I was looking for a concealed carry weapon for my second handgun that was still in the “compact” sized category and decided on the CZ P-01. This handgun is a hammer fired aluminum 9mm pistol with a 15 round double stack magazine. Based on the CZ75 platform, the P-01 was designed in 2001, and approved by NATO in 2003. CZ75 based handguns differ from other modern handguns due to their lower bore axis and thinner slide profile. The the slide rails ride inside the frame, resulting in a flatter shooting gun with less felt recoil. Although the P-01 is a compact variant of the CZ75, it is still a flat shooting gun for its size.
Upon unboxing, I found the palm swell rubber grips to fit my large hands well. Unlike a polymer framed gun, this compact pistol does not feel heavy, but feels solid with the right amount of heft for a compact gun. My home defense pistol is a full size Walther PDP Pro SD. The grip of that gun is one of the main reasons I chose the PDP, but the P-01’s grips feel even more comfortable for me. The P-01 palm swell grips provide more surface area for my hands, but more importantly the shape of the grip and beaver tail gravitate my hand up higher on the gun. It could be the shape of the palm swells, but for me, a proper firm grip with my dominant hand unconsciously results in the webbing of my hand firmly up against the beaver tail. With other handguns, I have to grip high with a conscious intent to do so. These natural ergonomics combined with the lower bore axis provides a pleasant shooting experience. Maybe not as soft of a shooter as a Glock, but definitely not snappy like a Walther PDP.
For a carry gun that would be pointed at my junk, I wanted a hammer fired pistol for safety reasons. The double action (DA) provides a heavier first pull, which reinforces conscious intent to pull the trigger. Also when reholstering, you can thumb the rear of the hammer to ensure that the trigger is not getting snagged in any loose clothing, etc. to avoid a potential misfire. Also, the decocker lever on this version of the CZ75 allows the user to reset the trigger back to DA from single action (SA). Therefore there is no need to manually thumb the hammer to lower it, which could potentially cause an accidental discharge. The decocker is different from a safety, which prevents the trigger from moving while in SA mode, but can only be engaged in SA mode. There are pros and cons for a safety or decocker depending on the gun’s intended purpose. For use as a carry gun, I personally prefer a decocker since it allows me to draw and fire without having to disengage a safety, while also providing a heavier first trigger pull.
An additional advantage to owning a hammer fired gun is the ability to dry fire without having to reset the trigger. For the CZ P-01, this means that you can continuously dry fire in DA mode only, but as a training tool, I’ve found this very useful in my practice sessions. I should note that snap caps or using an O ring between the hammer and firing pin is recommended to avoid any wear on the pistol. Also, the P-01’s firing pin block roll pin is known to be one of the first parts of the gun requiring replacement. Dry fire adds additional stress to this part, so many people recommend replacing this roll pin for a more durable aftermarket part, rather than waiting for a failure to happen.
As a self proclaimed trigger snob, I found the stock P-01’s trigger to be adequate. I measured the DA pull to average a little above 11.5 lbs, and the SA at slighly less than 4lbs. There is a bit of travel until the trigger break in DA, but SA has a defined wall before the break as expected. However the extreme curve of the trigger makes the pull feel uncomfortable to me, mostly because I have flat triggers in my other guns. I have already purchased the Cajun Gun Works’ Pro-Package with the flatter trigger, and am looking forward to the installation.
Regarding the controls of the P-01, I found the magazine release and decocker to be easily accessible without breaking grip. However the slide stop is a tad too short for me to get a solid purchase. A solution would typically be to just rack the slide back manually. But the slimmer profile of the slide combined with the sharp slide serrations makes this challenging at speed even after several hundred rounds of shooting. Many have found the P-01 difficult to rack. This is mostly due to the racking action working against both the recoil and hammer spring tension.
Also, unlike more modern designs, the P-01 is more difficult to field strip. The slide must be aligned to a mark on the frame while slightly out of battery, while simultaneously pushing out the slide stop bar in order to remove the slide. Not too difficult after the first few tries, but definitely not user friendly.
A final con that I recently discovered that is actually a feature, not a bug, is that the magazines are not designed to drop freely when ejected. Although there is a positive force pushing the mag when the release button is pressed, there is a magazine brake between the hammer mainspring and magazine chamber that causes friction against the magazine which prevents it from droping freely. I thought that this was just some kind of issue that would go away over time, but unfortunately I will have to replace it with an aftermarket part in the future. Until then, I’ll be stuck doing mag flips a la John Wick…
Despite the cons, as a carry pistol the CZ P-01 is an excellent choice due to its history of reliability and durability, and overall shootability from its low bore axis design. MSRP is $649, but I was able to find mine at a little above $500 in October 2023, and tracked it as low as under $500 prior to that. For this price, the quality and value provided is excellent. Going into 2024 however, it seems that many others feel the same way since many online retailers are either sold out of the P-01 or are charging more than the MSRP. If you’re in the market for a compact carry gun and happen to come across one below MSRP, I would highly recommend considering it for purchase.
Specs (from CZ website):
Frame: Aluminum (7075 T6)
Grips: Rubber
Trigger Mech: DA/SA
Sights: Fixed
Barrel: Cold Hammer Forged
Overall Length: 7.2″
Width: 1.38″
Height: 5.03″
Barrel Length: 3.75″
Weight: 28.1oz
Magazine Capacity: 15
MSRP: $649.00