Czechoslovakia’s Česká Zbrojovka capped production of the vz. 50 with a small run finished in factory hard-chrome "stainless" for police units that needed extra corrosion resistance. Under the bright nickel-chromium layer beats the same Cold-War workhorse: an all-steel, straight-blow-back pistol chambered for .32 ACP / 7.65 Browning. Forward-looking features for 1950 include an ambidextrous safety that doubles as a hammer decocker, a double-action / single-action trigger, and an automatic slide hold-open on the last round. Despite its compact profile the CZ 50 is very shootable—its 3.8-inch cold-hammer-forged barrel and fixed post-and-notch sights deliver respectable accuracy, while an 8-round single-stack magazine keeps the grip slim for concealed or plain-clothes carry.
Overall length is 6.8 inches, height 4.7 inches, and width a trim 1.1 inches; unloaded weight tips the scale at 24 ounces. Those dimensions place it firmly in the Walther PP class that inspired it, yet the CZ design adds robust Czech engineering. On the range, a standard 71-grain FMJ clocks about 950 fps from the 3.8-inch tube; modern 60-grain JHP loads can break 1,050 fps, and recoil remains mild thanks to the pistol’s all-steel heft. The hard-chrome plating shrugs off sweat, holster wear and humidity, making these late-production guns even tougher than their blued siblings.
Your purchase options:
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Good Condition — roughly 70–80 percent intact chrome; edge wear and light frosting on high spots; black plastic grips solid and crack-free; bores bright with strong rifling. All controls—DA/SA trigger, slide stop, mag catch, safety/decocker—have been function-checked and run correctly. A handsome Cold-War shooter that still gleams.
- Fair Condition — chrome worn to cloudy nickel or bare steel, mottled freckling or light surface rust; arsenal tape repairs or hairline grip cracks (see photos). Mechanically serviceable: the action cycles, the safety decocks, and the bore shows visible rifling, though frosting is possible.
Every pistol ships with one original 8-round magazine. Whether you pick a bright Good grade example for vintage carry or a rough-and-ready Fair-grade pistol for range tinkering, you’re getting a genuine slice of East-Bloc history, more than 200,000 CZ 50s armed Czech police and security forces between 1950 and 1970, but only a handful of factory-chromed specimens ever reached the U.S. surplus market.
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