The handguns in the CZ line employ 2 different primary or active safety mechanisms: the manual safety or the decocking lever.
Both of these designs are good safety elements, but both have advantages and disadvantages depending on your perspective or intended use.
If you are intimately familiar with 1911 style controls, and it is second nature for you to flip the safety lever up after chambering a round and to flip the safety lever down after drawing from the holster and before taking the shot, chances are the models incorporating the manual safety lever are for you.
In single action mode, the models equipped with a safety lever provide a consistent light short trigger pull from the first to the last shot, as a result of this feature, these models are also generally preferred for target, plinking, and most competition disciplines. Some people will prefer the safety lever equipped models simply due to the versatility they give the shooter. With the safety lever equipped versions of the CZ 75 family, the shooter has the option to carry with the hammer back and safety on (cocked and locked) or after manually decocking.
The vast majority of us don’t have the experience of shooting the tens of thousands of rounds necessary to train ourselves to almost subconsciously flip down the safety lever before taking the first shot, nor do we all have the opportunity to fit the weekly range sessions required to keep current with skills we have developed in the past into our schedules today. For plinking or casual target shooting, this isn’t a big deal, but when under the stress of a defensive situation, remembering to take the safety off is critical.
The models equipped with a decocking lever are, in most cases, the best choice for most shooters wanting a handgun for defensive purposes. With the decocker models, you must remember to decock the hammer after chambering a round and before holstering, but when placed in a defensive situation, there is no safety lever that you have to remember to disengage; the primary safety element of the decocked handgun is the longer heavier pull of the double action trigger.
If you aren’t sure which side you are on… Safety or Decocker…. take a look at the CZ P-07 Duty. The “Duty” comes with ambidextrous decocking levers installed but it includes a set of manual safety levers in the box. By following the instructions in the owners manual, it only takes about 5 minutes to do the conversion.
6 Responses
That was the most effective and elegant explanation of decocking vs safety. Thanks.
I have a CZ 75 SP-01 Tactical (the best 9mm I have ever fired), and prefer to carry it chambered and de-cocked (half-cocked). I do not want to have the extra step of disengaging a safety possibly complicating my response, and I consider a slightly longer trigger pull for the first round an acceptable price. For home defense and carry, CZ thought this out very well.
Just bought the CZ P09 and fined this decocker vs Ssfety review very informative.
Thanks
I have had a P-07 Duty for about four years. The best 9mm. I ve ever owned. Shoots what ever ammo I feed it. Never have had a jam or misfire. The ami-decocker is the best being I am a lefty. Earl
I own a CZ 75 D PCR. It has a decocker and I’m very pleased with it. You should ALLWAYS practice safety when pulling the slide to chamber a round. If your fingers slipped off the slide before you had it pulled all the way back…the round would not go into battery. The slide must be pulled all the way back for a round to be moved from the clip to full battery. Just remember to keep your index finger away from the trigger. After your round has chambered….press your decocker lever. It is now safe to holster your pistol. Decockers have become my favorite choice for semi autos.
I wish CZ would just make the safety lever both a safety/decocker in a DA/SA gun. Then there wouldn’t be a need to choose.
You could carry a round in the chamber, safety on, hammer down, and have the best in all worlds of safety/action type and you wouldn’t have to eject a magazine and round from the chamber to safely lower the hammer after to make the gun safe. You wouldn’t have accidental discharges when reholstering. You wouldn’t need to carry the gun cocked and locked, either, making concealed carry easier, especially in a covered holster.
In short, make a 9mm CZ micro compact, DA/SA, safety/decocker in one lever, 10 rounds, 6 inches/15.25 cm overall length. Basically a CZ Compact in micro size with DA/SA action and manual safety/decocker all in one switch, at least as options. I’d be fine with this for $1000 USD if that is what it took to make it happen.
That’s around what H&K charges but their decocker button is in a weird place on the back under/near the cocked hammer, which to me is unsafe. I don’t trust half cocked positions to function, nor do I expected cocked and locked hammers to always stay cocked as a gun ages. Beretta’s safety/decockers tend to be high up and behind the thumb, and at 6.8″ their micro options are still too large.
An S&W CSX with DA/SA manual safety/decocker 10 rounds would be perfect for me. But it seems everyone is interested in tiny plastic striker fired pistols and 1911 style guns seem only to be for competition shooters these days.
Is DA/SA manual safety/decocker all in one in a micro compact so hard to do?
My Bersa Thunder .40 S&W from the 90s had all these features at 7.5″ overall length and was a budget gun. Surely CZ can do better.
In terms of ergonomics, CZ are excellent and could make all these features happen. CZ 75 Compacts are the closest we have to a modern Browning Hi Power inspired pistol. They just need to be even smaller and put safety/decockers/DA/SA all in one gun.