A local shop has one of these in 32 cal. It's used, in good shape, and they want $289 for it. Are these guns any good? I thought it might make an interesting plinker, but still, I wouldn't want it unless it was reliable and half-way accurate.
Anyone familiar with these?

The CZ83's are very reliable, not as smoothly finished as the Beretta Mod 84. You can't beat the Mod 84 for looks and fuction.

The good thing about the CZ83 is that they don't jam in rapid fire. That is not always the case with a PPK. If you look at the feeding ramp of the CZ83 you will see why it is better. For someone with larger hands, the CZ83 is also more comfortable.

Try to get the 9mm Short instead of the .32 cal. Accuracy is no problem out to 15 paces - remember it is not a competition gun. It was made as a self defence carry gun.

Warrior

Information extracted from Handguns, July 1998.

Federal's Personal Defence cartridges - Introduced in 1997. This ammo was designed for the 380 ACP (9 mm short), .38 Spec, 9mm P, .40S&W and .45 ACP in 90gr, 110gr, 135gr, 135gr and 165gr respectively. The Personal Defense line of ammo is known as Hydra-Shok (note shock without a 'c'). This ammo runs about 15% to 20% faster than standard ammo.

The FBI set a standard of 12 inches of penetration in ordnance gelatin a minimum for their use. Federal chose to ignore this as they did not focus on 'harder barriers' like car doors and heavy glass, but rather on what is most effective on human beings in open combat. They drew their real life experience from a book called STREET STOPPERS, which argued that the ideal depth of penetration was between 8.4" and 12.8".

Federal's Personal Defense ammo in all 5 calibers penetrates between 9.0 and 11 inches in gelatin. Subsequent to the release of the first 5 calibers, other calibers followed like .32 ACP (65 gr)and 9mm Makarov (90gr).

For example:

.32 ACP penetrates just over 9 inches and expanded to .50 inches. (1.56 times)
.38 Spec ammo did 838 fps in a 2-inch revolver and the bullet expanded to .63 inches. (1.65 times)

Velocity loss in 2-inch revolvers are substantial and to compensate Federal decided to drop the bullet mass from 125 grains to 110 grains and so improved bullet expansion which in turn is increasing the effectiveness of the load. The interesting thing is that the differential penetration is mere 2 inches between the smallest and the biggest caliber. The difference lies in the size of the hole that increases the stopping power, but if the minimalist .32 ACP can puncture a hole of half an inch through the heart, then we should view lethality in a different light.

The article does not state Federals's velocity in .380 ACP, but Cor-Bon's +P 90-gr. JHP ammo yields 995 fps and the chances are good that it would create an even bigger mushroom than a .38 Spec running 157 fps slower.

Expandable ammo is far more lethal than ball ammo. With 'Ball' ammo one also runs the risk of wounding innocent people in 'pass throughs" in a street situation. Imagine the size of the whole the .45 bullet would inflict at a multiple as indicated above, or more than likely, even bigger. Focus on heart and brain shots to stop your attacker - that is the key.

My CZ 83 in .32 may be the most accurate pistol I own. I own seven handguns. It is also very well built and you can load as hot as the the case will allow with little fear of damaging the pistol. I think it is a better pistol than the Beretta, mostly because I like the double action / single action choice for the first shot, which allows me to continue to train for cocked and locked carry just like my 1911 or my CZ 75.

and, JGS has them for under $300. Make sure to buy at least six spare magazines!

Rich
DRSS

Why bother with the .32 when you can get 9x18 in same package size for less $. It's called CZ 82. Went to buy one, but ended up buying CZ 75 9x19 instead.

While I own the CZ in .32 ACP, I also think the best cartridge is the 9mm Makarov for this pistol. That cartridge can be loaded to some very nice velocities and the bullet selection is huge.

I seen those "surplus" (military/police) 9x18 CZ 82s in very good condition with 2 clips for $229. I think it's one of the best deals going for small defensive pistol. I just could not resist minty gloss blue 83 vintage CZ 75 with box and papers for $369, so I bought that one instead.

Some very nice pistols are being offered today in the .380 ACP, and high performance JHP ammo is readily available from American makers like Hornady, Federal, Corbon, Remington, Winchester, and Speer's Gold Dot.

The CZ has a 3.8-inch barrel, somwhat longer than most, which is about what one needs to get decent velocity from this cartridge as can be seen below:

Hornady 90gr XTP ................................ 933 fps
Federal 90gr JHP ................................ 1,017 fps
Federal 90gr Hydra Shok .................... 1,036 fps
Corbon 90gr JHP +P .......................... 1,083 fps
Remington 102 gr Golden Saber BJHP.. 940 fps
Winchester Supreme 95 gr SXT ........... 965 fps
PMC 90 gr Standard JHP ..................... 930 fps
PMC 95 gr Starfire SFHP ..................... 938 fps
Speer Gold Dot 90 gr GDHP ................ 1,000 fps

Federal Hydra Shok being a general favourite. More on .380 ACP bullet tests can be seen at http://stevespages.com/page8f380acp.html

Warrior

Just thought now of stating the barrel lengths of some rival products to the CZ83, so it is clearer where the CZ83 fits in:

Some of the smaller pocket pistols feature shorter barrels such as Cobra (2.8 inches) to the Colt Defender (3.0 inches). The next category is the Taurus (3.25-inch) and the Walther PPK's (3.3 inches). Then most other pistols feature 3.5-inch barrels with the largest being the CZ83 (3.8 inches). The CZ83 is also the heaviest of the bunch at 28 ounces, then the PPK at 24 ounces and then the Beretta and Bersa Thunder at 23.3 ounces and 23 ounces respectively - these pistols are the best in the .380 ACP line-up in my opinion.

The +p ammo is better suited for use in the stronger and heavier constructed pistols and the recoil turns out to be mild in the 28 ounce CZ83 with its larger and more comfortable handgrip. I love my CZ83 much better than the PPK's.

Warrior