Well, I was pleased that my Shadow 2 was finally received. What was even more pleasing is that I got the call on Tuesday, Wolverine had put the gun in the mail on Wednesday after the registration was complete, and it was already received Friday at noon. AWESOME speedy delivery! I was at work when I received the email that the delivery was made, so I took the afternoon off as the Shadow 2 is NOT an ordinary gun that is being delivered! As I unpacked it, it came with all the goodies: Case, manual, 3 mags, two allen keys (one for grips, the other for trigger adjustment), extended safety, a target verifying its accuracy, a CD and cleaning brushes.
First thing is the color. The finish is always ones own preference. On August 8th, I first placed my order and went with the blued version. When I got my call this week, I was asked if i wanted the 'urban grey' model. I told them that they shoot the same, so sure, I will take it. Now that I received it, I am actually very pleased with the color choice. The Urban Grey clearly distinguishes it from other CZ shadows, and sets it aside from other Shadows.
I have an SP-01, and if I was to put blue grips on it, it would just like a Shadow 2. The Urban Grey finish is an excellent finish (as all CZ finishes are), and clearly distinguishes the Shadow 2, not as a shadow variant, but as a new pistol all on its own, which it actually is. The initial feel is superb over any CZ that I have ever had in my hands. The new checkering front and back, really gives a superb grip.
The thing that bugged me! The gun ships with the basic safety attached and the extended safety as an extra. I could not understand this as being a competition ready gun out of the box, it would have made more sense for CZ to ship the gun with the extended safety. The first thing that I did (before anything) was changed the safety. This can be a tedious task for anyone that is not used to CZ firearms as it is not as easy changing the safety on a CZ as it is on a 1911. None the less, after 20 minutes the safety was changed. You must take care that you do not lose the safety detent plunger and spring (I did
)as they can fly out once the sear cage is removed. It is now all in place:
I didn't even try the trigger until I changed the safety and now that I had, it was time to test the trigger. First, the double action pull is silky smooth. The only double action trigger that I have ever felt smoother was that on a python. It was a little on the heavy side though. I tried to measure it, but my gauge only goes to 8 lbs and it surpassed that. I would only guess that it is around a 10 lb pull, but again it is so smooth it is a pleasure and not a burden. It comes stock with a 16 lb mainspring and changing this to a 11.5 lb will lighten it up considerably. I tried changing the factory main spring to a 13 lb spring for the Shadow, and found that it made little difference to the DA or SA trigger pulls. My guauge registered the same weight in SA, and in double action, it reduced the pull, but it could not register it on my guauge as it was still over 8lbs. As far as the single action is concerned, I am still in awe. It has a little pre-travel, but a definite improvement over the original shadow and SP-01's. The pull is also improved. It measured at a under 3 1/4 lb pull. I have never pulled a better trigger in a production gun out of the box. All I can say is .....swwweeeeeet! *UPDATE: I have switched to an 11.5 lb main spring and this brought the DA pull down to 6.5 lbs, and the SA down to just over 2 1/2 lb's. VERY NICE!!
The fit and finish of the pistol was excellent as is expected with CZ pistols. There is absolutely no play between slide and frame and the fit is just phenomenal! The extended magazine release is a huge improvement as well as even with my medium sized hands, I do not have to change my grip to change the mag. I am looking forward to taking the shadow 2 to the range. Unfortunately this will not be until Sunday, but it will give me somnething to look forward to for the weekend. Overall, this pistol is underpriced for what you are getting, and if anyone is thinking of getting this pistol, I would say 'JUST DO IT!!!!' I will add to the review as soon as I get it too the range.......can't wait!
SHOOTING
Well, I couldn't wait and I took the gun to the range the first chance I got today. This was really a pleasure to shoot. My only problem that I had today is that I only brought 300 rounds with me. First off, the gun has excellent recoil control, but so do all the CZ75's. It may be a little better, but if it is, it is margin-able. What impressed me the most is the improved trigger control, especially the double action. One thing that is nice, is the angled design of the slide. This really makes sure that your support hand has minimal contact with the slide during shooting for 100% reliability. I shot two mags (20 rds) using double action ONLY at a 25yd slow fire target and managed to get 9/10 shots in the black at 20yds. That actually surprised me because I am usually not very accurate shooting double action. Overall, this is an amazing shooter, and truly is ready for competition out of the box. A real bargain for the low price you pay!
*Assure that when you change your main spring, that you replace the firing pin spring with a reduced power spring. These are usually sold in pairs, but not always. Failure to do so can result in light strikes affecting reliability.
First thing is the color. The finish is always ones own preference. On August 8th, I first placed my order and went with the blued version. When I got my call this week, I was asked if i wanted the 'urban grey' model. I told them that they shoot the same, so sure, I will take it. Now that I received it, I am actually very pleased with the color choice. The Urban Grey clearly distinguishes it from other CZ shadows, and sets it aside from other Shadows.
I have an SP-01, and if I was to put blue grips on it, it would just like a Shadow 2. The Urban Grey finish is an excellent finish (as all CZ finishes are), and clearly distinguishes the Shadow 2, not as a shadow variant, but as a new pistol all on its own, which it actually is. The initial feel is superb over any CZ that I have ever had in my hands. The new checkering front and back, really gives a superb grip.
The thing that bugged me! The gun ships with the basic safety attached and the extended safety as an extra. I could not understand this as being a competition ready gun out of the box, it would have made more sense for CZ to ship the gun with the extended safety. The first thing that I did (before anything) was changed the safety. This can be a tedious task for anyone that is not used to CZ firearms as it is not as easy changing the safety on a CZ as it is on a 1911. None the less, after 20 minutes the safety was changed. You must take care that you do not lose the safety detent plunger and spring (I did
)as they can fly out once the sear cage is removed. It is now all in place:
I didn't even try the trigger until I changed the safety and now that I had, it was time to test the trigger. First, the double action pull is silky smooth. The only double action trigger that I have ever felt smoother was that on a python. It was a little on the heavy side though. I tried to measure it, but my gauge only goes to 8 lbs and it surpassed that. I would only guess that it is around a 10 lb pull, but again it is so smooth it is a pleasure and not a burden. It comes stock with a 16 lb mainspring and changing this to a 11.5 lb will lighten it up considerably. I tried changing the factory main spring to a 13 lb spring for the Shadow, and found that it made little difference to the DA or SA trigger pulls. My guauge registered the same weight in SA, and in double action, it reduced the pull, but it could not register it on my guauge as it was still over 8lbs. As far as the single action is concerned, I am still in awe. It has a little pre-travel, but a definite improvement over the original shadow and SP-01's. The pull is also improved. It measured at a under 3 1/4 lb pull. I have never pulled a better trigger in a production gun out of the box. All I can say is .....swwweeeeeet! *UPDATE: I have switched to an 11.5 lb main spring and this brought the DA pull down to 6.5 lbs, and the SA down to just over 2 1/2 lb's. VERY NICE!!
The fit and finish of the pistol was excellent as is expected with CZ pistols. There is absolutely no play between slide and frame and the fit is just phenomenal! The extended magazine release is a huge improvement as well as even with my medium sized hands, I do not have to change my grip to change the mag. I am looking forward to taking the shadow 2 to the range. Unfortunately this will not be until Sunday, but it will give me somnething to look forward to for the weekend. Overall, this pistol is underpriced for what you are getting, and if anyone is thinking of getting this pistol, I would say 'JUST DO IT!!!!' I will add to the review as soon as I get it too the range.......can't wait!
SHOOTING
Well, I couldn't wait and I took the gun to the range the first chance I got today. This was really a pleasure to shoot. My only problem that I had today is that I only brought 300 rounds with me
. First off, the gun has excellent recoil control, but so do all the CZ75's. It may be a little better, but if it is, it is margin-able. What impressed me the most is the improved trigger control, especially the double action. One thing that is nice, is the angled design of the slide. This really makes sure that your support hand has minimal contact with the slide during shooting for 100% reliability. I shot two mags (20 rds) using double action ONLY at a 25yd slow fire target and managed to get 9/10 shots in the black at 20yds. That actually surprised me because I am usually not very accurate shooting double action. Overall, this is an amazing shooter, and truly is ready for competition out of the box. A real bargain for the low price you pay!*Assure that when you change your main spring, that you replace the firing pin spring with a reduced power spring. These are usually sold in pairs, but not always. Failure to do so can result in light strikes affecting reliability.
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