like the title says. i'm at a loss to figure out why this is happening.

ive had this gun for probably 3 or 4 years. round count estimated 1500-2000. last range trip i had this problem. it feeds and shoots fine, until the last round in the mag. on that round the slide wont go fully into battery and i cant make it go manually. its always the last round, whether the mag started with 5 rounds, 10, or whatever, it even happens if the mag is loaded with a single round. tried different ammo (brand, fj v HP, etc) and no difference.

this is the only CZ i've ever had and i've been happy with it until this hickup.


anybody got any suggestions?

Was this only with one mag or several different mags?

One mag could point to weak mag spring, or some other issue with that mag.

2. both mags that came with the gun.

Sooo have you tried other magazines?  ETA besides the 2 that you got with it?


That would be my starting point after trying different ammo as you have.

The issue you are experiencing is quite common with the cz 75 series.

What is usually causing it is the fact that the round in the magazine (in your case the last round in the magazine) is being pushed forward in the magazine by the slide dragging over the top of the next round above it. When the round that is pushed forward in the magazine becomes the round that is ready to be stripped from the mag, into the chamber, the approach angle is now off and the breach face of the slide cannot smoothly push the cartridge all the way into the chamber, resulting in the slide not closing all the way.

Tapping the slide home will make the failure worse and a standard tap, rack procedure will only work if the next round in the magazine is not also pushed forward in the body of the magazine.

The solution to this a few things. First off, replace the magazine spring. CZ Custom sells +5 and +10% extra power magazine springs for this exact problem. The stronger mag spring will push the rounds in the magazine upwards with more force, that way the rounds in the mag cannot be dragged forward on the stripper bolt while the slide is going home. The increased tension will also help keep more tension between all the rounds in the magazine, preventing the rounds from being able to slide forward so easily. I have found that the CZ Custom +5% extra power springs prevent the issue while not making the magazines terribly hard to load.

The second part of the solution is clean and polish the breach face, the bottom edge of the breach face and the stripper bolt. If you don't know, the stripper bolt is the belly of the slide rearward of the breach face that the top round in the magazine drags across. That being said, polishing all of those areas to a very slick, smooth, finish will allow the stripper bolt to smoothly glide over the top round in the magazine, preventing it from being dragged forward while the slide is going home. Polishing the very bottom edge of the breach face will also help prevent the rounds from being pushed forward in the magazine and also slightly helps increase reliably because the very slick, smoot, polished surface will not hold onto fouling such as carbon and soon when the gun gets dirty. Polishing the breach face also helps improve overall reliability by allowing the base of the cartridges to slide up smoothly during the feeding process. The rounds being able to slide smoothly across the breach face will allow the cartridge to slide into the ideal position for feeding as the slide goes closed, ensuring proper seating in the chamber. The bright, slick, smooth surface also collects less fouling and also makes the breach face very easy to clean, even after firing hundreds of rounds at a long range session.

If you are still with me and can understand what I am describing, all you really need to do to polish the areas I described is put a generous amount of Flitz or Simicrome polish on a felt polishing wheel on a dremel and go to town. If the surfaces are very rough, you might need to take some 400 grit wet/dry sand paper and knock down any rough surfaces. You can start with the 400 then go to 600 or 800 after that, just make sure to generously polish the surfaces to a very bright, almost reflective, surface with the dremel before you call the job done.

While you are doing all this polishing, you can polish the feed ramp and chamber of the barrel but that by itself won't fix the issue. The real root of the problem here is that the top round in the magazine is being pushed forward and polishing the stripper bolt is the main fix.

To make the process simpler, you can start by simply replacing the mag springs and see if that completely fixes the issue but I would at very least to to put a light polish on the parts, if for no other reason other than it will make cleaning the gun a bit easier.

I hope this helps and is easy enough to follow. There was a detailed write up (with pictures) on how to do this job on one of the CZ pistol forums but that was years ago and I am not sure if the post is still able to be found. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

thats very helpful, thanks. based on above i already ordered some new mags and springs but i'll try this polishing too.  this is my first CZ, didnt realize it was a common issue

Wow this is news to me. I have always seen CZ 75 and reliability used together. If what you're describing is common that could hardly be the case.

Is it a preB or a B model?

Maybe I should clarify a bit; the issue isn't "common" but it isn't unheard of either. This problem arises especially when the mag springs are getting weak.

It is in no way a knock against the CZ 75 series at all. All platforms have their unique problems that can pop up from time to time.

That being said, new mag springs and some polishing are all that is required to fix the problem if your gun does have this issue. Costly parts, machine work, shipping to the factory for repair, all of that is completely unnecessary to resolve this issue.

I found it! Here is that detailed write up I was talking about:

http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=30923.0

The worst result of the effect described above, that I've read about on the CZ Forum is when the shooter only shoots a few rounds from the magazine and then attempts to eject a partially filled magazine.

The top bullet in the magazine, having been dragged forward by the slide, is sticking out past the front of the magazine and hangs up as the magazine starts to drop and that keeps the magazine from falling free.

The fix recommended is the same.  New/stronger springs and polishing the bottom of the slide.

Update - i finally received the new mags i ordered and made it to the range. didnt work. same problem even with new mags (mec gar with stronger springs).  i bought some stronger springs for the older mags but havent installed them yet. i will but i dont think that'll fix this issue.

@Taskmaster86

taskmaster -  the way i read your post above i'm not sure applies in my case. this problem happens even with a new mag  inserted with one round. slide open, insert mag, release slide. wont go into battery  (it stops about  say 1/4 inch out).  so there hasnt been an operation that is pushing the cartridge forward in the mag like there could be with a loaded mag while firing and it happening on the last round of it.

   

It sounds like you’ve eliminated the ammo and the magazine as variables, your pistol has functioned well up until this point - you may want to inspect the extractor and that general area.

On the Enos forum and on the CZ forum are accounts of people solving feeding issues by deep cleaning the extractor area or replacing the extractor or extractor spring.

thanks, i was thinking of trying exactly that.

Single feeding a round like that would eliminate the magazine and the rounds being pushed forward as a culprit. The next thing to do is to field strip the gun and try to slide a round up onto the breach face so that the rim of the case slides under the extractor. The base of the case needs to be able to slide up onto the breach face and engage the extractor smoothly and with just some tension. No tension at all or lots of tension would most likely indicate that the extractor is out of spec or the spring is bad. If you do buy a new extractor spring, CZ Custom recommends you only install the standard power spring as the extra power springs are for 40 cal only. That being said, I would purchase the extractor, the spring and its pin from CZ Custom as they will have the correct parts you need. Just for fun, you could polish the the breach face as that helps the base of the cartridges slide up into position smoothly.

After dealing with that, try to drop a loaded round into the chamber with the barrel out of the gun. The round should slide in and out very smoothly with no snagging, dragging or scratches on the case. You also need to make sure the round seats all the way down in the chamber and isn't left sticking out at all. Now put a round into the chamber, tap on the base of the case a few times and then flip the barrel up, holding the muzzle end straight up towards the ceiling. While holding the muzzle vertical and just barely shaking the barrel, the round should fall out of the chamber. eeven better is if the round falls out as soon as you tip the barrel up. If the round sticks in the chamber while being held up, most likely the C.O.L. is too long. In other words, the bullet is engaging the leade area of the chamber and sticking. CZ pistols do have a short leade and have been known to be picky with C.O.L. Try this test with several different types of ammo and if they all stick, the last ditch fix would be to mirror polish the chamber and leade. If doing that doesn't fix the issue, you probably need to send the gun back to CZ USA as you may need a new barrel or at very least the leade needs to be cut deeper. If you don't have a warranty, you could try dropping in another barrel and see if that fixes it or just take the gun to a gunsmith who would be willing to cut the leade a bit deeper. Not the chamber itself but just the leade area.

The absolute last ditch effort would be to send the gun to CZ Custom. The will definitely be able to take care of you and you could do some major upgrades while the gun is there. Trigger and action jobs, sights, optic cuts, custom slide and frame work, re-finishes, etc, they can do it all.  

Good info and I agree either way to do the above with the extractor... What I was thinking the problem might be (after new mags were used) is a worn out slide-lock/close lever's spring could be the culprit and when the mag spring is at it's strongest extended length the magazine's "follower" might be slightly touching/pushing up on the slide lock (even with 1 round in the magazine)... Normally that slide lever/lock spring is constantly pressing the slide lock lever in the down position. A slight re-profiling of the slide lock's surface area that gets activated by touching said fully or near fully extended magazine follower should be looked at too.

I know CZ thought that slide lock/lever spring on their P-01 model's was too weak... So they upgraded it and installed a stouter spring in the 75-Compacts but could not to the P-01 designated models without affecting the Nato Stock Number and having to go thru the torture tests all over again... The PCR might have gotten the slide-lock spring upgrade too I'm not sure. I do have a 75-Compact-D and have carried it daily since 2012.'

Hope this helps!