The Current State of the ZEV OZ9?

[BobRockefeller]

Who’s up on all the ZEV OZ9 “stuff?”

• How many have been sold?
• I don’t see much discussion, after the release, of this pistol on the usual forums. Had the interest died off? Am I looking in the wrong places?
• Does one’s trigger finger drag the inside bottom of the trigger guard as mine does on a standard Glock?

[Shadow]

I bought an OZ9 soon after they were released, one of the first 200. I give Zev a big thumbs up for the innovation and overall design. I do enjoy shooting it.

With that said I've had my share of issues with it. This is not a response to bash Zev it's personal experience.

Upon getting home from the dealer with it I found the first issue. While dry firing and re-setting the trigger slowly (after cycling the slide) my striker would follow. It was repeatable over and over. The striker would follow as if the trigger was being depressed not reset, with enough force to launch a pencil from the barrel. Had I been live firing the gun would have surely doubled.

Zev sent out a return label and I returned it for repair, never fired a round from it. They had it for 3 weeks before shipping it back.

At about 1500 rounds the lug on the underside of my barrel sheared clear off. I've spent a considerable amount of time on the range with multiple agencies and shooting matches and I've never seen a failure like that unless an over pressured load was introduced to the gun. That was not the case for me. My OZ is fed factory American Eagle 124 and 147 ball ammo. This was a little over a month ago. I immediately sent Zev pictures and I had a new barrel in just over a week. I saw someone else post about having 2 Zev barrels shear the lug off on Zev's facebook page after mine did.

About 100 rounds into the new barrel the tip of my striker broke off, it was left sticking out of the breech face detached from the striker. Another week of down time until Zev sent out a new striker assembly.

Yesterday while doing bill drills I had a few failures to extract. The gun wasn't that dirty but for now I'll chalk it up to a dirty chamber. I gave it a thorough cleaning last night and I'll see if that was the cause on the range tomorrow. To be honest my gut tells me the failures to extract were not caused by a dirty gun or the ammo for that matter.

At this point I'm pretty disappointed in the OZ. The gun has a lot going for it but reliability is most important and that's a big fail for me. In my opinion for what the OZ cost there are much better choices.

[BobRockefeller]

I bought an OZ9 soon after they were released, one of the first 200. I give Zev a big thumbs up for the innovation and overall design. I do enjoy shooting it.

With that said I've had my share of issues with it. This is not a response to bash Zev it's personal experience.

Upon getting home from the dealer with it I found the first issue. While dry firing and re-setting the trigger slowly (after cycling the slide) my striker would follow. It was repeatable over and over. The striker would follow as if the trigger was being depressed not reset, with enough force to launch a pencil from the barrel. Had I been live firing the gun would have surely doubled.

Zev sent out a return label and I returned it for repair, never fired a round from it. They had it for 3 weeks before shipping it back.

At about 1500 rounds the lug on the underside of my barrel sheared clear off. I've spent a considerable amount of time on the range with multiple agencies and shooting matches and I've never seen a failure like that unless an over pressured load was introduced to the gun. That was not the case for me. My OZ is fed factory American Eagle 124 and 147 ball ammo. This was a little over a month ago. I immediately sent Zev pictures and I had a new barrel in just over a week. I saw someone else post about having 2 Zev barrels shear the lug off on Zev's facebook page after mine did.

About 100 rounds into the new barrel the tip of my striker broke off, it was left sticking out of the breech face detached from the striker. Another week of down time until Zev sent out a new striker assembly.

Yesterday while doing bill drills I had a few failures to extract. The gun wasn't that dirty but for now I'll chalk it up to a dirty chamber. I gave it a thorough cleaning last night and I'll see if that was the cause on the range tomorrow. To be honest my gut tells me the failures to extract were not caused by a dirty gun or the ammo for that matter.

At this point I'm pretty disappointed in the OZ. The gun has a lot going for it but reliability is most important and that's a big fail for me. In my opinion for what the OZ cost there are much better choices.

Thanks for the feedback! I have read some about the double fire and barrel lug problems. They may have been early teething problems, which is no excuse for a company such as ZEV or a gun of its cost.

I'm disappointed to hear of continued reliability problems. There are so many choices available, ZEV needs to protect their imagine. Not only for the OZ9, and whatever comes next, but their large Glock after-market business. I wonder if your experiences after the double fire and barrel lug problems are typical?

[Magsz]

Thanks for the feedback! I have read some about the double fire and barrel lug problems. They may have been early teething problems, which is no excuse for a company such as ZEV or a gun of its cost.

I'm disappointed to hear of continued reliability problems. There are so many choices available, ZEV needs to protect their imagine. Not only for the OZ9, and whatever comes next, but their large Glock after-market business. I wonder if your experiences after the double fire and barrel lug problems are typical?

They are not typical. However, they are occurring with enough frequency to give purchasers, such as myself pause.

I really want an OZ9 as I have a few Zev triggers that have been EXTREMELY reliable. I also have a ZEV side that I absolutely adore. That Zev slide had QC issues relating to the RMR cut which Zev was very quick to remedy. As a company, I really do like Zev. Every time I call them they're pleasant on the phone and extremely responsive.

[Shadow]

Thanks for the feedback! I have read some about the double fire and barrel lug problems. They may have been early teething problems, which is no excuse for a company such as ZEV or a gun of its cost.

I'm disappointed to hear of continued reliability problems. There are so many choices available, ZEV needs to protect their imagine. Not only for the OZ9, and whatever comes next, but their large Glock after-market business. I wonder if your experiences after the double fire and barrel lug problems are typical?

I did read about others with the same striker and extraction issues. I really want to have confidence in the gun but it just hasn't held together long enough to earn that. You're right Zev needs to be careful and pay attention to the fine details instead of worrying about releasing so many models. There is so much competition in the field today it's easy to look elsewhere.

[BobRockefeller]

They are not typical. However, they are occurring with enough frequency to give purchasers, such as myself pause.

I really want an OZ9 as I have a few Zev triggers that have been EXTREMELY reliable. I also have a ZEV side that I absolutely adore. That Zev slide had QC issues relating to the RMR cut which Zev was very quick to remedy. As a company, I really do like Zev. Every time I call them they're pleasant on the phone and extremely responsive.

I want one, too. It SHOULD have the reliability of a Glock with more metal and a better (for me) grip angle. Not to mention it doesn’t look like a brick.

[Tokarev]

@Shadow

How would you compare the MR918 and/or MR920 with the ZEV pistols?

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[BobRockefeller]

Oddly, at least to me, I see that the OZ9 full size (Glock 17 size) weighs only 6 oz more than the Glock!

[Shadow]

@Shadow

How would you compare the MR918 and/or MR920 with the ZEV pistols?

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All the issues I've had with the Zev aside, and I had to replace the extractor today, I'd take the Shadow MR's all day every day over the OZ.

The OZ grip is a little blocky while the MR grip is more contoured and has a smaller profile. I have large hands and the MR feels perfect. Texturing is about the same.

I like a trigger that has a wall to set up on, like the MR. The OZ trigger had a vague wall and was kinda mushy. I swapped the Zev trigger out to a Precision Overwatch trigger and that added a more pronounced wall.

For a defensive gun the iron sights on the MR work better for me as well. The height and black rear/hd front sight are there when you need them but not when you don't.

I use the front serrations for press checks and loading. The MR serrations are much more positive when racking the slide.

Accuracy is about equal.

The MR shoots flatter and recovers quicker than the OZ. That could be due to a heavier slide and reciprocating weight on the OZ. However the steel rails on the OZ should help mitigate recoil better also.

Reliability with the MR has been exceptional, I've already posted all the issues with the OZ.

Hope this helps. If you have a specific question let me know.

[Tokarev]

All the issues I've had with the Zev aside, and I had to replace the extractor today, I'd take the Shadow MR's all day every day over the OZ.

The OZ grip is a little blocky while the MR grip is more contoured and has a smaller profile. I have large hands and the MR feels perfect. Texturing is about the same.

I like a trigger that has a wall to set up on, like the MR. The OZ trigger had a vague wall and was kinda mushy. I swapped the Zev trigger out to a Precision Overwatch trigger and that added a more pronounced wall.

For a defensive gun the iron sights on the MR work better for me as well. The height and black rear/hd front sight are there when you need them but not when you don't.

I use the front serrations for press checks and loading. The MR serrations are much more positive when racking the slide.

Accuracy is about equal.

The MR shoots flatter and recovers quicker than the OZ. That could be due to a heavier slide and reciprocating weight on the OZ. However the steel rails on the OZ should help mitigate recoil better also.

Reliability with the MR has been exceptional, I've already posted all the issues with the OZ.

Hope this helps. If you have a specific question let me know.

This is pretty much what I was looking for. Sort of a list of general thoughts and experiences. Thanks.

The only other "Glock" I'm aware of that has modularity similar to the ZEV is the Modulus from ZRODelta. That gun can be configured as a 19, 17, or 34 or a combination of slide and frame lengths. The Modulus has a frame machined from aluminum. Beavertail and front strap inserts can be changed and dust covers can be lengthed or shortened for whichever slide is being used. The mag well can be lengthened or shortened as well. They also make a big flared mag funnel for competition use.

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