CZ-82 magazine tightness?

[carrguy1]

I just took delivery of a CZ-82 and was giving it a look over last night and noticed that the magazines are very tight coming out after pressing the mag release, so much so that at first I didn't think the mag release was working, either left or right handed. Closer inspection shows that when pressing it the mag may drop a millimeter or two, it's almost not noticeable, and then I have to basically pull it out with my fingernail hooked on to the front of the floor plate. After I pull it down an inch or two to be able to grab it I can get it out but it does feel tight to me. It does not feel especially tight going back in, maybe a little. It came with two magazines and the same thing happens with both. They appear to be and were advertised as original CZ mags with crossed cannons on them.

I did some google searching and there is some debate on whether these guns were designed this way on purpose so that Czech officers they were issued to would keep better track/care of them than if they just dropped free. Some people report that theirs do drop free while others report similar things to what I'm seeing (although they seem to say it will drop up to an inch before getting tight). Some report that it happens with some mags and not with others. Some indicate that the "problem" (if it can be called that if it was designed to do this) can be fixed by loosening the grips, adding shims between them and the frame, sanding down the inside of them or even taking some material off the back of the trigger guard if it is protruding into the mag well and dragging on the magazine. I didn't take anything apart last night and will when I have time to see what might be causing it. I kind of feel like it might be the trigger guard protrusion as I noticed that the front of the magazine that was in the gun at delivery had a lot of vertical scratching on it.

I have another CZ-82 but it's been stored away for some time and I don't have immediate access to it to compare but I don't remember the same thing happening with the mags I have for it. I guess what I'm looking for is some input from some of you that have more experience with these guns than I do and whether or not there is any truth to the above statements of it being designed to be tight on purpose, caused by the grips, trigger guard protrusion, etc. It should also be noted that, due to time constraints, I wind up being much more of a collector than a shooter.

[ethangsmith]

So I've got an 82 from 1987 and an 83 from 1989. Both guns, with factory magazines, will drop free with no trouble. I will say that I HIGHLY doubt this is a fault of the gun and more a fault of the magazine. Most of the magazines on the market are either worn out original mags or junk aftermarket magazines. It's not cheap, but I would suggest getting a brand new magazine direct from CZ. They're about $40 are are listed for the 83, but are 100% the same magazine that is used in the 82. My thought is that even though your magazines are original surplus, they may have bowed out of shape over the years. Look at the magazines too. See if there are fresh scratches or wear marks that indicate where they are hanging up on the gun. A defined, fresh scratch on the magazine would indicate a burr inside the pistol. Worn areas would indicate rubbing on the frame. Check also to ensure the slide lock works properly (Slide stays open on an empty mag, but does not hang up on a loaded mag).

[Ecclectic Collector]

How tight are your grip screws? It is possible to over-tighten them and this will cause the magazine to drag. This happened to me an loosening them a half turn was all it took to solve the problem.