styles of wood or rubber grips as well as Crimson Trace laser grips.

The main factors in making this selection for me (and I would imagine everyone else that carries a “J” frame revolver were the caliber, “carry-ability”, and short range accuracy. These are all important factors, especially the “carry-ability”—if it is uncomfortable or inconvenient to carry, you won’t.

The Scandium 340 rides very well in a pocket holster but I have found it even easier to carry with the Clip Draw device attached to it. First of all it leave my pockets free to hold the junk that normally goes in there. Secondly it did produce a somewhat noticeable but indistinguishable bulge. The linear designs of most serious semi-automatic pistols on the other hand, left a very distinguishable bulge. In three years of 340 pocket carry no one, including family, ever mentioned the bulge. The 340 with the Clip Draw carries ridiculously easy underneath an untucked polo shirt. In fact I have found that it is possible to tuck the shirt in and around the Clip Draw’s clip. Blouse the shirt slightly and the 340 is unnoticeable.

As I mentioned earlier, the main factors for carrying the 340 were also caliber and short range accuracy. Lately I have been thinking a lot about those two factors. .38 Special + Ps are fairly reasonable to handle in the Scandium frame and .357 Magnum loads are possible. I can actually shoot between one or two cylinders full of them with good short range accuracy before my involuntary muscle contractions begin to anticipate the shot and spoil the group. I would like, however to be able to shoot them well so that I can confidently move up the .357 Magnum carry. I would also like to be able to shoot well beyond the short range distances. At 21 feet I can keep the shots within the 8 ring of a normal bull’s-eye target. At 31 feet they begin to spread out and some are on the paper but off the target rings. I would like to be able to have all my shots hit a 10 inch target at 50 feet.

This led me to try the Model 360 Sc Kit Gun (reviewed on April 3, 2008). With its 3 inch barrel, Hi-Viz fiber optic front sight and adjustable rear sight I thought it might provide me that advantage. It didn’t. The accuracy was no better, in fact it was worse with some loads, than my 340 with its 1 7/8 inch barrel and fixed sights. .357s actually seemed more painful to shoot than in the shorter barreled 340.

Perhaps I needed more weight. The Scandium 340 was chosen because its 13 ounces would not weigh down my pocket. The Clip Draw attachment, however, allows me to carry a heavier handgun as the gun’s weight is supported by my belt which keeps it close in to my body. I then tried a model 640; all stainless steel and a 2.1 inch barrel.

It was easy to carry on the clip draw, shooting Magnum loads were easier, but the accuracy, while pretty good for a small revolver, provided no significant advantage over the light weight 340.

With that, I began looking for a Pro-60. This is a new revolver for Smith & Wesson this year and it took about 3 months to find one. The Pro 60 looks like the model 627 (8 round N frame .357 revolver) and the Pro 620 (6 round L frame .357 revolver) got married and had a child to produce this satin finished stainless steel 5 shot J framed revolver with a three inch barrel, front night sight, and adjustable rear sight.

This is a great looking gun; sleek and downright sexy. The extractor shroud/under lug is tapered to produce a very distinctive look that Smith & Wesson first used on their very popular model 627. The shroud also has a couple of cutouts to help reduce weight (I can’t imagine that it reduced it that much). Some gun publications are referring to this revolver as “slabsides” since the barrel is squared off and flat on each side and then rounded as it tapers up to the front sight and tapers down to the extractor shroud/under lug. I find this a very attractive, almost art deco feature. The grips are beautiful with a combination of laser etching and stippling. These are perhaps the largest grips Smith & Wesson has ever put on a J frame revolver, but alas, they are still too small for my meaty paws. With each shot of magnum ammo it was necessary to reposition my hand as the revolver has moved during recoil. This led me to replace them, as beautiful as they are, with a set of Hogue Rubber Monogrips.

Both the large original wood grips and the Monogrips are still easy to conceal with the Clip Draw device. If you decide to employ a Clip Draw attachment you need to do a little experimenting in front of the mirror and to find the spot along your beltline where the grip does not imprint as you sit down, bend over, etc.

On the range, the Pro 60 handles Magnum ammunition very well. A few loads like the Speer Gold Dot 135 grain Short Barrel .357 Magnums and the 124 grain Remington Golden Sabre Hollow Point rounds are actually pleasant to shoot. These rounds have shown good accuracy along with the traditional Remington 125 grain semi-jacketed hollow point ammo and Speer’s 158 grain Gold Dot Hollow Points.

The j-frame revolvers are still an attractive carry option. I look forward to working some more with the Pro-60 to improve my distance shooting.