[Voltaire]

OK, over the past few months there have been here and on other forums several post regarding the Croatian made Hellcat...
Many of the comments made by those who post are looking for answers as to issues with the pistol in general and certain aspects.
A question could be made as to are the issues Springfield's as the agent, OR are they a factory issues refusing to address aspects in Croatia?
The Hellcat is inexpensive and i must assume that the promotion of the Hellcat is substantial.
I attach here a shot of a brochure many years old from CZ when in, i think 2001 or then about i purchased my first NEW CZ. Had a used one prior.
CZ to me represent value for money and as one can see their range is extensive in many calibers.
Another issue (lol) i have with CZ is that they are reliable, user friendly, available and not expensive. The most telling part is i have yet to see a comment as to the issues some has faced with them. Yep, they make several compacts and again i see no comments as to issues. They are Made in a nation very close to Croatia.
So who has checked out their compacts and what are their thoughts of a CZ compact?

 

[WVSurveyor]

I have a 75D PCR. Wonderful weapon. They're not as available or as inexpensive as they used to be, but what is? I have a soft spot in my heart for a DA/SA hammer fired pistol with a decocker. CZ,s though, just like other brands, have a few issues that people deal with often. One is the firing pin retaining pin. I don't know why they use such soft metal for the pin as it deforms rather quickly and needs replaced. It's a simple and cheap fix though to install a quality pin. Another issue most everyone deals with is the heavy double action trigger. I know in a decocker model especially, it's safety related, but almost always people do trigger work on their CZ's. I have swapped out the trigger shoe to the "Old Style" (it's easier on my finger) and installed the Cajun Gun Works Pro Package Kit. The other issue a number of folks have with certain CZ models are the sights. They're small and have a luminescent paint that is not very bright. I put tritium night sights on mine and that did the trick. I now have a top quality, excellent handgun that is a joy to shoot and one that I trust my life with. Price wise though, with the initial cost and upgrades, you will have a gun that is a little north of $1,000.00. Or in the case of all you southern hemisphere folks, a little south of $1,000.00.

 

[RevV]

I have a Cajunized 75 Compact clone made by Canik. It's so close to the real CZ that it's the only clone Cajun Gunworks will work on. A range buddy has a stock CZ 75 Compact, and we both prefer my Cajunized Canik C 100.

I have no personal complaints about CZ. They are a top manufacturer for certain. I have read about breakages in CZs but on the internet one can find bad reviews of EVERYTHING.

I do love Hellcats. I have 2 of them and carry one more days than not. They are a spectacular weapon, IMO! The reliability seems to be excellent. I shoot them well, and they are significantly lighter and smaller than a CZ 75 Compact. That said, I would NOT say a Hellcat is better than CZ 75 Compact. I would say we are blessed to have multiple choices for good handguns.

 

[RevV]

That is an old picture. It now has stock CZ 75 grips, which are better than than the Canik's.

 

[Voltaire]

Yes you are correct that on the internet you can find breakages and faults listed for all, or most pistols. In our club CZ is used by some 35% of all shooters. Our club also allows members to use club pistols and CZ we have plenty. THE only item i have broken on my many CZ's is the stupid slide stop. This is so with many CZ's and has been a point of worry for years. ALL of us carry a spare slide stop or 2 and the trigger spring. The new CZ Shadow 2 is an upgraded pistol, extremely popular and no more breakages of slide stops or anything else. A very close friend of mine has a CZ SP01, (not a shadow that came later) it is some 15 years old used very frequently. NOT any parts on his pistol have broken and he did have to replace a barrel some 6 years ago. He fired a round off, it lodged in the barrel (no powder) and he fired again. Only the barrel split, no damage to his frame and he just replaced the barrel and all works perfectly.