CZ P01 Omega notes....

General Firearms Handguns - Semi Auto
1

Well, I have been looking for a midsized gun to complement my Beretta 92 G-SD. I wanted it to be DA/SA and preferably metal. I looked hard at the Beretta 92 Compact but I couldn’t get past the fact that you really can’t get night sights unless you send the slide to tool-tech for some heavy surgery and limited sight options. Since I wanted metal, I pretty much had to go with a SIG or a CZ. I have never gotten past SIGs QC issues from the not too distant past so I just couldn’t see paying the bucks. I had a SP01 that was stolen a few years ago, and I remembered loving it so I figured I would give the P01 a spin. I have shot one a few times before since my shooting buddy has a green one.

Untitled by stoiclawyer, on Flickr

I actually wasn’t looking for an “Omega” because I generally don’t really care about special triggers. Unless we are talking VP70z or Colt AA 2000 I can pretty much make any normal combat trigger work. But I was actually having a hard time finding one and was thrilled when I did. I picked one up earlier this week and was happy to find the trigger was excellent.

Well, there are a few issues with the Omega that are irritating. Czs are already a pain in the keister to get holsters for…but the Omega is even worse. It has (fairly pointless) large Ambi decocking levers (frankly, I don’t care what side the lever is on, and prefer that the be small and out of the way,… the CZ Omega sucks at that). Anyway the levers are swappable so you can go cocked and locked. I do enjoy that mode of carry, but that isn’t what I’m looking for here.

Also, CZ sucks at sights. The ones on my old SP-01 were like some Colt sights from the 80s. Teeny, tiny. This one was a bit better, but I went ahead and ordered some tritium sights from Cajun.

I took the gun out today and shot 200 rounds of Federal ball. The gun ran great. I will shoot another 200 tomorrow, including some 147 grain HP to test and see it if is carry trustworthy.
The gun shot slightly higher than I like (more like a 6 o’clock hold). But I was able to shoot a ton of el prez drills from low ready and this gun keeps the gongs ringing. I didn’t some half assed walk back drills and the gun shoots straight. The DA and SA are very smooth with very little chatter in the action. Not quite as good as my well worn stock berretta, but damn close.

I considered getting a TRL8 or an X200. I am glad I tried the TRL8 because although I like the construction, I despise the switches. They are solid, but an ergonomic mess. I am scared to invest in an XC2 since my old XC1 was flakey and I had to send it back. So I just picked up an Inforce APLc. (Pro Tip, get the Glock APLc because it fits the SP01 single slot design perfectly).

My sights actually arrived after I shot this afternoon. They weren’t terrible to install, but I which Cajun would send a new roll pin. I foolishly presumed they would so I had to reuse this $1 piece for now. I had to whittle it down a bit and I scratched my slide a bit (beause I was being an impatient douche). The Cajun Sights are made by Dawson and have trijcon inserts. The are normal three dots but the rear sights are plain and the front has a big white ring. nice and simple the way I like them.

If everything goes well tomorrow I have a local Kydex guy who will make Me an OWB setup for the gun with the light. Looking forward to putting this gun through its paces.

Untitled by stoiclawyer, on Flickr
Untitled by stoiclawyer, on Flickr
Untitled by stoiclawyer, on Flickr

2

Solid gun if its what your looking for.
Comp tac makes (at least used to) ctacs that fit the gun for IWB.

Definately one of the best-looking pistols out there.

3

Thanks for putting this together. Any other necessary modifications that you can anticipate right now? Or just need more trigger time on it to hash those out?

4

Yes! I want to swap out the rubber base plates for flat metal to improve their concealment usefulness. The rubber is grabby and adds a touch of unnecessary length. I also intend to remove the totally useless lanyard ring if possible. Oh, and I already ordered some lower profile LOK grips because I hate rubber grips.

5

Since you boogered up the slide with your douchery sight installation, I’m offering you $200 for this gun. I’ll pick it up.

6

Don’t know if you know this or not, but, Beretta 92 baseplates fit on CZ mags and work fine, they’re cheap, too. With the metal baseplates I’ve found they have very sharp corners that, if you carry a reload, will dig into you, and for some people their pinky finger ends up about halfway on the tip of the metal basplate, some people fix this by carefully hammering the front of the metal baseplate around a small 1/4"drive socket, and bend it down, so that you have a nice radiused bend. I also believe you can get a flat hammer spring retainer(I don’t know the correct name for this part) from CGW, One thing to think about, although the lanyard ring is pretty much useless, it does make changing hammer springs much easier, for that reason alone I left mine on. Another minor problem I had with carrying my P01, was the grip screws rusting, CZ Custom has stainless steel replacements, the exact same screw, only in stainless… If I remember correctly, for about $4.00 a set, and includes lock washers…

7

Thanks Ralph! I didn’t know any of that stuff. Very helpful.

I shot another 200 rounds today. 100 rounds of blazer brass. 75 Rounds of Monarch steel crap. 25 rounds of hollow points marked WWC +P. Everything worked perfectly.

Interesting to note, the reason I shot the Monarch Steel was because it was choking my friend’s Steyr M9. It had hard primers that the striker gun couldn’t ignite. The CZ had no issues, including firing ammo that had previously failed in the Steyr.

I was VERY lucky with the DAWSON sights First of all, they have a very clear and crisp profile and the rear sights, while tritium, pretty much blur away in relation to the large white ring. But what I really liked was the factory sights seemed to be set up for a 6 o’clock hold. The Dawson sights, which some have complained shoot low, actually hit a perfect POA/POI. Basically, just like an aim point at 21-30 feet.

After I was done, satisfied the gun was trustworthy and very happy with the sights, I took it to my buddy who makes custom Kydex. Hopefully I will have a decent OWB holster for next week.

8

Allright. I hit 550 rounds today. Lots of plates. Happily, this is an easy gun to shoot well. 200 rounds of UMC (man that stuff leaves a lot of gold colored dust on your gun) and 50 147 grain Hydrashocks.
Untitled by stoiclawyer, on Flickr

I bought two new mags and modified one of the factory mags. I bought a MecGar 14 and 16 round mag. The mecgar mags are a bit cheaper and seem a little more cheaply made. For example, the Mecgar omits some of the strengthening ribs seen on the factory mag. In any case, both worked without issue. I don’t really see me using the 16 round mag, but it was an interesting curio. I will be using the 14 round mag and I do like the lower profile metal baseplates.
Untitled by stoiclawyer, on Flickr

I also had my buddy Dennis make me a Kydex holster for it with the APLc light. 4 day turnaround and $40 can’t be beat! Holster fits the gun perfectly.
Untitled by stoiclawyer, on Flickr

The APLc is a neat light. I did notice that after about 150 rounds it backed out a bit. I am not sure if I tightened it properly but I’ll keep an eye on it.

I also ordered some LOK grips to replace the rubber grabby grips that came with it. They arrived, are beautiful, and I promptly boogered up the Allen heads on the screws that came with them. Fortunately LOK was nice enough to throw some new screws in the mail for my dumb ass.

So far so good with my ultimate 20th century carry gun project.

9

The gold colored dust is pollen. I shot for 90 minutes and they were all over my gear on the table.

10

Nice pro tip. This CZ owner thanks you!

11

Got my LOK grips on today. I boogered up the first screws but they sent along a new set without hassle. These grips feel great and are a hell of a lot more practical than the 1980s grips that come from the factory.

Untitled by stoiclawyer, on Flickr

12

Nice blaster Greg. Grips look like a nice upgrade too.

13

You need to get professional training on how to use a screw driver.

14

True.

15

Ouch… lol

16

Would like to hear more about trigger action and its smoothness and uniformity in DA. (Polymer P guns can vary all over the map).

Omega sights are actually a leap better than standard P01 sights which are pretty small.

You can actually bend the mag lip on the base of the compact mag to provide a finger ledge, like the original compact mags. No need to change bases.

17

The Da is very smooth but heavy. I don’t mind a heavy trigger but I have to be honest. The DA on my Beretta is heavy, but lighter than the CZ and, odd to me is the fact that the Beretta has a slightly shorter reach, even with my thinner LOK grips on the CZ. I think the semi flat trigger has resulted in a slightly longer trigger. The CZ is 4.25 lbs in SA and my Beretta is 5.25. Long story short, both have excellent triggers but the Beretta is better in DA and the CZ is better in SA. Neither has any creep or mechanical chatter of any kind. Both have short resets. Both of them have DA trigger pulls waaaay off my 8 pound scale.

18

Thanks Greg. The Omega is easy to detail strip and with polishing might feel
Much lighter. A CGW kit can also bring it down quite a bit. I just find that lighter is easier. But as you say, smooth is important.

19

I am usually very shy about non factory triggers. I shoot a lot of steel cased dogcrap and I notice that my buddies striker guns (Glock, Steyr, etc) often won’t ignite the primers in Tula or monarch. My beretta and now this cz will eat that stuff like candy including stuff that has already failed in the striker guns. I always figured that the hammer guns just hit the primer harder so I keep em at standard weight. I am too damn lazy to reload anymore.

20

I understand and also hesitate to use low power main spings, but I do on my CZ P guns now because:

  • I trust the CGW parts more than stock - like the firing pin and of course their roll pin. Also, I use their lighter FP spring which again is good steel.
  • The light FP spring and longer FP work well with the 15 LB mainspring to light primers. I’ve only had a light strike in a few hundred rounds in two guns. I run mostly Wolf. Thus, I have confidence in factory defense loads.
  • I think the 15 LB Mainspring also gives me enough inertia to keep the slide velocities low, and P series longevity seems good.
  • I have found that with a lighter DA I just shoot better. I guess I need the help. Did this to one gun, then went with the others also.