Does my new P-01 need repair?

[liv4spd]

I just received my first-ever CZ handgun, a P-01. I think something is seriously wrong with it.

For every other hangun I handled, you push the magazine in until it clicks, then you rack the slide, and one round gets fed into the gun and ready to fire. However, for this brand new P-01, I haven't ever been able to feed even a single bullet in. Every time when I tried to rack the slide, the bullet will get stuck in between, to a degree the slide will never be able to travel back to its original position. I tried to use different magazines, and it did not help.

Did I do anything wrong, or is this just a lemon product? Thanks.

[Raven45]

Are you fully retracting the slide and then releasing it from the fully rearward position, allowing it to close into battery and feed the top cartridge from the magazine?  Often, problems such as you described are caused by not fully retracting the slide or by partially "riding" the slide with your hand or fingers as it tries to close, or a combination of those two issues.

[Whereisit]

Did you shoot it yet? It's a new pistol and they can be a bit tight when you are manually racking the slide. My pcr did the same.

[Born2vette]

What ammo are you using? Does it pass the plunk test?

[liv4spd]

Thanks for the reply.

That might be the reason. One thing I don't quite understand is why CZ makes it so hard to properly chamber a bullet. A simple Google search shows that a lot of people are having the same issue. I think it is just due to a bad design. There needs to be a ramp to help chamber the bullet into the barrel.

I can only have a 50% success rate. Guess CZ is just not for me. My life can not be dependent on this unreliable design. I never had such issues with any other handguns I handled.

Are you fully retracting the slide and then releasing it from the fully rearward position, allowing it to close into battery and feed the top cartridge from the magazine?  Often, problems such as you described are caused by not fully retracting the slide or by partially "riding" the slide with your hand or fingers as it tries to close, or a combination of those two issues.

[liv4spd]

Thank you.

I haven't found a chance to shoot it yet. My ammo is Fiocchi. I had the same issue with my snap caps as well.

What ammo are you using? Does it pass the plunk test?

[Born2vette]

Thanks for the reply.

That might be the reason. One thing I don't quite understand is why CZ makes it so hard to properly feed a bullet. A simple Google search shows that a lot of people are having the same issue. I think it is just due to a bad design. There needs to be a ramp to help feed the bullet into the barrel.

I can only have a 50% success rate. Guess CZ is just not for me. My life can not be dependent on this unreliable design. I never had such issues with any other handguns I handled.

Are you fully retracting the slide and then releasing it from the fully rearward position, allowing it to close into battery and feed the top cartridge from the magazine?  Often, problems such as you described are caused by not fully retracting the slide or by partially "riding" the slide with your hand or fingers as it tries to close, or a combination of those two issues.

If there is no feed ramp on your barrel it is a defective barrel.  Can you post a pic or 2 looking into the chamber with the slide locked back?

[liv4spd]

Thank you all for the tips!

I'm able to get it work most of the time now. I have to follow these two steps religiously:
1. Slam the magazine into the gun hard enough to make sure it is fully seated.
2. Release the slide from the fully rearward position by releasing the slide stop.
Hopefully it will get better with time. I don't want to worry about these things in a highly stressful situation.

The fact that it can get stuck so easily is a major design flaw to me. Unfortunately, this will be my first and last CZ.

Are you fully retracting the slide and then releasing it from the fully rearward position, allowing it to close into battery and feed the top cartridge from the magazine?  Often, problems such as you described are caused by not fully retracting the slide or by partially "riding" the slide with your hand or fingers as it tries to close, or a combination of those two issues.

[alp3367]

Thank you all for the tips!

I'm able to get it work most of the time now. I have to follow these two steps religiously:
1. Slam the magazine into the gun hard enough to make sure it is fully seated.
2. Release the slide from the fully rearward position by releasing the slide stop.
Hopefully it will get better with time. I don't want to worry about these things in a highly stressful situation.

The fact that it can get stuck so easily is a major design flaw to me. Unfortunately, this will be my first and last CZ.

Are you fully retracting the slide and then releasing it from the fully rearward position, allowing it to close into battery and feed the top cartridge from the magazine?  Often, problems such as you described are caused by not fully retracting the slide or by partially "riding" the slide with your hand or fingers as it tries to close, or a combination of those two issues.

 There is not a flaw in the design. The P-01 design is extremely reliable and one of the more rigorously tested designs out there, it went through some serious testing for it's NSN certification. When you cycle the slide are you pulling it all the way to the rear and then letting go? Not riding the slide with your hand? I've seen numerous people jam their pistol (of many different designs) by not letting the spring do all the work.

 It's also possible there is something defective with your pistol. The design is extremely reliable, but yours may have had an out of spec component or something. You shouldn't need to "slam" the mag in, just be firm. But "slam" and "firm" are pretty subjective.

 

[liv4spd]

I agree that might be the reason. However, what's interesting about my P-01 is that if I do not pull the slide all the way to the farthest location, it will get stuck 100%. There isn't much wiggle room for error at all. It will get stuck in all different ways too: sometimes I can see the entire bullet exposed, it won't even try to climb up the ramp; sometimes it is stuck half way.  It never happened to the other pistols that I handled before. Chambering a bullet into the barrel is usually a smooth process that never gives me a headache.

There is not a flaw in the design. The P-01 design is extremely reliable and one of the more rigorously tested designs out there, it went through some serious testing for it's NSN certification. When you cycle the slide are you pulling it all the way to the rear and then letting go? Not riding the slide with your hand? I've seen numerous people jam their pistol (of many different designs) by not letting the spring do all the work.

 It's also possible there is something defective with your pistol. The design is extremely reliable, but yours may have had an out of spec component or something. You shouldn't need to "slam" the mag in, just be firm. But "slam" and "firm" are pretty subjective.

[Whereisit]

There is a marketplace here. Post it up for sale.

[Wobbly]

One thing I don't quite understand is why CZ makes it so hard to properly chamber a bullet. A simple Google search shows that a lot of people are having the same issue. I think it is just due to a bad design. There needs to be a ramp to help chamber the bullet into the barrel. I can only have a 50% success rate. Guess CZ is just not for me.

One thing I don't quite understand is why CZ makes it so hard to properly chamber a bullet. A simple Google search shows that a lot of people are having the same issue. I think it is just due to a bad design. There needs to be a ramp to help chamber the bullet into the barrel.

I can only have a 50% success rate. Guess CZ is just not for me. My life can not be dependent on this unreliable design. I never had such issues with any other handguns I handled.

So which is it ? No feeding at all or improving as the gun loosens up ?

In the material you were requested to read was an article explaining that CZ's are some of the tighter guns on the market and some may need extra lubrication and/or a break-in period. https://czfirearms.us/index.php?topic=120249.0

You have also made assertions that your pistol does not have a feed ramp, but not posted one single photo to backup your claim.

I suggest you either....
1) Provide proof of your claims (prove that it is not simple "operator error"), or
2) Send the brand new gun back to CZ-USA for free warranty repair.

[cracker57]

so if you have no feed ramp it is defective, if it has a feed ramp is there a burr or rough spot, have you tried to polish the feed ramp.
 I would try shooting it a bunch and see how it performs at the range. if it works every time by using the slide stop I would say it works fine and you need to work on racking the slide.  You must be releasing it before it is all the way to the rear. Don't let go of the slide but hang on and pull back until it gets ripped from your grip. I hope that makes sense.
 good luck

[liv4spd]

Many thanks for the excellent advice. I'll try to shoot it at the range and report back.

It does have a feed ramp, I just feel like it can be designed with a curve instead of two sharp straight lines meeting with each other, forcing the bullets to make a sharp turn at one point. I did try to polish the ramp and it did not help. I'm not entirely sure the issue is the ramp, because my bullet can also get stuck even before the bullet starts climbing up the ramp.

So basically, this is normal, and other P-01 users also experience the same issue, i.e., if you let go of the slide without bring it to the farthest point, it will cause a bullet to be stuck?

so if you have no feed ramp it is defective, if it has a feed ramp is there a burr or rough spot, have you tried to polish the feed ramp.
 I would try shooting it a bunch and see how it performs at the range. if it works every time by using the slide stop I would say it works fine and you need to work on racking the slide.  You must be releasing it before it is all the way to the rear. Don't let go of the slide but hang on and pull back until it gets ripped from your grip. I hope that makes sense.
 good luck

[MeatAxe]

I just received my first-ever CZ handgun, a P-01. I think something is seriously wrong with it.

For every other hangun I handled, you push the magazine in until it clicks, then you rack the slide, and one round gets fed into the gun and ready to fire. However, for this brand new P-01, I haven't ever been able to feed even a single bullet in. Every time when I tried to rack the slide, the bullet will get stuck in between, to a degree the slide will never be able to travel back to its original position. I tried to use different magazines, and it did not help.

Did I do anything wrong, or is this just a lemon product? Thanks.

You don’t sound like you have much experience with semi auto handguns. You might seek instruction somewhere, maybe your local gun range.

First of all, disassemble your P-01 per the owners manual and clean it thoroughly of all packing grease / cosmoline. CZ pistols usually come from the factory covered inside and out with packing grease, which is NOT a lubricant. This grease may be a big part of your chambering issues.

Examine your barrel. It’s highly unlikely that your P-01 left the factory without a feed ramp since the feed ramp is integral to the barrel.

By nature of its design (slide IN frame rather than the usual slide ON frame) CZ 75 pistols are a little more difficult and require a bit more strength to chamber because there’s less grip surface available on the slide, especially when the recoil spring is new and not yet broken-in. This slide IN frame design also makes CZ 75s tighter and more accurate than most such delayed blow back pistols.