Dissecting the Smallest CZ, The P-01 Semi Auto

It’s a bit surprising to see an integral accessory rail on a compact pistol, especially since none is found on its larger, duty-oriented big brother where one might be expected. Unless a carry-permit holder has very big pockets or a very lumpy body, and unless he’s anticipating personal attacks from somewhere beyond seven yards, it’s highly unlikely a tactical flashlight or laser would ever be hung on a CZ P-01. Nevertheless, the rail is present along with a dovetail cut.

Other noticeable differences between the Police Model and the P-01 include length, weight, sight radius, magazine capacity, and calibers. The Police Model is chambered for 9mm Luger, 9×21, or .40 S&W, and holds up to 16 rounds. As of this writing, the P-01 carries 10 rounds of 9mm Luger only. In view of the growing popularity of the .40, we suspect this chambering may be added, with capacity probably remaining at 10.

Much of the weight difference between the full-size and compact models is attributable to the frame being steel in the duty pistol and light alloy in the P-01. Both guns are SA/DA, and neither have a manual safety. Both have a decocking device, a half-cock notch on the hammer, and a firing-pin safety or block. A loaded-chamber indicator is available on the P-01 by special order only. It’s standard on the police model.

SA/DA Function In single-action, the trigger travels about 3/8 inch with an out-of-the-box 5-pound maximum pull. Blowback action moves the barrel and slide to the rear, the recoil spring resists their progress, and after a short distance the slide and barrel unlock. The slide keeps going until halted by the receiver (slide) stop. Before it reaches the stop, however, the slide has been busy’cocking the hammer, extracting the empty case, and holding onto the case long enough for it to get bumped out by the ejector.

In addition to those necessary actions, it disconnects the trigger bar from the sear, allowing the sear spring to resume its original position. Still not finished, the slide is pulled forward by the recoil spring to collect another round from the magazine, reunite with the barrel, and move into battery. When the trigger is pulled in double-action on a loaded chamber, the trigger bar cocks the hammer.

Just before the sear engages the hammer notch, two cams on the ejector depress the trigger bar to end its associ- Included with the pistol are snap caps to prevent firing-pin damage during dry-fire function tests. (The dollar bill used for size comparison is deliberately faded to keep us out of trouble with the T-Men.)

On pistols which have fired a large number of rounds, it’s advisable to dismount the firing pin, spring, and magazine, and clean them as well. ation with the disconnector. The hammer falls and the round is away. Field Stripping The gun is empty, the magazine is out, the grips are off, the frame is lightly secured between padded vise jaws and you’re wearing eye protection. The P-01 has no manual safety.

Instead of switching the safety lever to "off" as you would with a CZ so equipped, pull the hammer to halfcock, grab the slide and move it to the rear until the vertical line on it aligns with a much smaller vertical indent on the frame. Keep the lines true to each other as you push or tap out the slide stop from right to left. The slide/ barrel assembly is removed to the front, after which you take out the recoil spring, spring guide, and barrel from the slide.

If the gun has said goodbye to a significant number of rounds it would be a good idea to remove the firing pin for cleaning. Standing in your way for the moment is the firing-pin block. Transfer the slide to the vise, and position it upside down. Just muzzleward and below the rear sight is a roll pin (#57a), which is the firing-pin retaining pin. One end is larger in diameter than the other.

Partially drift out the pin from its smaller end so it clears the firing pin. "Partially" is best because it makes reassembly easier and prevents damage to the retainer. Press down on the safety block (#58). Got an extra pair of fingers somewhere close by? You have to hold the block down and press inward on the rear of the firing pin with a suitable punch. Using the punch for leverage, slide the firing-pin stop out of the way a little. It should still prevent the firing pin from popping out.

Now put another finger partially over the firing-pin hole in the stop and move the stop clear of the firing pin. Slowly release the pressure on the pin and it will be pushed out by the spring (#55). With the pin and its spring removed, you can lift out the block and its spring (#59). Take a close look at the firing pin. On the P-01, it has two flats. The one in front’t oward the pin’s nose’is where the firing-pin retainer passes over. The rear flat is for the safety block.

Both those flats must be correctly positioned in order to reinstall the retaining pin and stop. As long as the firing pin and its tunnel need cleaning, you might as well clean out the magazine, too. That’s easy. Push in on part #38 and slide part #37 partially forward. Put a finger over the bottom of the magazine to prevent loss of the spring (#39) and remove the base all the way. The spring and follower (#40) will fall free.

An old toothbrush dipped in solvent will remove any fouling from the components and from the inside of the magazine housing (#36). Blow dry the assembly and reassemble. Detailed Disassembly There’s not much left to do with the slide except to take it out of the vise and place it on a nylon bench block or Closer views of each critical area are shown in the accompanying photo and will be helpful during and after reassembly.

CZ P-01 Semi-Auto Pistol (Specifications subject to change without notice) 1 Frame 2 Slide Stop 3 Slide Stop Spring 4 Slide Stop Spring Pin 5 Trigger 6 Trigger Pin 7 Trigger Bar 8 Trigger Spring 9 Pin (3) 10 Ejector 11 Sear 12 Sear Spring 13 Sear pin 14 Firing Pin Block Lever 15 Firing Pin Block Lever Spring 16 Hammer 17 Disconnector 18 Hammer Pin 19 Hammer Pin Retaining Peg 20 Main Spring Strut 21 Main Spring 22 Main Spring Plug 23 Main Spring Plug Pin 24 Magazine Brake 25 Magazine Brake Pin 26 Grip Panel, Left 27 Grip Panel, Right 28 Grip Panel Screw (2) 29 Safety* 30 Safety Detent Plunger* 31 Safety Detent Plunger Spring* 32 Magazine Catch 33 Magazine Catch Spring 34 Trigger Bar Spring 35 Magazine Catch Spring Screw 36 Magazine Body 37 Magazine Base 38 Magazine Base Lock 39 Magazine Spring 40 Follower 41 Recoil Spring 42 Recoil Spring Guide 43 Barrel 44 Slide w/Barrel Bushing 45 Front Sight 46 Front Sight Pin 47 Loaded Chamber Indicator* 48 Loaded Chamber Indicator Spring* 49 Loaded Chamber Indicator Stud* 50 Extractor 51 Extractor Pin 52 Extractor Spring 53 Rear Sight 54 Firing Pin 55 Firing Pin Spring 56 Firing Pin Stop 57a Firing Pin Roll Pin 58 Firing Pin Bock Stop 59 Firing Pin Block Stop Pin 60 Hammer Decocker Lever* 61 Decocking Lever* 62 Decocking Lever Spring* 63 Fixing Insert 64 Fixing Insert Screw *May be missing in some models.

between two pieces of wood. The positioning is right-side up. Make sure the bottom of the slide is clear of any obstruction as you drift the extractor pin (#51) downward and out. This will free the extractor (#50) and extractor spring (#52). The front sight is pinned in. The rear sight fits in a dovetail but is secured with a screw (#64). You must remove the screw before moving the sight.

That screw, by the way, is a late addition to the P- 01, ensuring that a sight drifted right or left for aiming purposes will remain as adjusted and not loosen in the dovetail. That’s all for the slide, so let’s move to the frame. The grips are already off and you have a certain amount of access to the hammer assembly. Push out pin #25 at the top of spring #24. Get a firm grip on the frame, and press down on the grip housing to depress the mainspring plug (#22).

Push out the plug pin (#23), but leave the punch in the hole. Now ease out the punch until the lower end of spring #24 is released. Remove the spring. Press down hard to retract the mainspring plug again, and keep the pressure on against the force of the mainspring (#21) as you ease off gradually or a bit at a time until the spring and plug fall out. Sorry, I forgot to mention slave pins until now. You’ll need two in a moment. Both will be .118 in diameter. One will be .709 long, the other .413 long.

Now reposition the frame upright in the vise. Be careful not to crush it with excessive pressure. Look at the schematic and use magnification on the hammer-decocking lever (#60). It’s retained by a leg of the sear spring (#12) that fits into a slot in the lever’s shaft. Lift the spring from the slot, and slide the leg to the right. Push out the decocking lever from right to left. Just under the lever on the frame is a small plate or insert (#63).

It only shows upon alloy frames, and must be removed before the sear pin is driven out, so remove it. Now drive in the sear pin (#13) no more than 1/8 inch. Insert the longer of your two slave pins into the just-created recess, and tap out the sear pin completely. At this point, the entire assembly can be removed from the frame. This includes the ejector, all related springs, sear, and firingpin block lever. Replacing Ejector-Assembly Parts The shorter slave pin is used here.

As you look down on the assembly being held together by the longer slave pin, the firing-pin block lever (#14) is located on the far right. It faces the rear, is spring loaded, and the trigger bar makes it work when the trigger is pulled. When you lift up and release the lever, it should snap down. This is a check for proper spring (#15) tension and will be performed upon reassembly as well. The sear (#11) is to the left of the block lever and has two springs.

Number 12, the searspring, is at the right, and the decocker spring (#62) is on the left. Primarily, the sear spring provides pressure to the sear and the decocker spring to where? Answer: the decocker. And it does so with the 90-degree bend in its lower leg. Check the spring function, now and after reassembly, by pulling the lower leg of the decocker rearward and releasing it. It should snap forward.

The decocker and sear can be removed together by inserting the shorter slave pin into the sear-pin hole located to the left of the ejector, and pushing the pin through the ejector, decocker, and sear. Doing so causes the longer slave pin to stick out from the right side of the assembly, but when the short pin is flush with the outer edges of the decocker and sear, those parts and their springs are removable. My advice is to take careful note of how these two parts are related before you take them out.

The longer slave pin still holds the firingpin block lever and spring. Pulling it out frees both components. Reassembly Where do you find reassembly tips for CZ pistols? They all appear in the January 2003 issue that covered CZ pistols, and so I won’t repeat them all lost your copy, call That’s the customer umber for AGA members. Someone there will be happy to help you secure copies of back issues, as well as answer any questions you may have about your membership. I