My CZ SP01 -I Love it & Hate it at the same time

gkosztrub

gkosztrub

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I bought my SP01 Tactical in May 07. So far I put around 2000 rounds through it. It is a great gun when it works. I had a lot of problems with FTEs in the beginning which went away after I changed the recoil & main springs. Then, I had issues with stove pipes which went away after I changed the ejector spring. I shot the gun last week at Waterford's IPSC level two match with no issues. I thought, finally the gun will be reliable. But then today I went to the range to practice and after I spent an hour to set up a small stage the trigger return spring broke after the first shot. :50cal:
At this point I am seriously considering buying a Glock 17 for IPSC.

Is it just me or other CZ owners have this much trouble with their CZ guns? What could be next?

Selling the gun is not worth it. I would lose too much, plus when it does work I love it. Anyway, I sent an email to CZ-USA today. Hopefully they will send me a new spring for free.
 
Well, I've only got 5-600 down mine and have not used it in competition or for more than ~150 rds on any single day....but I've yet to have a single failure of any type, with 4 different types of ammo (all 115gr FMJ).
 
CZ will probably send you springs for free.,

My CZ75B is really good, no problem with it. Just buy a bunch of spare part if you plan IPSC, what will probably break is the slide stop, it's not uncommon.

Ejector also need to be cleaned every 500 rounds, as they might accumulate carbon under it.
 
I've had a bit of bad luck with my CZ too, a 75 B, including a broken trigger return spring. You might have better luck getting a replacement by calling London Arms in Ontario, the Canadian CZ distributor. Sorry, but I don't have a contact number for them. Maybe some other CGN member does?
 
I odered a CZ SP01 SHADOW, I have been waiting for over a month now. Called the shop I bought it from, they say it is in, but they are waiting for the CFO to do the transfer. Waiting for the gun to get here, now waiting for the CFO....just about as much fun as watching paint dry.:D Reading these posts on failures makes me glad I ordered spare parts!
 
I have had a number of CZ 75's and just got a CZ 85 Combat which is great. I had a SP01 but it never really worked for me, almost too front heavy. I sold it to another member on this board. It always ran 100%, never had a failure of any kind.

I think I prefer the lighter CZ's more.
 
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I've got an SP01 and its been problem-free... I bought it used too. By the looks of it and what the previous owner said, it had at least 1000rnds fired through it before I got it. I'd say I put another 500 through it since then.

I had 1 stovepipe, no other failures of any kind. I love the gun... low recoil, accurate, and the trigger is top notch.
 
Just wondering if your model is made in the Usa or in the Czech republic. I have no idea if there is any quality issues between the two countries but my 75b from CZ has never had any problems.
 
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I picked up mine in the EE in September and have put about 400 rounds through it since with no problems. As far as I know it's got all factory stock springs--the ammo was all Winchester 147 grain.
 
All the CZ guns are made in the Czech Republic. To the best of my knowledge, CZ-USA is just the distributor. The CZ guns are very high quality, and all the ones I used/owned have never failed me, but I suspect you can always find a lemon in anything.

Are you using reloads or factory ammo. Semi autos can be picky with ammo, and this could be your failures to extract and stovepipes.
 
The only problem with CZ is that every once and awhile they put out a lemon that your always trying to fix. Not saying your gun is a lemon, just sounds like a bit of bad luck. Keeping in mind that a pistol is nothing more than a mechanical device.

The problem I'm refering to is when the gun works great, then stops feeding or not ejecting properly. Only happens every now and then. Not often enough to track or trace it. Nothing you will ever do will fix it. I know 2 guys who have had that. Both guys have spent good money with goos smiths to try to fix. Hard to fix a problem you cant nail down or reproduce on demand.

I have an SP-01 and has not had a single issue from the first pull onward.
 
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Just a thought.
What brand of mags were you using when you had your issues? I only run mec-gar mags and they have never let me down.
 
First, if London Arms doesn't have them, I stock the trigger return springs. Cheap and easy to mail :) Have only ever broken one in approx 100,000 rounds of CZ shooting, but I know of three other occasions where competitors have broken them so one rides in my spares kit along with a spare slide stop. That's about it.

The SP01 Tactical is set up for very powerful European police type ammo and really needs a lighter recoil spring right off the bat :)

When you're talking about the ejector, (and some others are, too) - you're referring to the extractor, which can get crud behind it. Scrub well...

Use stock CZ mags - or Mec-Gar - no others.

Check your ammo if handloaded - use factory for checking functioning, then you know if it's the gun or the ammo...

Best regards
Gunnar
www.armco-guns.com
 
My SP-01 was having stove pipe almost once every a mag or two with UMC; then I switched to WinClean and it's running smoothly for the last 400 rounds.
I'd tried changing the main and recoil springs to Woff but I didn't see any improvement (while using UMC).
 
i've had my SP01 Shadow for months now, several thousand down the pipe and not one FTE, FTF, stovepipe or problem.
 
when I had one for my son, I noticed when the mags got a little dirty, it caused nosedives (the whole mag), using 147gr 9mm. The same ammo worked very flawlessly in Hk, Sig, tan, and Glock.
SO I would sum this up as a mag problem. Other than that, you can try different weight recoil springs and hammer springs.
 
gkosztrub said:
I bought my SP01 Tactical in May 07. So far I put around 2000 rounds through it. It is a great gun when it works. I had a lot of problems with FTEs in the beginning which went away after I changed the recoil & main springs. Then, I had issues with stove pipes which went away after I changed the ejector spring. I shot the gun last week at Waterford's IPSC level two match with no issues. I thought, finally the gun will be reliable. But then today I went to the range to practice and after I spent an hour to set up a small stage the trigger return spring broke after the first shot. :50cal:
At this point I am seriously considering buying a Glock 17 for IPSC.

Is it just me or other CZ owners have this much trouble with their CZ guns? What could be next?

Selling the gun is not worth it. I would lose too much, plus when it does work I love it. Anyway, I sent an email to CZ-USA today. Hopefully they will send me a new spring for free.
Click to expand...

I've run 4000 through my SP-01 tactical (decocker model). I got it last October.
I had one or two misfires. No any other issues.

I did not change (or replace) any parts. The trigger got smoother after about
2000 rounds.

I used mostly 115 gr and 124 gr. Only few hundred of 147 gr went through it.
 
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