New CZ SP-01 and Kadet arrived; custom P-01 to follow

[MLeake]

In a previous thread, I mentioned that after experimenting with several new compact and full-size polymer pistols over the past few years (Glock G21 and G30, FNX9 and FNX40, PX4 9 and 40, PPQ, M&P45), I find that I still like steel or alloy guns, and that I really missed my old CZ75. So, I ordered an SP-01 from JGSales, and a P-01 custom from Matt Mink.

The Matt Mink pistol should arrive later this week. I'm really looking forward to it.

The SP-01 arrived on Friday. It has night sights (Meprolight TruDot, not the luminscent paint things) and the older style CZ safety setup. I had also ordered some VZ grips for it, Tactical Diamond grips in Black Desert Sand color, so I installed those. (I have some dark blue hex grip screws inbound from CZ Custom, and will install those when they arrive; the one thing that has always annoyed me with CZ grips is that they use Phillips head screws, that are easily marred.)

The trigger is ok, not too heavy or gritty, but I expect it to wear in to a fairly nice trigger over time and with a lot of dry fire and range time. Still, I may send it to Matt, later in the year, for his tuning (15# mainspring, 8#DA/4#SA), depending on how the break-in goes.

As it is, it isn't bad.

The gun points well, balances nicely, and allows good accuracy (IE, it's a CZ).

I was able to find a Kadet kit at CheaperThanDirt, and that arrived Friday, too. I was surprised to find that the Kadet did not initially fit the SP-01, as the rails on the Kadet were both too tall and too wide at the front (fixed) end. Turns out, it is not uncommon for Kadets to have to be fitted. There was enough thickness to remove that a file looked like it would take all day, so I broke the rules and used a dremel. Even with that, it took a while. But, the Kadet now fits the SP-01, and I plan to use it quite a bit to break in the trigger while burning .22LR.

Here's the SP-01 with the VZ grips:

Here's a photo after 15 sets of failure drills (Mozambiques); range was only 25ft. First shot in the double-tap to the chest was DA, each sequence. Aimed shots at head. (45 rounds total):

Here's the Kadet kit over the SP-01; I hadn't realized it, but the entire Kadet slide does not actually move - only the rear part, middle height section of the slide reciprocates - this works well enough, but it's hard to get a grip on that little strip of slide to initially chamber a round, especially with sweaty or oily fingers:

And here's what the Kadet will do (50 rds CCI Mini-Mag at 25 ft):

I'm pretty happy with my new CZ's; I am REALLY looking forward to the Matt Mink P-01.

Cheers,

M

 

[MLeake]

Fixed the problem with the images...

Meanwhile, I forgot to mention, but the CZ gobbled up a 200rd mixed assortment of HST147, Speer Lawman 147 FMJ, and Speer Lawman 124 FMJ, plus the 50rds of CCI Mini-Mag through the Kadet.

No problems, no surprise - it's a CZ.

 

[predecessor]

Congrats! Steel has a special feel to it and CZ puts together a great line of pistols. I thoroughly enjoy my CZ's

 

[Pilot]

Fantastic pistol, and the addition of the Kadet Kit makes it so versatile, fun and less expensive to shoot. I can't say enough about both the pistol and conversion kit.

BTW, my Kadet Kit fit on both my 75B, and PCR with no modification needed, but I have heard from time to time they do require some fitting. I wonder if the newer CZ models like the SP-01 are a bit different so as to require more fitting.

 

[MLeake]

Kadet range report; mostly good, one nuisance

Hey, Pilot, I like the setup myself. The Kadet kit actually comes with an instruction sheet and diagram of what contact points might need some filing down, so it may be a compatibility between old and new frames issue.

In any case, went out today in my back pasture and set up some targets, and ran 230 more rounds through the Kadet.

I would have run 250, but that's where the nuisance part kicks in: the Kadet stopped cycling cleanly - and I think cleanly may be the key word - as I had run 280 net rounds through it since its initial (and only) clean and lube. Ran just fine through the first 250+, and seemed ok after disassembly. Just sensitive to lubrication levels. Not sure if this will go away as the kit wears in more.

Anyway, here's a picture of the SP-01/Kadet:

As far as the shooting went, set up at 10 yards for a warm-up. Wind was blowing fairly hard today, so the target was acting a bit like a sail.

The Kadet laughed at 10 yards. "Ok, Kadet," thought I, "let's see how you like 50 yards."

Kadet actually liked 50 yards just fine, as it turned out...

What the target looked like, before:

What the target looked like, after 100 rounds at 50 yards:

Considering the 8 ring and inside would count as 5 points on a military range, I would have dropped 4 points at 50 yards, on a target designed for 25 yard quals. Note: the low, left 7 wasn't the gun's fault; I felt my form break when that shot went low left.

I had planned to fire 50 rounds at 7 yards, weak hand only (IE lefty), but that's when I ran into some problems. Suspect the gun wasn't sufficiently lubed. Anyway, fired 40 rounds lefty, from 7 yards:

Kadet apparently thinks it is reasonably ambidextrous. Go figure.

Next time out, will lube it wetter, and bring the bottle with me, and we'll see how it goes.

 

[tekarra]

cZ makes some mighty fine firearms and the pistols are really fine. A Kadet Kit has found a permanent home on one of my 75Bs.

 

[chris in va]

My Kadet kit has been very reliable. I suggest you get a set of picks and chip out the buildup from around the chamber face, extractor and firing pin channel. Note the wear points on the slide and give those spots some oil.

 

[iblong]

Nice set up,congrats.
I have the 75B and the P-01 and since I bought them my 3 Glocks have been a bit neglected,I still like them but theres just something about the CZ's.
I had action work done on both of mine and the triggers are almost as nice as my 1911"s,well almost.

 

[aarondhgraham]

Hello Mleake,,,

I hadn't realized it, but the entire Kadet slide does not actually move - only the rear part, middle height section of the slide reciprocates - this works well enough, but it's hard to get a grip on that little strip of slide to initially chamber a round, especially with sweaty or oily fingers:

It's entirely possible that's the reason it works so well though,,,
Much less mass for the little .22 round to move,,,
Mine runs perfectly with Federal Bulk Pack.

Quite a few of my other .22 semi's need Mini Mags to run well.

Aarond

.

 

[Kimio]

This is the handgun I want to get, it's a real treat to shoot, especially with my small hands, it just feels good in the hands.

I'm envious of you lol.

 

[Pilot]

It's entirely possible that's the reason it works so well though,,,
Much less mass for the little .22 round to move,,,

Exactly. Plus the sights stay fixed, which may also help contribute to accuracy.

Mine runs perfectly with Federal Bulk Pack.

So does mine as well as Winchester 555, and Federal Automatch which are all less expensive than Minimags by a decent margin.

 

[MLeake]

I'll try some regular velocity CCI later.

I took a brush to the recommended areas of the Kadet, and will lube the heck out of it before it goes out for its next session.

Heard from Matt Mink today; my P-01 should ship this afternoon, so I may have it by tomorrow, and should definitely have it by Thursday.

Meanwhile, my wife was sleeping (working the night shift at the hospital), so I didn't shoot in the back pasture today. This meant indoor range time, so I took the SP-01 along in 9mm mode. Mix of good and bad to report...

The good:

SP-01 is accurate. The indoor range where I shoot had some renovation done, improving their backstops and ventilation system. However, when they did that, they lost two yards of their range. So, the following were shot from modified Weaver at 23 yards.

Started with 50 rounds of Federal HST 147gr, my preferred 9mm load (the others being Speer 124 GD, and HST 124 +P):

Didn't measure, per se, but the height and width of the 50-shot group were about the same as the long axis of my iPhone 4S. Pretty happy with that, with an exception to be discussed later.

Followed up with 50 rounds of Speer Lawman TMJ 147, which hit slightly higher (probably due to slightly lower velocity relative to the HST):

Next, ran some Aguila FMJ 124, because I've had some issues with hard primers on Aguila in the past, and wanted to see what the SP would do with them:

No problems noted; accuracy not bad.

Next, 50 rounds of Speer Lawman TMJ 124. These ran well, and will be discussed later:

Finally, ran one last batch of Speer Lawman TMJ 147 (again, to be included in later discussion). This batch was fired with the first 12 shots of each of 3 magazines to the chest, as rapidly as I could find the front sight, with the remaining rounds in each mag fired in fast but aimed mode at the head, at 7 yards:

Now, for the problems...

First problem: The SP-01 18 round magazines with extended base plates each had issues feeding the 147 grain rounds. I wasn't sure if this would be a problem that would go away with magazine break-in, so I ran a bunch of 147 through those magazines. By end of the session, each had run through at least once without problem, but still, I may stick with the flush magazines with 147 grain (they had no problems at all); or, I may test out some HST 124 +P and see how that runs.

Edit: None of the magazines had any issues with the Speer or Aguila 124 grain cartridges. I have heard rumors about 147 OAL sometimes causing magazine issues, and now I wonder if those rumors have some teeth. Switching to 124 or 127 may be the better option.

Second problem: On a few occasions, the trigger travel would stop; on each of those occasions, I found my low thumb grip had actuated the safety - but the safety had not moved enough to be visibly engaged. However, I have long fingers and thumbs, and when I switched to a high grip, riding the safety, my thumb would prevent the slide stop from holding the slide back on an empty magazine. Not sure if I need to go with the high grip, and deal with the slide going into battery; modify my grips; or see if the gun can be converted to decocker. Note that I never ran into this issue with my old CZ75B...

Edit: Just checked the CZCustom site FAQs. The safety cannot be converted to a decocker, due to different cuts in the slide.

I'll be very curious to see how the Matt Mink P-01 compares, when it arrives, but I suspect that I may ultimately prefer the decocker.

TBD...

 

[armoredman]

Congrats on a fine setup. I like the CZ decocker models myself. The kadet won't fit on my SP-01 - it's the poly Phantom model, but it runs like a champ on my P-01.
I discovered my Kadet 2 has some minor ammo likes/dislikes as it breaks in, and recently its favorite load is the Winchester High Velocity 36 gr LHP round, works great, and very accurate.
You got the best Triple Play you could get, sir, very nice.