Delivery man came today, bringing the newest addition to my growing "family"!
It's the CZ 75 ShadowLine model (I had wanted the SP-01 ShadowLine, but none were to be found by the time I ordered).
After a quick cleaning, it joined its "brothers" (or is it "sisters"? I tend to think of them as "male") in getting ready for a quick trip to the range.
Out in the fresh air (and bugs... lots of bugs.... and 28 degree celsius heat)
All by itself:
Ok.... how did it work????
Here is a 10-shot group, at 10 meters, with every shot fired double action (wanted to practice my DA). Notice one "flyer" up in the top... oops. My fault.
To compare, here are ten shots at 10 meters with my Norinco 1911 (the CanadaAmmo deal one). I find this gun a bit big for my hands, I have a hard time getting a comfortable grip on it. (That's my excuse!)
And finally, here is a ten shot group with my M&P 9 C.O.R.E. (with Apex FSS trigger kit), again at 10 meters. This gun fits me very well, is very comfortable in my hands, and has a very light trigger now.
(That leftmost hole is actually 2 holes overlapping)
So, a few quick observations...
First, I'm a novice at handgun shooting. Only been doing it for just over a year, and only owned my own for about two months now. (Yes, I've bought 3 in two months! Don't tell my wife
)
I have a lot to learn in terms of technique, as can be deduced from my large groups seen above. This will hopefully be improved upon with practice, over time.
The M&P is a very nice gun. It will likely continue to be my IPSC gun for now, as I have over 1000 rounds through it, and am getting to know it pretty well.
But this CZ feels like a higher quality gun. Maybe it's because it's all metal? There is no visible gap between slide and frame, like on the M&P (one of my minor annoyances with that gun).
The extended mag release is very nice - mag changes are a breeze, probably quicker than the M&P. Of course, the DA first shot has a much longer, heavier pull than the striker-fired M&P, so I counted that as a negative,
but then I saw the group I shot with the CZ, with every shot in DA mode (intentionally putting the hammer down between shots, just to practice DA). And ended up with a better group than the M&P. So, the jury is out on that one.
The safety lever is too thin... not easy to thumb up and down, like it is on the 1911. In fact, not even possible for me to do at all. Maybe because it's new and the safety is a bit stiff. I can draw the 1911, thumb the safety off, and fire my first shot in one motion. No way I could do that with this CZ as it is.
Grips are the ShadowLine thin aluminum ones - nice and "grippy", but maybe not so much as the highly textured ones on the M&P C.O.R.E. series (which to my knowledge aren't available on the regular M&P line yet).
All in all, I'm not sure which I like better. This CZ definitely feels well made, and I was surprised that I shot better with it than with the M&P.
Either way, I now have a metal DA/SA gun to go with my striker-fired polymer tupperware gun and my SA only 1911. Now all I need is a revolver! Maybe next month....
Trav
It's the CZ 75 ShadowLine model (I had wanted the SP-01 ShadowLine, but none were to be found by the time I ordered).
After a quick cleaning, it joined its "brothers" (or is it "sisters"? I tend to think of them as "male") in getting ready for a quick trip to the range.
Out in the fresh air (and bugs... lots of bugs.... and 28 degree celsius heat)
All by itself:
Ok.... how did it work????
Here is a 10-shot group, at 10 meters, with every shot fired double action (wanted to practice my DA). Notice one "flyer" up in the top... oops. My fault.
To compare, here are ten shots at 10 meters with my Norinco 1911 (the CanadaAmmo deal one). I find this gun a bit big for my hands, I have a hard time getting a comfortable grip on it. (That's my excuse!)
And finally, here is a ten shot group with my M&P 9 C.O.R.E. (with Apex FSS trigger kit), again at 10 meters. This gun fits me very well, is very comfortable in my hands, and has a very light trigger now.
(That leftmost hole is actually 2 holes overlapping)
So, a few quick observations...
First, I'm a novice at handgun shooting. Only been doing it for just over a year, and only owned my own for about two months now. (Yes, I've bought 3 in two months! Don't tell my wife
)I have a lot to learn in terms of technique, as can be deduced from my large groups seen above. This will hopefully be improved upon with practice, over time.
The M&P is a very nice gun. It will likely continue to be my IPSC gun for now, as I have over 1000 rounds through it, and am getting to know it pretty well.
But this CZ feels like a higher quality gun. Maybe it's because it's all metal? There is no visible gap between slide and frame, like on the M&P (one of my minor annoyances with that gun).
The extended mag release is very nice - mag changes are a breeze, probably quicker than the M&P. Of course, the DA first shot has a much longer, heavier pull than the striker-fired M&P, so I counted that as a negative,
but then I saw the group I shot with the CZ, with every shot in DA mode (intentionally putting the hammer down between shots, just to practice DA). And ended up with a better group than the M&P. So, the jury is out on that one.
The safety lever is too thin... not easy to thumb up and down, like it is on the 1911. In fact, not even possible for me to do at all. Maybe because it's new and the safety is a bit stiff. I can draw the 1911, thumb the safety off, and fire my first shot in one motion. No way I could do that with this CZ as it is.
Grips are the ShadowLine thin aluminum ones - nice and "grippy", but maybe not so much as the highly textured ones on the M&P C.O.R.E. series (which to my knowledge aren't available on the regular M&P line yet).
All in all, I'm not sure which I like better. This CZ definitely feels well made, and I was surprised that I shot better with it than with the M&P.
Either way, I now have a metal DA/SA gun to go with my striker-fired polymer tupperware gun
and my SA only 1911. Now all I need is a revolver! Maybe next month....Trav
