I’ve been wanting a Pardini GT9 for years, and finally saved up and ordered one a few months back. Since it’s just a range/fun gun, I got a 6”, for better long range steel shooting. Well, around the time I ordered that, I made the mistake of looking at a PSA email, and they had a SAO CZ Shadow 2 for $899. I couldn’t not order that, right?
Well, I finally got to the range this weekend. I brought a bunch of steel mini-poppers and set them up at 25 to 50 yards. With my P210s, I can hit the mini poppers at 50 yards, but pretty much anything else struggles.
First up, the Pardini. Wow, the slide on this is like glass, and the trigger is just amazingly light. I didn’t play with it out of the box, but it is adjustable. There is a tiny take up, super clean break, no over-travel, and a super short light reset that is barely perceptible.
Wow, this thing shoots nice. Recoil is a soft little pussycat. The trigger may be too light, multiple times I had brought out the take up, and was trying to clean up my sight picture, and I broke the shot, sending it slightly high. Wow. I’m not a Glock guy, so the grip angle is a bit weird, but, as with proper press out technique, I never noticed it the range. Shots on my 25 yard target were stupid easy, and I was probably about 50/50 at 50 yards.
If I have a gripe with the GT9, it is just that as the frame was designed to also do double stack 45, it is a bit thicker, longer than I’d like. But, at the range, I didn’t really have grip issues, and the wood stuck well to my hands, even in the heat. I wish the one trigger adjustment screw didn’t stick down into the trigger recess nearly as much. The front sight is also a bit wider than I’d like, I am looking to see if I can swap that out for something more precise.
I also broke out the CZ. This gun is 7oz heavier, and you really feel it, and need more breaks to let your arm rest. The checkering is also a tad aggressive for my liking. But wow, is that trigger amazing. Super crisp, positive reset, almost no take up or over-travel. Absolutely reference trigger. Plus, it takes widely available (and relatively cheap, compared to the Pardini) CZ mags, and there’s tons of accessories for mag extensions, holsters, etc. the sights are about perfect, narrow front sight with fiber optics, adjustable all black rear.
At the range, it was quite accurate, but not quite up to the level of the Pardini or my P210s. I could hit 25 and 35-40 yard poppers fairly regularly, but struggled at 50. But, given the price difference, it is an insanely good gun for what I snagged it for.
Bottom line, the Pardini is insane, and just about up there with my P210s. Mostly, it is just hard to compete with the feel and sexiness of a single-stack gun. But, performance wise, easily on par. The Shadow is also quite good, and I’m glad I got it at the deal I did, but not sure I’d pay full retail for it, either.
