New CZ 612 Target / Trap

[billt460]

I just picked up a new CZ 612 Target / Trap yesterday. One of the members at my local club shoots one, and I really liked it, so I grabbed one. While pump shotguns are considered by many to be somewhat "outdated" today for Trapshooting, I still like shooting a pump for singles and handicap.

But my older, (circa 1976) Remington 870 is a field gun that I "converted" to a Trap gun with a 30" Hastings barrel with a slightly elevated vented rib. It has a straight stock and shoots too low for handicap targets.

CZ shotguns are produced in Turkey, and sold by CZ USA, Kansas City. It has a beautiful Turkish Walnut Monte Carlo stock, and a 32" ported barrel, with a standard small / large white, double bead sight.

It comes with 5 screw in extended choke tubes in a case with a wrench. The internals of the chokes are very well polished, and look to be of good quality. The threads are well cut on both the chokes themselves and the barrel. And they all screw in and out effortlessly.

It's an upgraded gun from the older CZ 612 Trap, which had more of a matte finish. This model has a high gloss finished barrel, receiver, and stock.

The action is very smooth, but understandably tight for being new. I'm sure it will smooth out and loosen up a bit after I run a few cases of shells through it. Anyway I'm going to light it up Saturday morning, and see how she shoots.

I'll take a couple of shots at the patterning board first, just to see where it prints. If any of you guys own and shoot one of these, I would like to hear your opinions. This video is the older version of this gun, that has the matte finish. Otherwise it's identical.

 

[IveBeenRued]

That’s a good looking gun. I’ve always been impressed with CZ craftsmanship. Enjoy the new gun and have fun breaking it in!

 

[Astro14]

Very nice, Bill! Please report back on how it shoots.

 

[billt460]

Very nice, Bill! Please report back on how it shoots.

Will do.

 

[billt460]

So I got out early this morning with the new CZ Trap. I arrived at the club around 6:00 AM. And after a cup of coffee, along with the appropriate amount of B.S. and world problem solving, I headed over to the patterning board for 4 shots.

2 shots at 30 yards, and 2 more at 40. With the Improved Modified choke the gun threw a nice, consistently centered pattern about 3 to 4 inches high. Just about a perfect 60/40 pattern. The air was perfectly still.

The trigger is nice, smooth and crisp. I then shot a total of 4 rounds, (25 shots each, 100 rounds total), at 16 yards before it started getting hot out. The gun shot beautifully. 23's and 24's in all 4 rounds. The gun swings and shoots very smoothly. The misses were 100% my fault, and I instantly knew when the gun discharged, the targets were lost.

Recoil is very easily absorbed, considering the guns light weight. (7.3 pounds). A lot of that can be attributed to the guns excellent fit. When I shoulder the gun, both beads stack perfectly. If it had been a bit cooler with a little breeze, I would have shot more.

For the money this new CZ is really a nice dedicated Trap gun, that won't break the bank. As I get older weight is getting to be more of a factor in my shotgun selection. I much prefer this new CZ to my heavier O/U's. I was a bit concerned about the 32" barrel being a bit too long, but it's not an issue at all. In fact I think it adds to the guns overall excellent balance.

With a pump or autoloader you have to factor in the length of the receiver, as it adds to the overall sighting plane of the gun. On a single barrel, or a O/U this receiver length is minimal. But on a pump or auto it can easily add 4" or more. So a 28" barreled pump will have a similar sighting plane of a 32" O/U.

But this gun seemed good with the 32" barrel, and not overly long. The one thing it has that I don't care for are barrel ports. I just don't think they're necessary on a Trap gun. They increase noise, and are just something else additional to clean.... Speaking of which I found out by surprise with this gun.

Once you remove the magazine cap, and pull the barrel, you can slide the forend completely off the gun, taking with it the bolt, which removes by simply lifting it off, once it clears the front of the receiver. It makes it very easy to clean and lubricate.

Then the entire assembly just slides right back on. I wouldn't have been surprised by that, if I had studied the manual a bit beforehand. Anyway, it's a nice feature I wish more pump guns had. CZ was on the ball with this design, that's for sure.

For someone who wants to get into Trapshooting, but has a limited budget, or just doesn't want to spend a lot on a first gun, I can't recommend this CZ 612 Trap enough. It's a good looking, good fitting, excellent shooting shotgun. For certain this gun is going to see a LOT of rounds in the near future.

 

[billt460]

Last Sunday I just went past 700 rounds with this gun, and thus far not a single hiccup. The action is starting to get somewhat smoother and easier to operate. But it has no unusual tight spots, or areas of high wear.

Now that it's cooling off, it will be getting more use. What I really like about this gun is the entire forend, along with both slide bars, and the bolt slides right off the receiver once you pull the barrel off.

This makes cleaning and lubing the bolt, as well as the trigger group very easy. You end up having good access to be able to blow everything out, without having to push out pins, etc.

This is by far the easiest pump gun I have to clean and maintain properly. Which is good because Trap guns eat a LOT of ammunition.