forindooruseonly
Member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2009
- Messages
- 1,076
I've been wanting a high capacity 9mm for a while now. It's something that is nearly ubiquitous in today's shooting community, but at the same time something I never really got interested in. I grew up shooting 1911s, revolvers, and what would be thought of today as classics, so I missed out on the wonder-nine revolution, and never got into the plastic-fantastic mindset. I never was into 9mm as a handgun cartridge - it belong it my classics and our subguns, not in a SD gun. I already owned a couple of 9mm handguns - some Lugers, a Mauser, a hi-power, and old S&W 39… hardly the type of self-defense oriented 9mm we see so much of today. I just preferred bigger stuff. I tried though, I posted about my experience with Glocks and why I didn't care for them. It's not that they don't work, it's just that they don't speak to me. Ergos were weird, I couldn't get used to the triggers of the striker fired guns, while in the same breath I never liked DA/SA as much as straight up SA guns either. I've always had an interest in CZs, though, wanting to try them out and see what the fuss is for myself. They are not common around here, I don't see them in the stores, I don't see many online locally, or in the shows. So I got to looking and found the SP-01 Shadow calling me - steel frame, a DA/SA trigger that can be converted to SA only, full-sized, properly adjustable sights! - it's everything that people wrapped up in CCW and SD scenarios don't want! How could I resist? Well, my pocketbook currently can resist, so I had to settle for the plain old SP-01, not the shadow. Still, I had my friend order it and it finally came in this week.
We unboxed it and took a look just to see what's what, and our first impression was "wow, that is a big pistol!". I guess I didn't expect to be so large or so heavy. Not that those attributes are a negative, but it certainly is big and barrel heavy. If 18 rounds of 9mm can't do it, I'm pretty sure I can bludgeon whatever into submission as a last resort. I would not want to be on the receiving end of a pistol whipping with this.
The other initial impression centered on the ridiculous amount of shipping grease CZ puts on these guns. If I wanted to clean milsurp-like levels of grease and cosmoline off a new gun, I'd have bought an actual milsurp. I ended up breaking it down and dousing the parts in alcohol, even the magazines that had grease oozing from around the base pad. Once cleaned up, the finish looks okay, but I have to admit I'd prefer a blued finish and some nice wood grips. And grip screws that didn't look like they came out of the woodworking shop. I knew it came with phillip head screws, but they look worse in person than on the internet.
We have a cold front coming and the overcast sky and north wind told me I might not get another chance to shoot this weekend, so I took it out today. I didn't bring any paper, just wanted to shoot steel, break it in and get a feel for it before I start seeing what types of groups I can hold with it. 250 rounds later, I guess I have a few inklings of what I like, and don't like, about the gun.
First, I like the ergonomics. It's comfortable, the controls are very similar to my beloved 1911s which made it easy to get used to this gun, and the grips are really good. They're kind of a tacky rubber that give you really good grip, yet remains a little soft and absorbent as well. The grips are a high point. The only real downside is the checkering on the front grip strap - it chewed on my hand. My hands aren't super used to abrasion or whatnot, so the checkering dug into my fingers. Hopefully the sharpness will wear down quickly, maybe I'll get some of those nifty super cool tactical gloves. Wait, I didn't buy the tactical model. Oh well.
It is a soft shooting, low recoiling gun. No doubt about that. But if you take into the consideration the massive weight and size for a 9mm, it's not some miracle feat of engineering. It seemed reliable, no FTE or FTF, but I did have some problems with the slide not locking open after the last shot. I'm going to have to check on this, as I wasn't too thrilled with that. Ammo was S&B 115 gr. FMJ, the cheap stuff. I've never had a problem with it before, so I didn't expect any now. Also shot some old, real old Winchester stuff. From the 70s. It ran fine too. It was sighted in from the factory on a semi 6 o'clock hold, and the the sights themselves are tru-dots or whatever. This is my first actual set of night sights, and frankly they might be great at night but during the day shooting at steel, they aren't so good. I still prefer a black on black sight picture.
Now as I said, I'm a SA type of guy, so I didn't really expect to like the trigger so much. I have a couple of DA/SA S&Ws, but they don't see a whole lot of range time. I've also had some striker fired guns, and aren't exactly thrilled with them either. I like the crisp, short SA triggers. So, the CZ didn't fail to disappoint about being…well, disappointing. It's long and kinda crunchy, not very crisp. The SIGs I've shot I liked a little better, but not much. It's not bad, but it's not great either. I guess this is why you spend the extra bucks to get a Shadow with the fancy upgrades. However, one of the selling points of the CZ to me is the fact I can turn it into a SA. That will definitely be happening sooner rather than later.
Shooting it also brings out bad habits left and right. The whole "I've got 18 shots, who cares if I miss a couple of times while rushing it" thing. I find myself much more focused when shooting my single stack guns. Also, the lack of recoil compared to shooting my .45s also means follow ups are fast - very fast. However, I also find I need to double or triple tap my pepper poppers to knock them over while the .45 doesn't need such assistance. I guess what this adds up to is the fact I burned through a lot of ammo very quickly, which is an issue. I need to slow myself down shooting this thing. It's funny, limit my ammo, such as with a .45 or a revolver, and I'm good, focused and deliberate. Get an extra 11 or 12 bullets available and it turns into a slap happy, trigger-jerking free for all. I noticed this with my other hi-cap guns as well, so it's not a knock against the CZ, just what I'm used to.
Also, the 9mm is kinda lame. Nice shiny .45 brass is easy to find on the ground. 9mm is tiny in comparison and I'm going to lose a lot of brass I think.
So, all in all I'm pleased. I like the ergos, I love the heft of it, I seem to shoot it alright and it hits where it's pointed, so I can't complain too much. I'm not giving up my revolvers and 1911s as my primary defensive guns yet. However, I have the sneaking feeling I'm going to like it much better when I get the trigger sorted out to my tastes. And maybe the sights.
We unboxed it and took a look just to see what's what, and our first impression was "wow, that is a big pistol!". I guess I didn't expect to be so large or so heavy. Not that those attributes are a negative, but it certainly is big and barrel heavy. If 18 rounds of 9mm can't do it, I'm pretty sure I can bludgeon whatever into submission as a last resort. I would not want to be on the receiving end of a pistol whipping with this.
The other initial impression centered on the ridiculous amount of shipping grease CZ puts on these guns. If I wanted to clean milsurp-like levels of grease and cosmoline off a new gun, I'd have bought an actual milsurp. I ended up breaking it down and dousing the parts in alcohol, even the magazines that had grease oozing from around the base pad. Once cleaned up, the finish looks okay, but I have to admit I'd prefer a blued finish and some nice wood grips. And grip screws that didn't look like they came out of the woodworking shop. I knew it came with phillip head screws, but they look worse in person than on the internet.
We have a cold front coming and the overcast sky and north wind told me I might not get another chance to shoot this weekend, so I took it out today. I didn't bring any paper, just wanted to shoot steel, break it in and get a feel for it before I start seeing what types of groups I can hold with it. 250 rounds later, I guess I have a few inklings of what I like, and don't like, about the gun.
First, I like the ergonomics. It's comfortable, the controls are very similar to my beloved 1911s which made it easy to get used to this gun, and the grips are really good. They're kind of a tacky rubber that give you really good grip, yet remains a little soft and absorbent as well. The grips are a high point. The only real downside is the checkering on the front grip strap - it chewed on my hand. My hands aren't super used to abrasion or whatnot, so the checkering dug into my fingers. Hopefully the sharpness will wear down quickly, maybe I'll get some of those nifty super cool tactical gloves. Wait, I didn't buy the tactical model. Oh well.
It is a soft shooting, low recoiling gun. No doubt about that. But if you take into the consideration the massive weight and size for a 9mm, it's not some miracle feat of engineering. It seemed reliable, no FTE or FTF, but I did have some problems with the slide not locking open after the last shot. I'm going to have to check on this, as I wasn't too thrilled with that. Ammo was S&B 115 gr. FMJ, the cheap stuff. I've never had a problem with it before, so I didn't expect any now. Also shot some old, real old Winchester stuff. From the 70s. It ran fine too. It was sighted in from the factory on a semi 6 o'clock hold, and the the sights themselves are tru-dots or whatever. This is my first actual set of night sights, and frankly they might be great at night but during the day shooting at steel, they aren't so good. I still prefer a black on black sight picture.
Now as I said, I'm a SA type of guy, so I didn't really expect to like the trigger so much. I have a couple of DA/SA S&Ws, but they don't see a whole lot of range time. I've also had some striker fired guns, and aren't exactly thrilled with them either. I like the crisp, short SA triggers. So, the CZ didn't fail to disappoint about being…well, disappointing. It's long and kinda crunchy, not very crisp. The SIGs I've shot I liked a little better, but not much. It's not bad, but it's not great either. I guess this is why you spend the extra bucks to get a Shadow with the fancy upgrades. However, one of the selling points of the CZ to me is the fact I can turn it into a SA. That will definitely be happening sooner rather than later.
Shooting it also brings out bad habits left and right. The whole "I've got 18 shots, who cares if I miss a couple of times while rushing it" thing. I find myself much more focused when shooting my single stack guns. Also, the lack of recoil compared to shooting my .45s also means follow ups are fast - very fast. However, I also find I need to double or triple tap my pepper poppers to knock them over while the .45 doesn't need such assistance. I guess what this adds up to is the fact I burned through a lot of ammo very quickly, which is an issue. I need to slow myself down shooting this thing. It's funny, limit my ammo, such as with a .45 or a revolver, and I'm good, focused and deliberate. Get an extra 11 or 12 bullets available and it turns into a slap happy, trigger-jerking free for all. I noticed this with my other hi-cap guns as well, so it's not a knock against the CZ, just what I'm used to.
Also, the 9mm is kinda lame. Nice shiny .45 brass is easy to find on the ground. 9mm is tiny in comparison and I'm going to lose a lot of brass I think.
So, all in all I'm pleased. I like the ergos, I love the heft of it, I seem to shoot it alright and it hits where it's pointed, so I can't complain too much. I'm not giving up my revolvers and 1911s as my primary defensive guns yet. However, I have the sneaking feeling I'm going to like it much better when I get the trigger sorted out to my tastes. And maybe the sights.
