My Fantabulous Shooting Experience With The CZ-75B At The Jebel Ali International Shooting Club
(Or Beware Of The Wife That Can Group 4 Shots In One Hole In 7 Meters At First Try)
by: Bernard Miranda Feliciano
It was in the early 1980s that I started coming across sidebar ads in gun magazines I read (borrowed but unfortunately never returned to their rightful owners) featuring the CZ 75 with caption declaring it to be the best magazine-fed semi-automatic handgun in the world. The more the gun piqued my curiosity when the caption further stated that the pistol was made in Czechoslovakia, then a country behind the iron curtain.
Hmmm, I thought to myself at that time, something must really be exceptional with the pistol for CZ to come out with such an advertisement with a tenor of finality, more so printed in several popular American gun magazines. The only Czech-made ordnances I was familiar with during those years were the massive Skoda mortars and howitzers of WW1.
As it turned-out, this is one of those rare instances where a firearms manufacturer was able to walk its talk and stand the test of time, as far as its claim/s on its product is concerned. I would even hazard my armchair expert opinion that the CZ 75B can still hold its own, 20-plus years after it came out as an upgrade of the original CZ 75, vis-a-vis the latest generation of combat/defensive handguns whether all-steel, polymer or of other make.
Although, reading about guns (a 30-year and still an ongoing activity) and writing about firearms (a very recent undertaking) is one thing, actually handling and firing two types of small arms in one episode, under professional supervision and controlled conditions, at the Jebel Ali International Shooting Club (JAISC), a shooting facility that can only be described as superlatively world-class, is a totally and fantabulously different matter altogether.
Well, truth be told, the fantabulous experience would have not materialized if I was not blessed with a wife who both understands and supports my interests since she was actually the one responsible for making the whole shootfest possible.
I could say that my JAISC shooting adventure was a several firsts not only for me but for the wife as well. It was the first time that I applied some of what I have read to practice, which seemed to pan out. The first time to acquaint myself with the legendary CZ 75B and at the same time shoot this celebrated pistol within a regimen and environment that ensures firearms awareness, safety, and sheer shooting enjoyment. As well, this is the first time I am able to put into writing all of the above and more, like a real gun writer I aspire to be.
For the wife, the adventure was an eye opening and instructive experience. Where once she found firearms abhorrent, she now realized that it is the indiscriminate and mindless handling of the gun that is the problem, not the gun per se.
Lest this article might turn into a bragging rights platform, to my chagrin, I state for the record that the wife could always out brag me anytime, anywhere. How that ever happened I will never know. The reader will just have to read on and maybe, just maybe, able to draw his/her own conclusion how the wife outscored me when the aromatic gunpowder smoke finally wafted away. And we were not even competing.
The Epicurean Ambience, The Fine Guns & The Amiable Professional Staff Of JAISC
Established according to the most stringent of construction, safety and security requirements, second to none, and in operation since 1994, the Jebel Ali International Shooting Club, merely a point-blank range away from the Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa (which also offers outstanding 5-star accommodations and excellent fine gourmet dining) is an expansive area that encompasses shotgun, handgun and archery range facilities whether for recreational, sport or competitive shooting.
More than just a place to shoot, JAISC is actually a learning institution, staffed by professionals, that has both firearms and archery curriculum which offers a selection of shooting lessons corresponding to the clients’ choice of shooting implement and level of shooting
proficiency.
For the Claybusters, the establishment provides a suitably illuminated outdoor shooting range, for use either with the 20 or 12 gauge Beretta 686E over/under double barrel shotguns, accommodating the different clay shooting speciality, i.e., Olympic Trap, Automatic Ball Trap, Down The Line, Compact Sporting and Olympic Skeet.
An air-conditioned 25-meter indoor range, which just reopened last August 1st, fully-automated and furnished with 10 shooting booths, on the other hand, is available for the Handgunners. Clients can either opt to shoot the rimfire .22LR in a Smith & Wesson 617 revolver and Walther GSP semiautomatic target pistol, or the centerfire 9mm in the CZ 75B semi-automatic combat pistol.
So, just how did I and the wife connect with the guns, lessons and instructors of the establishment ? Well, when the wife asked me, when we were registering, what firearm I want to shoot first, without batting an eyelash and out of eagerness, I incoherently babbled that of course it would most definitely be the 9mm CZ 75, and then the double barrelled over/under 12-gauge Beretta.
As we were led to the pistol range by one of JAISC’s helpful staff, in a most opportune twist of fate, we chanced upon the club’s senior shooting instructor, Mr. Mian Mubashir Saleem at the range’s anteroom.
Whether Mr. Saleem was to attend other matters or not, on that occasion, I have to thank him for taking the time not only to coach me personally, but bearing as well, with all of my questions he patiently answered.
Finally, at our designated shooting booth, where we were provided with hearing protections and I requested for my shooting glasses, Mr. Saleem gave me a run-down of the pistol shooting regimen. Asking what my preferred shooting stance is, I replied that I am more into the Modified Weaver/Chapman stance, while trying my best to sound like grizzled pistolero.
As to the distance of the B17 paper target, I told Mr. Saleem to locate it at its nearest setting of 7 meters, for obvious reasons that I am a first time shooter. Then again, since 7 meters is almost the same distance as the 21- Foot Rule, I wanted to experiment how I will group my shots in that static unstressed defensive scenario.
Although, I was already actualizing what I have read for the past 30 years about the correct manipulation of a combat pistol – the stance, the grip, the sight alignment, the breathing – which by the way were very helpful, it was the experienced inputs of a trained professional that did put things into their proper perspective.
Case in point, while I may have gotten the stance, grip, sight alignment and breathing right, Mr. Rangemaster was the one to put into practical explanation and application the following:
- not only to have a firm hold of the gun but to grip the pistol as high as its backstrap would allow. Aside from considerably lowering the axis of the bore, a high-grip low-bore hold also aligns the gun’s barrel with the shooting hand.
If I have read that this manner of handling a pistol greatly facilitates accurate shooting, appreciably reduces felt recoil and is conducive to rapid target reacquisition and follow- up shots, even for a novice shooter, my subsequent shot groupings made a believer out of me.
- while sight alignment is important, Mr.Rangemaster told me to always focus the front sight on the target while maintaining sight picture and do all 3 in one fluid motion.
- noticing that I was squashing the trigger, Mr.Rangemaster recommended that I determine the part of my trigger finger which would be the ideal place to locate the pistol’s trigger. He then instructed me to ever so gently take up the trigger slack/creep before the final and deliberate press of the trigger, subsequently, after the slide have returned to battery, release the trigger just enough for it to reset, and repeat the triggering cycle. He emphasized that I hardwire that trigger rhythm to muscle memory since aside from developing a heightened feel of the trigger resetting, the technique significantly reduces trigger finger movement that might otherwise throw the pistol’s alignment off the target.
While we have been talking, at length, on how to make the human body a stable shooting platform, what about the pistol itself?
The CZ 75 almost became the gun that never was, at least among the American shooting fraternity. A collateral victim of cold war politics, no less than the originator of the Modern Technique Of Defensive Pistolcraft, Colonel John Dean "Jeff" Cooper’s remark that the CZ 75 is the “best combat pistol in the world” made aficionados acknowledge the brilliance of the pistol’s designer, František Koucký. Likewise, that Mr. Jeff Cooper was a dyed-in-the-wool Colt 1911 proponent, apart from making his statement about the CZ 75 more resonant, it also contributed to shootists forever hankering and other gun makers copying Mr. Koucký’s opus.
Long time CZ 75 shooters have been consistent in their observation of the pistol’s excellent ergonomics, durability, and inherent capability for precise shooting. Given how the pistol fit my hand like a glove, the recoil I was almost enjoying and the passable bullet placement I was turning out, provided that I do my part, I tend to agree. Regarding the pistol’s structural strength, Mr. Rangemaster, stated that it will take about 30,000 gruelling rounds before the slide stop pin, the only component of their CZ 75Bs, would require replacement.
Also, remaining faithful to Mr. Koucký's concept of what a combat handgun should be, the CZ 75B lends itself to easy disassembly without tools for inspection, cleaning and maintenance.
Then again, like duck to water, it was the wife’s gun handling prowess vis-a-vis her scores that was truly astonishing.
Reflections Of A Novice Shooter
Well, I would say that the money paid for the shooting lessons at JAISC, is money well spent. Not only is the client paying for the use of a very modern shooting facility and availing of a global-standard shooting instructions, as well, JAISC certainly does not scrimp on their selection of guns and ammunition used for shooting.
Profiling the CZ 75B in the internet will usually obtain rave reviews relating how good the pistol is. Additionally, with GECO as the official match ammunition supplier this coming IPSC World Shoot 2011 in Rhodes, Greece, consisting of 36 different shooting stages and involving 1,400 shooters from the world over, says a lot about the club’s exacting specifications and high standard of quality requirement concerning their equipments.
With a baggage of preconceived ideas on how to do what with a centerfire combat pistol, some were validated and internalized, while others were debunked and thrown out of the window. On the whole, the experience was very enlightening (notwithstanding that I was able to finally scratch that 43-year trigger finger itch).
One could even bring the whole family on a weekend for a shootfest, and like what happened to me, find to your dismay that your better half is more of a crack shot than you. Moreover, shooting is an exercise that develops constant presence of mind, focus, discipline and self-control; good qualities to have whatever we do, wherever we are.
Lastly, a parting shot. There is a saying that “the nature of the beast speaks for itself”. Although a gun is an inanimate object, neither bad nor good, handled irresponsibly it becomes a very destructive device, so always be aware when near or actually handling guns to always do the TAB+1 –
T – treat any firearm as if it is always loaded;
A – always point the gun at a safe direction;
B – be always aware of your target and what is behind of your target; and
+ 1 – your trigger finger should not, at any given moment, be inside the trigger guard until actually ready to fire.
While the wife found the CZ 75B hefty & a bit large for her dainty hands, the .22 Long Rifle Walther GSP handled like a natural extension of her shooting arm.
But to be on the safe side, whether a 9mm CZ 75B or a .22 Walther GSP, for somebody who has never held, much more fired a gun before, I would surely not get under the wife’s skin.
Be aware, be safe and have fun shooting.
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