Considering an older CZ75 in 9x21 - any thoughts / experiences / "gotchas"...?

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Considering an older CZ75 in 9x21 - any thoughts / experiences / "gotchas"...?

Greetings fellow Enthusiasts

I have a line on an older CZ75 that I could purchase for what I believe is a good price, complete with a compensator - previously used by an IPSC competitor years (maybe 10+) ago.

The catch?

It's chambered in 9x21, not the typical 9x19 Para round - I know this chambering is popular in countries such as Italy where firearms chambered in military calibres are prohibited, and some IPSC competitors were using 9x21 to get a 9mm round into major power factor before the power factor thresholds were lowered and .38 Super came on the scene.

A couple of questions for the brain trust on this forum:

1. Any sources of commercial 9x21 ammo in Canada? Fiocchi makes it in Europe I know. Otherwise I expect that I am reloading all the way (which is fine, used to load lots of 9mm Luger and my RCBS dies support 9x21).

2. Anything specific to watch for in this chambering / firearm? Any potential gotchas?

3. Any Canadian sources of 9x19 barrels if I want to convert it? I assume the recoil spring would have to be changed out as well...

Thanks,
FirearmsEnthusiast
 
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I don't have specific answers to your questions but my thoughts are that unless it's an absolutely super price I'd pass. It'll be difficult to find ammo, and it's likely to have been well-used. Resale value with a comp will be low in my opinion. And, with regular 9mm "pre-B" versions available on the EE fairly regularly for $500-ish I'd be very tempted to pass.
 
^^^ What he said... Not even sure where you would find 9x21 in Canada... I have a Pre-B, and even that is an embuggerance as magazines are impossible to come by (B mags don't fit withtout modding the pistol)...
 
9x21 is out there but a lot of the guns were used to shoot major
the people who shoot 9x21 look hard for every pcs of brass so they go home withe the same # they started with
 
I wouldnt go for it, if its been shooting 9x21 major loads its going to have been beaten and very good chance its worn out or will die very soon. even the czeckmate in 9mm major has been having major longevity issues
 
Personally having a Husqvarna M1907 has shown me the difficulty of having a odd caliber that looks very similar to 9mm except under close inspection. The brass gets shot everywhere and then you spend half the day at the range trying to find it as it mixes in with the 9mm very easily. This is why I now love revolvers.
 
Eaglelord17 said:
Personally having a Husqvarna M1907 has shown me the difficulty of having a odd caliber that looks very similar to 9mm except under close inspection. The brass gets shot everywhere and then you spend half the day at the range trying to find it as it mixes in with the 9mm very easily. This is why I now love revolvers.
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X 2 but with a Stery-Hahn.
 
In the day when 9x21 was all the rage, the power factor needed was 175 which meant most folks were loading near 180.

The CZ of the day with the thinned slide at the muzzle wasn't the best candidate for a race gun. The Tanfoglio/EAA/Springfield with the full width frame was a better candidate.

Even at that, the barrels and frames were beaten, the slidestop pins tended to break monthly, and extractors were a constant source of trouble.
Don Irvine probably was cranking out the best conversions at the time from P9's, and I believe he resorted to welding up the frames and barrels to get longer life out of them.

As a curiosity, they are interesting, but I would pass.
 
If it is a sweet deal why not buy the gun and a new 9x19 barrel? Probably another hundred bucks give or take...

Mind you I am, admittedly, an impulse buyer when it comes to these things... sigh :)
 
bobbynewmark said:
If it is a sweet deal why not buy the gun and a new 9x19 barrel? Probably another hundred bucks give or take...

Mind you I am, admittedly, an impulse buyer when it comes to these things... sigh :)
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Given the (very valuable) feedback received so far, I think that re-barelling is probably the only viable option for this particular gun. Any good sources of barrels to be had in Canada, or is this another import headache?

So far, I'm leaning toward just walking away from this particular opportunity, for the well thought out reasons given above...

I appreciate everyone's input and advice so far!
 
FirearmsEnthusiast said:
Given the (very valuable) feedback received so far, I think that re-barelling is probably the only viable option for this particular gun. Any good sources of barrels to be had in Canada, or is this another import headache?

So far, I'm leaning toward just walking away from this particular opportunity, for the well thought out reasons given above...

I appreciate everyone's input and advice so far!
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The cost of the barrel and fitting will exceed the value of the gun....
 
Or find someone with a .38super or supercomp reamer and lengthen the chamber by 2mm and use .38Supercomp brass as long as they will fit in the mags. Wolf usually has the SC brass, but as others note the gun may have been beaten to death.
 
T&G said:
Or find someone with a .38super or supercomp reamer and lengthen the chamber by 2mm and use .38Supercomp brass as long as they will fit in the mags. Wolf usually has the SC brass, but as others note the gun may have been beaten to death.
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Won't work, super and supercomp are too long for the frame and super would also require opening up the breachface
 
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