The Jericho 941F is a DA/SA, Israeli-made, CZ75 clone/variant. Surplus police/military units have been coming into country and I picked one up in the “handgun ban panic buy of 2022”. Mine was $520 from Tundra Supply in Edmonton.
- 9mm
- 3 dot sights
- 4.5″ barrel
- 2.45 lbs with empty mag
- Some are chromed, some are blued
- Compatible with CZ75 mags and Tanfoglio witness small frame mags
- DA/SA trigger: 10.5lb in DA, 4lb SA
- Some variants are SA-only, and yet some others are DA-only
- Firing pin block safety
- External safety (mine is frame mounted but some use slide mounted)
- RH-only safety and slide lock
- Some have a plastic trigger guard front holster bit attached
Jericho 941F Usability
I’d hate to carry one of these as police/military as it’s pretty heavy. But, the full length dust cover under the barrel puts all that weight in a great spot for recoil control which is nice for sport shooting at the range.
The included IWI magazine used a split plastic+metal magazine body design and the plastic on mine was oversized: causing it to not want to drop free (or the mag was designed to retain the mag instead of drop free?) Thankfully, I have tons of Mec-gar CZ75 mags for my Shadow 2 that work great in the Jericho and drop free so I don’t care if the included magazine is shit.
The trigger is decent enough for a combat handgun. Reset on single action is pretty long compared with my CZ Shadow 2 but that’s comparing apples and oranges. The double action is a bit gritty and pretty heavy at ~11lbs.
The sights sit quite high and prominently: great for action shooting. Personally, I’m going to black out the rear sight dots with a sharpie so I only have 1 dot to focus on. The rear sight is squared off at the front, maybe so that you can cock it one handed?
Jericho 941 Mods & Aftermarket
A huge advantage of the Jericho 941 being based on the CZ75 action is that there are a ton of compatible parts and mods out there. Note that not all Jericho parts are CZ75 compatible: it’s closer to a Tanfoglio but still has a few that are proprietary parts.
DA-only or SA-only -> DA/SA or Single Action Only
I researched this possibility because mine was advertised as SA-only but it turned out to be DA/SA. If you’re curious, this is possible. You’ll need a sear, sear pin and maybe a trigger to go to DA/SA. If you want to go from DA/SA to SA-only, you just need a trigger. I’ve read that Tanfoglio triggers work.
Cajun Gun Works Tune-up Parts
CGW sells competition hammers, new spring sets, sights, and a few other goodies for the Jericho.
Spring kit
Swapping to a more optimal spring setup can reduce trigger weight and make the gun nicer to shoot for about $20. A Wolff CZ-75 performance spring kit comes with a 17lb reduced power hammer spring, extra power firing pin spring, and your choice of a 12lb or 16lb recoil spring.
If your gun is well loved, it might need new springs anyways. The trigger return spring on mine was a bit tired and didn’t always fully reset the trigger.
Swap grips
If you feel like a space cowboy, Lok Grips makes Cowboy Bepop themed G10 grips but note that they sit lower than the stock grips so your frame finish may not match if it’s well worn. Lok also sells other non anime-themed G10 grips for the Jericho 941 that are less expensive and come in a variety of textures and color patterns.
New sights
If you feel like going fast, Dawson Precision sells competition sights for the Jericho.
Interesting use case: IPSC stepping stone to CZ Shadow
Starting with a surplus Jericho 941F is not the worst idea as an IPSC/USPSA Production division starting pistol. They’re cheap, durable, the SA trigger is decent, mags are compatible with the CZ Shadow 1 & 2 and some holsters are as well. This means that you could start with a Jericho 941, get a belt/holster/mags, shoot it for a few years, and upgrade to a CZ Shadow 1 or 2 at some point. You could then keep the Jericho as a backup gun or sell it for pretty much the same price you bought it for. Just make sure you get one of the DA/SA models and not an SA-only version or you’ll get bumped out of the Production division.
Conclusion
Priced right in a sea of inexpensive Glock-knockoffs, surplus Jericho’s bring all steel weight at a discount price. With a better mag release, they’re a far better choice for action shooting than surplus Beretta 92S’s, and they have a huge advantage in aftermarket part availability.
