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- The firing pin of the CZ-52 is a weak steel, which makes them relatively brittle. Dry firing the pistol, that is firing without a cartridge or "snap cap," is not recommended.

These just drop the same way the original firing pins do. Some folks have reported over 80 dry firings with no problems.

Unfortunately, the accuracy potential of the CZ-52 is difficult to realize in practice due to an extremely heavy military trigger pull. The heavy trigger makes the pistol a chore to shoot, with a box or two of ammo the upper limit of comfort for most users. In addition, many CZ-52 pistols frequently break their firing pins. Replacing surplus firing pins is expensive at roughly $15 apiece, when they are available. This is a ridiculous expense for a $150 pistol. Firing pins on a pistol should not break. When was the last time your Glock, SIG, or 1911 style pistol broke its firing pin?

The pistols are single-action only, meaning that the hammer must be cocked before firing the first round. As with other auto-loading pistols, the recoil forces the slide rearward. This ejects the spent case and forces a new cartridge from the magazine into the chamber.


A magazine follower tab locks the slide open after the last shot has been fired. While not as handy as the Makarov's slide release, the slide may also manually be locked back with the external slide lock bar. The magazine holds 8 rounds. (Note: you can get an aftermarket slide release that replaces the hold-open catch and gives you a one-handed slide release operation. We carry it here at Makarov.com.) The safety is located on the rear of the frame; down is fire, up is safe. The safety also acts as a decocker when pushed up beyond the "safe" position. The pistol can be carried "cocked and locked."


The slide may be moved while the pistol is on safe, allowing the user to eject a round the chamber. Similarly, the pistol can be made ready to fire by racking the slide, thus inserting and round into the chamber, with the safety on "safe."


Unlike the Makarov, the CZ-52 does not use a straight blowback mechanism. Because of the high power of the cartridge, the CZ-52 has a rather complicated, but strong, roller-locking mechanism.


The CZ-52 is considered a curio & relic by the BATF and is on the BATF's C&R list for type 3 FFLs. Note that only the original caliber of 7.62x25 and not the 9mm conversions are considered C&R. Converting your 7.62x25 to 9mm is a gray area as far as its C&R status. However, there's nothing illegal about the conversion.