[JonM]

Well my Xmas present form the wife arrived a day early and i went and picked it up today. I must say the CZ97BD is a very very impressive handgun. This is the case with the goodies it came with. a very servicable set of basic cleaning tools, a bushing wrench, a hard case that is a bit on the small side for this handgun and all its accessories and two 10 round magazines along with the required cheap nanny state gun lock (not shown) which i gave to the store clerk for her son's pistol.



Along withthe usable goodies there was a proof fire document the warranty card and a nice color manual



evidently the tester is not a very good shot.

one of the nice features is the loaded chamber indicator as show in the loaded position in the top pic and the unloaded in the bottom you can see the little silver detent sticking up just behind the chamber in a easily consipicous place. unlike the berreta loaded indicator which is hard to see and barely shows this one is easily seen or felt.

[JonM]

there has been a lot of talk about the grip size and weight of this handgun while it is a heavy gun it is also made of high quality steel in both the frame and slide so it does weigh more than any of my other semi-autos short of my DE.50. This being said the weight is well balanced even with 10 rounds in the magazine. as far as grip size goes i would have to say it fits my hand well altho i have medium to large hands. i typically wear size 2XL gloves and could prolly get away with wearing 3XL in some cases. however in the following sets i have compaired the CZ97BD to several of my other semi autos a SigP220, My Springfield 1911-A1 and my SigP226.

First up the Springfield:

As you can see the width is very close or slighlty favors the CZ altho i have a set of pachmyer rubber grips on my 1911.



the 1911 however is smaller by a small bit in grip lenght but not by much



Next is the SigP220:

While i like the Sig P220 a lot it is just not as comfortable to hold as the 1911 or CZ97BD. i also replaced the factory grips which i really didnt like with a set of pachmyers. the pachmyer grips are identical in shape and size to the factory sig grips they are just more comfortable in cold or hot weather giving a positive grip. the SigP220 grip is slightly larger than the CZ97BD width wise.



the sigP220 is slighlty shorter in grip length and this difference is what make makes the gun feel a little funky to me.

[JonM]

last and least is the lowly 9mm SigP226 this is one fat pig of a gun. i hardly ever fire this thing and i am not sure why i bought it. while the gun does have a comfy feel its still a 9mm. but it is fat fat fat in the grip its got a short length but a fat butt. its a comfy gun to hold and my version is also sporting pachmyer wrap arounds identical in size to the factory hard plastic.





Well tomorrow i am taking over to the local indoor range and do some shooting. ill post up the results and impression of that tomorrow evening.

One last thing like the sig P22x series there is no safety there is only the decocker for the CZ97 and while it is stiff to operate it brings the hammer to a very useful 1/4 cocked position that makes the DA pull a little smoother than the full hammer down pull.

[Westy]

I have a CZ P40 "frankengun" in 40 S&W and think it's a great handgun. Congrats on your new present.

Must have been a good boy this year?

[Terrax]

I bought a cz p06 in 40 cal. about a month ago. Feels great in my hand and shoots better than my glock or my Smith and Wesson. CZs are great guns at prices that make them an excellent value.

[JonM]

Originally Posted by Westy

I have a CZ P40 "frankengun" in 40 S&W and think it's a great handgun. Congrats on your new present.

Must have been a good boy this year?

i been talking about wanting a CZ in 45 acp for months and least i know she is listening to me on occasion lol. she handed me a envelope and said i couldnt find anything for ya this year but i got this card... inside was copy of the order slip for the pistol!! i had to go down and do the paperwork but that wasnt a big deal. gonna be hard to sleep tonite shooting it for the first time tomorrow. beeen shooting sigs and 1911's mostly with renting range guns of various types time to time.