CGW's new adjustable sight for CZ75 & SP-01

Reviewing CGW's new adjustable sight for CZ75 & SP-01

The first thing you notice about this new sight is how heavy it is. I have installed hundreds of sights and i cannot remember the last time that was a first impression when removing it from the packaging. The new CGW's sight is built like a tank. For those who shoot thousands of rounds a year and have sworn off of adjustables because of their tendency to fail should be delighted with this version. The pivot pin is large and solid and not apt to fail, the adjustments are very positive and are not going to move during recoil. The sight picture with the wide serrated rear blade are exactly what you would expect from a well built adjustable sight. As with any Cajun Gun Works product, this new sight is a deal at $80.00 and because the sights are made by Dawson Precision you get a double warranty should anything happen to fail. I could make some easy money writing the insurance policies for these things. If i could sum it up, A big chunk of high quality steel that happens to look just right sitting atop a CZ 75 anything.
I will be installing this along with the matching front sight today so pictures and further opinions to follow.

 

I ordered it and the matching front sight today. Going to put it on my round trigger guard transitional. I will let you know.

 

The victim. my 1992 round trigger guard Transitional. This is my favorite CZ 75 and i have spent a lot of time on this gun. I wanted adjustable sights for it but could not make up my mind exactly what i was going to do. After reading the advertisements about this sight i decided this could be the one. Once out of the package and after thorough examination i don't think i could find a better one.



What you get:
Obviously the new rear sight, the new .250 tall X .100 wide front FO, the installation tools, extra set screw and FO replacements in green and red, Allen wrenches and the warnings and instructions. A good look at the new sight first.











The new .250 tall front

 

So first i will need to remove the old EZ-D sights that have been installed using red 262 Loctite. I vised the slide in the padded jaws to first remove the front sight. After removing the FO I heated the front sight up with a small torch and backed off the small set screw that comes in the Dawson sights. Using a punch i removed the cross pin and while the sight was still hot it easily drove out of the dovetail.







The packaging says these sights are for the SP-01. There is a difference between SP-01/Shadow/Shadow II and 75/75B/85B sights. You CAN install a 75B sight onto an SP-01 without any problem but sometimes not the reverse. I have found that the SP-01 sight dovetails are the same width as the 75B but they are not as deep in either the rear or the front sight dovetail. A sight made specifically for the SP-01 will not clear the top sight rib on a 75/75B/85B. This particular gun has a deeper than normal rear sight dovetail and as you can see in the pictures i have already removed the rear sight rib to make sight installation easier. On the EZ-D rear sight i had to remove metal from the area pictured with the arrow showing where metal was removed. The EZ-D sights are made for the 75 series but i still had to work with the sight to get it on. This new sight was no different. I had to remove metal from the area pictured to get the rear sight to clear the sight rib. I like this in the fact that there is little light showing under the sight and the large sight sits as low as possible into the slide. I removed metal a little at a time until it just cleared. A sheet of notebook paper will just slide under the front portion of the rear sight. On the rear portion of the slide the removal of the sight rib will allow the adjustable sight blade to completely bottom with about the same amount of clearance as the front. Even through the package says SP-01 i have confirmed that this sight will fit the later model 75B, 75BD, 75B-SA, 75 Omega, 97B/BD, PCR, P-01 or almost all of the 75 series pistols except for older model 75's or Transitionals, Shadows/II, P-09/07, Rami, 40B, TS or P-10-C. For the older model 75B's, Transitionals or 85 Series the top of the slide will need to be modified to remove the sight rib so the rear sight will clear.







To get the rear sight off i had to heat it also to get the red Loctite to release. Once you heat it everything come loose easily.





A few layers of Frog Tape keeps the punch from leaving any residue.



I have found on Dawson front sights that the base of the sight is specific for the gun also but, because all Dawson sight bases come over-sized and are meant to be fitted the SP-01/Shadow sight will fit the deeper dovetail on the 75 series guns just fine with just a minimum of metal removed from the bottom of the sight. Just a few passes with 320 paper on the bottom of the new sight was all it took to get it started into the Transitional's dovetail. Once i got it started it drove in nice and snug and the pin hole aligned perfectly.







Once you are sure the sight is going to fit the dovetail properly then degrease the front sight and the dovetail. Add a few drops of 262 Loctite in the dovetail and on the bottom tiny set screw. Drive the sight into place, replace the cross pin and then tighten the tiny set screw. Place the FO that came pre-cut into the sight and hold the rear of the FO tightly into its orifice with a finger while heating the front of the FO with a lighter until it tightens up against the front of the sight.

 

Getting back to installing the rear. For those of you that think you can remove one of these sights and pound it into place or force it on with a sight pusher, you can do that, but you will most likely end up with a cocked and deformed rear sight. If the sight will not start into the dovetail with finger pressure some fitting is going to be required or it's going to get ugly. I get these in all the time where the rear sight is ruined and crooked or cocked up in the dovetail and most of the time there are ugly marks on the side of the sight where it was forced into the dovetail. It only takes a few minutes of patience and a good sharp 60 degree triangular file to avoid this. Dave Dawson has some excellent videos on YouTube that show how to do this. [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4maCQhEIjoA[/ame] Even though the video is for a Glock sight, the same principles apply to CZ or any rear sight be it fixed or adjustable. Because the CZ does not have a tapered dovetail you don't want the sight to go in half way as the video shows but you do want it to just start even and straight into the dovetail. All Dawson sights have an arrow on the them, the sight should enter the dovetail as the arrow shows as there is a very slight taper made into the dovetail of the sight for the purpose of a snug installation. The rear sight should go on with some effort and be held tightly in the dovetail. You cannot depend on the set screw to hold the sight by its self. Removing metal from the back of the dovetail is done with a few strokes and then test. Once the sight will start into the dovetail straight and even don't remove any further metal. I use an aluminum punch that comes with the sight with a few layers of Frog Tape applied to the punch so there is no transfer of the aluminum to the sight. Then i pound it into place making sure it is centered. The center height adjustment screw along with the 2 springs should be removed before installing the sight.





I remove the set screw in the sight and degrease it before installing the base.





Once the base is centered i put a drop of Loctite on the set screw and a couple of drops into the set screw hole. When the set screw is installed this will force the LT in the hole into the bottom of the sight and fill any voids. This will also add insurance against the sight base ever moving during recoil. Once the set screw is tightened i set the slide aside for 24 hours to let the Loctite cure.

 

When you put the springs back in to re-assemble the sight use some grease to hold the springs in place. This is the small tub of moly grease sold by CGW's to lubricate the slide rails but any heavy grease will work.





Once you fold the sight over hold the rear blade down with your thumb, pressing it all the way down and re-insert the adjustment screw. Let me tell you, those are some heavy duty springs.

Here she is back together and waiting to be shot tomorrow after the Loctite cures. I am extremely please with the sight picture, The depth and width of the rear sight notch is perfect for the front sight. I like the looks and think the new sights compliment this old work horse.



When i ordered the new sights i noticed that CGW's was offering a new style guide rod. Dlask in Canada has been selling a heavy rod like this for over $50.0 for years. CGW's stainless offering is only $25.00. This GR is heavy enough that you can feel the difference. Again CGW's offering a great product for half the price of the competitors.

 

I had to go up to a 1/4" hole for the new GR but if you look at the picture it fills the hole nicely. Took about 5 minutes to make the hole bigger and it dropped right in.

 

Robust is the word. I knew it was something a little out of the ordinary when i picked the mailer out of the box. The GR had came in the day before So i was sitting in the truck trying to remember what else i had ordered because a sight could not be this heavy. This thing is a brick house for sure.

 

I think you would love these Rich. Here is a comparison between the EZ-D and the new adjustable. The notch depth is perfect.

 

I just finished running 300 rounds through the gun and the sight picture is perfect. I didn't even have to adjust the sights, they were right on the money as installed. I will be buying more of these in the near future. 5 stars and 2 thumbs up, another great CGW's product.

 

I will assure you that if there was a part that could polished or a modification that could be done this gun has it. I paid twice as much for all the upgrade parts than i did for the gun. All it really needed was a good dependable adjustable sight. Now all it needs is shooting.

 

UPDATE-I have found that this rear sight does NOT fit the older model CZ 75's or Transitionals. It will only fit the newer, late model CZ 75B models with the newer dovetail cut. The SP-01 Series, 97B and all other later model guns with the shallow dovetails will work perfectly but for the older guns this sight will not clear the sight rib and there is NOT enough metal in the sight base to remove enough to install it. The sight rib will need to be machined off of the top of the slide for this sight to fit properly and a shorter front sight will need to be purchased and installed. The modern dovetail is .115 deep, the older B models and transitionals measure anywhere from .133 to .145. It is fairly easy to make the sights fit by removing the sight rib until the dovetail is .115 deep but be aware if you have an older gun and measure the depth of the dovetail before you order.