CZ P10s

 

                                                        CZ P10s

       CZ has been manufacturing firearms since the 1930s. The company's name is Ceska zbrojovka, which translates to Czech Armory. They sold their first firearms to civilian and the Czech military in 1937 and the world was impressed with their quality. In 1939 when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia the CZ plant was one of the Nazi's primary objectives.

   I bought my first CZ pistol in 2005 when I read an article that stated: "The CZ75b is carried by more security, military, and law enforcement than any other pistol in the world." I ordered mine that day and have never regretted it. I can't go to the range without someone wanting to see it or fire a few rounds. I would not trade it for anything less than Halle Berry. 

      Now let's check in on the CZ P10s..

   I looked for a CZ P10s for about three months before success. It comes in a hard plastic CZ case that has dual latches and extremely sturdy. Inside I found my pistol, two magazines, a cleaning rod, bore brush, lock, owner's manual, and three different backs straps. They ensure you find a comfortable grip on the pistol. They come in small, medium, and large. The famous CZ grip that I loved from my 75b is also on the P10s model. Your hand just feels 'at home' when griping a CZ pistol.. The texturing on the P10s is on all four sides of the grip. It is a good feel with the texturing; I even wet my hand and still had a firm handle on the pistol. Once gripping it there is absolutely no slippage. CZ has even placed a handy textured spot on the frame to keep your index finger when not on the trigger..

     Speaking of triggers, it is one of the best I have in my collection, and I own a CZ75b, a Glock 19, Walther PPKs, German P38, Smith-Wesson Snub Nose 38, Ruger Mk III, a Remington R1 1911, a Taurus 380, Mossburg & Winchester shotguns, and two Model 700 Remington deer rifles. The trigger on the P10s has about a quarter inch of play until it get firm and then a crisp break. The reset is only about an eighth of an inch and it's ready for business again. The trigger pull is around four and a half pounds of pressure to engage. The trigger guard is ample for even the biggest of hands. I tried it with gardening gloves on and had no problem.

   Note: The frame has one picatinny rail for an accessory, whether it is a light or red dot sight. 

   The P10 series is CZ's second attempt into the striker fired field of firearms. They made a model back in the 1990's but it failed to make a good impression and it was pulled from production. The P10 series is CZ's effort to get back into the striker fired market that has been so successful in the United States. 

   The P10s is six and a half inches long, four and a half inches tall, and one and a quarter inches wide. The frame is alloy and the slide is steel and weighs one pound eight ounces when empty. It is almost identical in size to the Glock 19, while the P10c is a dead ringer for the Glock 17. The Smith-Wesson M&P and the Taurus G2 all fit this similar size range, but the Taurus falls behind when it comes to quality of workmanship.

       The P10s comes with two magazines and each holds twelve rounds of 9mm Parabellum (Luger) ammunition. The magazine well in the grip is beveled for easy access. The magazine release is on the left side of the pistol, but can be relocated to the right side for lefties. The P10c has a mag release on both sides of the pistol, but that is not the case with the P10s.

   The slide release (or lock back) is on both sides of the pistol and fit very close to frame to prevent any snagging or catching anything. Some have found this slide release tab to be stiff and hard to actuate, but I found that if I pull the slide to the rear just a fraction of an inch the release button works fine. 

   The beaver tail (or undercut) forces your hand to grip the P10s up high but there is enough overhang to prevent slide bite unless you have really fat hands. The overall grip is extremely comfortable and it is hard NOT to grip the pistol properly.

    

    The P10s comes with a tritium front sight with an orange ring around it for easy acquisition. The rear sight is all blacked out with a notch in it to locate your orange spot. It sounds pretty basic but it works well and I like it.

   The P10s does not have an external safety on the frame or the slide. It does have the trigger safety introduced by Glock back in the 1980's. The small plastic pin has to be pulled at the same time as the trigger to fire the weapon. Internally there is a striker safety that prevents the pistol from being fired should you drop it.

     The P10s has serrations on the front and rear of the slide, and they are serious serrations. It makes for a rather easy grip to rack the slide without any problem. I usually only use the rear serrations to cock the pistol, but the front ones make it easy to peep into the firing chamber if you are unsure if it is loaded or not.

    The takedown tabs are identical to those on a Glock. Remove the magazine, pull the trigger, then pull back the slide about a quarter of an inch, pull down the tabs on both sides of the slide, and it will glide right off the front of the pistol. The barrel is three and a half inches long and built like a Mack Truck. Dual recoil springs and a plastic guide rod. That is about as far as CZ wants you to field strip the pistol.

   SUMMATION:  This is my new everyday carry. Previously I carried a Polish P64 pistol, but it was solid steel and only a six round magazine. It also shot the 9X18 Makarov ammo, which is sometimes difficult to find. My local dealer gave me three hundred trade-in on the P10s to make the deal a bit sweeter. The P10s fits my existing holster and is much lighter in weight. I am a happy camper.