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.

Taurus PT 709 Slim 9mm

I know that I had promised to write about the H&K P30 and the CZ-P07 next and I am excited to do so, however this little pistol became available to me yesterday and, as I have not read that much about the PT 709 in any other magazines, I wanted to get this out as soon as possible.

The Taurus PT 709 Slim 9mm is the Taurus solution to the problem of finding a pistol you can have with you just about all the time. The pistol is 6.2 inches in length, sports a 3.20 inch long barrel, and weighs a mere 19 ounces. You can see in the photo below that the PT 709 is smaller than the Glock 36, one of my other favorite compact carry pistols.

The 709 measures .92 inches wide at the grips and she is .97 inches across the slide. You can see in this photo how the width of the 709 (center) compares to the Glock 36 (left) and CZ model 82 (right).

The capacity is 7 + 1 rounds of 9mm although a 9 round magazine is supposed to be available.

Upon first examining the PT709 you'll note that it owes a lot to Glock. It is a striker-fired mechanism and takes down just like a Glock (1. Clear the pistol, 2. remove the magazine, 3. check to make sure the chamber is empty once more, 4. pull the trigger, 5. move the slide about 1/10th of an inch to the rear, 6. depress the dual sided takedown latches, 7. push the slide forward, off the frame, 8. lift the guide rod and spring up and out, and 9. lift out the barrel). After you remove the slide from the frame the guide rod, recoil spring, and rails all look very Glock-like.

Another Glock-ish feature is the trigger safety level in the center of the trigger just like the Glock trigger. I guess while we are on the subject of the trigger we should address the action and trigger pull. Unlike the Glock the Taurus is a Single Action pistol with Taurus' unique Double Action Second Strike capability. Allow me to explain what that means. As opposed to Glock, the rear-ward motion of the slide, either through recoil or racking the slide to load the first round, completely cocks the striker. Therefore pulling the trigger does not cock he striker; it's only function is to release the striker and fire the pistol, thus making it a single action trigger mechanism. Accordingly to its single action there is a small, but quite usable safety mounted on the frame right where it should be.

Now, if a round fails to fire (in which there is no recoil to cycle the slide and recock the striker) the trigger mechanism can then be fired in double action mode whereby pulling the trigger first cocks and sets the striker, and then releases it. This gives you a second chance for the firing pin to strike the primer and fire the round.

The single action trigger pull measured 6.12 pounds on my Lyman digital scale however it felt much lighter. The double action pull averaged 7.5 pounds. The single action trigger pull takes a little getting used to but you can master it quickly. When you pull the trigger it moves with almost no resistance to within a millimeter or so of the rear of the trigger area where the trigger then engages the sear and the 6.12 pounds of pressure is needed to fire the pistol. Because the trigger moves so far rearward it caused most people who handled the pistol (including me) to think that they had pulled the trigger and nothing happened. They (and I) did not realize that when the trigger stopped moving freely it was set to fire. At that point, once I realized what was going on, you just apply your 6.12 pounds of pressure and the trigger breaks very crisply with almost no over travel. Once fired the trigger has a very short reset allowing for fast follow-up shots. You will see a target below where I was able to fire 8 rounds in 1.5 seconds due to the quick reset. The trigger guard is undercut to allow you to get a higher hold on the grips which usually decreases felt recoil and increase practical accuracy however the undercut is so shallow and narrow that the effort seems more cosmetic than utilitarian. Perhaps some unfortunate celebrity with an advanced eating disorder can wrangle their middle finger into the undercut area but my stout chocolate-chip cookie fed finger can't take advantage of this feature.

The 3 dot sights on the 709 are compact, but large enough to see. On the minus side of the equation they are not night sites; a real plus is that they are adjustable for both windage and elevation allowing you really zero it in. You just don't normally find adjustable sights on a small, value priced handgun. Taurus has also put a dimple on the both sides of the slide to help you index your finge onto a safe position on the slide, out of the trigger guard. I don't know how much this will actually contribute to safe pistol handling but I like it and it sure doesn't hurt anything.

On a business trip recently I had with me a copy of a magazine devoted exlusively to handguns. I found it interesing that about half the articles did not show any photos of the targets nor were there any corresponding tables detailing the ammo, velocity, or group size. Instead there was usually some fairly vague phrase about "acceptable combat (or defensive) accuracy". My perception is that the writer found the accuracy to be fairly lame but does not want to burn any bridges with the manufacturer. Here at Average Joe's Handgun Reviews you get to see the targets.

Time for the Targets:

Here are two shot at 21 feet

In this target the torso shots were made at 50 feet and the head shots at 30 feet. This is pretty darn good practical accuracy out of this small pistol.

This target was set out at a mere 15 feet. The head shots were fired as soon as the target was acquired. The torso was shot as fast as I could which, as mentioned about, was 8 rounds in 1.5 seconds.

In firing this pistol I found the recoil to be fairly nominal, much less than expected. I also found that the recoil did not cause the this grips to move around in my hand. The ridges and patterns molded into the grips do their job well.

I tried carrying the 709 in several inside the waistband holsters that I had on hand. The first was this Bianci. I cannot remember the model name but the marketing people had given it a catchy moniker like "Stow and Go", "Run and Gun", etc.

It fit like a glove however it did not carry that well. The clip is set a little too low which left too much of the frame above the waist line. Once the belt was cinched up it pulled the barrel in close but levered the grip away from my body.

It was just a little big in my DeSantis "Tuck This" which was made for a Glock 19.

Finally this inexpensive Uncle Mike's holster worked perfectly.

On one of the gun forums that I prowl there was a recent thread about the PT 709. One person started the thread asking what people knew about this new pistol. Three or four people were participating and all had come to the conclusion that they would pass on the 709. I find this interesting in that none of them had fired it, none of them had held it, none of them had even seen one. In fact they had a hard time locating a photo and finally copied one off of an online report about the SHOT show. I guess they did not think to look for a photo on the Taurus website. Anyway, it is their loss; at $379.00 (at my local gunshop) I consider this to be a "Best Buy".

In Honor of "Public Enemies"

As a salute to the film "Public Enemies" I took my Colt Pocket Hammerless Model 1908 .380 ACP out of the safe and sent a box of very expensive Mag Tech JHPs down range at 7 yards. The .380 ACP Model 1908 is supposedly the pistol that John Dillenger was packing when J. Edgar's G-Men and the East Chicago, Indiana police detectives gunned him down around the corner from the Biograph Theatre on N. Clark Street in Chicago. I was impresses with the firearms research done for the film. They got it right with all firearms used being correct for the period. I was less impressed with the historical license they took as they showed some things out of chronological order and just plain made-up other stuff in the movie.
I love the Model 1903 .32 ACP and Model 1908 .380 ACP Pocket Hammerless pistols. They show a standard of workmanship that would be too expensive to replicate in a mass produced pistol these days. I have written about the model 1908 pistol shown above before so if you want more information on it use the search function in the sidebar to the right.

Overheard at the Range

Shooter to Friend:

"You can shoot some of them, but don't shoot all my hollowtops; I use them for home defense."