CZ P01 Omega Review

CZ is known for its iconic CZ 75 series of handguns. Although the company has been around for over a century, the CZ 75 series remains its most popular model.

The CZ 75 was introduced in 1975 and was the favorite of the Soviet or Russian Spetsnaz.

Although the Czech Republic was part of the Soviet Union, they were known to be a bit more independent, which allowed them to make their own gun designs, and frankly, their designs were much more refined than their Soviet counterparts.

Since the CZ 75’s introduction, there have been multiple changes and improvements in that gun, including the CZ P-01 Omega variant. The CZ P-01 is an aluminum frame version of the CZ 75 that includes a light rail.

NATO approved for use of the non Omega CZ P01 and has an NSN number, which dictates that it passed NATO’s reliability and safety standards.

CZ introduced their 75 Omega series trigger and they made a P-01 variant that accepts that trigger.

The Omega trigger is unique in that it allows you to run either a decocker or a thumb safety if you wanted to run the trigger in a single action format, cocked and locked.

The P-01 also features a light rail.

So with its aluminum frame and light rail, it’s quite a departure from the original CZ 75 design, but it’s also more old school with the aluminum alloy frame than the newer DA/SA CZ P-07.

Role

In Europe the CZ P01 is a duty gun but in the US most use it for home defense or concealed cary.

The alloy frame makes it lighter. If you’re looking for a steel frame duty gun, checkout our CZ SP01 Review.

Features

The CZ P-01 has shipped with multiple magazine variations since the introduction.

On the US market, it’s currently shipping with a 15-round magazine in non-restrictive States. The magazines themselves are CZ 75 series mags that are made by Mec-Gar.

They’re just a little bit shorter than the standard CZ 75 mags, which accept 16 and 17 rounds.

The CZ P-01 Omega will also accept those longer mags and you can source mags from pretty much anywhere.

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Mec-Gar is known for making quality mags, and they make mags for most of the companies out there.

They also make CZ factory mags, but the Mec-Gar mags can be had at a fraction of the price for $20 to $25.

The magwell on the CZ P-01 Omega is slightly flared at the bottom with chamfers on all four sides.

It’s very easy to insert the mag and there’s really no downside to that type of mag well on a carry gun like the CZ P-01.

Grip/Ergonomics

Identical in size the Glock 19 the CZ P01 Omega is ideal for a multiuse gun that works for concealed carry or duty use. I

t’s small enough for concealed carry but large enough to carry OWB for a law enforcement officer or similar use.

The CZ 75 series is known for its ergonomics and the CZ P-01 Omega is no exception.

The gun features a beavertail that molds nicely into your hand molding nicely into the frame right above the grip.

So it gradually increases in size, making it very comfortable for hands of all sizes.

Texturing

The CZ has replaceable grip panels. It does not have removable backstraps or anything like that but the grips it comes with are rubberish semi hard rubber. They almost fell plastic like with the checkering.

The checkering is very effective and although the grips feel a little bit cheaper than other options, they definitely feel better than a lot of plastic grips on the market.

I should say, if you’re comparing these grips to something like G-10, they’re going to feel cheap, but if you compare them to hard plastic grips, they feel quality and a good value-oriented addition to the gun.

The only texturing on both the front strap and rear backstrap of the gun are vertical lines that really do nothing to help aid in traction.

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It would be nice to see some horizontal lines that would help make the gun a little more aggressive on the grip.

You’re pretty much relying on the texturing of the grip panels themselves for all control on the firearm from a texture standpoint.

CZ P01 Omega Review Size

Sizewise, the gun is legitimately identical to a Glock 19. If you can get all four of your fingers on the grip of a Glock 19 with your trigger finger, obviously, being separate, you’ll be able to do the same with a CZ P-01 Omega.

Ergonomically this gun is no slouch and it feels absolutely amazing in the hand working for a variety of hand sizes.

If you have smaller hands, you’re likely really going to love this gun and if you have larger hands you’ll love it just as much.

Sights

The sights it comes with are not that great. They are just basic three-dot sites, but there are aftermarket options. An upside is the sights are metal so you’re not going to be complaining about the quality.

If you’re serious about carrying this gun, you’ll likely want to replace them with one of the aftermarket options.

Mounting a red dot on this pistol means your choices are going to be either very expensive or somewhat limited. The cost of milling this gun due to its very thin and narrow slide design.

It usually starts at two and a half to three times as much as milling a gun like a Glock or a SIG P320.

With the brand new RMRc and the Holosun 507K, we’ll likely see milling options for the CZ P-01 become more popular due to the narrow width of those slides.

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Narrower optic options mean it’s more likely the optic can be directly mounted to the slide without having to mill an additional plate.

Right now, CZ does not offer any factory options for mounting an optic to the CZ P-01 Omega.

CZ P01 Omega Review Controls

Safety/Decocker

The Omega trigger system is definitely one of the highlights of the CZ P-01 Omega.

So we’ll start with the decocker system.

Placed at the rear of the frame you can easily access the decocker with your thumb. It sits in the same place as the safety would sit on a 1911, not the exact same place, but very close.

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So it’s very easy to take your thumb and press it down. The decocker is wide enough that you can easily get a grip on it and press it down without any issue but it’s narrow enough that it doesn’t get in the way of anything.

The decocking levers are Ambi so they’ll work equally well for both right and left-handed shooters.

There’s texturing on it. They’re slightly sharp, but they’re not so sharp that they’ll cause a callus with regular use unless you’re decocking the gun hundreds of times per day.

If you decide to run the gun with the installed thumb safety you’ll have an easy time reaching it.

Again they’re in the same place as the decocker, which is placed very similarly to a 1911. So, if you want to use your primary hand to ride on top of the safety, you can easily do that.

CZ P01 Omega Review Magazine Release

I’m six foot tall and have average size hands for somebody of that height and I have no issues reaching the CZ P-01 Omega mag release in its factory format.

If you have slightly smaller hands, you’ll probably have to break your grip, but it’ll still be easy to reach.

The magazine release itself sits out quite far from the frame, it appears, but it is also blocked from the rear by the grip panels.

So you don’t have to worry about and inadvertently depressing the safety, but once you get a good purchase on top of the safety it also drops the mags free very easily.

Slide Stop/Slide

Release Now, the slide stop on the gun is blocked partially by the decocker. So if you want to drop the slide with your primary hand, you have to reach under the decocker to press it with your primary hand’s thumb.

The slide stop is only on the right-hand side of the gun, and also acts as the takedown lever, but the most reliable way to release the slide is going to be using your support hand’s thumb once you’ve inserted the magazine.

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Again, this is not an Ambi design on this part of the gun.

So left-handed shooters will likely just have to rack the slide, which may present a problem considering how small the slide itself is. The gun does feature a firing pin block safety. So the gun is drop safe.

CZ P01 Omega Review Overall Ergonomics

Overall, the ergonomics and feel of the CZ 75 P-01 Omega are excellent. This gun is just big enough to hold while again, being small enough to conceal.

The biggest complaint most will have of this gun is the slide itself. Due to CZ’s internal slide rails, the slide is very, very narrow and serrations on the side of the slide do not extend more than three-eighths of an inch.

Slide serrations don’t extend due to large fillets on each side of the slide.

The slide has both forward and rear cocking serrations, but they’re only so effective doing most of the short amount of space they take up.

The serrations themselves are fairly aggressive.

They don’t look that great, but they do have a lot of traction. The biggest issue is getting enough of your hand on them to take advantage of that traction.

Trigger

So now onto the CZ 75 Omega trigger system, we’ll start by talking about the double-action trigger.

The double-action trigger itself has a little bit of light take-up before you reach a wall, and then it has a pretty consistent, but very heavy rearward pressure before breaking.

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You can almost feel a wall before it breaks, but I would still describe the double-action trigger as a rolling break at the end rather than a wall.

From the reset, it’s very light. You hear an audible click, which you can’t really feel, and then you have take up, springy and spongy, and then it breaks.

Even in single action it’s a rolling break. There is no wall on the CZ P-01 Omega.  

Now let’s look at the trigger as if you’re shooting it from a single-action only perspective.

If you’re shooting it from a single-action only perspective, there is take-up. You get to a point where it starts to feel heavier and mushier.

I’d describe that as creep before it comes to a rolling break that occurs in a fairly short distance.

Overall, the trigger is serviceable and good. The shoe itself is also flatter, which a lot of people like. The trigger shoe for some shooters is going to be a major advantage on the CZ P-01 Omega over the standard CZ P-01.

The CZ P-01 trigger has a curved trigger shoe and a lot of people do not care for that.

Personally, I don’t have a preference between the two trigger shoes, but I will say the CZ P-01 trigger is much smoother in the double action.

CZ P01 Omega Review Maintenance

Takedown on the CZ P-01 Omega is quite easy. All you have to do is drive out the takedown pin.

Once you press the slide back to a predetermined point in the rear where you match up two small lines that you index between the frame and the slide.

The pin comes out fairly easily when you push it with something like a rubber, rubberized or plastic punch pin, or just a pencil.

Aesthetics

I’m not really sure where I would say the CZ P-01 stacks up from an aesthetic standpoint.

The finish itself is not that robust or durable. It’s a baked-on black finish that has a matte look with a slight bit of shine in it and really hearkens back to the Soviet era. The aluminum frame is quite wide.

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If you’re expecting the finish to be durable you’ll be disappointed.

With regular use the CZ P01 Omega will look well-loved.

The steel slide seems quite narrow in comparison to the frame, and then the light rail stands out and really doesn’t make any visual sense.

The gun looks a bit nose heavy, but I will say this, I have seen where these guns have been NP3’ed or hard chromed and they look absolutely amazing when you install the right grips. It really balances out the look of the gun themselves.

They also look great with a red dot mounted, but in its factory configuration, the gun looks somewhat crude.

There are some slight details though, like the machining and milling on the exterior of the frame. There are flat chamfers both above and behind the true guard itself that add a nice little touch and look amazing.

The milling work near the rear of the beavertail also has quite a bit of detail, but the forward part of the frame itself continues to look quite crude while the area closer to the grip is much more refined.

The CZ P01 Omega is the contrast between Czech ingenuity and Soviet-era control even if the Soviets were not around when the CZ P-01 variant was designed.

Shooting

Shooting the CZ P-01 Omega is much like any other gun of this size.

It doesn’t have an extremely reduced recoil or an extremely high amount of recoil.

The gun shoots and tracks quite well, but there’s really nothing special about the recoil impulse. The trigger can be quite nice and aid in the shooting experience and the ergonomics are absolutely fantastic.

Let us know what you think about the P01 Omega below.

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P01 Omega Review FAQs