CZ CZ75 Legend 9mm DA/SA Pistol

To understand why the release of the CZ 75 caused such a revolution in small arms design, we need to get back to the early 1970s. Back then, the 9 mm Luger started to phase out other cartridges from military and law-enforcement service. Sadly, this did not apply to former Czechoslovakia, which was a part of the Eastern Bloc. These countries relied mainly on the 9 mm Makarov. You may be wondering, therefore, why the Czechs designed the CZ 75 in 9 mm Luger? The answer is simple – it was supposed to replace the CZ 70 as a new export handgun, mainly for Western markets. And compared to this late 1940s design, the differences were night and day.

František Koucký, the father of the CZ 75, was a very experienced firearms designer.

He and his brother Josef were behind all sorts of successful firearms, including the ZK-383 submachine gun, the ZKK 600 hunting rifle, and the ZKM-452 bolt-action 22 LR rifles that paved the way for the current CZ 457 series. The CZ 75 was no doubt the pinnacle of his career. He designed the pistol as a retiree, but obviously, he managed to utilize all his experience and design genius.