KSC CZ75 1st Version
(with comparisons to the 2nd Version)
Reviewed by Redhawk

Click on images to enlarge

Brief History of the CZ75
The first model (Model 1) of the real steel CZ75 was an Eastern European-made semi-auto that was produced from 1975–1980. It chambered the 9mm Parabellum and had a 15-round magazine. It was a double action pistol and the safety could be engaged with the hammer cocked (Condition One); however it lacked a decocking feature. The Swedish Army wanted the CZ75 as their standard sidearm, but required the pistol modified so that it could be more sturdy. The Ceska Zbrojovka factory redesigned the pistol and extended the slide rails to ensure durability. With the longer slide rails and heavier slide, the CZ75 Model 2 was born.

OK, now on to the KSC CZ75 1st Version. The 1st Version (v1) is a copy of the real CZ75 Model 1, while the 2nd Version (v2) is a copy of the real CZ75 Model 2. Now KSC released v2 before v1, thus the discrepancy in the numeric order. This numbering system is the same as with their Beretta M93R v1 and v2, with v1 being a replica of the first release of the real steel M93R. Get it? With 2 coming before 1, you would think KSC is counting down to something!

“First” Impressions
The CZ75 v1 comes in exactly the same box as with the v2. I guess KSC figured that the exterior appearance of the guns were so similar that it didn’t warrant a redesign of the packaging. Or maybe they were just cheap. The gun comes with a manual, BB loading tool, hop-up tool and small bag of BBs. The manual is also from the 2nd Version gun. When I first laid eyes on this gun, I thought, “Oh, look at that, shiny plastic. What a BS!”

Ooops, I meant, “What ABS!” That’s right, the gun’s finish has a jet black, ultra shiny, highly reflective appearance. I could see my reflection clearly on the side of the frame. But it doesn’t look anything like polished blued steel, which I believe was what KSC was trying to achieve. The coating appears to be a little on the heavy side, which you’ll notice when you look at the two disassembly notches on the slide and frame. It lacked the polished and smooth coating that Tanaka put on their Midnight Blue finish.

The trigger and outer barrel are made of ABS with a silver coating, and as with the rest of the gun, they look shiny and reflective and VERY plastic. One advantage of the shiny coating is that it’s resistant to the damage of paint thinner. I applied nail polish remover on the gun and it didn’t mar the surface. Now why on earth would I rub paint thinner on this gun? I’m not telling! I’m pleading the 5th! Those of you who live in the United States would clearly understand. 8?)

Metal parts include the hammer, safety switch, slide release lever, rear sight, mag release button, some internal parts and, of course, the magazine. The mag holds 26 rounds and is nicely constructed. The two-panel ABS grips “shine” very much like the rest of the body, however it’s not paint thinner resistant. The CZ logo appears on both sides of the grips. Instead of tight checker pattern, there’s a neat formation of tiny squares to ensure a good firm grasp. The gun is very comfortable to hold and the curvature of the pistol grip makes the piece a pleasure to shoot. It’s long enough for someone with large hands to hold comfortably. The entire gun’s assembly is smooth and even and doesn’t have any seams down the center.

The safety switch is easy to engage and on the frame is a very visible red dot, indicating the safety is off. With the safety engaged, the switch covers the red dot. The switch cannot be placed on SAFE when the hammer is down, only when the hammer is half-cocked or fully cocked. So the gun can be carried “cocked and locked” or “half-cocked and locked.” I prefer the latter. Like the real steel counterpart, there’s no decocking feature. Flicking the safety on and off with my thumb is easy and doesn’t require repositioning of my hold.

The slide is a little too vertically short for my taste, and someone with large hands may find the slide a little difficult to grasp when racking it back to chamber a round. On the left side of the slide is a small CZ logo and the lettering “MODEL 75 CAL.9 PARA.” The right side has three sets of the same 5-digit numbers, each on the slide, barrel and frame. The trigger guard is of an oval shape, which indicates that it’s an older pistol design. Current real steel CZ models have a squared-off trigger guard with serration, giving the shooter a positive reinforced grasp with the weak-hand index finger. The rear sight is non-adjustable and is of a simple square notch, without any dots or outline to aid in sight alignment, again indicating an older design. The front sight is also fundamental — a basic ramp with serration for low lighting. Aligning the sights proved to be somewhat difficult when aiming in low lighting, or if the target is too dark.

Racking back the slide gives a plastic-like “cluck.” Releasing it also gives a similar sound. When the slide is locked back, there’re two ways to release it. One is by pressing the slide release lever. The other is when the mag is not inserted or during reloading; simply pull the slide back slightly and let it run forward. The latter method is similar to the Walther PPK design.

Squeezing the trigger in single action mode proved to be smooth and easy, unlike in double action. When firing in double action, the trigger would give a slight hesitation when it reaches the half-cocked position before continuing. This is not smooth! With this slight pause in the movement you can easily place the hammer in the half-cocked position by squeezing the trigger halfway. The gun appears to have a tight construction, meaning the slide, frame and internals really come into contact with each other. With the magazine out, I “rode” the slide back and forth slowly, and that caused the slide to stop halfway. I had to push it forward in order for it to close. However, pulling the slide all the way back and then letting it go on its own did not cause any problems. The slide isn’t heavy, so that’s probably part of the reason. V2 also exhibited the “trigger hesitation” and “tightness” problems.

1st and 2nd Compared
There’re similarities and differences between v1 and v2. The differences are in the finish and the design of the slide, frame and magazine. The finish of v2 is matte black, though not as dark as v1. When compared side by side, v1 is a glossy, deep black while v2 is a dull, very dark gray. Like v1, v2’s construction is smooth and even and has no seams. On v2’s left side, just in front of the slide release lever, are the words “Made in Czechoslovakia,” — something the v1 doesn’t have. V2’s frame and slide are much fuller towards the front, which you can see in the photos. The external of the two magazines are nearly identical, the only difference is the BB loading method. V1’s mag is completely covered up on the front and requires the tool to load the BBs. On v2’s mag all you need to do is pull the follower all the way down and lock it in place before dropping the BBs in by hand. Both have a 26 round capacity. There are many parts in the two guns that are interchangeable, one of which is the magazine. Other parts include the inner/outer barrel, trigger, hammer, rear sight, slide release, safety switch, mag release, grips, recoil spring and guide and probably some internal parts. While I didn’t have a scale handy to weigh the two guns, I didn’t feel any differences offhand (v2 weighs 725g).

Brief History of 2nd Version’s Performance
Before I move to the performance of v1, let me give you a brief overview of v2’s performance. V2’s blowback was sluggish and weak. When firing, the slide would not go all the way back and in some instances not even back far enough to chamber the next round! And of course the slide failed to lock back after the last round. Maybe it was cool down, but I didn’t feel the mag getting very cold. I found that warming up the magazine (mildly warm to the touch) improved the blowback to an adequate level. The slide kicked back nicely and was more crisp. But still on some occasions, such as on the last round of the second load, the slide failed to lock back. Still, warming it up before shooting made an improvement. I had used HFC134 gas and 0.2g BBs for the test (in normal room temperature), and fps was chronoed at an average of 230. I could get better performance with HFC22, but then again, this gun is made in Japan!

1st Version’s Performance
Now on with the performance of v1. I gassed up the mag until it was full. Loading the mag was very easy with the aid of the loading tool. Simply fill the tube up to the top (the tube holds 25) and use the rod to push all the BBs in. The accuracy testing was done indoors with a temperature of 65 degrees F. I used HFC134 gas and 0.2g BBs. For this session I didn’t warm up the mag, just so I can see if KSC improved the blowback. I stepped back 16 feet away from the target and had in mind of placing 10 shots into the 6-inch diameter bull’s eye. I fired and stopped at 3 shots because they all missed the paper completely! The CZ75 tend to shoot high, probably because of the low sights (in order to hit the center I had to move as close as 5 feet). So I aimed low (about 6 inches) and was able to make contact with the center 3-inch ring. I placed 10 shots and the groupings were around 3 inches. The blowback was nice, much better than v2, though not as sharp as the Western Arms guns. The slide cycled properly and the slide locked at the last shot. I was able to get a little over 3 mag loads with one charge.

For the FPS chrono I did warm up the mag in order to get its maximum potential. I placed the mag inside 2 plastic sandwich bags and then submerged it into a deep tray filled with warm water (not hot water!). I was careful not to get the mag wet by using 2 bags (one inside the other) and leaving the openings above the water. I left it in for 30-60 seconds depending on the temperature of the water. Again I used 134 gas and 0.2g BBs in normal room temperature. I warmed it up after every reload and got an average of 245 fps. Not too bad, a slight improvement over v2.

Hope for 2nd Version Owners?
As I mentioned earlier, the mags of the two guns are interchangeable. But do they shoot? You bet they do! First the v2 mag in the v1 gun: I loaded up the v2 mag and fired a barrage of BBs just to test it out. The v1 didn’t suffer quite the same fate as its predecessor (or is it successor?) The blowback was slower and the slide still failed to lock after the last round, but it wasn’t as dreadful. I’m guessing this is due to the slightly lighter slide of the v1.

Now the v1 mag in the v2 gun: you would think that with the v1 gun doing better, that using its mag would improve the v2, right? Well, not quite. On the first mag load the slide cycled OK and it locked on the last shot. On the reload the slide began to slow a little and it failed to lock on the last shot. I’m assuming that the v2 slide is heavier. So it’s a tough call whether I should recommend the v1 mag in the v2 gun. If you’re a disappointed 2nd Version owner and is curious about this, go ahead and get the v1 mag and give it a try. The v1 mag doesn’t have the cutout follower lock/drop-in loading (just see the photo).

I’m not a big fan of Hop Up, so I’m not going into great details. The hop up is adjustable using a key and it’s inserted into the slot just inside the chamber. The configuration is exactly as with the KSC Glocks.

Take-down
Disassembly is a cinch. There’re 2 small notches, one on the slide and one on the frame, just in front of the hammer on the left side. Pull the slide back slightly until the 2 notches meet, then using your other hand push out the slide release lever from the right side. The slide moves forward and the whole assembly breaks up into 6 parts: frame, slide, barrel, spring, slide release lever and spring rod.

Conclusion
All in all KSC did make an improvement over the 2nd Version. The blowback is better and the power and price come close to a Marui M9. If you’ve never owned a GBB pistol and you’re looking for an inexpensive one, then the CZ75 1st Version is certainly a good option. It’s a great piece if you’re tired of the Glocks and Berettas and want something different and it’s also suitable for collectors who have just about every gun out there and want something unique (a real CZ75 Model 1 is very rare and if you’re lucky enough to find one you’ll have to pay $2,000 or more!)