I did it for the children. Thoughts on new CZ75 SP01 Urban Grey Tactical

[cslinger]

So I have been spending time teaching my daughter to shoot and I realize that sometime in the future we will eventually transition to handguns and I thought to myself, “Self, you wouldn’t be a loving and responsible parent if you were not to have a suppressed pistol to ease her into shooting them with. It will simply be better for her ears as well as making it easier for her to focus on the fundamentals.” So I picked up a suppressor ready pistol for the future.

For those of you out there who either don’t have a bullcrap translator installed or yours in on the fritz allow me to translate the above for you. “Cslinger walked into a gun store and found a really cool gun that you don’t see very often and he has extremely poor impulse control…………he probably does love his daughter though.

So here is what followed me home, a CZ75 SP01 Urban Grey, suppressor ready pistol. I will be completely honest I just REALLY dig the way this thing looks.


So where to start, let’s see, how about with the write up I did of my other CZ75 SP01 (Spoiler alert……this write up isn’t gonna be radically different.) https://thefiringline.com/foru...wthread.php?t=585851

So on to my thoughts. As always each score is out of 5 and completely my personal observations of this particular gun.

VALUE - 5
Let's look at value first. This is an all steel, color polycoated pistol from a respected brand with a storied history with a threaded barrel and suppressor height night sights for around $700 of your hard earned bucks. That is a helluva good value in my book in 2018.

TRIGGER - 4
The trigger on this particular gun is not quite as good as my other SP01 tactical but this gun doesn’t have nearly the rounds down range either. It is a good trigger that I suspect will break in just like my other SP01. It has a little bit of creep/grit in the double action pull and is, of course heavy, but all in all it pulls nice and has a really nice defined break in both single and double action. The reset is very crisp and pretty short. I know folks like to bag on CZ triggers but, honestly, they are not that bad. NOTE FROM EDITOR – Cslinger shoots HK DA/SA’s quite a lot and based on that fact his reading of good and bad triggers is obviously flawed as pulling a rusty stick through broken glass and rocks is generally better than your average out of the box HK double action so please never listen to him on triggers.

ERGOS - 3
I am just going to copy what I said last time here as it hasn’t changed.
The CZ75 and the Browning Hi-Power sort of wrote the book on comfortable pistols back in the way back time when we couldn't just splooge out any shape we wanted. This CZ feels like every other CZ75 which is super nice. Great fit in the hand, high grip, low bore access and just feels great. Really the only thing that lets it down vs. the modern world is the lack of ambi controls (except the decocker) and the fact that the slide rides so deep into the frame which give you a little less purchase on it. All in all it was a great feeling pistol 40 years ago and who'd a thunk but apparently human hands haven't changed much because....SURPRISE!!! Still a great feeling pistol.

RELIABILITY - 5
So far with a 150 or so rounds through the pistol reliability has been perfect, as it always is with every CZ pistol I have used. A mix of ball and hollowpoint ammo has been fired, 115 and 124 grain stuff. I haven’t shot any 147 grain ammo but based on my experience with other CZ’s I don’t see this being a problem.

It will likely be a long time before I ever get to run it suppressed so I cannot personally speak to its performance with a can on it or with subsonic ammo with a can, but based on others I don’t have any fears there will be any major issues.
CZ’s in general, in my experience just kind of work.

RECOIL - 5++++
If recoil is an issue for you with this gun, then I suggest you may very well only have days to live and you should see a doctor as soon as possible. I mean the recoil might be a little stout for say a six year old girl or possibly a malnourished child from a third world nation but beyond that we are talking about a giant, all steel gun that although is not crew served could benefit from an assistant gunner. The point is even the HOTTEST 9mm is powderpuff in this thing. Low bore axis, great grip, heavy weight it just soaks up anything. Seriously you could probably have an out of battery KaBoom in one of these and think……..did I load the +P stuff up???

ACCURACY - 5
Full disclosure I don’t have shooting talent. I am safe and passable with damn near any gun this side of 20mm but generally I am not the person to ever speak to accuracy. So when I give a gun a 5 it is based on the fact that it must be good to make me look good and this CZ, like my others does that very thing. This is an easy gun to shoot well. Below is an example of my accuracy with it. The target in question was a small shoot and see target that I just simply blew out. I really do think the full length rails as well as the slide riding inside does aid in the average CZ’s mechanical accuracy.

Honestly all my CZ’s shoot fantastic. I had a little CZ range day today and all of these were nothing short of awesome.


CARRY-ABILITY - 1
It’s not rifle, nor does it require a pack animal of any kind……although that may not be the worst idea but I digress. This is NOT a carry gun. This castle defense at its finest. This is a night stand pistol extraordinaire. This is a FANTASTIC home defense or car gun. I seriously wouldn’t want to carry one around all day, even in a duty situation. She’s a biggun’

EFFICIENCY - 4
It’s a big heavy gun but boy they stuff a ton of ammo in those magazines. I mean we are talking about a gun where the small magazines hold 16-17 rounds. That’s pretty impressive. CZ’s do a pretty nice job of packaging lots of ammo into fairly thin, comfortable to hold guns. So high marks here.

SIGHTS - 5
I am going to give these a five for three reasons.
-They are all steel
-They are night sights
-They are suppressor height
These are good sights, easy to pick up, easy to shoot with. They are not Trijicon HD’s or Ameriglo’s with the big ole’ florescent front dots but they are good sites and I bumped them up to 5 because a company put out a suppressor ready pistol with actual suppressor height sights.

FIT AND FINISH - 3
Let me describe the emotional roller coaster I have with every CZ pistol I buy. I see one in the store and it calls to me, the beautiful lines, the all metal construction, the exterior finish etc. I pick it up and it just melts into my hand and feels like it was gifted me by some tart from a European lake. I buy it, I take it home, I tear it down for its first cleaning and inspection and…………my heart drops when I see the internal finishing. Tool marks, overspray, lack of detail finishing etc. I start thinking this is going to be the one that doesn’t work. Basically most CZ’s, in my experience, on the inside look like they were put together by a bunch of near sighted Dwarves using dull, rusty hammers on a Monday morning after an ale fueled weekend.
I don’t have experience with the higher end CZ offerings such as the Shadow’s and the Target Sports etc. but the production level stuff on the inside is generally rougher than the competition. Exterior is usually very good. Fitting tends to be very good it’s just the finishing where things seem to fall apart.

So I go out to the range ready for this to be the one that doesn’t run and ……………… it shoots lights out and feeds anything I put in it and feels fantastic. They just ALWAYS WORK, they are always smooth, they are always accurate. Yet I am sure I will go on another emotional CZ roller coaster again in the future………only to once again fall in love with the thing.
Keep in mind I might be, being a bit harsh but I am comparing against SIG and HK for example that have exemplary fit and finish in general. Hell HK metal work on some of their slides is art. So if you are a CZ fanatic don’t crucify me too. Much. I have several of them and I LOVE them, but I gotta call it like I personally see it. They would probably get a 2 if the outsides were poorly finished or if the fit was an issue but as it stands a 3.

TAKE DOWN - 3
My thoughts haven’t changed here.
CZ75s can be a bit of pain to take down at least early on. Lining up the lines and then basically having to hammer out the slide stop. (top tip, use the bottom of your magazine). The point is they are not as easy to take down as a thoroughly modern pistol but easier then a 1911 and far in away less foul language inducing then a Ruger Mark I, II, III pistol.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS
I generally haven’t changed my thoughts here either.
Plastic recoil guide. I don't usually get my knickers in a twist over this. I don't change my Glocks out etc. I just feel like an old school gun like the CZ75 should have a steel guide rod.

Magazines. The magazines are made by Mec-Gar, who arguably makes the best magazines period. I will say the factory magazines are definitely built to a lower price point then aftermarket MecGars. The aftermarket MecGars for CZ are incredibly nice magazines.

Front Strap Checkering. I really like the front and back strap checkering. It looks and feels great.

The “urban grey” finish is very nice. It is very evenly applied on the exterior and looks great. Almost a whitish grey It contrasts wonderfully with the black controls and grips.

Stock CZ rubber grips are GREAT. I tend to change them out for aesthetic reasons or if I am going to carry and don’t want them hanging on a shirt but don’t underestimate how good the stock grips feel, as well as how well they lock your grip in.

SO DO I LIKE THIS ONE TOO???
ABSOFRIGGINLUTLY!!! I love my SP01 tactical and this brings it up a notch aesthetically as well as adding a fair bit of potential capability, all for about the same price as a standard SP01 tactical. It also is just pure pleasure to shoot this thing. I love it.

FINAL THOUGHTS
So why in God and John Browning’s name would one buy a giant steel pistol designed in a commie country back with mammoths roamed the earth? I mean aren’t there any number of first rate pieces of polymer pistol perfection out there? Yes of course there are. That being said there is a generation of shooters who know nothing about DA/SA steel framed pistols and they have no idea just how wonderful they are to shoot. Yes I would prefer a Glock 17 on my side if I was walking a beat day in and day out but side by side a Glock 17 vs a CZ SP01 (or any 75 really) is a night and day experience as far as shooting goes. Most folks have to work at learning to shoot a Glock. Guns like this CZ seem to simply do all the work for you and at the end of the day, that’s kinda special and worth embracing while you still can.

As always,
Take care, shoot safe.
Chris

[Eazyeach]

Congrats on New Gun Day. Great write-up and great pics. I love the urban grey finish. I might end up getting one of these myself.

[Spats McGee]

Congratulations! We all love New Gun Day, and that pistol is a beauty.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to write it up. I’ve been interested in the SP01 for awhile, I just have a hard time justifying a handgun I can’t carry.

[wild cat mccane]

I sold my SP-01 Tactical because the sights are pretty darn dim for "night sights" and the trigger is pretty bad stock (without spending 400 from cajun works). Heavey DA and long reset SA.

looks nice though

[CDR_Glock]

Great write up.

I’m a shooter first. I’m not one about ergonomics, Grip angle, creep, pretravel, trigger weight, but I do want a smooth trigger.

I have the same gun. I did change out the springs from Cajun Gunworks. Yes it makes a big difference for speed and follow up shots. I do compete with these so I want the same feel from the Shadow 2 down to the CZ 75.

Trigger feel is close enough for me amongst the different models to not make a difference except the reset is shorter, and single action is lighter on the Shadow 2.

When you have adrenaline running when practicing for a match, that all goes out the window. It’s just you and the targets.

I shot it suppressed. It handles extremely well, and follow up shots, dynamics and point of impact are the same without and with the suppressor. I don’t have a holster for it with a suppressor, and I doubt I ever will holster it. Most I would do with mine is have it at the nightstand for home defense, honestly. It suppressed extremely well with subsonic ammo and even with supersonic ammo, I don’t need hearing protection when I was on my range at home.



You’re absolutely right about recoil. It’s minimal. I’ve posted this before. It was my first two shots from 10 yards out of a Comptac holster, double action then single action, 147 Grain Lawman, 0.35 sec split time. Barely moved from first shot to the second. After I shot, I thought I missed the second shot but it was one hole.

I came from the Glock World, and none of my Glocks can do that kind of shooting. My 1911s can, though.

With a barrel bushing, accuracy level is very high. I can hit 6-8” plates at 35 yards with it consistently. I haven’t tried 50 or 75 yard shots with it, but I’m certain that it’s highly capable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro