CZ P-10C : First Look

Polymer pistols aren’t anything shocking or new to the firearms market and in fact they aren’t even new to CZ, who has been manufacturing polymer framed pistols for years. The company has had great success with their hammer fired polymer pistols in the form of the P07 and P09, but the CZ P-10C is a very different creature than CZ’s other polymer pistols. The P-10C is the companies first entry into the striker fired pistol market and has been on many CZ fans wish lists for years.

The world of striker fired pistols is a very crowded market to say the least. One thing that will surely set this pistol ahead of many in its class it the outstanding reputation for quality and ergonomics that Ceska zbrojovka has established over the years. Once CZ vans come to see and handle the P-10C I think the pistol will end up selling itself. In the short time I have had this pistol I’m learning first hand that CZ does indeed make guns that grow on a shooter very quickly. Lets take a look at the specifications and details as to why so many in the firearms community including myself are so high on this pistol.

Specifications

Manufacturer: CZ-USA

Country of Manufacture: Czech Republic

Caliber: 9x19mm (Test Model) .40 Smith & Wesson

Action: Striker Fired

Weight: 26 Oz

Length: 7.3 Inches

Height: 5.2 Inches

Width: 1.26 Inches

Barrel Length: 4.02 Inches

Capacity: 17+ 1

MSRP: $499.00- $516.00

Availability: In Stores Now

The Unboxing

I didn’t honestly know what to expect when the CZ P-10C arrived, I really had very little idea what it was going to look like since I totally forgot about it when I was at the CZ booth during SHOT Show 2017. I admit that I was looking at the CZ Evo and Bren when I was at their booth and totally forgot about the P-10C. I was pleasantly shocked when my gun dealer opened the case and said “well you finally got a good gun to demo”. What I quickly found after a few seconds of handling the pistol is that CZ really made this gun based around their P07 and P09 ergonomics but refined and evolved for a more comfortable fit.

The first thing that jumped out at me with the pistol was how large opening for the trigger guard is. Engineers at CZ designed this pistol to fit a wide range of shooters hands, including gloved hands and apparently the hands of Sasquatch. The large squared off trigger guard does feature a pronounced shelf with slight texturing on it. I’m not exactly sure why since most shooters would never wrap their fingers around the outside of the trigger guard. I’m not being overly critical of the trigger guard especially since the company undercuts the trigger guard just enough to allow shooters a little deeper hold on the pistol. This pistol is packed with small details like that, ones that people who shoot their guns often will defiantly notice. These small details add up

The trigger on the CZ P-10C is hard to describe, it features an incredibly short reset and honestly feels better than the APEX trigger I have installed in my Smith & Wesson M&P. Companies like Springfield, Glock and Smith & Wesson will have a hard time competing with the feel of this trigger and action. The smoothness of it really is what catches my attention, that and the fact the company advertises the trigger as ranging somewhere between 4 -4.5lbs on average. I spent a good amount of time cycling and trying the trigger just to get use to it before my range sessions, which are starting very soon.

The frame of the pistol features the previously mentioned undercut trigger guard in addition to a modest amount of small texturing on all four sides frame. The sides of the pistol features a small square pattern texture while the front and back feature a tighter pattern that is comprised of what appears to be small angled dots. The contrast between the patterns really work well together to grip deeply into your palms but not to the point of being overly aggressive. I don’t feel this pistol needs anymore aggressive stippling. A common place on polymer pistols that use to never have any texture applied is near the trigger guard, this isn’t an issue with the P-10C. The company in their design added two small sections subtle texturing near the take down lever on both sides of the frame. Subtle by not obnoxious is the theme with this pistol, again its the small things that are beginning to add up with the P-10C.

Moving away from the frame of the pistol we began to examine the slide and noticed it borrows some of its looks from the early polymer CZ pistols. In fact the pistol’s beveled slide is so much like the P07 that the P10 will actually fit in its holsters. This makes finding a holster for the P-10C much easier, in fact there are reports that the pistol will also fit in Glock 19 holsters as well. So no long wait to find a holster if you choose to snag one of the P-10C pistol when they become available in larger numbers.

Aside from just being beveled and being similarly shaped to the CZ P07 pistol the new CZ P-10C has front and rear serrations milled into the slide. The serrations are functional as well as aesthetically pleasing and allow shooters to have a nice solid grip on the slide. The problem with many slides that feature serrations is that they essentially act like a cheese grater and abuse your fingers. This isn’t the case with this pistol, the serrations work well without being overly aggressive.

Recapping the CZ P-10C 

The CZ P-10C feels like a great pistol out of the box. It is loaded with a ton of functional features that walks the line of being functional but not obnoxious. It feels much lighter than my Smith & Wesson M&P , in fact even my wife after holding the frame commented that it felt too light to be a real gun. I can’t wait to get this pistol out on the range this Memorial Day weekend and put a few hundred rounds down the barrel. It will be matched up side my side against my only other striker fired pistol, it will be interesting to see if my modified Smith & Wesson M&P will compete with the stock CZ.

When you take a look at the whole of the parts and attributes of the CZ P-10C and the price you can see why the folks at Block, Smith & Wesson and Springfield won’t be happy. CZ has taken their time in releasing this pistol, but I can honestly say that sometimes the best things are worth the wait. It’s certainly looking that way with this pistol. Ive taken the liberty to make a quick list of why we are so high on the CZ P-10 C.

• Great Price (Sub $500.00)
• High Capacity Magazines
• CZ Quality
• Great trigger
• Three different sized back straps
• Conservative texturing
• Lightweight
• Great for CCW
• Night Sites

We hope you enjoyed this quick look at the new CZ P-10C polymer pistol, I can say that at first I wasn’t sure about the CZ, but if I can shoot it as well as I hope, this pistol won’t be going back to CZ. We will have a series of tests and be utilizing at least three different shooters to get a wider response and feedback to the pistol. If you happen to live in the greater Anchorage Alaska area and want to handle or shoot the CZ P-10 reach out to me on social media and I will let you know when I will be at Birchwood Shooting Park. It will be a great time to meet some of our readers, and ring some lead off our collection of quality AR500 steel targets from Defense Targets and CTS Targets.