Today, I took my brand new CZ-40B and trusty '75B Mil out to the range for a side by side, seat of the pants comparison of 9mm to .40 S&W. To be fair, I loaded the '75B with Pro-Load 124gr +P and the '40B, with Remington 165gr Golden Sabers. Both of these rounds are premium self defence rounds, middle weights in their caliber, with high marks for reliability and accuracy.
This being the first time I've ever shot a .40, I was expecting it to "kick harder than a nine and sharper than a forty-five". It did, but I was pleasently surprised that it wasn't by a large margin at all. Switching back and forth, one mag through each, It wasn't much of a difference at all. And keep in mind that the '40B is a bit lighter than the '75B.
I was also pleasently surprised that I was shooting better with the CZ-40! I did most of my shooting at 10yds, with a little at 20yds. With the '40, I was grouping much more consistently at 10yds than I was with the '75. My best group of each however, was slightly tighter with the '75. It was very easy to get comfortable when switching back and forth even though the grips are different.
The CZ-40 performed fairly well for a brand new pistol. I got a whole mag of FTFs (every one of the 10 rounds) at about 25 rounds in. The slide just didn't close, like it was an empty mag. When I popped the palm of my hand on the bottom of the pistol and the round would then feed and shoot fine. I'm going to fairly sure it was a mag issue since I got two or three more about 45 rounds later with the same mag. I did notice that the spring seemed to be much weaker than the other mag. If it keeps up, I'll see if CZ-USA will replace it. Over all after 200 rounds of .40 fired, that was the only problem. The '75 didn't choke once, of course.
I liked the ergonomics of the CZ-40. It felt like it belonged in my hand. The only issue I had with it was I kept hitting the safety while shooting. Obviously, that could be bad in a tactical situation!
I'll have to watch it and adjust my grip accordingly.
The trigger is pretty good on my '40B. In SA mode, it does had a very slight hitch right before it breaks. I'm hoping that will wear itself out. The '75 breaks clean. I'd say in DA mode, they are comparable. I can't shoot either one worth a darn in DA.
The bottom line is, I like the CZ-40! If it wears in to be as reliable as the '75 has been for me, it could be my favorite pistol. There's something rewarding about feeling that torquey kick, then looking downrange and seeing a nice patern around
the black dot.
