Rifle season gets the attention in Pennsylvania, but the pistol by the bed gets used every night of the year, and the new CZ DUTY 4.0 is a serious candidate for that job. It is CZ's new-generation striker gun in 9x19: serialized internal chassis, fiberglass-reinforced polymer grip frame, direct-mount optics-ready slide with fixed sights, 4-inch unthreaded barrel. CZ's refined SFDA trigger is rated at 25±4 N (5.6±0.9 lbs) with a 4 mm reset.

Philadelphia and the suburbs from Doylestown to West Chester lean toward the compact DUTY 4.0 C: 15+1 (17+1 with the extended base plate), 770 g, 135 mm tall, easy to carry where Pennsylvania allows it. Up the Lehigh Valley through Allentown and Easton to Stroudsburg, and out to Harrisburg and York, the full-size DUTY 4.0 F gets the nod for home defense: 17+1 (19+1 extended), 780 g, 143 mm. Both are sold as plain or MS models, the MS adding a manual thumb safety. New release, $729 MSRP.

Three things define the DUTY 4.0. First, a registered modular chassis: the registered part is inside, the grip frame around it is modular. Second, the trigger, a striker SFDA rated at 25 ± 4 N (5.6 ± 0.9 lbs), 4 mm (0.16 in) reset, 9 ± 1 mm (0.4 ± 0.04 in) travel, which is short and repeatable for a service pistol. Third, a direct-mount optics-ready slide, shown by CZ with Holosun, Aimpoint and Shield dots fitted, so a red dot sits low without a stack of plates.

This is the shorter grip of the two DUTY frames: 135 mm (5.3 in) from the top of the slide to the base plate, 770 g (27.2 oz) empty, 15+1 rounds standard and 17+1 with the extended plate. The slide and four-inch barrel are the same as the full-size gun, so it shoots like one.

A manual thumb safety is the one thing that separates this model from its sibling. It sits beside the three passive safeties, firing pin block, trigger safety and drawbar safety, and does not change the trigger pull.

The CZ DUTY 4.0 C MS suits anyone who wants a modern optics-ready 9mm with CZ's grip and a trigger that is better than the class average: daily carry, a bedside gun that also rides along, and new owners who want one pistol for everything.

Pennsylvania has no purchase permit and no waiting period. Choose the Pennsylvania dealer you want at checkout and the DUTY 4.0 ships to them. Your dealer runs the state PICS check at the counter when you pick it up. Ammo, optics and parts ship to your door. Current price and stock are checked live during the order, before payment is taken.

Questions buyers ask: What check does my Pennsylvania dealer run on pickup? Your dealer runs the state PICS check at the counter. There is no purchase permit and no waiting period in Pennsylvania. Does the DUTY 4.0 come with an optic? No. It ships with fixed sights and a direct-mount optics-ready slide. Red dots such as Holosun, Aimpoint and Shield fit without a plate, as CZ's photos show. What does MS mean on the CZ DUTY 4.0 C MS? Manual safety. It adds a thumb lever to the firing pin block, trigger safety and drawbar safety that every DUTY has.