CZ P09 C Nocturne Review

CZ USA has finally modernized and updated its polymer frame, hammer-fired series to meet the demands of 2024. The CZ P09 full-size and compact have hit the market and CZ sent us one to review.

The Nocturne – A New P Series CZ 

One of my favorite guns is the CZ P09. I’ve owned one for years and loved it, but I wanted it to be optic’s ready. Getting your optics on the ultra-small slide of a CZ can be difficult. I was too nervous to send it away, so I retired it to the safe. In late 2024, CZ announced that the CZ P series was getting a facelift. 

The P07 and P09 series have had a good bit of rebranding, going for the CZ 75 P07/P09 Duty to the P07 and P09, and now it’s gotten even simpler. The P07 designation is gone. Now it’s just the P09 F for full size and P09 C for compact. The model in my hand is the CZ P09 C. 

The P09 C Nocturne is an all-black design with just a few necessary features to modernize the gun. First, it’s optics-ready. The new guns can accommodate RMSc or Holosun K pattern optics. The sights are also high enough to co-witness without needing suppressor-height sights. 

We also got a more aggressive texture pattern with deeper slide serrations for a better grip. That’s nice because the slide on these guns is super small due to their design. Very few guns resemble the layout of the P09 C Nocturne. It’s a polymer-frame, hammer-fired DA/SA handgun with a slide that rides inside its frame. 

It’s also a gun that greatly appeals to me. I like DA/SA guns and the Nocturne gives me a happy dose of hipster to go along with that DA/SA design, as well as modern features.

CZ P09 Nocturne Features 

1 Optics Ready

2 Accessory Rail

3 High Visibility Sights

4 Swappable Backstraps

5 User Configurable Ambidextrous Decocker or Safety

Additional Models

Blasting Away With the CZ P09 C Nocturne 

I’m very familiar with the CZ P09. I’ve owned one for close to a decade, so there wasn’t much to surprise me about this gun. My main reason for picking the new Nocturne model was its optics-ready capability. With that in mind, I strapped a Swampfox Sentinel 2 on the RMSc footprint. The first shots fired were in service to zeroing that red dot. I fired in single-action mode to keep things simple. 

I zeroed at 15 yards, and it took almost no effort. I was on target with my first shots. I had to adjust slightly to the left, and I was nailing the X of a B-8 target. I love it when red dots are simple and easy to zero. With the optic zeroed, I went back to 25 yards with a fresh B8 target and tried my hand at accuracy. 

I went five for five, with all five hitting the target. I put three in the 8-ring and two in the 9-ring. It’s not bad for someone who is admittedly a mediocre shooter. At the 25-yards, I went five for five on a steel IPSC target, and to finish the fifteen-round magazine, I moved all the way back to the 50-yard line. I launched five rounds at the same steel IPSC target and connected three out of five. 

Overall, the compact P09 Nocturne performs quite well. The Omega-style trigger kind of sucks compared to CZ’s other options. It’s a fairly stiff double-action press, and the reset is quite long. I don’t think that matters too much for accuracy, but it’s worth noting. 

Going Fast 

The Nocturne P09 features a grip just long enough to fit my hand. The new grip texture provides an aggressive fit to the hand. The trigger guard has an aggressive undercut that pairs well with a pronounced beaver tail. It allows for a high grip that combines nicely with the low bore axis and lightweight slide. 

The combination of good grip ergonomics and a high grip results in a very controllable gun. I lack a holster to shoot a proper Bill Drill, but from the low ready, I shot a 2.05 second round. (That’s six rounds on an IPSC-sized A Zone.) Every round hit the A-Zone and grouped in a nice little cluster. 

I practiced a handful of doubles from the low ready. My first shot would be a double-action shot, and my second would naturally be a single-action shot. After a little warmup, I delivered doubles in less than a second and put each round within an inch and a half of each other. It’s controllable and well-suited for fast shooting. 

The P09 C Nocturne Comes with excellent ergonomics. You can swap backstraps from medium to large or small. The gun comes equipped with a decocker, but the user can easily swap it for an ambidextrous safety. I prefer the decocker. The grip design is typical of CZ, which means it’s brilliant. It’s svelte, allows for a high grip, and generally just feels good in the hand. 

The slide release is huge, and my thumb doesn’t mistakenly pin it down with every shot fired. It’s easy to release, which makes reloads speedy. The magazine release provides an interesting design. You can press it from the rear or from the front. The rear of the magazine button has a ledge that’s textured and works a bit like the old Ruger P series. Fans 

Worth the Salt? 

I drug this gun through 350 rounds of zinc-coated steel case Monarch crap tier ammo, and guess what? The gun ate right through it. It didn’t mind and certainly didn’t care about the additional 200 rounds of brass-cased ammo either. 

I originally purchased a P09 due to the low cost and the combination of a polymer frame and DA/SA action. The original P series were bargains and could often be had for less than 500 dollars. The Nocturne is a little pricier. Current prices are sitting around $550. It’s not a bargain pistol, but it’s a fairly average price for a polymer frame pistol.

Overall, CZ has delivered exactly what I wanted. An optics-ready P09. The addition of proper height sights for cowitnessing, and deeply scalloped serrations for easier slide manipulation were just cherries on top of the cake. It’s a suitable carry pistol with the chops to fill the home defense role.

Pros and Cons

My Preferred Ammo

Upgrade and Accessories Options:

1. Holosun EPS Carry		Enclosed Emitter Design Fits Standard RMSc Footprints Shake Awake Tech	Check Pricing
2. Streamlight TLR 7 Sub		Perfect for Small Guns 500 Lumens Ambidextrous Controls	Check It Out

Video Review and Manual for CZ P09 Nocturne

Are you looking to pick up a CZ P09 Nocturne but need a bit more info?  Or maybe you’ve just misplaced your user’s manual?  Either way, check out the links below.

• CZ P09 Nocturne Manual