My neighbor has a CZ Duo 25 caliber auto that was made in Czechoslovakia. It also has the number 49 stamped on it. It also has the numbers 180504 stamped on it. Can anyone out there tell me anything about this gun. Also, do you have any idea what the value of the gun would be. I would classify it in good condition. Magazine holds six rounds and the gun shoots very well. Any help would be appreciated.
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CZ auto 25 Duo - made in Czechoslovakia
- Thread starter dslc6487
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chadeugene
Senior Member
If it says CZ or Z on it then it was made after WW2 when the factory was "nationalized". The 49 stamping tells you that it was made in 1949. As far as value, in good condition it will go for around $500 give or take a few bucks. They are definitely fun little pistols that don't come to market all that often.
frankwright
Senior Member
I Googled this:Czech .25s
Czech firearms have enjoyed a well-deserved reputation for quality, value and reliability. Czech .25ACP pistols have seen worldwide use both for military and civilian use.
One of the first Czech .25s came from Praga Zbrojovka, a short-lived firm that briefly employed Czechoslovakia’s most talented designers. Vaclav Holek’s vz 21 “Praga” pocket pistol is interesting even today. An ultra-concealable pistol, which the shooter could carry safely in a pocket while loaded, the vz 21 featured a folding trigger. After loading the gun, the shooter pressed the trigger forward while drawing back the slide to cock the concealed hammer. The slide’s forward movement folded the trigger up into the frame. The shooter could then place the pistol in a pocket. To smooth its profile even more the vz 21 used a simple groove atop the slide instead of raised front and rear sights.
To prepare the vz 21 for firing, the shooter placed his index finger in the recess in the slide front and retracted it, causing the trigger to spring down. The shooter could then fire normally.
Holek cleverly simplified the vz 21 for mass production. In most pistols the slide was machined to shape from bar stock, an expensive and labor-intensive procedure, but the vz 21’s sheet steel slide was stamped into shape. A separate block pinned into the slide contained the breech. The vz 21 was among the earliest pistols to feature such construction.
Despite its ingenious design, the vz 21 brought little commercial success to Praga Zbrojovka, which made only about 8000 vz 21s before going bankrupt in 1926. Nevertheless, it anticipated future designs, notably the SIG P220 pistol series. The vz 21’s smooth contours and ease of use by left-handed shooters as well as right-handers also inspired later designers.
The CZ 45, another Czech design that exerted a strong influence on modern pistols, also enjoyed considerable commercial success in its own right. Its double-action-only trigger mechanism, smooth shape, and almost complete unavailability in the USA (due to political issues raised by the Cold War) inspired several US clones. First of these was the Seecamp, which appeared in 1982 chambered for .25ACP. Three years later the Seecamp appeared chambered for the larger, more powerful .32ACP cartridge, and difficulties obtaining this pistol encouraged the development of similar pistols from Autauga Arms and North American Arms. A more direct CZ 45 copy, Intratec’s Pro-Tec, was produced from 1991 until 1997. Except for a slight change in its frame contour, the Pro-Tec was virtually identical to the CZ 45.
Back in Czechoslovakia, the CZ 45 underwent a slight change to its external appearance to become the “Model 70” in 1970. The latest variant, the CZ 92, appeared in 1992 and sells around the world, though size restrictions imposed on imported handguns by the Gun Control Act of 1968 make it virtually unavailable in the USA.
Another long-lived Czech .25, the DUO was made for over 50 years under various names and business arrangements. Czech gunmaker Frantisek Dusek began importing FN Model 1906s in the early 1930s. He then imported Spanish Singer and Ideal Model 1906 clones before introducing the similar “DUO,” based on the Ideal, in 1938. The DUO lacked a grip safety but was otherwise very similar to the Model 1906. Quality was high, an FN-type manual safety was included, and, further following FN practice, the DUO employed a striker rather than a hammer to ignite the cartridge primer. Over 115,000 DUOs were produced by 1945. As the “Pistole Z,” and later the “Model 70,” it stayed in production into the early 1990s. Though uncommon in the United States, DUO variants show up frequently overseas.
Raven
Czech firearms have enjoyed a well-deserved reputation for quality, value and reliability. Czech .25ACP pistols have seen worldwide use both for military and civilian use.
One of the first Czech .25s came from Praga Zbrojovka, a short-lived firm that briefly employed Czechoslovakia’s most talented designers. Vaclav Holek’s vz 21 “Praga” pocket pistol is interesting even today. An ultra-concealable pistol, which the shooter could carry safely in a pocket while loaded, the vz 21 featured a folding trigger. After loading the gun, the shooter pressed the trigger forward while drawing back the slide to cock the concealed hammer. The slide’s forward movement folded the trigger up into the frame. The shooter could then place the pistol in a pocket. To smooth its profile even more the vz 21 used a simple groove atop the slide instead of raised front and rear sights.
To prepare the vz 21 for firing, the shooter placed his index finger in the recess in the slide front and retracted it, causing the trigger to spring down. The shooter could then fire normally.
Holek cleverly simplified the vz 21 for mass production. In most pistols the slide was machined to shape from bar stock, an expensive and labor-intensive procedure, but the vz 21’s sheet steel slide was stamped into shape. A separate block pinned into the slide contained the breech. The vz 21 was among the earliest pistols to feature such construction.
Despite its ingenious design, the vz 21 brought little commercial success to Praga Zbrojovka, which made only about 8000 vz 21s before going bankrupt in 1926. Nevertheless, it anticipated future designs, notably the SIG P220 pistol series. The vz 21’s smooth contours and ease of use by left-handed shooters as well as right-handers also inspired later designers.
The CZ 45, another Czech design that exerted a strong influence on modern pistols, also enjoyed considerable commercial success in its own right. Its double-action-only trigger mechanism, smooth shape, and almost complete unavailability in the USA (due to political issues raised by the Cold War) inspired several US clones. First of these was the Seecamp, which appeared in 1982 chambered for .25ACP. Three years later the Seecamp appeared chambered for the larger, more powerful .32ACP cartridge, and difficulties obtaining this pistol encouraged the development of similar pistols from Autauga Arms and North American Arms. A more direct CZ 45 copy, Intratec’s Pro-Tec, was produced from 1991 until 1997. Except for a slight change in its frame contour, the Pro-Tec was virtually identical to the CZ 45.
Back in Czechoslovakia, the CZ 45 underwent a slight change to its external appearance to become the “Model 70” in 1970. The latest variant, the CZ 92, appeared in 1992 and sells around the world, though size restrictions imposed on imported handguns by the Gun Control Act of 1968 make it virtually unavailable in the USA.
Another long-lived Czech .25, the DUO was made for over 50 years under various names and business arrangements. Czech gunmaker Frantisek Dusek began importing FN Model 1906s in the early 1930s. He then imported Spanish Singer and Ideal Model 1906 clones before introducing the similar “DUO,” based on the Ideal, in 1938. The DUO lacked a grip safety but was otherwise very similar to the Model 1906. Quality was high, an FN-type manual safety was included, and, further following FN practice, the DUO employed a striker rather than a hammer to ignite the cartridge primer. Over 115,000 DUOs were produced by 1945. As the “Pistole Z,” and later the “Model 70,” it stayed in production into the early 1990s. Though uncommon in the United States, DUO variants show up frequently overseas.
Raven
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