CZ-USA EXPANDS THE P-10 LINEUP WITH FULL, COMPACT AND SUBCOMPACT OPTIONS.
Staff Report
Photos by MARK FINGAR
THE ENGLISH TERM “PISTOL” is said to have originated from the 15th-century Czech word píšt’ala. Firearm ownership has a long tradition in the Czech Republic, and in many respects, gun laws are less restrictive than elsewhere in the European Union (EU). Interestingly, firearms are available to citizens acquiring a shall-issue license.
Gun licenses are obtained in a manner similar to procuring a driving license. A proficiency exam must be passed, and the applicant is required to have a medical exam, in addition to a clean criminal history record. Unlike most EU countries, the Czech Republic permits its citizens to carry concealed firearms for self- defense. In fact, 246,715 of their 303,936 gun owners possess a valid concealed-carry permit. Additionally, the vast majority of Czech gun owners retain firearms for protection, with hunting and sport shooting being secondary. Ceská Zbrojovka (CZ) translates to “Czech Armory.” CZ firearms have been available through importers
and distributors in the United States since 1991. Most CZ-marked firearms are connected with Ceská Zbrojovka at Uherský Brod (CZ-UB), a manufacturing factory that’s been producing firearms since 1936.
In 1997, CZ-UB recognized a need to control its destiny in a market as big as the United States, leading to the formation of the subsidiary CZ-USA to be the exclusive importer of CZ firearms. Originally based in Oakhurst, California, the headquarters and warehouse facility moved to Kansas City, Kansas, in 1998. In 2018, CZ-USA began production of the rst American- made CZ P-10 pistols.
| Type | Striker-fired semiautomatic |
|---|---|
| Cartridge | 9mm |
| Capacity | 15+1 rds. |
| Barrel Length | 4.02 in. |
| Overall length | 7.3 in. |
| Width | 1.26 in. |
| Height | 5.2 in. |
| Weight | 26 oz. |
| Finish | Nitride; flat dark earth, olive drab, urban grey |
| Grips | Polymer, stippling; interchangeable backstrap |
| Sights | Fixed three-dot; orange dot, tritium insert (front); U-notch, black, serrated, drift adj. (rear); optic ready; suppressor -height sights (optional) |
| Trigger | 4 lbs., 8 oz. (tested) |
| MSRP | $577 (optics ready) |
If you have a Kydex holster for a C model already, the new S model will fit with room to spare.
ENTER THE CZ P-10 C
The first Czech-manufactured P-10 Compact (C) 9mm striker-fired semiautos were reviewed by Guns & Ammo following a tour of CZ’s Uherský Brod factory in the fall of 2016. After that exclusive first-look, interest in the P-10 C from the American shooting public took off. After editors and contributors spent a year extensively test- ing and evaluating the pistol, it was voted G&A’s 2017 Handgun of the Year. It has continued to enjoy success in the U.S. and has led the way for the introduction of the full-size P-10 F and the subcompact P-10 S.
The American-made CZ P-10 C features a 4-inch barrel and comes in several color options including at dark earth, olive drab and urban grey. You can also get suppressor- and optic- ready variants.
REFLECTIONS
An exciting addition to the striker- fired market, the CZ P-10 C feels good in the hand and is easy to shoot. For a compact pistol, the 15+1 capacity is quite adequate and comparable to other models on the market today. While some of us prefer the 19+1 capacity of the P-10 F, having 15 rounds of 9mm in the tank of a concealable handgun is more than enough to stop a threat.
We have liked the P-10 C from day one, but it left us and other shooters chomping at the bit for more. We wanted to see a longer sight radius and increased capacity. We were beginning to wonder if CZ even intended to produce a full-sized striker- fired pistol. Then it happened.
After several years of hard work, CZ unveiled the P-10 F and S variants. These American- made models included two changes that were outwardly visible, while a third was internal.
The P-10 offerings come optic-ready with mounting areas machines deep enough to afford proper co-witnessed iron sights when a red-dot sight is attached.
| Type | Striker-fired semiautomatic |
|---|---|
| Cartridge | 9mm |
| Capacity | 19+1 rds. |
| Barrel Length | 4.5 in. |
| Overall length | 8 in. |
| Width | 1.26 in. |
| Height | 5.85 in. |
| Weight | 28.2 oz. |
| Finish | Nitride; flat dark earth, olive drab, urban grey |
| Grips | Polymer, stippling; interchangeable backstrap |
| Sights | Fixed three-dot; orange dot, tritium insert (front); U-notch, black, serrated, drift adj. (rear); optic ready; suppressor -height sights (optional) |
| Trigger | 4 lbs., 8 oz. (tested) |
| MSRP | $590 (optics ready) |
| Type | Striker-fired semiautomatic |
|---|---|
| Cartridge | 9mm |
| Capacity | 12+1 rds. |
| Barrel Length | 3.5 in. |
| Overall length | 6.6 in. |
| Width | 1.26 in. |
| Height | 4.6 in. |
| Weight | 24.4 oz. |
| Finish | Nitride |
| Grips | Polymer, stippling; interchangeable backstrap |
| Sights | Fixed three-dot; orange dot, tritium insert (front); U-notch, black, serrated, drift adj. (rear); optic ready; suppressor -height sights (optional) |
| Trigger | 5 lbs. (tested) |
| MSRP | $577 (optics ready) |
When a red dot is installed, the sights co-witness to the illuminated dot.
Sight options have improved for the P-10 to include tritium inserts.
VISIBLY FULL-SIZE
The P-10 F comes in suppressor and optics- ready versions. It has a slide that measures just .5-inch longer than the C model yet appears much longer. Perhaps it’s an optical illusion given the four extra rounds that the full-sized grip frame contains.
Examining the P-10 S and the C side-by-side produced similar impressions. Markedly smaller than the P-10 C, the P-10 S is nearly an inch shorter in both slide length and grip. The grip is shorter than other subcompacts in this class, but CZ undercuts the triggerguard in a way that still ts shooters with larger hands. With a capacity of 12+1, the subcompact has a feel that lends itself toward two or three days of pistol training without producing discomfort.
USA-made P10s feature sights you can get behind, no pun intended. The new front sight is fixed, not drift adjustable, but it can be swapped out. There is a tritium insert for low-light use that’s surrounded by an orange ring that is not as quite as bright as the neon orange found on other sights, such as Trijicon’s HD models. The rear sight is almost perfect, being black and serrated. It would be even better if it were black with tritium lamps inserted to aid in low-light shooting.
Important to note, the drift-adjustable rear sight won’t be compatible with previously-made Czech P-10 pistols because the U.S.-made models are optics-ready. A blank filler plate over the optic platform cut has caused the rear sight base to be set back and shortened. If you intend on ordering aftermarket sights, you’ll need to specify which version of the P-10 you have. Notably, Trijicon is already producing its HD XR sight for the new P-10 models.
Understandably, CZ doesn’t ship a variety of mounting plates with these new guns. Nobody wants costs to rise because of parts they might never use, and CZ recognizes this. Red-dot sight plates accept the most popular mini red- dot sights currently available: the Trijicon RMR, Leupold DeltaPoint Pro, Vortex Venom and more. The company indicates that other optic plates are being developed. For $40, the cost of a mounting plate makes adding a red dot to a P-10 a bargain compared to the cost of milling a slide.
No optic-compatible pistol destined for serious use is complete without co-witnessed iron sights. Thankfully, CZ offers high-profile sights to allow shooters to co-witness their backup sights with an optic’s dot. Kits that include both optic plate and co-witness sights can be had for around $50. We would venture to suggest that these sights are also sufficient for use with suppressors.
CZ-USA also made sure that P-10 models retained all the features that earned the model its initial success: crisp trigger, good ergonomics and three interchangeable backstraps. The triggers on all three of G&A’s test guns were clean, which made the process of accuracy testing easier. We noticed there’s even a tactile and audible reset if you care about those details in a trigger.
Now common to all P-10s is the reversible magazine release. This allows the CZ P-10 to remain lefty-friendly while avoiding the difficulties of stiffness and break-in that plagued the original P-10 Cs.
The P-10s come with two additional textured backstraps.
| LOAD | Velocity (fps) | Extreme Spread | Standard Deviation | Best Group (in.) | Average Group (in.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zero Ammo 124-gr. FMJ | 1,212 | 17 | 6 | 1.54 | 2.26 |
| Aguila 117-gr. JHP | 1,088 | 28 | 12 | 1.69 | 2.27 |
| DoubleTap 147-gr. FMJ | 981 | 17 | 6 | 2.28 | 2.8 |
| Federal Syntech 124-gr. RN | 1,067 | 41 | 23 | 3.45 | 4.34 |
RANGE DAY
Holster fitment has not changed for the new P-10 C from the originally produced pistols. If you have a Kydex holster for a C model, the S model will fit with room to spare.
We didn’t have on hand a holster for the full- size P-10, so we took a heat gun to one of our P-10 C holsters and pushed the full-size gun right thru the bottom. Being able to shoot from a holster with each of the three versions proved convenient. They are also compatible with similar-sized holsters for competitor’s guns. Our idea of combat accuracy was spot on with all three guns. Plinking a Challenge Targets’ steel TDI torso at 25 yards was simple. The new orange sight really stood out against a snowy backdrop. It offered crisp and clean edges, and no visual detractors on the rear sight made for fast and accurate shooting. We even took the subcompact model out to 50 yards on that same target and hit it six out of six times.
All models share good ergonomics, generous texturing, and a slightly undercut triggerguard that aids the shooter in getting high beneath the backstrap and closer to the slide’s axis of recoil.
The recoil impulse of smaller guns is typically something we don’t enjoy, but the P-10 F, S, and C all felt the same.
Maintaining accuracy during rapid- fire shots normally require shots to be slower in succession as the size of the handgun gets smaller. Not with these guns. Six-round recoil-management drills were simple and unaltered in speed between shooting the full-size and subcompact models. This success can be attributed to the extremely low bore axis, which is a universal trait common to all CZ pistols.
Ambidextrous controls, full-length dust covers, and accessory rail cuts are standard on all three models. For more than looks, the front and rear serrations on the slide are unobtrusive and functional. Having interchangeable back- straps are also a plus.
To change the backstrap, there is a split pin to drive out. We used a 1/8-inch punch to drive the pinout and installed the larger backstraps.
For accuracy testing, we used the P-10 F with a Trijicon RMR RM06 with a 3.25-MOA dot. After a quick zero, we found that accuracy testing was never so easy, even in the cold, miserable conditions we had to endure.
THE TAKEAWAYS
There’s a lot to be said for being able to get your favorite pistol in different sizes. For police officers this is important. With limited training time, having the ability to use a full-size gun such as the P-10 F for duty/range work and then carry a smaller version of the same pistol such as the P-10 C or S off-duty means they don’t have to learn two different platforms. With the P-10 F, C and S, you get similar features including fit, feel, and function.
We’ll admit that CZ threw us off by offering a compact model before the introduction of the full-size P-10 F variant, but we understand how popular the mid-sized carry pistol category is.
The current variety of options with frame colors, sizes, barrel lengths, and sights will keep this excellent-handling pistol series in the public’s attention for years to come. •
