POTD: Steel is Real - CZ Shadow 2 Running The Competition World
Everyone “knows” this gun, but it probably still needs a proper introduction. The CZ Shadow 2 is an all-steel, high-capacity SA/DA pistol engineered for peak performance in dynamic shooting sports, and the top choice of many elite competitors at the world's most prestigious IPSC competitions. I almost chose one, but I got a Tanfoglio instead. A more refined choice if you asked me, but this Photo Of The Day is not about my life choices.
Built on the legendary CZ 75 platform, the Shadow 2 is chambered in 9mm and they all ship with a cold hammer-forged barrel.
The all-steel frame (a rarity in the modern polymer-dominated market) gives it a substantial weight, which soaks up recoil and keeps the muzzle flat through rapid strings of fire. If you haven’t tried and felt the difference, you’re in for a treat, but I’m not asking you to EDC it.
The double-action/single-action trigger system is a defining feature: The DA pull always feels too hard for the first shot in IPSC, while the SA breaks crisply, with a clearly defined wall and short reset.
I recently tried this gun at the range for a few shots, and thought the DA was worse than my Tanfoglio Stock 3 Extreme, but I had to surrender and admit that they are about the same. It’s more about which brand you like more, than one being better than the other.
The trigger guard is undercut and the grip has been aggressively checkered to give shooters a high, consistent hold with minimal muzzle rise. If you can, put one of your fingers over it for better recoil management.
The Shadow 2 ships with a fiber-optic front and fully adjustable HAJO rear sights, allowing for precise point-of-impact corrections without tools. The wide, low-profile rear notch pairs well with the bright fiber rod up front for fast target acquisition in both bright and overcast conditions.
The frame's extended and ambidextrous manual safety, oversized mag release, and beavertail geometry are all IPSC Production Division legal, making this one of the most refined out-of-the-box competition pistols on the market.
All images and opinions by the author. Feel free to have your say.
Ex-Arctic Ranger. Competitive practical shooter and hunter with a European focus. Always ready to increase my collection of modern semi-automatics, optics, thermals and suppressors. TCCC Certified. Occasionaly seen in a 6x6 Bug Out Vehicle, always with a big smile.
More by Eric B
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CZ 75 family, not the Victoria Secret swimsuit model, not the tatted up tactical operatoress in a John Wick flick, but the girl you’ve known since high school who has grown into a woman, full of fire, big heart, sleek, the one your Momma likes better than you.
The reason CZ's got popular in USPSA Production was that you could get around the wording of the original 5 lb. minimum trigger weight rule (since abandoned in USPSA) by tuning the DA to 5 lbs. (which is real light for a DA pull) for the first shot (which was mandated hammer down for DA/SA pistols) and then having a crazy light SA pulls for the rest of the shots which coupled with the weight of the gun (less muzzle flip) gave you a real advantage over the guys shooting the poly striker pistols. BTW, nobody (at least nobody who is serious about it) shoots these guns with stock actions.
CZ's are still one of the highest quailty out of the box handguns on the market. I own many and I also own a few Tanfoglios, in 10mm. For competition models I think Tanfoglio gives CZ a run for their money, but the normal versions of Tanfolgios are really bad compared to the same level of standard CZ. They spend all there time on the fancy guns and do very little if any clean up on the standard guns. It's kind of sad.
That said I was able to add compensators to several of my CZ's because when Tanfoglio's custom shop was liquidated many years ago Numrich absorbed all of their inventory of unused compensators. They are very easy to adapt to CZ's and CZ sells the longer barrels.