In the April of 2007, Zastava Arms of Serbia, formerly Crvena Zastava, introduced the forth generation of the CZ99 pistol. Tagged the CZ05, this double action pistol differs from earlier variations by addition of a picatinny-type accessory rail in the front of the alloy frame. Other cataloged features include a loaded chamber indicator and an additional indicator that there are three rounds remaining in the magazine.

By June, EAA (European American Armory) was importing the EZ series of pistols, generally supposed to be identical to the CZ05. This pistol has the accessory rail and the loaded chamber indicator, but the low round count indicator is missing. The EAA/Zastava handgun is available in 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. It is an alloy-framed traditional double action pistol closely resembling the Sig Sauer 226 in overall profile. The dimensions are virtually identical to the SIG and depart significantly from the specifications in the current EAA catalog. The discrepancies between the tabled information and our sample of the EZ 9 give rise to the speculation that somebody attempted to translate from the Serbian and from metric to decimal and became bewildered in the process.

Translating Fun

This would be easy to do. For example, I inputted the phrase “pokazivaã zadnja tri metka u okviru” into a Serbian to English Translator and was informed that it meant, “shower zadnja three metka from chase.” That may mean “three remaining rounds in the magazine”. On the other hand it might say, “Objects In the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear.” By actual measure, the pistol is 5.5" tall, 7.9" long and has a 4.3-4.4" barrel, instead of the understated 7.75" LOA and 4" BBL parameters advertised by EAA.

It appears the millimeters-to-inches translators are better than the language programs. I input the Zastava CZ05 value “108 mm” into a conversion program and came up with 4.32" for the barrel length and, by the same process, 7.9" length overall. In place of the catalogued “easy to cock” spur hammer is a long, rowel hammer resembling the unit on the prototypic CZ99 IPSC competition pistol, It too, is easy to cock.

The CZ99 family derives from the SIG design leading to inevitable comparison. Nevertheless, the Zastava line has divergent features having nothing to do with minimizing production costs. Many users find the ambidextrous controls and a marginally simpler operating drill preferable to the SIGs. Specifically, there is an additional de-cock lever on the right side of the slide/frame juncture. These levers also serve as slide releases, eliminating the separate lever of the SIG. The magazine release behind the trigger guard works in either direction.

Safety features include a “half-cock” hammer shelf, a passive firing pin block internally linked to the trigger and a disconnector positively preventing firing out of battery. The chamber is ramped and fully supported, and is a comforting proposition where +P ammunition is in play. In 1998, Zastava introduced the CZ99 featuring a slide mounted selector serving as a safety, allowing the user to select either the DA/SA mode or full time DA.

Serbian Technology

Zastava is the Serbian manufacturer of firearms, including sporting, civilian and military arms. The CZs are the long standing Serbian service pistols and their quality commands worldwide respect. The CZ99 came out in 1990 with importation to the United States between 1991-’93. In the mid-1990s, J&0 Arms of Houston, Texas imported the Golan, a compact version of the CZ99 manufactured under contract in Israel. At that time the Israeli Defense Forces were developing their instinctive shooting training program and the pistol found favor with them because of its reliability and the simplicity of operation. I had met Hanan Yadin, CEO of the respected Houston-based, ISI Inc (Instinctive Shooting International) security consultation and training service at the first Texas concealed handgun instructor training academy. Hanan is a veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces.

It turns out Yadin is well acquainted with the Zastava product and actually prefers it to the SIGs because of its relative simplicity:

“I must say, the quality and finish of the pistol was top notch. Very accurate as well. I used it several times in my training. The only thing that bothered me was its size. It was even bulkier than the SIG,” explained Yadin.

More recently a version of the CZ (Model CZ99) was imported to the USA under the Charles Daily mark. The CZ99 pistols are widely exported to European and Asian countries and the early version was manufactured under contract in South Africa for a short time.

Practicalities

Twenty-five yard bench groups with yellow box UMC 115-grain ball were inauspicious, ranging from 4" to 5-plus". Five round groups with premium jacketed hollow points were much better, ranging from 1.8" with Speer 124-grain Gold Dot, to the 3" to 3.5" range with the 115 grain Winchester Western load and the Corbon 125 JHP. I handed off the EZ to Jay McCormick who had run the AJ Bullet Company in Oregon. His favorite load is the Hornady 115 JHP over 5.5 grains of Alliant Unique. Casually resting his arms across the bench, he put five of these into 2.6". And, you can’t argue with that.

Transition from the initial double action shot to single action is unproblematic and altogether more seamless than with many pistols of this action type. I fired a series of controlled pairs from ten yards. Lacking a shot timer, I will call the breaks three tenths second. There was some vertical stringing but it was not a great deal more apparent than I might have gotten with a light action SIG 229 or even the single action 1911s.At a slightly more deliberate pace, going from double to single action, I was able to maintain tight groups in the head of a MilPac target at 15 yards and hold a 6" group center mass on the MilPac and B27 from 25.

The Texas Concealed Handgun Proficiency course consists of 50 rounds fired in generously timed exercises from three, seven and 15 yards. After each five to ten round string, and sometime in mid string, the arm is returned to “safe.” This provides the opportunity for a large number of DA to SA transitions for shooters using the de-cocking pistols. Texas has recently replaced the original Texas Police Target with the B-27 because of the high placement of the original high score ring and the stress related tendency to shoot high. Most shooters complete the individual drills in one half or less the allotted time. It’s not unusual for practiced shooters using familiar pistols to wind up with a fist-sized void in the center of the target.

I put 43 of 50 rounds into the ten and X-rings, dropping one round out into the eight — oops. This adds up to a score of 250x250 as the B 27 is scored for qualification purposes. The poor shots are attributed to sloppy trigger control — a circumstance that would disappear with a modicum of practice.

Throughout the 330-odd rounds I fired through EZ 9 # ZA00004, there were no malfunctions of any sort, nor any design-related glitches in the handling. This seems to be a solidly engineered design, rendered well. 
The EAA/Zastava connection is well timed. The EZ 9 has the desirable traits of the more expensive autos, and is readily available in the current market. Whatever factors combine to make the EZ significantly less costly, are not reflected in the overall quality of the product. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Sometimes you get more.

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