RIP John Paul II

Karol Wojtyla, more commonly known as Pope John Paul II died today at the age of 84. While I am not Catholic or religious at all, I respect the man for his unwavering principles. He wanted to help people above all else and this can be seen when he was critical of many countries (including the USA) for not doing enough for their poor. While I disagree that a country should help everyone, his intentions were noble and he did a lot more good than harm in his 26 years as Pope. He also helped to end Communism in Eastern Europe especially in his home country of Poland going so far as to threaten resignation if inhumane acts there did not cease.
It will be interesting to see who takes his place. Many people believe it will be an African or Latin American successor, since these areas currently house the most devout Catholics. At any rate, I hope that the new Pope makes some changes in the original version of Christianity such as getting rid of the celibacy requirement for priests (which would hopefully mean there would be less child molesters there) and allow women to serve in high offices (since we are all equal, after all). And maybe changing some stances (such as proclaiming that condoms are useful in preventing AIDS instead of focusing on abstinence only programs).
No matter what happens, the coming weeks should be interesting to watch at the Holy See.

Finally I can watch the news again

Not sure about all of you, but this whole Schiavo right to life (or death) case has been getting on my nerves. The news stations (CNN, Fox, etc) have a never ending commentary on the subject and even with her death I'm sure they'll have plenty more to say. Aren't there more important things going on, like the so-called "war on terror?" I find it ludicrous that so much time is wasted on a story that probably affects less than a dozen people. I also must say that I'm upset at her family for wasting my tax money using the courts to continue to deny their appeals. Once they got denied by the Supreme Court, you would think they'd call it a day, but no, they file appeal after appeal, making "the system" go even slower than it usually does while knowing that the judges will probably not change my mind. I think they should be responsible for paying for the damage they've inflicted upon all of us.

New Toy

The CZ 75 P-01 is quickly becoming well known as one of the best 9mm pistols in production. I picked one up over the weekend and must say that I am very impressed with it so far.



CZ 75 P-01

For those of you who aren't familiar with CZ firearms, Česká zbrojovka a.s., Uherský Brod was founded almost 70 years ago in the Czech Republic and continues to make pistols, shotguns, and rifles to this day. The CZ P-01 is based upon the CZ 75, the most copied pistol ever, which was introduced in (you guessed it) 1975. They were very hard to obtain for Americans until 1991 when the Iron Curtain fell and importation from former Warsaw Pact countries became normalized. CZ pistols are now imported by CZ-USA.



The CZ 75 P-01 is a 9mm DA/SA compact semi-automatic pistol introduced in 2001. It is considered to be a "third generation" CZ 75 (the second generation being the 75B). Unlike the original CZ 75, it features a decocking lever instead of a manual safety, so it can (and should) be carried in DA mode. I think that this is tactically better than 1911 style weapons with a safety, because in a time-critical situation, additional levers to manipulate can spell the difference between life and death. Not to mention the fact that I simply don't trust safeties, no matter how much they have been used in the past. Not that this gun lacks safeties; it has a firing pin block, half-cock notch, and an inertial firing pin. It features an M3 rail to accept lasers or lights, such as those made by Surefire. The barrel is made from aircraft grade aluminum and is covered with a chemical resistant black polycoat finish that also looks really cool. The grip is a checkered rubber that feels great; it really fits well in my hand. Also, according to CZ, this is also the only NATO spec pistol that is available to the public in the same form as used in the military (NSN 1005-16-000-8619 for all of you NATO commanders out there). Also, now that the Clinton gun ban has expired (and I don't live in one of those DEEP BLUE states like California), mine came with 2, 14-round magazines (meaning I can carry 15 roundsif I choose to).

The CZ 75 P-01 has also gone through very rigorous quality tests that included thousands of dry-firings, decockings, disassemblies, drop tests (from 3 meters). It was also frozen, submerged in mud, sand, and ice. After all these tests it was able to keep functioning properly.

Considering the brand reputation, the multitude of tests it endured, and the endless favorable reviews, at $450-$550, this pistol is probably the best bargain out there.


This pistol is compact enough to be carried concealed, although there are not too many holster options yet. However, there are enough accessories that this should not be a deterrent to purchasing a P-01.

My first time shooting the P-01 was this weekend at Anthony Arms, a very good range in the Pittsburgh area. I shot 200 rounds through the gun without any failures. The recoil was small and manageable, and the gun was far more accurate than me.

All in all, it is a very impressive looking gun, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quality compact 9mm.

For a more detailed review, I recommend reading this article by Mad Ogre in Concealed Carry Magazine.