Hello, all.
Yesterday evening, I took delivery of my NIB 40 cal. CZ100 at the local pistol range. The serial number is in the B70XX range and the test target indicates a test fire date of 4/6/00.
After cleaning off the preserving oil, I noticed that there was a very deep gouge in the top right edge of the slide between the ejection port and front serrations. The gouge was about 1/4" long and 1/8" deep and appears to have originated at the factory as it was coated with black polymer like the rest of the slide (in other words, if it were shipping or handling damage, I would have expected exposed steel in the gouge).
As for the workmanship of my particular CZ100, I shall be brutally honest here: it is pitifully substandard. To wit:
1. Aside from the aforementioned gouge, there are very visible circular machining marks in all of the cocking serrations (there are machining marks on the inside surfaces of the slide, but I am not too concerned about those).
2. The gas ports were not deburred on the inside of the slide, resulting in severe scratching of the barrel.
3. Mold separation lines are very visible on the polymer frame.
Let's talk about the trigger.
Prior to getting the CZ100, my only experience with DAO triggers had been the Walther P99 QA, which a gentleman at the range let me shoot some weeks ago. I recall that the trigger take-up was long but smooth, with a very crisp break.
On my CZ100, the trigger travels grittily through several time zones before stacking heavily, after which it requires considerable effort to effect the break. I discharged about 40 rounds of my relatively mild handloads (155 gr. Rainier TMJ atop 6.2 gr. of Universal Clays at an OAL of 1.125") from a sandbagged, benchrest position at 15 yards in order to determine the accuracy of the pistol. In my first five-shot string, not a single bullet hit the target. I did notice that the ridiculous amount of effort required to overcome the last bit of stacking to break the trigger was throwing my aim off, so I resorted to the DeathGrip(tm) technique for subsequent shots and started seeing some holes on the target sheets (though nowhere near the bullseye). The absurdly high trigger effort was still throwing my aim off, and I do not know if I shall ever be able to shoot the CZ100 as accurately as my other 40 cal. pistol, the CZ 75B. In fact, I had to stop after just 40 rounds because my trigger finger was aching badly.
I should point out that I currently own three other all-steel CZ pistols (a 9mm 75B, a 40 cal. 75B and the 45 cal. 97B) and could not be happier with them. All three are uncannily accurate and exhibit levels of workmanship typically found in pistols costing twice as much. That said, I find the CZ100 to be an embarrassment to CZ's otherwise stellar line of pistols. The poor workmanship exhibited by my CZ100 makes me wonder how it ever got past CZ's quality control, and the trigger mechanism is a bad joke. It almost seems like the CZ100 was designed and manufactured by a totally different company.
In all, I am extremely disappointed in my purchase of the CZ100, and shall be selling it off at the earliest opportunity. I realize this review may not sit well with the CZ100 afficionados on this board, but I hope you appreciate its candidness.
DL