12 Volt Man
Member
Here is a little review of my first experience with my own CZ40-P. I have handled my Brother In Law's a few times. Just over a month ago, I found a fantastic deal on a 40-P and I could not pass it up.
I have been busy and haven't had the chance to go out and shoot. It was killing me that I had that gun for over a month and had not even put a single round through it.
The CZ40-P was/is a limited production gun put out by CZ. Some (including myself at times) have called it a Frankengun. With CZ halting production of the CZ40-B, they had quite a few slides left over. They mated the slides with the frame from the P-01 and the 40-P was born for a short lived run of production. In order to make the combination work. They used a plastic bushing/spacer that fits over the guide rod. It serves to stop the slide in the correct position when it racks back.
Most of you know that BIL and I have been making replacement guide rods and bushings/spacers for these guns for some time. This is a result of concerns voiced by forum members when the 40-P first came out. The factory guide rod is plastic and too short. CZ used the guide rod from the P-01 and it is over an inch short from the end of the gun. It tends to bend to one side. Function is fine, but some don't trust it. Also the bushing/spacer that they supplied is made out of a cheap white plastic and by the way it is designed, it gets chewed up inside the gun leaving your gun with little plastic bits inside. Reports from other shooters say that after a few hundred rounds it stops getting chewed up.
The magazines supplied with the gun are from the days of "the ban" so they are 10 rounders. 12 rounders can now be legally purchased or assembled from parts. I ordered a base plate and a 40 caliber follower from CZ-USA. I think they charged me $4.00 each part plus a ridiculous amount for shipping. Then I took a 16 round Mec Gar mag from a full size CZ75-B and replace the bushing and follower with the ones I bought from CZ-USA. The feed lips needed to be spread apart in order to make the 40 caliber rounds feed correctly. This went bad when I did it and I partially cracked one of the feed lips while doing it. I needed to test the mag to see if it would still work with the feed lips cracked. I now have on order (may not get here for a while), some CZ75-B 12 round 40 caliber magazines. These will be the ticket to a perfectly functioning 12 round magazine for the 40-P,
Some folks like a flush fitting magazine in this gun. There are 10 round Pro Mags available from Natchez for around $15.00. There has been good reliability reported with those magazines. I have used them extensively as 9mm High Caps in my P-01. They are hard to catch them in stock at Natchez. Keep trying if you decided you want to go that route.
I spent a lot of time custom fitting my guide rod and my bushing on this 40-P. I wanted to make the fit perfect. I was able to hand fit the parts. It was nice to have the gun there and test it as I worked to make sure my tolerances were perfect. I have had a feeling for some time that the bushing/spacer that CZ provided was too short. I worked my bushing down to the point where my slide would just lock back. This is where I wanted it. I wasn't sure if everything would still feed correctly. I was able to make mine .159 of and inch bigger than the factory one. The fit was nice. Here is a picture to illustrate what I am talking about.
Here is a picture of the gun and the guide rod I made showing on the front.
So there my gun sat for 3 weeks. All set up and ready to go. BIL and I headed out to a local indoor range last night. I was excited because I was finally going to be able to test my semi-custom CZ40-P. I blasted through 100 rounds of Wal-Mart Winchester Valu Pack Ammo. I used only the magazine that I had made. I wanted to know for sure that the magazine was reliable. In that 100 rounds I had zero failures of any kind. The gun is flat out a tack driver. I need to become a better shooter to utilize it's full capabilities. It outshoots my CZ40-B by a long way.
Here is a picture of a target.
Top Left shows my very first 12 rounds through the gun. 12 Rounds Wrested at 15 feet.
Top Right shows the next 12 rounds. Offhand at 15 feet.
Bottom Right shows the next 12 round Offhand at 15 feet.
Bottom Left is a little more out of control, but it was 12 Rounds at 35 feet Offhand.
I did not type up this review to promote the product that BIL and I have been making. I wanted to let you guys know what a fantastic gun the CZ40-P is. It is a keeper. I did not expect it to be as good as it is. These guns can be had for just under $300.00 if you look hard. It is probably the best deal out there right now. They are starting to get harder to find, so get to it if you want one.
Is it perfect? No. I am not quite happy with the trigger. I need to go through a few thousand dry fires and I bet it will be very nice after that. I also need to get with Eric Larsen for some nice leather for it. I would not hesitate to carry that gun. I want to test some carry ammo in it next.
Finally.........
Check out my last 12 rounds out of it last night. This was from 25 feet, wrested.
I have been busy and haven't had the chance to go out and shoot. It was killing me that I had that gun for over a month and had not even put a single round through it.
The CZ40-P was/is a limited production gun put out by CZ. Some (including myself at times) have called it a Frankengun. With CZ halting production of the CZ40-B, they had quite a few slides left over. They mated the slides with the frame from the P-01 and the 40-P was born for a short lived run of production. In order to make the combination work. They used a plastic bushing/spacer that fits over the guide rod. It serves to stop the slide in the correct position when it racks back.
Most of you know that BIL and I have been making replacement guide rods and bushings/spacers for these guns for some time. This is a result of concerns voiced by forum members when the 40-P first came out. The factory guide rod is plastic and too short. CZ used the guide rod from the P-01 and it is over an inch short from the end of the gun. It tends to bend to one side. Function is fine, but some don't trust it. Also the bushing/spacer that they supplied is made out of a cheap white plastic and by the way it is designed, it gets chewed up inside the gun leaving your gun with little plastic bits inside. Reports from other shooters say that after a few hundred rounds it stops getting chewed up.
The magazines supplied with the gun are from the days of "the ban" so they are 10 rounders. 12 rounders can now be legally purchased or assembled from parts. I ordered a base plate and a 40 caliber follower from CZ-USA. I think they charged me $4.00 each part plus a ridiculous amount for shipping. Then I took a 16 round Mec Gar mag from a full size CZ75-B and replace the bushing and follower with the ones I bought from CZ-USA. The feed lips needed to be spread apart in order to make the 40 caliber rounds feed correctly. This went bad when I did it and I partially cracked one of the feed lips while doing it. I needed to test the mag to see if it would still work with the feed lips cracked. I now have on order (may not get here for a while), some CZ75-B 12 round 40 caliber magazines. These will be the ticket to a perfectly functioning 12 round magazine for the 40-P,
Some folks like a flush fitting magazine in this gun. There are 10 round Pro Mags available from Natchez for around $15.00. There has been good reliability reported with those magazines. I have used them extensively as 9mm High Caps in my P-01. They are hard to catch them in stock at Natchez. Keep trying if you decided you want to go that route.
I spent a lot of time custom fitting my guide rod and my bushing on this 40-P. I wanted to make the fit perfect. I was able to hand fit the parts. It was nice to have the gun there and test it as I worked to make sure my tolerances were perfect. I have had a feeling for some time that the bushing/spacer that CZ provided was too short. I worked my bushing down to the point where my slide would just lock back. This is where I wanted it. I wasn't sure if everything would still feed correctly. I was able to make mine .159 of and inch bigger than the factory one. The fit was nice. Here is a picture to illustrate what I am talking about.
Here is a picture of the gun and the guide rod I made showing on the front.
So there my gun sat for 3 weeks. All set up and ready to go. BIL and I headed out to a local indoor range last night. I was excited because I was finally going to be able to test my semi-custom CZ40-P. I blasted through 100 rounds of Wal-Mart Winchester Valu Pack Ammo. I used only the magazine that I had made. I wanted to know for sure that the magazine was reliable. In that 100 rounds I had zero failures of any kind. The gun is flat out a tack driver. I need to become a better shooter to utilize it's full capabilities. It outshoots my CZ40-B by a long way.
Here is a picture of a target.
Top Left shows my very first 12 rounds through the gun. 12 Rounds Wrested at 15 feet.
Top Right shows the next 12 rounds. Offhand at 15 feet.
Bottom Right shows the next 12 round Offhand at 15 feet.
Bottom Left is a little more out of control, but it was 12 Rounds at 35 feet Offhand.
I did not type up this review to promote the product that BIL and I have been making. I wanted to let you guys know what a fantastic gun the CZ40-P is. It is a keeper. I did not expect it to be as good as it is. These guns can be had for just under $300.00 if you look hard. It is probably the best deal out there right now. They are starting to get harder to find, so get to it if you want one.
Is it perfect? No. I am not quite happy with the trigger. I need to go through a few thousand dry fires and I bet it will be very nice after that. I also need to get with Eric Larsen for some nice leather for it. I would not hesitate to carry that gun. I want to test some carry ammo in it next.
Finally.........
Check out my last 12 rounds out of it last night. This was from 25 feet, wrested.
