CZ 45

Lore & Background

In 1945, the CZ-36 was redesigned by Jan Kratochvil to make it easier and cheaper to manufacture, becoming the Vzor 45 (model 1945), generally known as the CZ-45. The safety lever that sometimes appeared on the CZ-36 was eliminated, though a few early model 45s were manufactured with one. Changes included the addition of a side plate to simplify assembly and a magazine safety. The CZ-36 had a connector from the trigger to the hammer running on the left side of the magazine, whereas the CZ-45 uses a Browning-style stirrup-shaped connector that runs on both sides of the magazine.

In 1992, the pistol was slightly redesigned with a magazine release behind the trigger and a futuristic grip, and is now sold as the CZ-92. Due to the Gun Control Act of 1968, it cannot be imported into the United States, leading American manufacturer Intratec to produce a near-exact clone called the Protec. In 2011, the CZ Custom Shop in the United States planned a limited run of US-made CZ 92s; a prototype was shown at the 2011 SHOT Show, with hopes of inclusion in the CZ Catalog at the 2012 SHOT Show, though the caliber was not known at the time.

The overall design of the receiver, slide, guide rod, and recoil spring are very similar to the earlier Browning 25 design. The barrel mount uses a single lug that rotates into a slot in the frame, and the trigger pivots on a pin. When the trigger is activated and the hammer is down, the connector is pulled forward, rotating the hammer backward into cocked position; when the hammer reaches full cock, it is freed to fall and strike the firing pin. The hammer is not cocked by the slide. Other than the heavy double-action trigger pull, the only safety mechanism is the magazine safety, which disconnects the trigger from the sear when the magazine is removed.

Reader's Guide

The CZ 45 represents a post-war effort to produce a compact, affordable pocket pistol through design simplification. Its lineage from the CZ-36 and its continued production as the CZ-92 demonstrate enduring demand for small-caliber blowback pistols. The pistol's design weakness—a brittle firing pin similar to that of the CZ 52—means dry-firing may damage the firing pin and the extractor, which acts as the firing pin retainer; damage to the retainer bulge can cause the firing pin to fall out. The CZ 45's influence extends to the Intratec Protec-25 clone and to Seecamp pistols, which are based on its design. The 1992 redesign as the CZ-92 updated the grip and magazine release, but import restrictions under the Gun Control Act of 1968 limited its availability in the United States, prompting domestic cloning and later a planned US-made run by the CZ Custom Shop.

Did You Know?

• The CZ 45 was designed by Jan Kratochvil in 1945 as a simplified version of the CZ-36.
• Dry-firing the CZ-45 may damage the brittle firing pin and the extractor, which acts as the firing pin retainer.
• The CZ-92, a redesigned version introduced in 1992, cannot be imported into the United States due to the Gun Control Act of 1968.