There are many excellent CZ Guns, including long guns and handguns alike, but not all of their pistols are necessarily concealed carry friendly!
Some of us here at Alien Gear Holsters are definitely CZ fanboys. Call us gun hipsters all you want; we don't care because we like better guns than you. The CZ 75 is one of the all-time great pistols, proven in competition and in combat. The CZ P09 is just incredible. Their target/competition pistols such as the CZ 75 Shadow and the CZ A01 are among the best handguns in production, period. But the '75, the P09, and their target guns are not the easiest for daily carry.
Which ones are though? Here are our picks for the 7 best CZ guns for concealed carry.
The CZ P10C, a modern polymer-framed striker-fired pistol, grew out of CZ's failed bid for the US armed forces XM17 handgun trials, so they rejiggered a couple of things and put it out anyway. It's frequently touted as a Glock killer, and if you get some time behind one you'll see why.
The CZ P10C is roughly comparable in size to a Glock 19, with a 4-inch barrel and 15+1 (9mm) double-stack capacity. While not the smallest carry gun, it's Compact enough for anyone to make it work. The ergonomics are excellent, and the CZ P10C has one of the better factory triggers for a gun of it's type.
If this is the kind of gun you like, this is the one you should look at.
The CZ 75D PCR is arguably one of the best compact pistols that nobody talks about. It's a hammer-fired DA/SA pistol, but with a shorter grip, barrel and frame for easier daily carry. It was also the standard-issue sidearm of Czech police (PCR stands for "Police Czech Republic") so it's definitely a good choice for carry pistol.
It's much like the CZ 75 Compact, but with a different slide (with forward cocking serrations) and an aluminum alloy frame to save weight. However, unlike the 75 Compact, the CZ 75 D PCR has a frame-mounted decocking lever, so you can drop the hammer and carry in double-action mode. While it has old-school looks and an old-school operating system, the specs fall in line with modern carry guns; dimensions and capacity (14+1/15+1 of 9mm, depending on magazine) are right in line with modern compact poly striker guns.
According to our friends at CZ, they have a really hard time keeping any of these in inventory. Get your hands on one, and you'll see why.
The CZ P-01 is basically a CZ 75D PCR gone all tactical.
The only substantive difference is the CZ P-01 has a full-length dust cover on the frame, which is a 1913 rail for mounting a laser or a light. The P-01 has replaced the PCR in Czech police service, and was the first CZ pistol to be NATO-approved, which is not an easy certification for a pistol to get, as it requires the gun to pass a battery of grueling durability and reliability trials.
It's quietly one of the best concealed carry pistols you can get at all, let alone one of the best from CZ.
If you're more about that subcompact life, the CZ P10S is the subcompact variant of the P10 family. (C for Compact, S for Subcompact, F for full-size; pretty logical, right?) Essentially, it's the same recipe Glock uses to make the Glock 26 and other companies to make similar models. There aren't too many CZ guns of this size, but there aren't many pistols this size that are as good.
The barrel length is reduced to 3.5 inches, and the magazine well reduced to accept a shorter magazine, though it still holds 12+1 in the standard box. It will accept 15+1 and 17+1 magazines with a sleeve, however, in case you want a bigger magazine as your backup or what have you. The stellar ergonomics and excellent trigger remain, and there is still an accessory rail for mounting an optic.
Besides the standard version, there is also an optics-ready variant that can accommodate a compact red dot
While it wasn't the first of the CZ guns to be easily used for concealed carry, the CZ 75 Compact is one of their best and remains a strong seller to this day. It's what you think it might be; a chopped CZ 75 with a shorter barrel, frame, grip and magazine, but it retains all the features that make the full-size 75 one of the most popular pistols ever made.
The CZ 75's legendary ergonomics are retained, making it a natural pointer. Capacity (14+1/15+1 of 9mm, depending on magazine) and dimensions are in line with modern compact pistols, so it's perfect for concealed carry.
However, the CZ 75 Compact has a few things you'll have to live with. It has a manual safety instead of a decocker, so you have to carry it in Condition One or manually lower the hammer for DA mode, which some people don't like. The frame is steel, so it's a bit heavy for a compact gun at about 32 oz unloaded. However, that also means it's a compact gun that shoots as easily as many full-size guns, which is why so many people still love this pistol almost 30 years after it entered production.
One of the most curious of the CZ guns is the CZ 2075 RAMI, a subcompact DA/SA pistol - one of the very, very few - that seems to be a bit divisive. Those who have ever owned one or fired one seem to either love it or leave it, with few people in the middle.
The RAMI has all the standard CZ features, with the slide inside the frame rails, a double-action hammer-fired operating system, and an alloy frame for weight savings. Barrel length is reduced to 3 inches, and overall dimensions to a similar size to the Glock 26. The flush-fit magazine holds 10 rounds of 9mm, but it will accept a 14-round extended magazine as well.
The 2075 RAMI can be had with a manual safety or a decocker model, whichever you prefer. It's a very curious gun, as the only other one like it - a subcompact double-stack DA/SA pistol - to our knowledge is the Beretta PX4 Storm Subcompact. Quite unique.
