Average Joe's Handgun Reviews

H&K P30 and CZ P 07 Duty; A Tale of Two 9mms

This is a comparison of two compact belt pistols in the ever popular 9mm. The premise for this review was originally going to be just an evaluation of the H&K P30 (pictured in the top photo, above ). The P30 is not new to the H&K line-up but they are certainly scarce. At the gun shop I frequent a P 30 will disappear shortly after it hits the shelf. I have heard so many rave reports in the firearms media that I just had to get my hands on one and waited in great anticipation.

The CZ P07 Duty (pictured in the bottom photo, above ) was a pistol I originally wanted nothing to do with. When I first laid eyes on one in a gun magazine I thought "My Lord, CZ has gone out of their way to make an ugly pistol". Gone was the sleek profile and clean lines of the CZ 75 platform. The P 07 was unattractive and with memories of the unsuccessful polymer CZ model 100 I wrote off the P 07 as a Czech folly into Glock's territory which Glock seems to have defended quite well.

As fate would have it a week after I began my evaluation of the H&K P30 the gun shop received a CZ P07. When I first held it I realized that the grip was pretty thin and felt pretty good in my hand, not as good as the contoured and checkered rubber grips on the CZ 75, but good nonetheless. It was also built, as all CZs are, wth the slide running inside the frame which lowers the axis point of the pistol theoretically improving accuracy and reducing felt recoil. At that point I decided that a comparison with the H&K P30 was in order. There is a huge difference in price between these two pistols (Bud's online price, usually the lowest I can find, has the H&K for $820 and the CZ for $418). So the question became "is there enough difference between the two guns to justify spending almost twice the price of the CZ in order to get the H&K".

So, lets start by looking at the specifications:

Overall length: HK 6.99 inches, CZ 7.3 inches

Barrel length: HK 3.86 inches, CZ 3.7 inches

Height: HK 5.43 inches, CZ 5.1 inches

Width of the grip: HK 1.29 inches, CZ 1.16 inches

Width of the slide: HK 1.13, CA 1.16

Weight without magazine: HK 1.72 pounds, CZ 1.7 pounds

Trigger Action: Both are traditional Double Action for the first pull and single action for the second pull; each are equipped with a decocker. The CZ-P07 comes with a safety to replace the decocker (if so desired) to turn the pistol into a Single Action Only platform.

Double Action trigger pull: HK 12+ pounds, CZ 10 pounds

Single Action trigger pull: HK 5 pounds, CZ 6 pounds

Capacity: HK 15 + 1, CZ 16 + 1 (although I have not been able to get that 16th round into the magazine)

Sights: Standard 3-dot fixed on both.

Trigger in Action

The double action trigger pull of the H&K P30 is somewhere north of 12 pounds. My Lyman digital scale tops out at 12 pounds and the pull of the HK registered "ERROR" on every of the 12 trigger pulls I tested. That is a negative for me. The trigger reset is fairly long almost requiring the trigger to return to its original position.

The trigger on the CZ is a thing of beauty. The P07 incorporates CZ's new Omega trigger system which is touted as a design with less moving parts. Not being a trigger system engineer I can't comment on that but I can tell you that the double action pull of 10 pounds feels much lighter due to the fact that it is so smooth. Many people, including myself, lamented the trigger pull on the CZ 75 P-01 when it arrived. It was heavy and gritty. Well, not so with the P-07; CZ got it right on this baby. For comparison purposes the trigger on the CZ P-07 feels much better than the trigger on the H&K in either double or single action.

The reset of the CZ P 07 is fairly short and firm. It is not as short a reset as a Glock trigger or a SIG that is equipped with their Short Reset Trigger but the CZ still allows for fast follow-up shooting. By saying that the reset is "firm" I mean that it is very positive and you can clearly tell when it is reset and ready to fire again.

Grips

One of the stunning enhancements on the HK are the interchangeable grips. Not only do you get three changeable backstraps, you also get three sets of changeable side panels. This allow the shooter multiple different combinations of side panels and backstraps to allow them to find the best set up for them. A technical advantage to this system is that changing the size of the grip also changes the reach of the trigger finger to the trigger. All too often people forget that trigger control is one of the most important factors in the accuracy of their shooting. For right handed shooters too little of the finger on the trigger can cause the shot to jerk to the right and too much of the finger on the trigger can push the shot to the left. The HK P-30's interchangeable grip panels and backstraps should allow the shooter to find a grip that is comfortable and helps get proper finger placement on the trigger.

The frontstrap on the HK is stippled with nice wide finger groves. Finger grove are not appreciated by many shooters and several gunsmiths do a nice business removing the grooves from the frontstraps of Glock pistols. The groves on the P-30 are wide and shallow; I think most shooters will find them to be acceptable. The one thing I do not care for on the P-30's grips are the aggressive stippling all the way around. This is a personal preference for me but the texture of this much stippling feels like wearing a scratchy wool sweater and I could do without it. There are other ways to offer the shooter a good grip but I am sure that the stippling is effective for it's purpose and appreciated by many people.

The grips of the CZ P07 are very comfortable. They do not offer you any changeable backstraps or side panels but for someone with small to average hands they should fit quite nicely. The CZ's grip is shorter than the HK's and if it were any shorter my little finger would be dangling off the bottom. The shorter and thinner CZ P 07 make it a better choice for deeper concealed carry. Because of the shorter grip the bottom of the triggerguard has been undercut (or undermolded) to allow a higher grip on the pistol.

Controls

The HK P-30 really some very innovative controls. It has ambidextrous slide release levers and the magazine release is a lever set into the rear of the trigger guard with an ambidextrous set of paddles on each side. They take some getting used to but they are easiest to operate with your trigger finger rather than your thumb. The advantage of this magazine release it the ability to release the mag without having to adjust your hand in order for your thumb to hit the frame-mounted magazine release button.

Another innovation if the P-30's decocker. Rather than being side mounted to the frame as it is on most DA/SA pistols. This one sits on the rear of the slide, next to the hammer. This every very ergonomically friendly as the decocker is very easy to reach with your thumb. The decockers on the SIG pistols are mounted on the frame in front of the grips. I always have to change hand positions in order to reach the decocker on a SIG. The H&K P-30's decocker is well thought out and excellently executed.

The CZ P-07's controls are very flat. They are obviously designed for concealed carry since they protrude very little. Besides being flat they are easy to operate, much more so than I would have imagined. Looking at the picture (above in the section on Grips) you can see that the levers have ridges on them in the direction of which you will be pushing them making them very easy to access properly. Another thing you will notice is the small section of raised stippling on the frame above the trigger. This is there to help you know that you trigger finger is in a safe area, off of the trigger when not firing. I like this feature quite a bit.