Expert: GCH - 7/19/2004

Question
Hello, I have a CZ85 9mm and just purchased a quality lanyard for it. However, there is no accomodation near the butt of the weapon for the lanyard to attach to as I have seen other weapons have. The hammer has a hole in it which the lanyard's hook attaches to perfectly. Will this be sufficient for operation or do I need to have a gunsmith install a small loop near the base of the butt, if that is possible. Thank you for whatever advise you can render.  

Answer
Joan:

Lanyards, which were once "standard equipment" on pistols, went away for a while, and now are making a comeback, particularly with the military and tactical operators.

Lanyards can certainly be beneficial, but they must be connected properly.  Connecting to the hammer is a very bad idea, because it will interfer with the operation of the gun.  The lanyard may get caught in the reciprocating slide, or produce enough extra mass as to cause a primer failure, or (depending on how long it is) if the pistol is thrust out in front of you, may totally interfer with the travel of the hammer.

If you are going to use a lanyard, a loop made for that purpose should be a part of the gun's equipment.  You may be able to find magazine baseplates for the gun that have a lanyard loop, but that would be a second rate option.  The proper way to affix a lanyard is to the butt of the gun itself on a loop made for that purpose.  A competent gunsmith should be able to take care of that for you fairly esily.