CZ P-01 owners sound off...

[J.P.]

How many of ya' own the CZ P-01?

For some reason I can't get them off of my mind.
I fired one briefly a few years back when they first came out but I'd like to try one out again. In my opinion they have the most natural feel in the hand of any handgun I've ever felt.
The only thing that concerns me is the tiny little slide which doesn't offer much to grab on to.
Thoughts?

 

[ronny]

Had one; let it slip away. I believe it to be one of the premier 9mm handguns out there. Well-constructed; feels great in hand; shoots great.

I shoot a Glock 23C now, and I consider these 2 pistols to be among the best all-around guns available.

I can't believe you wouldn't like a P-01.

 

[J.P.]

They were like $400 when they came out and now the best price I see on them is about $590.
Pffffft.....shoulda' got one then.

 

[dak]

I have its bigger brother the SP-01, I want a P-01 too but I can't bring myself to shell out ~$500 for one with such a slight difference in size. I almost bought one for $460 shipped about 6 months ago... probably should have. The next CZ I buy will probably be the CZ97.

Just go lurk the CZ forum's classifieds and you can probably grab a lightly used one for under 5 bills pretty easily.

 

[J.P.]

Eh...I wanna shoot one first tho'.

 

[ez bake]

Eh...I wanna shoot one first tho'.

I carry mine every time I'm not carrying my Sig P228 - they're very similar to carry with the exception of the large beaver-tail on the CZ (and it ever-so-slightly thinner).

You're welcome to shoot mine - I've got wooden grips on mine so it doesn't have the same good feeling that the rubber grips offer, but it looks like it was made for these wood grips (sort of an Eastern European thing I guess - wood and black paint).

They can still be had for $450 or so.

 

[TallPrairie]

I don't have much to add to J.P.'s opening post:

In my opinion they have the most natural feel in the hand of any handgun I've ever felt.
The only thing that concerns me is the tiny little slide which doesn't offer much to grab on to.

That's my take on the P-01. It has perfect handgun ergonomics. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. Picking up a Glock is an exercise in dark comedy after handling a P-01. (The only folks who might disagree are those with very short fingers.)

But once I started taking some handgun fighting classes, I began to shy away from my CZs for serious use, due to the small "captive" slide. That slide design makes some kinds of in-fight clearance manipulations quite difficult. On the P-01 it's even worse than a traditional steel frame CZ like the 75B. That's because the aluminum frame on the P-01 actually protrudes out well past the side of the slide, instead of being flush with it as in the steel CZs. Overall it is a pain compared to speed-racking a Glock or M&P. That is a flaw in a fighting pistol. Which sucks, because the captive slide also makes the P-01 (and other CZs) hellishly accurate for a combat pistol.

Couple other thoughts on the P-01:

* Trigger is not great but it improves with use, slowly. The more traditional styled CZ models with bare metal triggers (= metal parts smoothing metal parts) tend to develop better trigger pulls than the P-01 family.

* CZs choke on ammo with aluminum cases, such as CCI Blazer. Do not buy one if you like to feed your pistols Blazer. Stick with brass-cased ammo and they are very reliable. My P-01 went over 2,000 rounds without a stutter, shooting brass cased. Then I tried one box of Blazer and got three jams in 50 rounds. Lesson learned.

 

[J.P.]

Overall it is a pain compared to speed-racking a Glock or M&P. That is a flaw in a fighting pistol.

Yup...that's my main concern with it.
On the other hand, it still hurts worse to get pistol whipped with a P-01 than with a Glock.

 

[TallPrairie]

You basically have to grasp behind the P-01 slide and "slingshot" it to do a clearance drill. This gives some instructors an aneurysm.

I thought of one other point about CZs -- the magazine springs do not strike me as the strongest. They work, but loading the mags doesn't inspire a feeling of confidence.

This is true of both CZ factory mags and Mec-Gar brand mags (which are essentially OEM, as Mec-Gar makes the factory mags for CZ).

I remain fond of my P-01. CZs have personality and are a pleasure to shoot, especially when you look at the groups. I just prefer to train with and carry an M&P for the reasons stated.

 

[Cheepshooter]

I have a CZ 40P and wouldn't trade for it. I thonk that's the P-01 frame and a different slide. That slide is now used on their 40B frame that isn't as ergo.

It doesn't like blazer aluminum cases or real, real flat nose bullets.

Jpt