Ethan83
Ultimate Member
I've been eyeing the CZ Shadow 2 for a little while now, and I'm wondering if anyone has any direct experience to share before I splurge on one?
I've been wanting a steel 9mm hammer gun for a while now, especially since shooting my friend's BHP several years ago. I have a couple steel/alloy hammer guns, and I just enjoy and shoot them so much better than polymer/striker guns. CZ75 seems like the logical choice, and the Shadow 2 is pretty much their flagship DA/SA version. I'm aware it's really designed for competition, but I would likely only be using it for plinking and nightstand duty. I like the idea of extra length and weight over other 75 variants, plus a trigger that's supposed to be super sweet right out of the box. Apparently the grip area of the frame under the beavertail is also cut slightly differently, allowing a higher grip as well, which appeals to me.
My current nightstand gun is an XD45, and while I like it just fine, I'm pretty inconsistent on my ability to shoot it well. Some days I do pretty well with it, and other days I just can't shoot it nearly as well as my other pistols. It's ergonomically not very good, and the trigger leaves quite a bit to be desired. Over time, I've shifted my philosophy to not really value the 'extra power' of a .45, and would prefer the shootability of a more ergonomic and controllable 9mm. Multiple good hits with a 9mm will trump a poor hit with a .45 any day.
The Shadow 2 is quite a bit more spendy than other variants like the regular SP01, but I'm not so concerned about the price (I'm a buy-once-cry-once kinda guy). The trigger is supposed to be superior right out of the box, but is still 3.5-4lb SA, which doesn't seem excessively light for self defense (Glock guys seem to tune their triggers down that light pretty regularly). I think one of the things that helps vs other 75 variants is the Shadow 2 doesn't have the firing pin block, but that doesn't concern me, especially for nightstand duty. Swapping springs can get the S2 trigger much lighter, which I'm not interested in for defensive purposes, but it's supposed to have less creep, shorter reset, and all the other good stuff compared to even marginally tuned triggers on other variants.
It has a fiber optic front sight and a blacked out rear, which obviously isn't a typical setup for self defense, but the more I've looked into it and thought about it, I'm not sure that it would be a bad setup for a nightstand gun. I'm not gonna be carrying it in a dark alley where I'd need night sights, and it'll be wearing a TLR1, which would basically defeat the purpose of night sights anyway when switched on. Seems like a tac light would actually potentially make good use of a FO front sight. As people have pointed out elsewhere, if the fiber breaks/falls out, it still becomes just a regular steel sight (like an escalator that breaks and turns into stairs), and I don't know how that would happen sitting on a nightstand anyway. Worst case, there are night sights that fit the Shadow 2 available from CZC/CGW (it is a slightly different cut from standard 75s), but I'm thinking the stock target sights may actually work pretty well for HD.
So can anybody come up with a good reason to not get a Shadow 2, even though I don't have any plans to do competition with it? Other than price, of course, but as I said, that's not a concern for me. Since I'm not going to carry it, the extra size and weight vs a regular SP01 is actually a bonus to me, and getting the trigger tuned on an SP01 by CZC or CGW would end up putting me close to the price of a Shadow 2 anyway.
I know I'm not likely to run into anybody with a Shadow 2 to try before I buy, so I just want to make sure I'm not making a poor decision before I drop that kind of money on a handgun... I welcome any thoughts or opinions! Thanks!
I've been wanting a steel 9mm hammer gun for a while now, especially since shooting my friend's BHP several years ago. I have a couple steel/alloy hammer guns, and I just enjoy and shoot them so much better than polymer/striker guns. CZ75 seems like the logical choice, and the Shadow 2 is pretty much their flagship DA/SA version. I'm aware it's really designed for competition, but I would likely only be using it for plinking and nightstand duty. I like the idea of extra length and weight over other 75 variants, plus a trigger that's supposed to be super sweet right out of the box. Apparently the grip area of the frame under the beavertail is also cut slightly differently, allowing a higher grip as well, which appeals to me.
My current nightstand gun is an XD45, and while I like it just fine, I'm pretty inconsistent on my ability to shoot it well. Some days I do pretty well with it, and other days I just can't shoot it nearly as well as my other pistols. It's ergonomically not very good, and the trigger leaves quite a bit to be desired. Over time, I've shifted my philosophy to not really value the 'extra power' of a .45, and would prefer the shootability of a more ergonomic and controllable 9mm. Multiple good hits with a 9mm will trump a poor hit with a .45 any day.
The Shadow 2 is quite a bit more spendy than other variants like the regular SP01, but I'm not so concerned about the price (I'm a buy-once-cry-once kinda guy). The trigger is supposed to be superior right out of the box, but is still 3.5-4lb SA, which doesn't seem excessively light for self defense (Glock guys seem to tune their triggers down that light pretty regularly). I think one of the things that helps vs other 75 variants is the Shadow 2 doesn't have the firing pin block, but that doesn't concern me, especially for nightstand duty. Swapping springs can get the S2 trigger much lighter, which I'm not interested in for defensive purposes, but it's supposed to have less creep, shorter reset, and all the other good stuff compared to even marginally tuned triggers on other variants.
It has a fiber optic front sight and a blacked out rear, which obviously isn't a typical setup for self defense, but the more I've looked into it and thought about it, I'm not sure that it would be a bad setup for a nightstand gun. I'm not gonna be carrying it in a dark alley where I'd need night sights, and it'll be wearing a TLR1, which would basically defeat the purpose of night sights anyway when switched on. Seems like a tac light would actually potentially make good use of a FO front sight. As people have pointed out elsewhere, if the fiber breaks/falls out, it still becomes just a regular steel sight (like an escalator that breaks and turns into stairs), and I don't know how that would happen sitting on a nightstand anyway. Worst case, there are night sights that fit the Shadow 2 available from CZC/CGW (it is a slightly different cut from standard 75s), but I'm thinking the stock target sights may actually work pretty well for HD.
So can anybody come up with a good reason to not get a Shadow 2, even though I don't have any plans to do competition with it? Other than price, of course, but as I said, that's not a concern for me. Since I'm not going to carry it, the extra size and weight vs a regular SP01 is actually a bonus to me, and getting the trigger tuned on an SP01 by CZC or CGW would end up putting me close to the price of a Shadow 2 anyway.
I know I'm not likely to run into anybody with a Shadow 2 to try before I buy, so I just want to make sure I'm not making a poor decision before I drop that kind of money on a handgun... I welcome any thoughts or opinions! Thanks!
