CZ 75 Kadet Adapter

I hear interesting things at the ranges, shops, and gun shows I frequent. It isn’t all about work. Sometimes it is idle curiosity and meeting with like minded people. When I walked into a shop recently one of the first things I heard was, "I would have ran him out!" The story was evidently a good one. Many things are humorous when they don’t happen to you. The story was that a gentlemen had came into the shop looking over a number of CZ 9mm pistols, including the CZ 75 Omega, a CZ 75B, a P-01, and the CZ 75D.

He told the clerk he was determined to purchase one of them and the slight difference in price was not a problem. But, he continued, they had to fit his CZ Kadet conversion unit. That was the deal as he had found the unit for a song at a pawn shop and wanted to acquire a CZ 75 9mm to go along with it. The shopkeep did the proper research and it turned out the Kadet should fit any of the steel frame 9mm pistols on hand but not the polymer CZs.

As it turned out it did not fit the CZ 75 Omega, seemed too snug on the P-01, but fit the CZ 75B well if very tight. The customer went away happy and the clerk reassembled the handguns. An interesting story and I suppose the fellow behind the 22 caliber pistol. The Kadet conversion works well. counter went above and beyond. The other worker, however, stated that he would not have taken new guns apart (they were really just field stripped) just to try jamming the customer’s conversion unit.

That is a decision for another time. Fast forward a few days. The fellow had been firing the CZ Kadet conversion on his new CZ pistol and was quite happy, at least until he decided to fire the pistol with 9mm. He could not convince the Kadet conversion to slide off of the frame. He did not want to force it and he was familiar with CZ operation as he had owned a number of CZs and close clones. I had the call in the morning and picked the pistol up that evening.

This led to a great deal of research on the Kadet and CZ pistols. I have modified and written on the subject of Colt conversions but I admit no experience with the Kadet. This experience turned out to be interesting. I learned the CZ 75 Kadet is best fitted to the frame it is mounted on. I managed to get the conversion unit off without mishap. Unfortunately, the solution requires having three hands.

The Kadet is not similar to most of the aluminum lightweight slides that are popular and relatively inexpensive, such as the Jonathan Arthur Ciener types. The Kadet is all steel and it isn’t really a slide although it fits onto the CZ 75 frame like one. The actual bolt is enclosed in this "slide" and reciprocates as the Kadet is fired. This is a good solution and far superior, longevity wise, to an aluminum slide conversion. Lets look deeper into CZ’s description and their specifications for the Kadet.

The CZ 75 Kadet Adapter II is a separate accessory for the CZ 75/85 pistol series allowing the firing of Far The P- 01, right, will work with the proper slide stop but the Kadet .22 magazine will protrude from the magazine well.

22 Long Rifle rimfire. When properly fitted, this conversion is the perfect training or plinking pistol with the slide weighted and balanced just like the CZ 75. The Kadet features all-steel construction and an adjustable rear sight. Included are two ten-round magazines that fit flush with grips of the full size CZ 75 and SP-01 models.

The Kadet conversion kit will work on the CZ 75 full-size and compact models including the 75, 85, SP-01, 75 Compact, P-01, P- 06, and PCR, but note that the fullsize magazines will extend out of the bottom of the shorter grips on these models. The Kadet conversion will not work on the 97, 75 TS, 2075 RAMI, SP-01 Phantom, P-07, or P-09 models. Pre-B model 75s may or may not function with the Kadet due to differing magwell dimensions.

When used on an aluminumframed compact model (PCR, P- 01, and P-06) as well as the steelframed Compact 40, a specific slide-stop is required for proper last round hold open. This is part Below center: The forward area of the "slide" that may need to be filed for a proper fit on a centerfire frame. They are shown with 9mm magazines for comparison. number and is available at no charge through CZ’s parts department. On 85 models, the 85 slide stop must be used but will not enable last round hold open.

When used in competition-oriented or modified 75 series pistols like the Shadow, a factory-weight CZ 75 mainspring may be required to provide proper primer ignition. Specifications for the Kadet is a unit weight of 1.05 pounds and a cold hammer forged barrel 4.72 inches long. As for removing the conversion unit, I held the bolt back to the spot where the witness marks line up with the frame. The slide stop was very tight and it was difficult to press it out.

I found a cleaning rod tip of the exact dimension to lock the bolt in the position to line up the witness marks on the bolt and the frame. While holding the slide lock down a bit, I gently tapped it out with a Real Avid padded mallet. The slide was pretty darned tight coming off. After further research and discussion I was able to fit the slide. According to CZ it is necessary to fit the Kadet adapter with "minimal clearances" in the guide rail.

According to CZ’s instructions, although it isn’t explicitly stated, the Kadet must be manufactured oversize. The owner hit it lucky by finding a frame the Kadet simply fit, more or less, although it was tight. It would not easily fit another frame of a very similar handgun he tested. Begin fitting the Kadet by removing the recoil spring. Compress the spring, tilt it, then remove it by pulling it to the rear. The Kadet is filed and polished slightly to produce a snug fit in the rails.

The clearance between the barrel and the frame is maintained as minimal. The initial surface to be filed is the locking lug portion of the barrel with the locking lugs surface filed first. As the Kadet is tried on the frame, additional work may be needed by filing the forward section of the unit behind the muzzle where it meets the guide rails. The slide stop is going to be tight no matter what we work with.

With the pistol illustrated the slide stop was tight in 9mm—after all, CZ is a high end maker—but tighter with the Kadet. Included with this Kadet under the foam padding of the case was a Kadet-specific slide stop. There was also a sight adjustment tool. Perhaps our CZ enthusiast should have dug a little further in his case.

I am glad he had the forethought to bring the padded case and instructions with him, even if he didn’t read them, although even with the instructions I still needed more research to solve the problem. After a relatively small amount of file work the adapter was much easier to mount and dismount from the frame. Even after fitting, the Kadet remains tight, a bit tighter than the 9mm slide. A final piece of fitting that may resolve hair pulling issues.

About 0.7 inch going forward from the rear of the slide is a small notch, just behind the cut out for the safety lever. The area between this notch and the safety notch, on

the lower face toward the rear of the slide, may need to be filed. The test is to place the Kadet on the frame. If the safety will not properly engage and indent, this small area needs to be polished slightly. Disassembling the Kadet is relatively simple. Move the recoil spring forward by pressing and compressing it toward the muzzle. Bring the rear of the recoil spring out of the lower assembly. The barrel is fixed, pinned into the "slide". The lower half of the unit is removed by pressing it back and slightly up.

Reassemble the unit by angling it properly to allow the ejector to clean the lower half of the unit. CZ cautions to take care not to damage the ejector. I could certainly see this happening. The ejector is a strong and robust unit, but it is thinner than the slide and could be damaged if the slide came to bear against it in lateral movement. The Kadet is robust and has proven reliable. The magazines have a stop at the bottom and this limits capacity to ten rounds. The sights are European LPA types.

An adjustment tool is included. As a nice touch, the sight adjustment tool is magnetized. These marks must be lined up to disassemble the CZ 75 pistol. My research indicates there are two types of firing pins, an early and a late model, with the late model being an improvement over the original and able to fit all Kadets. It is easily changed and similar to the 1911 and full-size CZs. Press the firing pin in against the firing pin spring pressure. The firing pin stop is then pressed downward.

Be certain to cover the firing pin and spring with a thumb to prevent the firing pin and spring taking flight across the hall. Replace the firing pin with anew type firing pin. Luckily the LPA sight adjustment tool was perfect for depressing the firing pin. I found the proper part at CZcustom.com for $20. They also have a firing pin spring for $3 and a good number of mainsprings. This brings us to another possible problem with the CZ 75B and Kadet.

As many of you have learned when dealing with a factory-new set up, there is far less mystery involved. We hope the piece arrives with factory standard springs and Far Left/center: The CZ 75 Kadet breaks down into its basic components easily enough. 22 conversion units. The bolt, shown to the rear, recoils as the pistol is fired. that it is in specification. Used guns are another matter.

Rimfire Malfunctions The problems with malfunctions and rimfire pistols are common to all types and to all of the conversion units. The CZ 75 is not an exception. I dredged up the memory of a 22 Long Rifle conversion I worked with a decade ago and I simply used experience from the Colt Ace conversion to fix it. The Kadet doesn’t have a floating chamber but it has certain other similarities. The Kadet fired sometimes but not all of the time, and interestingly enough did not want to fire in double action.

We assume the double action whack is heavier than single action. A common problem is a too-weak mainspring. CZ mainsprings are available as light as eleven pounds though seventeen pounds is more common, which is the weight I would have in a defense handgun or any CZ 75 I wished capable of digesting every type of ammunition. The rimfire cartridges aren’t as reliable as centerfires and demand a strong strike on the priming compound. A standard mainspring must be used with the Kadet and is a simple fix if needed.

I suppose a shooter with a tuned CZ 75 may be disappointed but there is no getting around this baseline requirement. A second approach may be useful. The occasional failure to

fire may be because of firing pin energy. The first step is to thoroughly clean the firing pin channel as rimfire ammunition is much more dirty than centerfire ammunition and we tend to fire a lot of it at a range outing. Powder ash, lubricant residue, and even lead shavings are common. Some ammunition is cleaner than others, such as copper washed, but there is still powder residue. If the pistol is failing to fire there should still be at least a light strike.

Clean the firing pin channel and the chamber of the barrel. Another simple fix for a failure to fire is to clip a coil from the firing pin spring. Since the Kadet doesn’t use the 9mm firing pin and spring and will not be used for critical duty, this is an acceptable fix. When the firing pin spring is clipped it doesn’t take as much force to send the firing pin forward. One coil is good, usually does the business, and the firing pin will still reset.

We do need to impress upon the owner a greater need to clean the Kadet more often, at least every five hundred rounds. Depending on the ammunition, function with any rimfire will become sluggish after too much fouling. I was able to fire more than three hundred rounds in the latest Kadet I worked with. Function was flawless.

While it is the usual recommendation to use only CCI Mini Mag ammunition, noted for flawless function in otherwise problematical firearms, this conversion performed well with a number of proprietary bulk loads. It also performed well with the CCI Subsonic. Accuracy is excellent. I fired several 2" 25-yard groups and a few even smaller. One exceptional group went in 0.9 inch for three rounds with the next two widening the group to 1.9"—still outstanding.

The CZ Kadet is a robust, solid, and well engineered piece of gear Top: The Kadet 22 Long Rifle slide stop, left, differs from the 9mm slide stop. that will compliment the high quality CZ 75 pistol. It simply must be properly fitted to the handgun. AG A tool for sight adjustment is included in the unit’s hard case. Bottom: It is necessary to remove the firing pin and firing pin spring in order to clean the firing pin channel.

The LPA sight adjustment tool is useful for pressing the firing pin inward to remove the firing pin stop.