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Issue 2/2001  01.06.2001

The G 2000 : Straight out of the shadows

Mysterious, this new weapon totally absent in Brno's CZ catalog finally revealed its secrets. Randomly discovered at Milipol 99 show (1), the CZ G 2000 was introduced to us as a new weapon, manufactured for law enforcement only. After this show, no more news... It reappeared only at Eurosatory 2000 Show (2), on Moravia Arms booth a Czech company specialized in international trade of military weaponry.

This gun launch has been very discreet, in spite of the fact that production began in March 1999, a very small amount of G 2000 has been delivered to the civil market. Mainly intended for law enforcement, this new pistol went through numerous tests. This participation to tests, to dynamic demonstrations and to shows would have forced the Czech manufacturer to keep a high volume of weapons, it is at least the explanation that was given to us to justify this weak amount of pieces marketed today. In fact it is a bit more complicated as we will see it later.


First contact

When we discovered the CZ G 2000, its outline, the selection of its materials made a very attractive weapon. It can be placed between the CZ 75 and the CZ 100 as it gathers the excellent grip of the first one and the polymer technology of the latest. Even if the overall appearance is very homogenous and the combination of different materials is very well balanced we can't help looking for common points with competitor's models. We try in fact to find in its features details that made other arms successful. We immediately thought of an hybrid, a breed between an all steel model 75 and a Walther P99, from which it would have inherited its polymer frame, its slide with its large sloping side and its standard rail in front of the trigger guard intended for a lamp mount. It gathers also some details from H.K, SIG, Glock and others. But even though its engineers borrowed it or not from these best sellers, it boasts its own outline.

Available in 9 mm LUGER and .40 S&W, this pistol exists in different finishes, with its slide that can be had in blue, stainless, and with some options. A specific set of accessories has also been created to respond to army and police needs. Therefore it is possible to mount the lamp, the laser to be fit directly to the frame and to purchase politically correct 10 rounds magazine or 15 and 19 rounds high cap mags from Mec Gar, with or without bottom rubber pad but not compatible with the CZ 75 as it seems. It is even proposed with a longer barrel that needs to be rifled at will to install a porting or... a silencer.


Mechanics

As CZ 75 it is very neat. Mechanics is also "all steel", the polymer being only its coating. Barrel short recoil system is reliable and the overall works is fairly classic. In fact this gun works with a locked breech, a system which proved to be reliable long ago. As on SIG P220/225 and others, the chamber with its external dimensions is the only locking lug. At the difference of COLT 1911, the barrel is stuck to the slide by the large opening which is nothing else than the ejection port.

Right after the firing pin ignited the primer, barrel/slide combination's recoil begins as it reacts to the bullet's departure. After a short way, the chamber goes down and follows the trajectory set by the cam that rests on the takedown lever. Then freed from the ejection port the chamber does not hold the slide anymore which hangs on its move to the rear until it stops and is taken back by the recoil spring ensuring its semi-automatic functioning. To sum up, a very good works signed by John Moses Browning!

While on CZ 100, rails were made of "plastic" materials we came back here to a more classic design, the link between the slide and the frame is done by two steel rails. One is 30 mm long and is located at the level of the chamber, the other one of 15 mm long, is located up from the hammer axis. No part to be hardly used is of space age manufacture, even though those new generation materials are well capable to rival with the best steel available. In contrast with the CZ 100, the G 2000 has lost its steel pad fixed to the slide, just behind the chamber which could be used to chamber a round by acting with a push upon the belt.

But the main feature of this model resides in the fact that there is no safety lever, which is not very common on a duty weapon, except on and some other pistols of new load and forget generation as we all know. In fact, fixed at the rear of the slide, the only lever that is present is there to disengage the hammer without incidence on the firing pin. The choice of this simplified setup was guided by logical matters, due to the presence of other systems :

    - a firing pin safety automatically acting
    - a loading indicator ( when a cartridge is loaded into the chamber the extractor's bulge shows a red strap.

This decocking lever, as on the Walther, follows the slide way, without breaking its outline, and is integrated perfectly to the overall appearance of the weapon. Apparently the will to offer clear lines was really present from the beginning to the end of the G 2000's creation. Even the takedown lever had a "lifting" as it almost disappeared to the benefit of a lug that is not stepping out of the frame.

Arm's manipulation is also simplified as the amount of buttons and levers has been reduced. This reduction enabled the width to reach 28 mm for the slide and 33 mm for the frame. In addition the two large angular sides of the slide help to draw the G 2000. About the action, simple or double, trigger pull seems neat. But it can be possible to improve it a little bit more for target shooting. The manufacturer boasts a good accuracy until 50 yards without a need to change the original barrel for a longer one.


Good at hand

When we grasp the G 2000, even if its grip seems slightly bigger than the CZ 75 ?es the weapon is held with no difficulties and gripping is pleasant. Its 755 Grams without magazine are very well balanced and the gun points naturally. Its size does not make a compact of it yet (188 mm long for 135 mm high) but it permits a comfortable carrying. Here again everything depends on the holster you will use : weapon size has generally less incidence upon tactic thigh rigs than on other models made for belts.

The G 2000 has an aggressive appearance given by the trigger guard. However the large face of the trigger guard seen from the front will be shocking to most. But it is forgotten during shooting whether the pistol is held with one or both hands. The shape does not prevent the use of gloves and even the scarce lever manipulation which can't be neglected. Also the distance between the trigger and the backstrap seems to be able to fit any kind of hand sizes.

If the grip can't be criticized, some laterality details are degrading the overall ergonomics. Left handed people are always left aside and the model we went familiar with would have disabled them towards right handed people. The magazine release button, the decocking lever and the slide stop lever are only located on the left side of the gun... and to customize it with ambidextrous levers for left handed people would necessitate a new slide manufacturing and a modification of the frame mold!

The sights are well regulated for defense shooting, they are fix and low and the sloped front sight is adequate for holster drawing . However the efficiency of the three tritium dots has to be proven. In addition the small size of the sights is uncomfortable for accuracy shooting. By chance, the manufacturer did realize it and proposes to sportive shooters a target rear sight as an option with a higher front sight better appropriate. It is up to you to choose the best corresponding kind of sights for your shooting style. Even though the CZ G 2000 is a duty weapon, the G 2000 target offers an interesting compromise for shooters willing to do target shooting with a 9 mm and caring for accuracy.

Previously, we stated a silencer mounting on long barrels. In those cases, rear and front sights are hidden by the sound reducer. The one who wishes to have a help for aiming can add a laser in front of the trigger guard without a risk for the beam that is located sufficiently low for being stopped.

Last detail about sights, and there again in a specific situation : the size and the slope of the combat rear sight do hamper slide cycling with the left index while the right hand presents the pistol horizontally like the Mossad Israeli method. The cycling serrations upon each side of the slide do offer the best grip and are the more functional.


Dismantling

Once the pin is removed as the most classic way, after the slide has been moved to the rear on some millimeters, the latest moves easily and leaves the rails just like the world' s easiest thing. Spring and its polymer guide rod's removal are also easy. For us, as we discovered the weapon during a show, the blue spring color had us thought of a plastic simple spiral made for dismantling demonstrations... as the spring was extremely light and as it was not necessary to press it strongly for remounting, avoiding any stray spring at the least fault of inattention. It was in fact the real one, an helical spring with flat spirals as we find them on SIGs on Glocks or on the P99... what a nice coincidence.

Once the covering slide has been removed, the receiver reveals its secrets : steel rails are well visible just as the ejector or the slide stop lever at the rear of the frame. The last one rests classically on the magazine feed ramp when the magazine is empty to act as a slide stop. We can distinguish most of the parts, until the helical spring of the trigger. On our photograph, the reader will appreciate the weak tightness of the laser mount of which you can see the milled bushing that steps out of the gun only when the breech is removed.

If the G 2000 is remounted in reverse order, the user will have to get the knack for inserting the lug. It is needed to be sure that the cam fixed to the barrel is in line with the lug housing that is found on both sides of the G 2000. As a matter of fact, the housing is manufactured in a robust piece of steel which has to withstand the brunt of the recoil when the slide ends its course. It is on the same piece of steel that the front rail is manufactured.

With closed eyes (or in the dark) to succeed in aligning the cam and the lug housing, the best way consists in twisting the G 2000 upside down. Then by gravity pull, the barrel locks itself in the slide and the chamber fits perfectly the ejection port. There the cam is in an ideal position for remounting and next steps are the world's easiest thing to do.


A CZ... that is not a CZ !

At the Eurosatory show, we did enjoy this arm a lot. So we proposed to Mr Bernatik from Arms Moravia to carry on the discovery of this new gun and to realize a complete test. He leaded us to contact an importer to have the test model delivered to us. Naturally, we contacted a company which distributes all CZ products. Unfortunately the G 2000 was not imported... the reason was : it is not a CZ !

We understand why it did not feature in the Brno Ceska Zbrojovka's catalog. In fact, it is really a Czech weapon, but it is not the heir of CZ 75 and CZ 100 as we know them. It is much like some kind of cousinhood. In our opinion, it is obvious now to understand the true reason of the G 2000 weak sales. There are no more secrets on this gun. As we learned it later, besides the fact to mean Czech Republic, CZ can also mean "Arms Manufacturing" or an equivalent. So, those two letters that made Czeska Zbrojovka renowned cannot be registered as a trademark, and it enables Arms Moravia to legally stamp their slides with those initials known worldwide.

But we were not done with surprises : by searching some more we found a CZ 999 with a SIG appearance ! This one was marketed in April 1999 under the brand Zastava Europe, but this time the manufacturer is Greek (!) : It is the firm Advanced Weapon Technology based in Athens. It these methods can be shocking to most, this is a common practice even in Western Europe, we can mention for example Kettner, the bigger importer in Germany, who exploits the P.08 fame and sells shotguns and pistols under the Luger brand.


Conclusion

Even if we were a little bit disappointed by this gimmick, we have to admit that the gun we had in hands was of very good manufacture that we really believed it to be the very last born spawn of the great CZ's family. This new Czech breed is aimed for the duty weapon market and for the sport shooting market, thanks to its adequate sights and to its long barrel that can be threaded at will depending on various needs.

The polymer technology is very well mastered but the manufacturer kept a fair amount of steel, this is not a criticism, it is just an observation. As we heralded it at the beginning of the article, it gathers every advantages of CZ 75 and 100 but also those from Walt P 99, SIGs and succeeds in giving a renewal and an aesthetic touch to the image of the Czech arms manufacturing.

It is sad that levers are not ambidextrous, a detail that can be of high importance to left handed people, or for weak hand shooting, as we never know what can happen... In addition, if the sights (combat or target) are not well appropriate to the practiced shooting, they will disappoint the user. This is where it is important to make the right choice at the beginning if the user wishes to have all cards in hands. We will end by underlining the range of available accessories for that gun even though it was not fully marketed yet... for the reasons we are now aware of.

Our opinion is that the CZ G 2000 could reveal itself as an excellent duty gun, gifted with a good accuracy. It is true that it offers nothing innovating except its aesthetics, but it comprises a robust works that proved to be reliable long ago. By gathering all the advantages from its most serious competitors, the Czech manufacturer is sure to satisfy all users. This strategic decision should promise a warm welcome from the military but also from the civil market : The author first has bought one...


Text by Gaston DEPELCHIN, e-mail gaston.depelchin@free.fr, gunwriter for Cibles & Excalibur (Ed. Crépin-Leblond).
Translation by Richard BARBOTEAU.


Notes :
(1) French exhibition for defence and law enforcement.
(2) Most famous european military exhibition held in Paris, France.


More info: CZ pages on http://arms.eiite.cz .

Arm : CZ G 2000
Manufacturer : Arms Moravia
Action Type : Single/Double action semi-automatic pistol
Capacity : 10, 15 and 19 rounds
Weight without magazine : 755 Grams
Length : 188 mm
Height : 135 mm
Width : 33 mm
Finish : Stainless or blue


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