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CZ Shadow 2
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- Design Features
- Build Quality
- Recoil
- Fun Factor
4.3/5Overall Score
Specs
- Caliber: 9mm
- Action: Semi-Auto
- Capacity: 17 Round
- Weight: 2.8 lbs
Pros
- Recoil
- Weight to Reduce Recoil
- Customizable
Cons
- Price
- Weight to Carry
The CZ Shadow 2 is a specifically built competition pistol by Česká zbrojovka a.s. Uherský Brod or as we will call it in America, CZ. This Czech Republic company makes a number of guns, including the CZ Scorpion.
The CZ Shadow 2 is a stud pistol aesthetically and is THE most popular pistol in the USPSA Production Gun category.
Without further ado, let us dive into the CZ Shadow 2!
Ergonomics
The CZ Shadow 2 is a hefty gun. When you first pick it up, it feels great in your hand, but you’re definitely holding a heavy firearm, especially for a pistol. This is contrary to the typical gun manufacturer trying to go lighter, smaller, better, and faster.
It fits great in your hand, and the ergonomics overall feel fantastic. You can definitely tell that this gun is poised to be more along the lines of a competition-style shooter rather than an everyday carry.
While you probably could every day carry the Shadow 2, it’s definitely on the heavy side for a concealed carry pistol and I wouldn’t do it.
Grips
The grips on the CZ Shadow 2 are quite textured.
The nice part about the grips for the Shadow 2 is their interchangeability. You can get custom grips in different colors of your choosing, like the ones pictured above.
This particular model, has aftermarket blue Lok Grips with blue accents. Even the follower in the magazine is blue on this Shadow 2.
The rough stippling-like texture of the grips provides for a fantastic grip of the gun.
It definitely feels like you’re not going to lose your grip and that you have absolute control over this gun.
These grips are a major improvement over the standard aluminum grips that come in stock. While the aluminum grips look good, they are quite slick.
The heavy weight of the gun plays a factor in the controllability feeling of this pistol.
The front and back of the grip also have a great textured feel to them included in the frame.
The front and back of the frame are not changeable.
Magazine
The Shadow 2 magazine is a 17+1 configuration, Mec-Gar style magazine.
Inside the magazine, well, there’s some light flaring.
Overall, it’s extremely flat and easy to insert the magazine. The magazine well provides for a smooth magazine drop and insertion of the magazine.
The magazine release is a nice oversized paddle-style magazine release. While the magazine release on the gun is aftermarket and color-matched to the grips, the profile is similar to the stock magazine release.
Slap it with your thumb; the magazine slides freely and comes right out. No issues dropping the magazine with the magazine release. It is very well done.
Frame
The gun frame is where most of the weight resides. It’s solid.
The frame on the CZ Shadow 2 is very thick and stout, but it is very, very durable. It’s definitely a solid-feeling gun, and it’s immediately noticeable as soon as you pick up this pistol.
Slide
The slide on the gun is slim. Most firearms these days have larger slides.
It allows you to get a lot of grip on the slide to rack it, pull it back.
The slide serrations are nice. The only difference on this, whereas normal guns or normal carry pistols have, is that it’s very much a smaller slide profile.
It’s very thin. It’s not even a full inch, maybe a half-inch of room to grab.
However, you don’t have many issues grabbing or racking the slide, given the serrations, but it definitely does not have the amount of hand space or grip texture that a carry gun like a Glock, Smith & Wesson, Sig or other carry pistols would have.
Sights
The sights on the Shadow 2 have a carbon fiber front sight and an adjustable rear sight.
They are adequate and pretty much on par with modern Trijicon sights or anything without rear dots, just a single front dot.
I really like that setup. Not a huge fan of fiberglass, but at the same time, this works really well. It looks excellent in the sight picture.
Controls
The controls on any pistol will make or break how it feels and how it performs. Making sure you have fluid-solid controls on your handgun is essential.
Slide Release
The slide release is one of the few gripes I have with the CZ Shadow 2.
It is not quite in the center of the pistol, but it is tough to get to around the safety.
I don’t think anybody with smaller hands will really love the placement of the slide release.
If you need to release the slide, having a slide lock, you’re probably going to have to move your hand around the gun to pull down the slide lock.
The slide lock’s not too stiff. It’s pretty good, but keep in mind that you will have a hard time with it if you have smaller hands.
Safety
The safety is an interesting design on this gun.
It’s ambidextrous.
On the left side of the gun, a right-handed shooter is the most important side, as far as safety goes.
Clicking up into safe is extremely easy.
Pulling down from the safe position is extremely fluid.
It’s an effortless safety. There’s no pushback, and there’s no force.
On the right side of the gun, you have a flat-style safety that seems to work well. It doesn’t get in your way and doesn’t bite into your hand when you’re using that safety.
Hammer
The hammer design is nice. It’s got good texturing on top, is clean and responsive, doesn’t have much binding, and doesn’t have any grit to it.
It moves very smoothly.
Trigger
Being a double-action pistol, you have two different trigger pulls.
One is extremely difficult to accomplish.
The single-stage trigger has a little bit of take-up. Maybe a half-inch, maybe more like a quarter inch
Once you hit the wall, it’s very smooth, and then the break is very clean. It feels very nice. The reset is quite short, and then the take-up, again, is the same. Then, the break is very smooth.
There’s no hard break like there would be on an AR-15-style gun. It is immaculate and smooth, and you barely feel it happening, making for a very smooth-shooting pistol.
CZ Shadow 2 Holster
In terms of IWB holsters, there probably aren’t many options for the CZ Shadow 2. I can’t stress enough how the Shadow 2 is not a concealed carry weapon.
But outside the waistband, holsters are aplenty. My personal favorite outside the waistband holster CZ Shadow 2 holster is Harry’s Holsters Contender.
Shooting the CZ Shadow 2
Shooting the Shadow 2 is great. From the roller smooth slide to feeding the magazine well. This gun glides.
Once you start squeezing off rounds, you’ll notice that the heavy frame reduces the muzzle rise, and your back is on target with ease.
I’ll finalize this section by finding someone with a Shadow 2 and test-drive it for yourself. It’s a tough thing to explain. It’s one of those “you just had to be there” moments.
Final Thoughts on the Shadow 2
If you are looking for a range or competition gun with the least amount of recoil possible, I believe you should stop looking and pick up a Shadow 2.
It isn’t your EDC gun, but it’s going to be a gun that you take to the range every time. The Shadow 2 has a special place, and it’s the range or a match.
It’s an extremely effective gun, fits right into its niche, and doesn’t try to be a catch-all.
The Shadow 2 excels in comfort and accuracy and earns high marks across the board, shooting it 10, 20, and even 50 yards.
Because it excels where it should, it gets a 4.3 out of 5 stars in my book.
CZ Shadow 2 Review | Ultimate Competition Gun or Bust?
The CZ Shadow 2 is a specifically built competition pistol by Česká zbrojovka a.s. Uherský Brod or as we will call it in America, CZ. This Czech Republic company makes a number of guns, including the CZ Scorpion.
Product SKU: 91245
Product Brand: CZ
Product Currency: USD
Product Price: 1486.99
Product In-Stock: InStock
Editor's Rating:
4.3
4.3
Knocking a competition pistol for being too heavy to carry is a little counterintuitive. I’ve read a lot of reviews of this pistol and they all try to make it something it was never intended to be. This is a competition pistol from hammer to muzzle, and a great one at that!
I think you meant to put “slide release” rather than “safety” on the part where you said:
“If the safety is engaged, it’s not too bad to pull and release the slide.”
It’s confusing because right before that, you did mention the safety, but I know that you can’t have the safety engaged with the slide back. You can’t manipulate the slide with the safety engaged, and vice versa. If you have the slide locked to the rear, then you can’t engage the safety.
I just bought my S2 in July and used it all summer and fall in shooting matches, and I absolutely love it. I prefer the stock blue aluminum grips, but the only other ones I’ve tried were some Lok Palm Swell Bogies, and they were too wide for my hands.
Thanks for the comment, Richie! I was referring to getting to the slide release when the safety is engaged, since the safety sits right behind the slide release.