Decisions-CZ-75--or--Browning Hi-power???
 

Simple question. Which is a better firearm and why? Im deciding between the two. [img]confused.gif[/img]

MIR
It all comes down to opinion, and that is the reason there is such a multitude of 9mm pistols on the market. Everyone has their own idea of which is best. Just my opinion, but the Browning is one of the most comfortable pistols in the hand and is a time proven design.

Hi Mark!

For defensive purposes I'd take the Browning P-35....carried a few of them over the years as primary or backup role....the fixed sight model is SLICK...and the older NICKLE plated versions are very nice!
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CZ is a good weapon but a HEAVY one!

Hi Powers were THE pistols issued th the elite WAFFEN SS troops...that speaks in itself! [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

In any case: your pick will be a good one...

My actual carry 9mm's are a Glock 19 & a WALTHER P99...

kidvett [img]cool.gif[/img]

I've had both, Kidvette is absoultely correct in that the CZ is a big gun, 17 rd mag, but a wonderfully accurate firearm. Recommend a $200 KBI HP clone then get the CZ too, together will be less than a new HP. I shoot a KBI/FEG Mauser HP copy that is excellent, and not one I'd mourn over should I have to "dispose" of or have it confisticated. Its a first class gun.

RK

I have found that some guns just feel better in my hand and it makes all the difference in shooting them. So heft them and use that as a factor in the decision and although I don't have a HP, they have always appealed to me, [img]smile.gif[/img]

ed

The HP is about the only gun I carry while away from home, you just can't beat a John Browning design. However, I would stay away from the clones,if you can afford to. Just the price difference tells you there is a quality difference. I have worked on both original and clones, and would never want to trust my life to the copies. There is a big difference in steel,in the fit and finish, just better quality control, But I do understand money and what we can and can't afford. To much to go into here, but all gun buys I get into, I try too look down the road at a time when I may need to sell. The HP will, if bought right, not lose money and you will have an original to resell not a cheap copy, hope I make sence here.

I've owned a commercial CZ-75 for about 17 years and it's a first class pistol in every respect. I've had several CZ's with the painted finish that, while not as nice as the commercial model, were still excellent pistols. I also own a commercial HP in .30 Luger and several Inglis HP's... one converted to .41 Action Express. The HP is also a first class pistol with one "fault" that any carry gun I own will not have... the magazine disconnect.

The CZ is heavier, carries two additional cartridges and has better sights, IMO. The CZ is utterly reliable and handles recoil better... again, IMO. The double action is smooth and single action let-off is very good. Accuracy is equal to the HP.

The HP is lighter than the CZ and has a slimmer profile. It feels as good in my hand as the CZ but it seems to transfer recoil more sharply. For a carry gun, I wouldn't have the adjustable sights but the fixed sights are quite good. Reliability is as good as the CZ. Single action let-off can be excellent. It doesn't have double action capabilities. The magazine disconnect is a bad feature, IMO, and on my "shooter" I've had it disabled. Accuracy is the same as the CZ.

Which is better? I don't believe either has any overwhelming advantage and I'd take either one. I like having both! For my first pick, I'd shop price and then add the other as funds allowed.

I've both and I'd agree with all the comments so far. As far as a carry gun goes I use a CZ compact as I'm happier with the CZ's DA/SA set up, (it can also be carried cocked and locked if you like, but that's what puts me off the Hi Power).

Which feels best in your hand may be a deciding factor ?

This is an interesting thread for me. I have owned only 1 FN high power, 30 years ago. It was Nazi marked with the tangent sight and the shoulder stock mounting in the backstrap. I could not hit a doorway at 50 feet with that thing. I figured the high magazine capacity was to compensate for the inaccuracy. I had traded a .30 luger for it and traded off on a 44 mag S&W. The rifling and bore in the HP looked very good to excellent, maybe just a little dark. I was shooting on a small bore pistol team at the time so was fairly competent and I could Not keep 5 shots in a row on the paper on a standard 50 yard small bore pistol target. Anyone else with that experience?

[quote]Originally posted by Heinz:
<strong>This is an interesting thread for me. I have owned only 1 FN high power, 30 years ago. It was Nazi marked with the tangent sight and the shoulder stock mounting in the backstrap. I could not hit a doorway at 50 feet with that thing.&lt;Snip&gt;</strong><hr></blockquote>

Over the years I've probably slugged at least a dozen military Hi-Power barrels and without exception they were all over .357" groove diameter. A friend in England had an Inglis and two slide/barrel combinations... a tangent sight slide and a fixed sight slide. One of his barrels slugged .358" and the other was .359". That's pretty typical of what I've found.

Certainly though, the dismal accuracy you've experienced with your Nazi P-35 is not "normal". You may have had abnormal slop elsewhere in the slide/frame or the barrel/bushing fit.

My CZ-75 has a .3575" groove diameter and I load cast bullets sized to .359" to use in it. I've also shot a lot of .357" jacketed bullets through the CZ and a Hi-Power or three. I had a machinist in England make two expander plugs for my Lyman "M" die that open the mouth of a 9mm Luger case to accept the larger bullets. Accuracy is greatly improved when the larger bullets are used.

Interestingly, my 586 S&W revolver has a groove diameter of .3565" and the Lyman 356402 bullet (9mm truncated cone design) is wonderfully accurate in it. My mold is a two cavity model that's old and it drops bullets of .360" which I can size to .359 - .357" as needed. The newer Lyman molds usually drop bullets that are too small at .356".... unless they've changed in recent years.

The original Czech made CZ75 has the smoothest double action trigger pull of any pistol that I have shot. I was not nearly as impressed with the Italian clones. Other than the Colt Govt 45, I believe that there are more clones of the CZ design, than any other pistol (Italian, Swiss, Israeli, etc), but on the other hand, the only military using it are the Czechs. Where as the FNHP and its clones, are used by more non Warsaw Pact nations, than any other pistol. Tom

I had the same decision to make last year. But if your hands are on the small side, like mine, it's a no brainer. I liked the CZ, but the trigger reach for the first double-action shot was a little too long. CZ makes a single-action only version that fit me very well, but I figure if you're only going to shoot single-action the CZ has no advantage (except cost). I bought the Hi-Power, and had a gunsmith remove the magazine safety and lower the trigger pull to under 5 lb. It's a wonderful gun, very accurate, with unmatched pointing qualities. I've started to use it in IDPA matches with good results. <img src="graemlins/wave.gif" border="0" alt="[byebye]" />

Your queastion could be answered in several ways.

1. Comparing the current made High Power to the Current Made CZ. or

2. Comparing the original High Power made to John Browning specs to the original CZ. Both are no longer made.

In comparing the originals the High Power wins hands down expecially in terms of workmanship and trigger pull (providing you remove the mag safety on the High Power).

The original High Power was made of fine quality forgings and all the CZ's to my knowledge were made of the less desirable castings.

Most stock CZ's have inferior trigger pulls to the High Power (again assuming you remove the mag safety from the High Power.)

The late model CZ's have a passive firing pin safety that will break its sheet metal roll pin if you dry fire it. But on the other hand the late model High Powers will often crack there slides behind the firing pin plate because there is very little metal left behind the plate after the addition of the new passive firing pin safety.

Also the new High Powers are made largely of castings just like the current CZ's.

Both weapons are extremely accurate.

Most Browning produced High Powers have very good workmanship but the currently made and imported FN's have gotten terrible reviews in the workmanship and accuracy department.

My advice is this. If you have the money buy an original High Power made before 1990, they were forged and did not have the hated passive firing pin safety.

If money is a consideration look for an original CZ (the one without the passive firing pin safety) but be prepared to suffer with a very gritty trigger pull. None of the stadard models have a clean breaking trigger. The race guns are a different story but they run substatially more money.

Please note that virtually every world class professional assasin chooses the same pistol to dispatch his victim: FN Browning HiPower