CZ P10-C, by Pat Cascio

One of the most in-demand 9mm pistols these days is the CZ P10-C. We have taken a close look at it and are pleased to give our test results here.

Everything I Hoped It Would Be and Then Some

It’s not often but this sometimes happens that when a pistol is so popular and in-demand they actually sell for more than retail. With this being the case, you know this one is a winner. The CZ-P10-C is under review, and it is everything I hoped it would be and then some.

CZ

CZ is world famous for their firearms, and with good reason. They are producing some world-class firearms, always have. It wasn’t all that long ago that we couldn’t walk into a gun shop and buy anything with the CZ name on it. They were pretty much banned in this country, because of political moves.

False Information in Forums

I must be the luckiest person in the world, when it comes to getting reliable firearms. After testing my own CZ P10-C sample, I did some research on the ‘net and came across all manner of complaints from people who think the P10-C is a piece of junk. Then again, and I’m being honest here, if you read about any firearms, and I don’t care what firearm it is, there are people saying they are junk. One in particular– the grand ol’ 1911– is probably one of the worst firearms ever built, if you believe some of the forums out there.

I just don’t understand people who have nothing better to do with their time than report false information in these forums about any guns. I’d be reluctant to buy any firearms based on some of the stuff I see on the Internet, really. So, take that stuff with a grain of salt, before you go believing most of the bad press that is out there. If this were true, every gun maker in the world would have gone out of business years ago. Be advised!

Few Lemons Over the Years As a Gun Writer

Over the years, as a gun writer who has been at this for 26 years or longer, I’ve only received a few lemons, when it comes to firearms. I don’t believe for one moment that I’ve ever received a hand-picked firearm to test. The gun makers simply don’t have the time to pull guns off the shelves and test them before shipping them out to gun writers. I know a lot of fellow gun writers, and they are with me on this. If they received a cherry picked gun, they didn’t know it.

I like to be fair, and if I think I received a bad gun, which can happen with the biggest name gun maker, I’ll return it and ask that it be repaired or replaced. Then, when that gun comes back into my hands, or a different one comes, I run with that one for my article, but I will report what happened. I think that’s more than fair, and it tests the gun maker’s warranty as well as their customer service.

Some Firearms Purchased With My Own Funds

Some of the firearms I test are purchased with my own funds, though not a lot of them because I’m anything but rich, far from it. I’m a habitual gun trader. I always have been, because I can’t afford all the firearms I’d like to have. I’m fortunate in that most gun companies, not all of them, offer the gun samples to writers at a decent discount. They have no use for a used firearm and would rather sell it at a discount from retail than have the gun returned. I wish I could report that I purchase all the gun samples that pass through my hands, but even at the discount I can’t afford a lot of the guns I test.

I Purchased the CZ P10-C Tested For This Article

The CZ P10-C that I tested for this article was purchase with my own funds, so I clearly have no vested interest in giving this gun a glowing report. To be honest, I don’t feel any obligation, when testing guns, to give them a glowing report, if they didn’t earn it, period! The guns I test are reported as I determine them to be in my articles. I take notes during my testing, so as to not forget anything. That way what you read about a firearm is my own personal opinion, based on my testing, and often I have people assisting me in my testing, and I take their opinions into my own and report them as such in my findings.

Close Look At the CZ P10-C

Let’s take a close look at the CZ P10-C. First of all, it is a striker-fired handgun. We are seeing more and more striker-fired handguns, as opposed to hammer-fired. I’m not sure if this trend will continue or not, but it took me some time to learn to love the trigger pull on striker-fired handguns.

Size

The P10-C has a 4.01 inch, cold, hammer-forged barrel. You won’t shoot the barrel out; it will last through your lifetime and then some. The gun weighs only 26 oz, so it’s fairly light weight. CZ considers this model a “compact”, thus the “C” in the nomenclature. To be sure, it is more of a full-sized duty type handgun than a compact one, but that’s just my take on it. The gun comes with two 15-rd magazines, as well as three interchangeable back straps for a custom fit to your hand, and this is important. If a gun doesn’t fit your hand, you will never get 100% accuracy out of it.

Trigger Pull

I had read a lot about the trigger pull on the P10-C. Many people raved about it. Well, on my sample, it was a little gritty, that is until I had fired several hundred rounds through it. Then, like magic, it felt like a gunsmith had worked the trigger over. It was smooth as smooth can be. It has a positive reset, which is a good thing, and broke cleanly at 4.5 lbs after the break-in period. The reset is very short, and that makes for faster follow-up shots.

Frame, Trigger Guard, and Slide

The frame is made out of black polymer, and in this case, CZ says it is fiber reinforced. The checkering on the frame is in all the right places, for a sure hold on this gun in any weather conditions. The trigger guard is overly large and squared off. It’s larger than I think it needs to be, but you’ll have no problem shooting this handgun with gloves on your hand. The slide is has a nice, evenly applied nitride coating on it, for the most demanding military conditions, too.

Sights and Holsters

The slide is topped with three dot white sights– one on the front sight, and two on the rear sight. They’re very fast to pick up for fast combat shooting. Also, to be sure, the P10-C will fit in many, though not all, holsters made for the GLOCK 19. Hmm, is that a coincidence? I don’t think so.

Feel

When you look at the pictures of the P10-C, the gun appears to be “blocky” for the most part; however, it is anything but blocky feeling. The gun is one of the best feeling handguns I’ve ever tested. Maybe it’s not the best, but it is right up there with the top three or four handguns, when it comes to how great it feels in the hand.

Testing

I fired this gun a lot, putting more than 600 rounds down range in several days of testing. I’ve cut back on how much ammo I run through guns for articles; however, this time around I just keep shooting over several days. I never had one failure of any sort. Now, if you read the complaints about this gun, you’ll think one of us is lying, either myself or the person with the complaints. Many said they had a lot of failures to feed certain types of ammo; some had failures to eject, and some had failures to fire. Well, like I said at the start of this article, I must be pretty lucky with most of the guns I test. I had zero problems of any sort, none!

Ammo For Testing

As usual, I had a great stock of 9mm ammo on hand for testing. From Buffalo Bore Ammunition, I had the following: 147-gr Heavy load, which is standard velocity; 147-gr FMJ FN; 147-gr Outdoorsman Hard Cast FN, +P load; 115-gr Barnes TAC XP, all-copper hollow point, that is +P rated; 124-gr FMJ FN +P+ Penetrator round; and their 124-gr JHP +P+. From Black Hills Ammunition, I had their 115-gr JHP +P, 124-gr JHP +P, 115-gr EXP HP, 124-gr JHP, 115-gr Barnes TAC XP all-copper hollow point +P, 125-gr HoneyBadger subsonic all-copper load with bullets that have flutes, and their 100-gr HoneyBadger load, which is rated as +P with those same fluted all-copper bullets.

Accuracy Testing Results

As reported, there were zero malfunctions at all during my testing. Accuracy testing took place over the hood of my Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck, and the targets were placed at 25 yards. I used a rolled-up jacket as a rest. The P10-C was pretty consistent with all of the loads, if I did my part, and most of the loads hoovered right around three inches.

There were two stand out loads– the Black Hills 124-gr JHP +P and the Buffalo Bore 124-gr JHP +P+ loads. They were running neck and neck, and I shot several groups. They both were right in there at 2.5 inches, again, if I was on my game. For sure, the P10-C liked the heavier loads that were faster than the standard velocity loads. I couldn’t call a winner between these two groups. They were that close in the accuracy department. Either load would be great for self-defense work.

The CZ P10-C retails for around $499, but I’ve seen them selling for more than that, a lot more. So shop around before you lay down your hard-earned money. I think you’ll really fall in love with this gun as soon as you put it in your hand and up to your eye level. This one is a winner in my book, big time.