CZ P09 sights selection

How to improve the aiming process of your CZ P-09? We explain how to select the proper sights for your gun.

After selecting the right type of holster and taking few extra compatible magazines, getting the best sights to improve the aiming is the most important upgrade you will make on your pistol.


Why to replace sights on CZ P-09

The original sights on your CZ P09 are made of steel, with luminescent dots on rear and front sight.

Those sights partly function for sport shooting, partly for self defense, but in both they are average at best. Why?

For self defense the luminescent sights are not reliable enough to work in dark conditions – luminescent sights only glow after capturing enough light from surroundings, and only glow for few hours.

On the other hand if you primarily get the gun to visit the shooting range, you will be much better off with sights with fiber optics.

CZ P09 with steel sights
CZ P09 with steel sights

Now, if you decided to go for the improvement of the sights, you can  either go for replacement of the whole sight set, or you can replace solely the front sight. 


Replacement of the front sight

One of the main points for aftermarket sights replacement on CZ P09 is bad visibility. To be able to find the front sight as fast as possible while aiming, you will want to replace the front sight for front sight with fiber optic – for sport shooting – or with tritium – for self defense.

Fiber optic front sight

Fiber optic rod in the front sight improves significantly the visibility of the front sight – as long as used in good light conditions.

CZ P07 fiber optic front sight
CZ P09 fiber optic front sight

The mechanism of how fiber optic works secures better visibility only in good light conditions. The rod collects light from surrounding and makes the dot visible from the shooters position shine.

Tritium front sight

If your gun is mainly for self defense, you will probably want to go for tritium in the front sight.

The tritium rod will glow regardless of light conditions all the time as it has its own source of energy and does not collect light from the surroundings. 

CZ P07 tritium front sight
CZ P09 tritium front sight

When compared to the fiber optic front sight, the tritium front sight will be worse as the dot is less visible than shining fiber optic rod. But in bad light conditions, the fiber optic is without usage and you can only properly use front sight with tritium.


Replacement of the sight set

You can also replace the whole sight set, not solely the front sight.

CZ P07 adjustable fiber optic sight set
CZ P09 adjustable fiber optic sight set

Replacing the whole sight set is also much more popular than switching just the front sight. How so? Sight sets are designed to be the same style in the front as in the rear.

By getting the whole sight set you avoid the risk of different finish on the sights. The front sight and rear sights will be made in the same style.

Also, compared to switching just the front sight, complete sight set gives you even more improvement in the time of aiming process.

CZ P-07 tritium sight set
CZ P-09 tritium sight set

Types of sight sets

As with front sights, also the sight sets are being made in two main variants:

  • fiber optic sight sets, and
  • tritium sight sets.

Tritium sight sets are designed for self defense purposes. Compared to switching solely the front sight, with sight set you will have 3 dots for more precise aiming even in dark conditions. You can also find sight sets which put tritium rod only in the front sight. We recommend going for sight sets with tritium in both front and rear sight.

Similarly fiber optic sight sets come with fiber optic solely in front (as photo below) as well as fiber optic in both front sight and rear sight. Again, fiber optic in both sights allow even faster aiming process. As with front sights, also fiber optic sight sets are primarily designed for sporting purposes as they need good light conditions for proper function.

CZ P-07 fixed sight set
CZ P-09 fixed sight set

Compatibility of CZ P09 sights

Sights that will work on CZ P-09 will be also usable on CZ P-07 as these two models are from the same model series. See more details here to find out the exact profile of P-09 rear sight.

However, you can use sights for CZ P-07 and CZ P-09 only on standard pistols. CZ P-09 Kadet and CZ P-07 Kadet have very different dovetail cuts for rear sight. In other words, you will not be able to use sights from CZ P-09 on CZ P-09 Kadet.