OT: some problems with my new cz pistol....

[ryan roopnarine]

its a cz-52, complete with 50 year old greases oozing out the more i use it. my first problem is kind of disturbing....

i was pressed into a legitimate situation for the first time ever (where brandishing a firearm might have been appropriate). i'll spare you the details, but just mention that 3 police cars rolled up behind me seconds before i was going to get into trouble (my intuition was good, apparently), sparing me from the putting on the vigilante act. anyway, the dealer that i bought the gun from said that for best lifespan, i should only load 7 cartridges into a clip (instead of the max capacity of 8). the evening i was about to get into trouble, i had the nice, shiny clip loaded with 7 rounds. because of the incident, i went to the range the next day to see if everything was kosher--unfortunately......

the gun would just go (click) and inevitably jam up when i tried to use the shiny mag with 7 in it. i thought something might be wrong with the gun, so i put the well worn magazine into it with 8 rounds. click-BOOM

i put the jammed cartridges back into the shiny, to try it out again (cap 7 again). same jamming issue occured. realized that the jam might be magazine related. tried one last time with 8 in the shiny magazine.....boom!
took the mag out, put 8 back in, tried it again......long story short, the shiny one only fires when put in with 8 rounds in it. the dingy one will operate with any number of rounds put into a magazine and inserted in. the shiny one won't. is this likely magazine or gun part related?

2nd problem.....the shiny magazine is the only one of the two that will hold the slide back once the magazine is empty. the dingy one, will kinda engage a detent, and fall back to normal. this sounds like parts rel. to me, what do you gentleman think?

3rd problem. i swept the range around me so that i could check the cases after they were ejected to see if the gun's internals were ok. (in addition to kicking the cases a good 1-2 meters behind me, where they got mixed in with other people's mess i found that roughly 1/2 of the cases had split at some point between the cartridge's open edge and the bottleneck (they didn't split continuously along this length, though). the dealer said that the ammunition he sold me was Yugo. military surplus, that it was designed a little hotter than anything civillian was supposed to be, and that it was likely not packed with case reloadability in mind. i bought some czech S and B ammo, i'll check it on thursday to see if it does the same. i can post a pic if need be. any comments?

thanks.

[Sweetwater]

A young cowboy named Billy Joe grew restless on the farm
A boy filled with wanderlust, who really meant no harm.
He changed his clothes and shined his boots,
And combed his dark hair down.
And his mother cried as he walked out
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

He laughed and kissed his mom and said "Your Billy Joe's a man.
I can shoot as quick and straight as anybody can.
But I wouldn't shoot without a cause, I'd gun nobody down."
But she cried again as he rode away,
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

He sang a song as on he rode, his guns hung at his hips.
He rode into a cattle town, a smile upon his lips.
He stopped and walked into a bar, and laid his money down.
But his mother's words echoed again,
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

He drank his first strong liquor then, to calm his shaking hand.
And tried to tell himself at last he had become a man.
A dusty cowpoke at his side began to laugh him down.
And he heard again his mother's words:
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

Filled with rage then, Billy Joe reached for his gun to draw.
But the stranger drew his gun and fired, before he even saw.
As Billy Joe fell to the floor, the crowd all gathered round.
And wondered at his final words,
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, Don't take your guns to town."

[ryan roopnarine]

A young cowboy named Billy Joe grew restless on the farm
A boy filled with wanderlust, who really meant no harm.
He changed his clothes and shined his boots,
And combed his dark hair down.
And his mother cried as he walked out
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

He laughed and kissed his mom and said "Your Billy Joe's a man.
I can shoot as quick and straight as anybody can.
But I wouldn't shoot without a cause, I'd gun nobody down."
But she cried again as he rode away,
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

He sang a song as on he rode, his guns hung at his hips.
He rode into a cattle town, a smile upon his lips.
He stopped and walked into a bar, and laid his money down.
But his mother's words echoed again,
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

He drank his first strong liquor then, to calm his shaking hand.
And tried to tell himself at last he had become a man.
A dusty cowpoke at his side began to laugh him down.
And he heard again his mother's words:
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

Filled with rage then, Billy Joe reached for his gun to draw.
But the stranger drew his gun and fired, before he even saw.
As Billy Joe fell to the floor, the crowd all gathered round.
And wondered at his final words,
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, Don't take your guns to town."

i, as much as anyone else, am aware that this isn't for settling impromptu wang measuring contests. like i said, i'm disturbed that my intuition was so right in this case, as they don't send three police cars with 2 in ea. to disperse regular loiterers. my main concern is that my health insurance may or may not cover getting hit over the head with a baseball bat for the contents of my wallet. two other people at my place of employ had to file police reports already, one for being jumped, one for being robbed. i can't wait and hope statistics favor me in this case...that's why i got the most reliable inexpensive pistol that i could (i could have gotten a POS lorcin/bryco saturday night special 9mm or .380 acp for $100), but i got this one knowing that it would fire if i ever needed it to. i really hope to quit some time after the new year, this crap is getting old.

[CrimsonBrian]

I'll keep my opinions on gun control to myself and have little knowledge on your jamming issue, but one question nags: What the hell do you do and where are you doing it where you and your co-workers are under constant threat of being robbed or beaten? You dont work at a 7-11 in Iraq, do you?

[ryan roopnarine]

....i'll admit to my transgressions once i quit, which will be shortly.....(even include a photo)

for now, i'll say that this crap has, essentially, been isolated incidents. someone that works at my place said that a spate of this magnitude hasn't happened in roughly 5 or 6 years. i think it started when the female got jumped, that just encouraged these people and their compatriots to do it more. if it was just people spitting on my car (as seems to happen more and more to other people), i'd be content ignoring it. if its rocks being thrown, i'd get out with a tire iron and menace around my car (and make sure the gun isn't within my reach). i'm hoping that things calm down (which it seems to be), and that the gun can get mothballed to the holster in the glovebox with a magazine somewhere else in the car. but for the next month, i'm going to be a wee bit defensive when i feel the need to be.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Ryan,

Here are some basics from some of the other arms that I have worked on that had simular promblems.

Feed problem:

Compare the two mags, carefully paying attention to the feed ears at the top. They should hold the cartridges just high enough to allow the bottom of the slide to push a cartirdge forwards into the camber. If the ears are too tight they may hold it too low and misfeed an empty chamber, too wide and it may allow the cartridge to cant at the mouth of the camber and wind up side ways in the ejection port. "stovepipe"

Check the mouth of the chamber for burrs. If there are some, gently polish round just 1 mm of the mouth to smooth it out.

Slide Stop:

Back to the Mags. Inside the mags are the feed spring and follower.
Check the follower to see that it moves freely and if when empty a part of it enters/passes a small port on the side of the mag where it engages to slide stop. If not it may need a little bending, or the spring may we too short from years of compression from the 8 round load ups to push the slide stop. if so just side the bottom of the mag off...boing!!! catch the spring and give it a stretch, check the follower for free movement and put it back together. Tip: to help avoid the boing and the later frustration of trying to get the spring back in. use a nail or simular item through the holes along the side to hold the spring in place.

Good luck

[CrimsonBrian]

Well, I will look forward to hearing about what it is you are guarding. In the meantime, I will speculate wildly and pretend you work for the CIA.

[Robin-535im]

I think firearms and ammunition fall into that category. If you're robbing a 7-11, use whatever you can get your hands on. If you're protecting your life, well, how much is your life worth? I would think once you decide you need a gun, you'll want to get something very very reliable.

just my two cents...

Robin

[kiNGMak]

buy a glock... get a nice 40 or 45 .... i have a Glock 27.. the baby glock.. reliable....!

[Sweetwater]

....i'll admit to my transgressions once i quit, which will be shortly.....(even include a photo)

for now, i'll say that this crap has, essentially, been isolated incidents. someone that works at my place said that a spate of this magnitude hasn't happened in roughly 5 or 6 years. i think it started when the female got jumped, that just encouraged these people and their compatriots to do it more. if it was just people spitting on my car (as seems to happen more and more to other people), i'd be content ignoring it. if its rocks being thrown, i'd get out with a tire iron and menace around my car (and make sure the gun isn't within my reach). i'm hoping that things calm down (which it seems to be), and that the gun can get mothballed to the holster in the glovebox with a magazine somewhere else in the car. but for the next month, i'm going to be a wee bit defensive when i feel the need to be.

Ryan,

I didn't mean to make you any more defensive. We're supposed to live in a civilized world and I'm well aware that it's not. I do like Johnny Cash and was raised on that song amongst others. One of the points I would make is that you need to feel absolutely confident in a firearm. I'm a firm believer in gunsmiths and proper training, just as I believe educated mechanics, surgeons and clergy, none of whom you want to see professionally (as the old joke goes). Get into a certified class for concealed weapon permits. Without the training and certification, many folks do the right thing, but end up on the wrong side of the law. Or even worse, as the song refers to, the wrong side of the gun. I do not envy the situation that puts you at this perceived level of risk.

Ken