Three guns one wallet

[TheDuke50]

Hello i’m new here on the forum. I’m thinking about buying a new pistol.
I’ve narrowed it down to either a Tanfoglio stock 2 xtreme or a Cz shadow 2 or Cz TS orange.
I’ve only handled the shadow 2 liked it but i dont like the ”A shaped” slide and it’s only availble in 9mm and only adjustable sights in height. (the da/sa is not a big deal for me)
The tso i’ve heard is basicly an shadow2 in bigger frame? (it however comes in 40sw wich i like)
The tanfo looks great and comes in a variety of cal 9mm,40sw,10mm.... and with a bullbarrel and fully adjustable sights. But it costs almost twice as much as shadow2. But i have heard its not as tight of a fit as the CZ:s? and that it comes with a crappy reset?
The gun is going to be used as a competition pistol (dont know what the different competition styles is called in english)
In my country i would have to travel a great distance to try all of em out. (not an option)

To the questions has anybody in this forum handled all 3 of em?
Is the thing about the tanfo true? (not as tight fit as the CZ)
Is the reset as crappy as said on the tanfo?
Is the stock 2 xtreme worth the extra $$$?

Excuse my poor english but this topic was whipped together in a hurry!

 

[gulogulo1970]

CZ Shadow 2 looks the best to me. Couldn't see spending almost twice as much for the Tanfoglio.

I'm going by pure personal aesthetics, I've not shot any of these pistols.

 

[WestKentucky]

the Tanfoglio is the only one I have shot, and it was a 40sw. I loved the gun, felt good, shot well, seemed like a very well built gun. I want one in 10mm. It’s going to be the next new gun I buy, but at that price point it may be a while. I am also looking at essentially the same gun imported to the USA as an EAA Witness which is cheaper. I don’t really understand the price differences yet though.

 

[TheDuke50]

So the tanfo was not rattling? Tight fit?

 

[PapaG]

On the subject of wallets, don't you hate when there's month left after the money is gone?

 

[TheDuke50]

On the subject of wallets, don't you hate when there's month left after the money is gone?

I know the feeling!

 

[Demi-human]

For your good taste, I suggest a bigger wallet!

I am a fan of CZs. I would get the Orange. I like Orange.

Tight does not necessarily mean accurate. Loose does not always mean reliable. A tight pistol may be more accurate, at the first, but will wear in the same as any other. Having said that, I like tighter guns. I mostly don't like noise.
If it is justification for spending the extra on the one, blame it on me! I have not heard of a disappointed Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod customer though.

I wish you great luck in your competitions.

 

[TheDuke50]

Well, no tight dosn’t mean accurate but a thing i absolutley hate is a loose/rattling gun. For me personaly a tight smoth fit = build quality.
As I was told/understood (this is me interpreting the info) the tanfo should not be as tight as the cz overall. (meaning it gets more loose even than the cz after break in)
About the supposed crappy reset on the tanfo i’ve heard about something called bolo interupter but having to install that makes the factory warrant not valid anymore.
Youtube is (was) a good place to get some info but people mostly praise ”their” gun a tanfo guy says ”this is the best” cz people says the same about cz:s.
O’well i’ve handles the shadow2 in a local gunstore i guess I could try out the tso there as well but that leaves the tanfo hanging.
For me to try the stock 2 xtreme it would mean a trip of 110 scandinavian miles

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I handled a couple of the CZ 75 TS Orange models. Very nice but there was a difference in the triggers between the two, one very good and the other had some creep. Maybe it just needed adjustment.

 

[TheDuke50]

Hmm, yeah I saw a review of the tso on youtube (big johnson if I remember correctly) he had issues with the safety being stiff on his.

 

[Demi-human]

If it were only for competition I don't think that would deter me. For carry however...

 

[ATLDave]

I have shot all of those guns (well, the non-Xtreme version of the Tanfos). They are all great guns. But if you are planning to use the gun for competition, it is essential that you understand the relevant rules regarding equipment. For instance, if you're shooting USPSA/IPCS, and you want to shoot Limited/Standard division, you will likely want major scoring, and that requires a .40-diameter bullet or larger... so no 9mm. It allows a SAO, cocked-and-locked start, so you will probably want your gun to be SAO. OTOH, if you're trying to shoot production, you'll need a DA/SA trigger, and there's no point going larger than 9mm, since you can only get minor scoring in that division.

Basically, you should be deciding between a Shadow 2 versus a Tanfo Stock 2 (both in 9mm) if you want to shoot Prod, or between a Tac Sport/TS versus a Tanfo Limited (both in .40) if you want to shoot Standard/Limited. You kind of need to figure that out before you can narrow down which guns are suitable for your purpose.

The Xtreme's are just Tanfo models with some upgrades/mods. Whether you like those particular upgrades, or would prefer to buy the base models and choose upgrades yourself... that's an interesting question.

As for comparing the triggers of individual examples, I'd say that it's worth mentioning where these guns fit into the overall spectrum of guns. They are not individually built as custom jobs... they are still made in factories. At the same time, they are not as modular as a Glock or other duty-type weapon. On the plus side, they can deliver custom-grade performance (in their sphere) at prices that are more manageable. On the downside, there is some variability between individual examples (though they will all be nicer than a true mass-market guns out of the box - but perhaps not as uniform from one example to another). Some particular guns will come with creep in the trigger while some will come perfectly crisp from the factory. In the context of competition guns, that's not as big a deal, since it's a reasonable assumption that pretty much all serious competitors will tinker with their guns. All of them should be at least pretty nice out of the box, while most examples can be further improved with tweaking. Unless you get one that is simply terrible, though, they will all be very accurate. These are all quite accurate guns.

And, no, Tanfos don't have a "crappy reset." IDK where that comes from... What does that even mean in the context of a hammer-fired gun? That's a striker-gun problem.

 

[KYregular]

Don't let the "A shape" slide fool ya, same thing on my P09. No problem racking a round, and the internal slides really do a nice job reducing recoil.

 

[Jim Watson]

I am out of date, not having seen a Shadow II, but the original SP 01 Shadow was a delight.
The TS was even more delightful, but it is a great big gun, larger than even a 1911. You might or might not like it that way.
Now by delight, I mean good handling, good sights, and good trigger; I didn't inspect them for slide tightness.

I have no experience with a recent Tanfoglio, the older ones I have seen (and owned one) were not up to the Czech.

 

[WestKentucky]

So the tanfo was not rattling? Tight fit?

No rattling, seemed like it was loose enough to function but tight enough to shoot a 3” 10 shot group at 25 yards the first time I touched it. It takes a lot to impress me as I typically don’t like semiautos, and this one impressed me.

 

[TheDuke50]

Thx for all your answers!
ATLDave I googled the style of competition and from swedish ”fältskytte” it translated to ”field archery”
don’t know if thats correct.
But the pistol will be used for that and some other competitions.

 

[ATLDave]

Thx for all your answers!
ATLDave I googled the style of competition and from swedish ”fältskytte” it translated to ”field archery”
don’t know if thats correct. .

Interesting. Not a game with which I am familiar. Looks sort of like a cross between bullseye and steel challenge here in the US. Is it more biased towards accuracy or speed? If it's primarily an accuracy game (results driven by small differences in closeness of shots to some small point), then I would heavily prioritize a long sight radius. In the Tanfo Xtreme line, you might even look at their Match, which runs a full 6" in barrel length and, therefore, has a lot of sight radius. And I would plan on having trigger work done by a good gunsmith regardless of platform, and would go single-action-only.

But don't listen to me, I'm an American conjecturing based on a couple of google-translated pages about that game and looking at pictures! I'd try to talk to some of the people who play that game in your area and ask them about the gear rules and what characteristics matter most.

 

[TheDuke50]

”Fältskytte” is about both speed and accuracy. It’s very varying (different stations in one competition)
All three guns would work (I pressume) but i want some feedback on the guns before I pull the trigger.