Mag buttplates

[AirmanRatliff]

So, I'm a young guy. Not new to shooting, but new to some of the more esoteric stuff. Even done a little bit of handloading. And yet, I still don't really know why so many people look for buttplates to old mags. One of my first pistols was a CZ52, and one of the old timers in my spirtsman club told me that I'd spend a fortune on mags, because you couldn't find buttplates. What did he mean? Do people machine the most complicated part, and then have to look for the plates?

 

[JohnKSa]

CZ-52 mags aren't that hard to find nor are they especially expensive. Here are some for sale:

https://www.cdnnsports.com/cz-cz52-762x25-8rd-new-factory-magazine.html?___SID=U

What he was probably referring to was the practice of using the magazine floorplate to remove the barrel during field-stripping. It tended to bend the floorplates and it's fairly common to find vintage used CZ-52 mags that have bent floorplates like the lower magazine in the picture below.



He may also be thinking that the CZ-52 pistols are uncommon. They're not that hard to find today, but at one time, many years ago, they were quite rare in the western world.

 

[AirmanRatliff]

Thanks sir. I knew about the semi-leverage use of mag plates, but luckily I have the way overpriced tool sold by Harrington for both taking down the gun, and releasing the handle scale clips. 10 bucks and 5 s/h, for a tiny metal rod with two different diameter circles machined on the ends endlessly useful, at any rate. Thank you for your reply!

 

[Zach S]

While I don't own a CZ52, i do have extra baseplates for most of my sidearms.

They get beat up much faster than the tube. My #2 Glock magazine is on its second or third basepad.