Many folks have expressed an interest in the CZ-52 pistol.

This pistol qualifies as a C&R pistol, and is very inexpensive at this time.

Here's mine.

Probably the most interesting thing about this pistol is the caliber, 7.62 X 25.

This is a bottlenecked, .30 caliber round, that shoots a 90 grain jacketed Ball at around 1,500 fps.

As a result, it is a big penetrator.

We saw evidence of this when we shot a Kevlar helmet. It punched right through, when other pistol calibers would not.


Does this mean that this caliber is the ideal personal defense round?

Not by a long shot.

A small FMJ bullet at 1,500 fps might be good at going through armor, but it isn't the best for Stopping a bad guy.

The ability to do that is a combination of penetration (at least 12 inches) and the size of the wound channel.

And bigger bullets do a better job of tissue disruption than the small .30 FMJ.

But this pistol and caliber are still very interesting to shoot and better bullets are available.

The pistol is easy to control, but it sure barks loud.

Let's look at the operation of this pistol.

Upon firing the last round in the magazine, the slide locks open.

You will notice that the pistol is not equiped with a "slide release".