CZ P-07
Howdy folks, and welcome back. If you’ve followed this latest series looking at the various pistol trigger systems, we started off with the 1911 and its very fine Single Action Only. Then we looked at the traditional double action, aka the Double Action/Single Action, or DA/SA. Last week was the Glock “Safe Action,” and its legion of imitators, also called Striker Fired.
We finished up with a discussion of some of the shortcomings of the Striker Fired system, when it makes the transition from the duty belt to the appendix holster. The trouble centers around the trigger. The Glock is drop safe to the moon and back, but with no external safeties when you (or something) pull that trigger, it’s going off. If a jacket hem, shirt tail, stray piece of brass, (or, say, a finger) turn up in the holster or trigger guard, that presents a problem. Not from the pistol’s point of view, of course. it functions exactly as designed. It goes off. It merely creates a medical condition known as Glock Leg.
It’s not great when the gun hangs an inch or so off the hip, but it becomes extremely dangerous when the gun is carried appendix. I’m pretty sure it’s called appendix carry because if something goes wrong, it’ll ‘appen to the dix, (also the femoral arteries.) An “oopsie daisy,” there is likely to be life changing (or ending.)
So what’s the answer? There are a few. A 1911 has a good set of safeties, but carrying one appendix puts too much emphasis on the cocked in cocked and locked, for my taste.
Not to mention, the back end of one, with a beavertail grip safety and hammer spur gets kinda pokey. There are also “striker control devices” that can replace the back plate on a Glock. Those let you feel if the striker starts to move as it’s being hosltered.
In this case, I think the best answer is to take one step back, to the traditional double action pistol. To be real honest, this is a category I’ve ignored most of my shooting career. I never cared for Sigs; Berettas left me cold, and who can sort out the numerical gobbledey-gook of S&W’s naming conventions?
The striker fired system has been so successful that there aren’t even very many options left. Two very good possibilities, however, are the CZ P-01 and CZ P-07, (recently renamed P-09C.)
They’re very similar, but we’ll start with the P-01. It’s mostly a compact version of the venerable CZ-75, but with two notable additions. The frame is aluminum, and there’s a railed dust-cover for mounting lights and lasers. Possibly Swiss army knives, too. If the CZ-75 is roughly the size of the G17, (though its steel frame is considerably heavier,) the P-01 slots in right around the G19. It has a 3.75” barrel, and flush-fit magazines hold 15 rounds, though it can use standard or extended CZ-75 mags, if you don’t mind it dangling out the bottom. With the aluminum frame, it weighs right at 28 oz.
Our example today is a P-07, (which CZ in their wisdom has recently revamped and renamed the P-09C. I’ll cover the differences in a minute.) The P-07 is also compact, also has a 3.75” barrel, and also uses a 15 rd magazine. (Though a different mag from the P-01, for some reason.) It also weighs 28 oz. The big difference is that it’s a CZ transposed to the key of polymer. (The full sized polymer DA/SA is called P-09.)
The main difference is that the aluminum P-01 does a better job of maintaining the gorgeous feel in the hand of the standard CZ, where the polymer P-07 is blockier and more flat sided. The polymer has the advantage of flexing slightly, which makes for a noticeable reduction in felt recoil. The double action triggers also don’t seem quite as nice on the polymer gun.
A Glock requires careful procedures and hypervigilance any time it’s being reholstered, to make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that nothing makes it into the trigger guard. Being careful is no bad thing, but people show a distressing tendency to slip up every once in a while, especially in a stressful situation.
The CZ (or a double action gun generally,) has several things going for it. First of course, is the trigger weight. 10-12 lbs, vs 5.5. It’s not real hard to fire a Glock, but you’ve really gotta want a double action to go off. Also, after that first shot, you’ve got a sweet 4-ish pound single action pull, lighter and crisper than any striker fired gun. That’s a hefty bonus. Then there’s the hammer. Make it a practice to pin down the hammer with the thumb as the gun goes into the holster. Even if something does snag, AND you’re shoving hard enough to trip a twelve-pound trigger, it’s still not going anywhere. There’s no hammer to pin on a Glock. (Unless you add the aforementioned SCD.)
But Type-Writin’ Trucker, you ask, what about all that stuff about two different trigger pulls? Isn’t it hard to learn?
Hard-er, yes. But the biggest objection to the DA/SA came from agencies and academies who had to train large groups of lowest-common-denominator recruits in a limited amount of time. That constraint doesn’t really apply to the armed citizen, who is training on his or her own time. It takes a couple of weeks to master the double action pull, sure. But as gun guys and gals, we do this stuff for fun, too, right? I think a few weeks of dry-fire is a small investment to keep a bullet out of my femoral artery. You do you.
Now, as to the current state of CZ nomenclature. It’s confusing. That’s how Dad ended up with this slightly mismatched pair, the SP-01 and P-07, instead of the more logical SP-01 and P-01, or P-07 and P-09, both metal or both polymer. His advisor (me) wasn’t up on all the different models and how they chop and change.
A fairly recent change is that the former P-07 has been updated, made factory optics ready among other things, and renamed the P-09C. This P-07 required a trip to the gunsmith and a few hundred dollars to be optic capable, the new one comes that way. I suppose that’s a fair trade for making the alphabet soup even more muddled than it was before.
So what do you think? Is the CZ the Glock killer? Is Glock still “Perfection?” Or did pistol design peak in 1911, and it’s been all downhill ever since? Or just don’t carry appendix and you’ll be fine?
I did not mean to denigrate the Smith pistols. But you'd better eat your Wheaties, and hope to find a secret decoder ring in the box to figure out which one's which. 😵💫🤪
I've actually kind of had my eyes peeled for a... *consults chart* 6904? Lightweight compact 9, in any event. Although holsters and magazines might be something of an issue at this late date.
I run M&Ps but Ive been in them since the wayback so following the new stuff has been easier. Having said that, my old 1.0s with 10s of thousands of rounds still run great with no breakages. (I have replaced a few springs).
IMO the CZp10 series, however, is the best striker fired gun in the Glock price range out of the box. The sights are better, the trigger, is better, and all other things are equal. EXCEPT the ability to infinitely customize it. But you can find custom parts. There just aren’t as many.