CZ-52 and Tokarevs at the Arms Room

Tam has a new post up at the Arms Room about some serious commie guns, the CZ52 and a Tokarev, both chambered in 7.62 Goofy-Ass, or whatever the name of that round is.  Tam actually let me shoot both of these guns, and having never shot a CZ-52 or a Tokarev before, I can say it was an interesting experience.  The Tok for example fits in your hand roughly like an old school Browning, the lines make sense and the ergonomics aren’t terrible.  They’re not great, because the concept of a “high hands” grip didn’t exist back then, but hey, it’s not like the Tok was ever used to do anything other than cap dissidents in the back of the skull, right?

The CZ52 on the other hand was a nightmare of ergonomics.  I’m not even going to mention the trigger pull on the guns, because my fish scale only goes to 25 lbs, however the ergonomics on the CZ were basically all wrong.  If you look at the pictures at The Arms Room, notice how the “beavertail” of the CZ52 starts kind of low on the grip.  What that does is completely baffle any attempt to get a really high grip on the grip, and in fact it actually exacerbated muzzle flip.  However, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant to shoot, because aside from the wretched ergonomics and appalling trigger, recoil with the 7.62 McSilly round was actually quite mild.

In fact, if you’re one of the bajillion guys that bought a CZ52 with your C&R license and were thinking about using it for a carry pistol, Novak actually makes a set of sights for the gun.  You can also buy a decent hollow point round for the gun from Wolf Gold, and while I’d rather have a 9mm, an 85 grain JHP at 1600 feet per second isn’t anything I’d volunteer to get shot with.  Now if only you could fix the grip angle on the CZ-52…

4 Comments

  1. Hmm. Tritium night sights basically cost what the gun does (or did in the Goode Olde Days of the late Clinton, early Bush years, not sure what they’re going for now).

    Never had any great desire for a CZ-52. They just look disproportioned and clumsy.

  2. Have one and it is a great inexpensive fun gun. I’ve added an aftermarket firing pin which cut the trigger pull to about 6lbs. The gun has been 100% reliable and commercial ammo is fairly easily found and comparable or cheaper then the more common calibers.

  3. The grip angle’s not great, but it’s also not atrocious. The recoil (or lack thereof) is really nice, and a cheap 8-rd pistol that can punch through body armor certainly has its place.

    Besides, it fits in most non-Kydex 1911 holsters.

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