I wanted the P320 AXG Scorpion to add to my Sig Collection, but that didn't happen. I called all of the Local Sig Dealers, and even my favorite frequently visited shop was unable to fulfill my wishes. I was told January or February and I was not willing to wait. My wife took my to The Florida Gun Exchange in Ormond Beach and this was sitting in the case. I have heard great things about the CZ Shadows and I now know why. It is absolutely incredible.

CZ's are impressive, and inherently accurate, and good shooters.

If you reload for it, be aware that cartridges for man CZ's will need a shorter overall length, due to shorter chambers.

You did well!! S2O is an awesome pistol. Be careful, CZs can be addicting!!

Well if you shoot for shit you don’t have any equipment excuses to fall back on.

The “higher end” CZ’s are some of the very few firearms I don’t have experience with. I would like to give a Shadow or TSO a go one of these days.

Obviously great but am I the only one who hates that it actually says "orange"?

quote:

Obviously great but am I the only one who hates that it actually says "orange"?

Would you prefer “Grip Zone”.

The cool kids parade around with the metalic orange and blue grips. Those who aren't so cool, but really like to hang onto the pistol, use lokgrips. You can still order them to say "orange," if you like, or any other way under the sun.

CZ Custom is very easy to work with. If you find yourself in Mesa, AZ, they take walkins, and they're the bottom line on expertise when it comes to CZ firearms, and shooting them (and have the experience and trophies to back it up).

There's really nothing you'll need to do to the orange (TSO) to make it run better (except maybe grips of your choice...some prefer thin, some prefer palm swells). It's already there: tuned as good as it will get. It qualifies as a production pistol, so run it with 10 rounds and it's almost like cheating. There's really not much to add, though perhaps optics are an option.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
There's really nothing you'll need to do to the orange (TSO) to make it run better (except maybe grips of your choice...some prefer thin, some prefer palm swells). It's already there: tuned as good as it will get. It qualifies as a production pistol, so run it with 10 rounds and it's almost like cheating. There's really not much to add, though perhaps optics are an option.

The TSO (a SAO gun) is not the Shadow 2 Orange. I've only read on here that the trigger of the TSO is just phenomenal (less than 2 lb break), but the DA/SA trigger of the Shadow 2 Orange can definitely be improved on (say, by GGW). I wrote report on the Shadow 2 Orange >>here<<. Congratulations, OP, on a superb gun.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
The cool kids parade around with the metalic orange and blue grips. Those who aren't so cool, but really like to hang onto the pistol, use lokgrips. You can still order them to say "orange," if you like, or any other way under the sun.

CZ Custom is very easy to work with. If you find yourself in Mesa, AZ, they take walkins, and they're the bottom line on expertise when it comes to CZ firearms, and shooting them (and have the experience and trophies to back it up).

There's really nothing you'll need to do to the orange (TSO) to make it run better (except maybe grips of your choice...some prefer thin, some prefer palm swells). It's already there: tuned as good as it will get. It qualifies as a production pistol, so run it with 10 rounds and it's almost like cheating. There's really not much to add, though perhaps optics are an option.

Just so happens that I was in my gun club over the weekend and talking to a guy behind the counter. I hadn't been there in a while and I was surprised to see that they still had a fairly decent stock of guns under the glass and on the racks. He mentioned that they still had several brand new Gen 5 Glock 19s in the back room.

As our conversation continued, and we discovered that we had fairly similar tastes in DA/SA guns, my eyes landed on a few guns, and as luck would have it, a couple of them were the Shadow 2 Orange models. I mentioned that I had seen pictures and read reports on them so he went into sales mode and broke them out for me to check them out.

As soon as I grasped both of the models they had, including one with adjustable sights, the very first thing I noticed was just how aggressive the grip texture and back strap/ front strap texture was, and my first question to him was whether there were replacement grips available. He said he thought so, so thanks for the confirmation.

The other feature I didn't care for was just how far the mag catch button protruded, how aggressive the texture was, and its sharp outline, which detracted from the otherwise svelte feel of the melted grip frame.

Other than that it seemed like a well balanced gun with some solid heft, and machined/ finished incredibly well. Both the DA and SA triggers seemed very good, but with some room for improvement and my impressions very much mirrored what Q's range report impressions were.

quote:

Originally posted by zoolzoo:
Obviously great but am I the only one who hates that it actually says "orange"?

Yeah, that caught my eye as well. It wouldn't necessarily be a deal breaker for me, but it just seemed a bit unnecessary, gaudy and redundant...but I'm a bit of a less is more guy and I prefer less in-your-face marketing or billboards on guns...but, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, when taking in the artisan craftsmanship of the gun in totality I just can't get too worked up about it.

I can only imagine what a dream it must be to actually shoot. (although, after handling the SIG P210 Standard and Target models they had, I suspect the bar would have been set even higher for the Orange.)

Beauty and The Beast

I bought a Shadow2 3 yrs back when I was sill shooting some steel challenge. I was impressed bone stock.

Eventually sent it in to Cajun for a tune and new frt FO sight blade.It came back so well tuned and shootable I retired my 226 X5.

The CZ's can be most impressive.

quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:

As soon as I grasped both of the models they had, including one with adjustable sights, the very first thing I noticed was just how aggressive the grip texture and back strap/ front strap texture was, and my first question to him was whether there were replacement grips available. He said he thought so, so thanks for the confirmation.

The other feature I didn't care for was just how far the mag catch button protruded, how aggressive the texture was, and its sharp outline, which detracted from the otherwise svelte feel of the melted grip frame.

Lots of grip options. The sport orange has grips that border on painful. They're sharp.

The mag release is an extended one, and the orange pad can be removed, or the entire release replaced with a smaller standard, or extended length. The extended length works well and is easy to actuate with the thumb without shifting grip much, if at all.

I put LOK Palm Swell grips on my Shadow 2 and it transformed a good feeling grip to a really great feeling grip .

I recently bought a CZ TSO. The SA 2lb trigger is unbelievable. I can now say I am a better shooter than I was before. I guess the gun has something to do with it. I also ALWAYS like to have a holster for my guns even if carrying is not likely. So Wright Leather made one for my 3lb CZ with a 2lb trigger incase I ever have the urge. Hey, it does have a safety.

The lok grips are outstanding. I like the Bogies.

If someone wants the same great grip on a regular CZ 7, the shadow grips are the choice if someone wants the palm swell without the ridge at the top. The hand sits high on the CZ, and the regular palm swell grips have a thicker area toward the top of the grip panel. They can be ordered from Lokgrips with a thumb depression to make accessing the mag release a bit easier. Better yet is to order the palm swell for the shadow 2, which is thin and frame flush at the top of the grip panel, enabling a tighter, better grip and full thumb access to the mag release and controls.

Some say the bogies are a bit too aggressive, and will take light sandpapaer to the grips. They're not sharp, but the pistol will definitely not slip while shooting.

The pistol won't make you a better shooter, but it is accurate. Dead nuts accurate. If you're missing with that pistol, every error is you. If you're not, then the gun didn't make you better or worse. It just clarified what you were seeing.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sns3guppy,

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
The lok grips are outstanding. I like the Bogies.

If someone wants the same great grip on a regular CZ 7, the shadow grips are the choice if someone wants the palm swell without the ridge at the top. The hand sits high on the CZ, and the regular palm swell grips have a thicker area toward the top of the grip panel. They can be ordered from Lokgrips with a thumb depression to make accessing the mag release a bit easier. Better yet is to order the palm swell for the shadow 2, which is thin and frame flush at the top of the grip panel, enabling a tighter, better grip and full thumb access to the mag release and controls.

That's good to know, thanks. I got the palm swell bogies for my CZ75 and the outward ledge thing at the top bothered me so I sanded them off. They feel fine now.

quote:

Originally posted by Nick B:
I put LOK Palm Swell grips on my Shadow 2 and it transformed a good feeling grip to a really great feeling grip .

I was looking at LokGrips too- Very nice and the prices are great.

Congrats!! Great pistol, that DA is extremely smooth. It’s a too much fun.

The S2 Ohhraanche I think is a pretty sweet pistol. I actually like the triggers of the Shadow 2 a bit more than a few of their spendier models; I thought it was nicer than some of the more recent CZ Custom Shop creations, like the recently retired Shadow Target that Hobdell's shop did for CZ-USA to distribute. When we had both side-by-side, one would be hard-pressed to call it for the Target or even a draw; the Shadow 2s in any color grips were really that good.

Same goes for the Czechmate; I've shot a couple of those over the years and never really felt the love with its trigger when considering it's such a pricey handgun, especially in context with the triggers on the S2s being as good as they are for me.

The only thing I didn't like about the Shadow 2 stems from their early versions that had those wretched sloped triangular/trapezoidal bevels to their slides. So little positive surface to grip onto made them damn impossible to rack with authority and speed, even with my puny hands. Smartest move CZ made was to revise the flanks/edges of the slide to a more conventional rectangular form, though there's still not a lot of material to get a positive purchase on.