Maine shooters have waited a while for a new CZ striker gun, and the DUTY 4.0 is it. It is a 9x19mm service pistol built on a serialized internal chassis inside a fiberglass-reinforced polymer frame, with a 4-inch barrel, fixed sights and a slide milled for direct-mount optics. CZ sells it four ways: the C compact at 15+1, the F full-size at 17+1, and MS versions of both that add a manual thumb safety.

From Bangor up Route 1 to Houlton, Calais and Madawaska, and inland to Millinocket and Greenville, most of our customers are hunters first. A 9mm pistol is not a deer gun, but it is the gun by the door at camp, the one on the hip when the truck is parked at a remote gate, and the one you shoot in Augusta or Waterville on a Saturday. The SFDA trigger breaks at about 5.6 pounds with a short 4 mm reset, which is easy to shoot well with cold hands.

This is the shorter grip of the two DUTY frames: 5.3 in (135 mm) from the top of the slide to the base plate, 27.2 oz (770 g) empty, 15+1 rounds standard and 17+1 with the extended plate. The slide and 102 mm barrel are the same as the full-size gun, so it shoots like one.

The MS model carries a frame-mounted manual thumb safety on top of the firing pin block, trigger safety and drawbar safety. Everything else, chassis, trigger, slide and optics cut, is the same as the version without the lever.

What is new under the slide is the serial-numbered modular chassis. The serial number lives on the internal chassis, not on the polymer grip, so the grip frame is a part you can change while the gun stays the same gun. Around it CZ put a reworked SFDA striker trigger, rated at 25 ± 4 N (5.6 ± 0.9 lbs) with a 0.16 in (4 mm) reset and 9 ± 1 mm (0.4 ± 0.04 in) of travel, and a slide cut for direct-mount optics. CZ's own photos show it wearing Holosun, Aimpoint and Shield dot sights.

Best fit: daily carry, a home-defense gun that also rides along, and new owners who want one pistol for everything. Shooters coming from a CZ 75 will recognize the grip angle; owners coming from any other striker gun will notice the trigger first.

Choose the C, F or an MS version and tell us which Maine dealer you want it shipped to. Maine has no permit to purchase and no owner card, but the state's 72-hour waiting period is back in force at the dealer, so plan on a second trip to collect it. Ammo and gear ship straight to your door. We confirm price and stock live at the moment you order, before any payment.

Questions buyers ask: Do I wait 72 hours even with no permit in Maine? Yes. Maine has no purchase permit, but the 72-hour waiting period applies at the dealer, so you will collect the pistol on a later visit after the background check. Is the DUTY 4.0 C small enough to carry in the woods? At 135 mm tall and 1.3 inches wide with a 4-inch barrel, the C is a compact service pistol rather than a pocket gun; it carries well in a belt holster under a jacket, which is how most Maine owners will use it. What does MS mean on the CZ DUTY 4.0 C MS? Manual safety. It adds a frame-mounted lever to the firing pin block, trigger safety and drawbar safety that every DUTY has.