Radagast
Member
Of your list I would go with the CZ SP01 Shadow. It's pretty much the winningest gun in IPSC Production Division. You will need to check the IDPA rules to ensure it is OK for their Stock Service Pistol division. My BIL bought one on my advice. Out of the box the single action trigger is better than any out of the box 1911 I have fired, including STI 2011s. Of course, he may just have an exceptional one. Of course you could just get it worked over by Angus Hobdell and make it exceptional. http://www.angushobdell.com/
Reliability of CZs is good if maintained well, but they are prone to breaking springs, esp. the trigger return spring. They are also not designed for hot loads, back in the late 90s CZ made a .40 cal version for IPSC use, it suffered from cracking of the slide. The Tamfoglio/Springfield P9 clone of the CZ also suffered from cracking of the frame went loaded to major in Open Division.
There is an amazing level of factory optional parts for the CZ along with aftermarket support and a dedicated CZ forum. Armored Man here on THR is a big fan and can probably advise you.
TL,DR: Great comp gun, good self defence gun, does not have the endurance of newer designs.
Browning Hi-Power has a poor trigger, poor sights and a minimalist safety. I like them as a classic design, but would not compete with one and would have other preferences for self defence. There is limited after market support for the BHP. Richard Novak is probably the best known hi-power gun smith. Deceased THR Member Stephen A Camp's Hi-Power site is still up: http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/
The Armarlite AR24 is a Turkish derivative of the CZ imported and sold by Armalite. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarsilmaz_Kilinc_2000
I've no personal experience with them. I would stick to the CZ or even the EAA Witness made in Italy by Tanfoglio, another CZ75 derivative. The lower end Tanfoglios tend to have reliabilty issues, the high end guns are exceptional, with single action triggers as good as or better than many 1911s. The Sarsilmaz is a newish product and not the bread and butter line of the comapny that imports it. It may have a long commercial life in front of it, but then again it may not.
9mm 1911: There are many to choose from. If I had my druthers I would get a Nighthawk Custom, http://www.nighthawkcustom.com/
Realistically an STI Trojan would be my choice for a mid priced gun. Note that a mid range 1911 is comparable in price to a high range anything else.
Again, SP01 Shadow is my pic of your choices. If looking for a gun strictly for self defence then I would get a Glock or a S&W M&P. I've over 20,000 rounds through my Glock 17 with no breakages and no failures that weren't caused by the operator or bad reloads. Until the CZ Shadow arrived the Glock was pretty much the winningest gun in IPSC Production Division.
I've shot the HS2000 (Springfield XD) a fair bit, I prefer the trigger on the Glock. Each of the HS triggers I have tried has been mushier than ny Glocks trigger. The XD is made in Croatia by HS and imported by Springfield. I've no idea of the availability of aftermarket support, I know that the Canadian shooters I communicate with complain that they have to send the entire gun back to Springfield for repairs as Springfield will not ship them parts.
The Beretta 92 trigger will be heavier with more creep and overtravel than the CZ. In my experience they are 100% reliable, I enjoy shooting mine. There aren't many people winning competitively with the Beretta for a reason.
Reliability of CZs is good if maintained well, but they are prone to breaking springs, esp. the trigger return spring. They are also not designed for hot loads, back in the late 90s CZ made a .40 cal version for IPSC use, it suffered from cracking of the slide. The Tamfoglio/Springfield P9 clone of the CZ also suffered from cracking of the frame went loaded to major in Open Division.
There is an amazing level of factory optional parts for the CZ along with aftermarket support and a dedicated CZ forum. Armored Man here on THR is a big fan and can probably advise you.
TL,DR: Great comp gun, good self defence gun, does not have the endurance of newer designs.
Browning Hi-Power has a poor trigger, poor sights and a minimalist safety. I like them as a classic design, but would not compete with one and would have other preferences for self defence. There is limited after market support for the BHP. Richard Novak is probably the best known hi-power gun smith. Deceased THR Member Stephen A Camp's Hi-Power site is still up: http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/
The Armarlite AR24 is a Turkish derivative of the CZ imported and sold by Armalite. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarsilmaz_Kilinc_2000
I've no personal experience with them. I would stick to the CZ or even the EAA Witness made in Italy by Tanfoglio, another CZ75 derivative. The lower end Tanfoglios tend to have reliabilty issues, the high end guns are exceptional, with single action triggers as good as or better than many 1911s. The Sarsilmaz is a newish product and not the bread and butter line of the comapny that imports it. It may have a long commercial life in front of it, but then again it may not.
9mm 1911: There are many to choose from. If I had my druthers I would get a Nighthawk Custom, http://www.nighthawkcustom.com/
Realistically an STI Trojan would be my choice for a mid priced gun. Note that a mid range 1911 is comparable in price to a high range anything else.
Again, SP01 Shadow is my pic of your choices. If looking for a gun strictly for self defence then I would get a Glock or a S&W M&P. I've over 20,000 rounds through my Glock 17 with no breakages and no failures that weren't caused by the operator or bad reloads. Until the CZ Shadow arrived the Glock was pretty much the winningest gun in IPSC Production Division.
I've shot the HS2000 (Springfield XD) a fair bit, I prefer the trigger on the Glock. Each of the HS triggers I have tried has been mushier than ny Glocks trigger. The XD is made in Croatia by HS and imported by Springfield. I've no idea of the availability of aftermarket support, I know that the Canadian shooters I communicate with complain that they have to send the entire gun back to Springfield for repairs as Springfield will not ship them parts.
The Beretta 92 trigger will be heavier with more creep and overtravel than the CZ. In my experience they are 100% reliable, I enjoy shooting mine. There aren't many people winning competitively with the Beretta for a reason.
