CZ Shadow Frame Crack

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Thedors

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So I was cleaning my Shadow the other day and noticed two hairline cracks in the frame. One on the left and one on the right, directly across from each other. Needless to say I'm distraught. I bought this gun used about a month ago and freaking love it, it shoots amazingly well and has an incredible trigger. I've added some pics of the fractures in the following album:

http://imgur.com/a/iOKf2#0

And to top it off while photographing it I noticed that on the left side of the gun theres a second hairline crack starting right below the bigger one...

ARRGH...

So does anybody know if a gunsmith can repair these cracks or is it possible to order another frame? I'm in edmonton and willing to send it out if it means I can get it back to working order.
 
I wish it was a really nasty scratch, and if wishes were welds it might help... Nope, no reduced power main springs, totally stock.
 
The third picture definetly proves that it's a crack forming right through the metal.

You may as well see if your gun is under any sort of longer term warranty. I got this from the CZ site....


The warranty center for Canada

CRAFM
2206 52nd AVE
Lachine, QC,H8T 2Y3

Mr. Frank Nardi

Tel: 514 635 4867

Fax:514 635 4868

frank@crafm.com

If it doesn't work out and you need a new frame then my deepest sympathies to your wallet. It sucks but sometimes these things happen despite our best planning.

At least you've had a chance to try it out so you KNOW it's worth it to get the gun fixed.

If you want to look into having it welded then ask around. Every area seems to have a welder that can do the most miraculous job on the most crazy things. THAT is the guy you want for this job. Anything less will simply result in your frame being turned into an odd looking paper weight.

A buddy of mine found such a guy some years back. He needed the mounting lug on an antique model airplane engine welded back on. He showed the guy the engine and asked if he could do something that fiddly. The guy didn't say a word. He just reached down and brought out a pair of pop cans which had been cut in half around the middle and welded so the one normal looking size can had two "tops". My buddy left the engine with this guy doubt free..... THAT is the sort of welder you need to find.
 
Give CRAFM a call and speak to the warranty centre (ask for Tara if she's available). See if they can run your serial number and find out if it's still warrantied. Hopefully it is. Either way, they are awesome to deal with.
 
The pics show low mileage gun.
Keep in mind the frames are cast and chances of flaws are there. The gun must've slipped thru QC for some reason.
 
Any other CGnuttter who had a similar issue? This is scary. I do have these reduced power mainspring and recoil spring in my pistol and I do not see any of these (yet) and I am hoping never. I just replaced my recoil spring back to the original.

IM_Lugger said:
That sucks man! Does the gun have a reduced power mainspring and recoil spring? as that would cause it eventually.
Click to expand...
 
ambishooter said:
Any other CGnuttter who had a similar issue? This is scary. I do have these reduced power mainspring and recoil spring in my pistol and I do not see any of these (yet) and I am hoping never. I just replaced my recoil spring back to the original.
Click to expand...

First I've heard of this theory. I'm not switching back to the original mainspring on mine.
 
I agree, and the worst case you can get with a weaker recoil spring is the spring to bottom out while slide goes into battery. But a slight upward pull created by the horizontal movement of slide and barrel is definitely a factor. If there is a weak point between the frame rail and barrel, then crack is expected to occur. I have just a little under 1000 rds with mine, around 500 of these with the reduced power recoil spring, and no issues whatsoever. I am doing this as a precautionary measure until I am comfortably convinced against these theories.

stevebc said:
First I've heard of this theory. I'm not switching back to the original mainspring on mine.
Click to expand...
 
This is a high mileage gun, well over 5k rounds. It's a former range gun so it's probably been handled a little rough. I knew what I was getting into before I bought it, I just figured a CZ would last a little bit longer. The pictures are pretty close up and don't show any of the wear and tear.
 
Thedors said:
This is a high mileage gun, well over 5k rounds. It's a former range gun so it's probably been handled a little rough. I knew what I was getting into before I bought it, I just figured a CZ would last a little bit longer. The pictures are pretty close up and don't show any of the wear and tear.
Click to expand...

5k rounds is not even close to high mileage for any gun. There should be no cracks on those rails even beyond 25k rounds.
 
ambishooter said:
Any other CGnuttter who had a similar issue? This is scary. I do have these reduced power mainspring and recoil spring in my pistol and I do not see any of these (yet) and I am hoping never. I just replaced my recoil spring back to the original.
Click to expand...

stevebc said:
First I've heard of this theory. I'm not switching back to the original mainspring on mine.
Click to expand...

If you guys are shooting regular factory ammo then you really SHOULD switch back to the stock recoil spring.

The only reason to go with a lighter spring is to tune the slide recoil to lower power ammo. This is often done for those of us shooting minimum PF reloads where the ammo won't reliably cycle the gun with the stock spring. Tuning the gun to cycle with these lower power reloads is the only valid reason for replacing the stock spring.

A softer recoil spring with full power ammo means the slide is beating on the frame. Eventually bad things will happen. If your gun chucks the empty casings out 10 or more feet to the side then you really should install the next higher recoil spring since that implies that the slide is traveling back too fast and with too much energy and is hammering the frame at the end of the travel.
 
A CZ shadow with 5K rounds isn't suppose to be cracked like that. It's a steel frame..... Even polymer frames can handle 25k rounds.

It sucks for you. Try with warranty :(
 
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