CZ-75 SP-01 fragile and finicky?

[Irfan]

I've been tempted lately to get a CZ-75 SP-01 for serious self-defense use, just because I like metal frame pistols and this one could be carried cocked and locked. Also, these pistols are very popular in Europe within IPSC shooters. But I saw a video some months ago done by James Yeager in which he said that the CZ handguns are fragile... I'd like to confirm that by other firearms instructors like Larry Vickers, Ken Hackathorn etc. I guess that the most important feature of this pistol is its ergonomics, but at the same time these pistols may lack some durability and reliability when compared to some other DA/SA pistols, like Berettas and SIGs? Any input guys?

[guymontag]

I've witnessed and read about problems from some of the competition/tuned custom shop versions, but I've never had any serious breakages, any stoppages, or any malfunctions from my modified stock versions in over thousands of rounds and three pistols. I think some competitors and "tuners" run the brink of reliability and may blame the gun for it. Don't do that, or do it and realize the potential consequences.

The only weak part I've found is the trigger return spring, replace that every 10,000 reps.

[Matt O]

I put about 7k rounds through one a couple years back that I had polished myself and switched in a bunch of CGW parts. The only durability issues I had were breaking several trigger return springs. I did do a lot of dry fire at that time though and didn't keep track of my non-live fire trigger presses, so that may have had something to do with it.

While the TRS is fragile, I would not categorize the pistol itself as such. I think Slavex has had multiple CZ's with super high round counts.

[s0nspark]

I ran an SP-01 Tactical that had been tuned by CGW for about a year. No complaints. I would echo the concern to be preemptive with the TRS, though...

Overall I would not characterize CZs as unreliable... just not quite as polished out of the box.

[Talionis]

First: Carrying an SP-01 cocked and locked is dumb. One of the best features of the gun is their fantastic DA trigger.

Second: My own sample of one broke trigger return springs with regularity every 10k or so, broke a slide stop at approximately 25k, and cracked the slide at approximately 50k (after I sold it). It also developed ejection timing issues from wear on the ejector at around 30k. It was decently reliable if one kept up with preventative maintenance, and I wouldn't have an issue carrying one that I didn't shoot on a fairly aggressive schedule.

[scw2]

Overall I would not characterize CZs as unreliable... just not quite as polished out of the box.

My CZ-75 SP-01 has some rougher looking tool marks on the inside but it didn't seem to be in places where it would impact the functioning of the gun. Mine seemed to have a pretty nice trigger press overall, though I can't say I have compared it to tons of DA/SA type guns, or production race guns, and I know some people will polish up their parts or buy upgrades from CGW. I did break my TRS after a couple months of dry fire, but otherwise it's been running fine for me, including some dusty days on the range.

[scw2]

First: Carrying an SP-01 cocked and locked is dumb. One of the best features of the gun is their fantastic DA trigger.

+1 to this. Wish I had bought the decocker version instead. For my first gun the idea of a manual safety sounded great. :(

[jeep45238]

I had no problems with mine until I started trying to fine tune the dickens out of the trigger assembly and sear. That's on me, not the gun. No problems once I returned to stock.

The slide stop is a maintenence item as is the trigger return spring. Change out the slide stop every 20-25K rounds and you'll be fine, most get close to 30K out of them. I replaced the trigger return every 10 thousand with a chrome silicone spring as cheap insurance.


Think of it like a VW - nice end product, but you need to do the preventative maintenence to enjoy it more than a 1980 Chevy 1500.

[Edwin]

Keep the thing stock and you should be good to go along with the preventative maintenance. You could always wait for the new version that addresses these issues.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QT0gX448lsQ/Vsz1ZV_ln8I/AAAAAAAAtwY/wDUOvJFNa9A/s1600/yum.png

[Sal Picante]

My experience is that the hammer and sears are soft and wear out.
Broke a TRS ever other week on my dry fire gun. Once a month on my practice gun.

Love the gun, feels great, accurate, but it is retarded to have 3 pistols in order to keep 1 running...


Frames and slides last a while - it is the small parts that are goofy...

[M2CattleCo]

My experience is that the hammer and sears are soft and wear out.
Broke a TRS ever other week on my dry fire gun. Once a month on my practice gun.

Love the gun, feels great, accurate, but it is retarded to have 3 pistols in order to keep 1 running...


Frames and slides last a while - it is the small parts that are goofy...

A couple of guys I used to shoot competition with said about the same thing. They went from Glock 34s or 35s, to some super duper Benny Hill STI's (that never worked), to CZs, and right back to Glocks. Said it took two years to figure out the mess they made, then another year to catch back up to where they were three years ago!

As much as those things weigh, it needs a sling more than a holster.

[HRL]

Are these small parts problems also found in the polymer P-07 and P-09 pistols?

[jeep45238]

It should be if they're are the new omega fire control. Much simpler and concert between a safety and decocker.

[Talionis]

I think people are getting the wrong idea to a certain extent. Every gun has a parts replacement schedule, and honestly a 10k spring interval is pretty good. If you keep up with preventative maintenance you will be fine, especially if you don't shoot in the same volume as some of us. The numbers I mentioned were over the course of 1.5 years, for reference.

[StraitR]

Somebody needs help with her grip. I think Wayne or DB could fix her right on up.

6215

[Clobbersaurus]

I'm waiting for Slavex to chime in, he's been shooting them forever at an extremely high level. They dominate production division here in Canada, so they can't be that fragile.

I did receive a rude gesture from him the last time I made a joke about them being made of pot-metal.:cool:

[GJM]

I have five -- one for matches, one for practice, one for dry fire, and two to go back and forth to Matt Mink. I consider three the minimum, if you don't work on them yourself.

[scw2]

Are the factory sears/hammers of concern, or only if you work on the metal and polish it? I heard doing so might remove the 'hardening' and lead to soft metal issues, but don't know if that's a rumor or true.

[YVK]

I have five -- one for matches, one for practice, one for dry fire, and two to go back and forth to Matt Mink. I consider three the minimum, if you don't work on them yourself.

Quote from GJM, dated yesterday:

"#4 has an incredible trigger now. Must be close to getting a hammer follow".

[taadski]

Quote from GJM, dated yesterday:

"#4 has an incredible trigger now. Must be close to getting a hammer follow".

LOL. Number two was sooooo sweet when I fondled it the other month. About a week later...yep, back to da smith! :D



t

[taadski]

Somebody needs help with her grip. I think Wayne or DB could fix her right on up.


I hadn't noticed her "grip" personally. :p

But since it was brought up, what's wrong with her grip?

[Talionis]

I hadn't noticed her "grip" personally. :p

But since it was brought up, what's wrong with her grip?

Looks like there might be an air gap (might be light shining through at the web of the thumb) but other than that, it looks legit.

[Talionis]

I have five -- one for matches, one for practice, one for dry fire, and two to go back and forth to Matt Mink. I consider three the minimum, if you don't work on them yourself.


And to think I feel like a baller having a spare VP9 that I use as a carry gun/backup. I was definitely living on the edge with only one SP-01.

[taadski]

Looks like there might be an air gap (might be light shining through at the web of the thumb) but other than that, it looks legit.

Dat's what I was thinking.




Looks quite a bit like this one... ;)


http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo324/taadski/Mobile%20Uploads/FullSizeRender_zpsyrq5amib.jpg


http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo324/taadski/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1414_zpsykwjnrgd.jpg

[StraitR]

I hadn't noticed her "grip" personally. :p

But since it was brought up, what's wrong with her grip?


Looks like there might be an air gap (might be light shining through at the web of the thumb) but other than that, it looks legit.

Yup, Tal has it. Then again, she has a sort of "sassy" NRA Bullseye thing going on, in which case the grip deficiency probably doesn't matter. ;)

[GJM]

Dat's what I was thinking.




Looks quite a bit like this one... ;)


http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo324/taadski/Mobile%20Uploads/FullSizeRender_zpsyrq5amib.jpg


http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo324/taadski/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1414_zpsykwjnrgd.jpg

1) do you think she needs more finger?

2) what is that lever her thumb is resting on?

3) Taadski, any advice you can offer her on that magazine base pad?

[Leroy]

In regards to trigger return springs, the stock spring is shit and will break much quicker than the CZ Custom spring (heavier TRS than stock) or the CGW reduced TRS. I ran the heavier CZ Custom spring in the CZ and still run them in my Stock 2 and haven't broke one yet.

[GJM]

In regards to trigger return springs, the stock spring is shit and will break much quicker than the CZ Custom spring (heavier TRS than stock) or the CGW reduced TRS. I ran the heavier CZ Custom spring in the CZ and still run them in my Stock 2 and haven't broke one yet.

CZ Custom told me their TRS should go about 20 something thousand presses. My pistols also have their pin that makes swapping the TRS easier.

[Matthew]

I've been back and forth with sticking with my PCR for some of the same reasons mentioned. I haven't had any issues, and since I'm still relatively new to the pistol scene, i've decided to stick with it. My issue is that I'm sticking with it so that I can just focus on training rather than equipment. But, I'm continuing to warm up to the ergonomics, smaller slide, shootability, etc. I want to continue with CZ since I have mags and all that, but question serious use since they don't necessarily get the tactical timmie seal of approval.

[ralph]

I've been back and forth with sticking with my PCR for some of the same reasons mentioned. I haven't had any issues, and since I'm still relatively new to the pistol scene, i've decided to stick with it. My issue is that I'm sticking with it so that I can just focus on training rather than equipment. But, I'm continuing to warm up to the ergonomics, smaller slide, shootability, etc. I want to continue with CZ since I have mags and all that, but question serious use since they don't necessarily get the tactical timmie seal of approval.

Well, let's be honest about this.. All pistols are a compromise, all have their faults...Glock had/still has BTF problems, that are lingering from about the 2009-2010 time frame. Hk's and Beretta's are well known for breaking trigger return springs, somewhere around 10k. At around 20k, locking blocks on Beretta's can/will break, sometimes damaging the frame when they do. No pistol out there is perfect. If my PCR's slide stop last's 20-25k before breaking, I'll be happy. Trigger return springs for Beretta's, HK's and CZ's are cheap, slide stops, for CZ's and locking blocks for Beretta's are around $35-40 or so. When you figure up the cost of 20-25k rounds of ammo, you've probably spent way more on ammo than the pistol costs, and if all that happens is that you've replaced a slide stop, maybe a few recoil springs, and a trigger return spring or two, you're still way ahead of the game. Any pistol that you shoot and shoot a lot eventually will break a part. keep a few spares on hand, replace when needed, and drive on..

[s0nspark]

And to think I feel like a baller having a spare VP9 that I use as a carry gun/backup. I was definitely living on the edge with only one SP-01.

Heh - me too. I am actually working towards 4 VP9s. I have carry gun and one for training - hoping to grab a NIB spare and then one for fun that I plan to run suppressed with an RMR :)

I had high hopes for the SP-01 for carry way back when but that just didn't work out well for me.

[Sal Picante]

Regarding the people chiming in about duty cycles, etc... Yeah, springs and slide stop are generally easy to replace - the trouble is more the hammer and sear getting soft quick. The maintenance cycle for that is not so clear cut.

They're great USPSA guns when tuned: they're accurate, run well, easy to reload, etc. Hell, I did better with those guns than anything else! (I'm keeping my Accushadow - tack driver)

I just got so tired of having to fix them. Having an 8 month old really colors the situation: I'd rather spend the time with her than dicking with CZ parts...

[jeep45238]

Doesn't EGW make a tool steel sear? Is imagine putting in tool steel for those parts would help greatly.

[ralph]

Regarding the people chiming in about duty cycles, etc... Yeah, springs and slide stop are generally easy to replace - the trouble is more the hammer and sear getting soft quick. The maintenance cycle for that is not so clear cut.

They're great USPSA guns when tuned: they're accurate, run well, easy to reload, etc. Hell, I did better with those guns than anything else! (I'm keeping my Accushadow - tack driver)

I just got so tired of having to fix them. Having an 8 month old really colors the situation: I'd rather spend the time with her than dicking with CZ parts...

There's a a big difference too, between a guy using one as a CCW than those who are competing with them. For the guy who's using it as a CCW, I'm thinking the issue of replacement parts is going to a lot less of a problem. It seems to me, it's almost two separate issues, Those who are competing with them and running huge round counts through them vs the guy carrying it, whose probably not running a 1/3rd of that round count. For the guy carrying it, he'll probably have few, if any problems. For a carry gun, I'm thinking a CZ is probably a pretty good choice, It doesn't have BTF problems that some Glocks have exhibited, nor the accuracy problems that still seem to plague the M&P, If anything, it's just another compromise...

[Sal Picante]

There's a a big difference too, between a guy using one as a CCW than those who are competing with them. For the guy who's using it as a CCW, I'm thinking the issue of replacement parts is going to a lot less of a problem. It seems to me, it's almost two separate issues, Those who are competing with them and running huge round counts through them vs the guy carrying it, whose probably not running a 1/3rd of that round count. For the guy carrying it, he'll probably have few, if any problems. For a carry gun, I'm thinking a CZ is probably a pretty good choice, It doesn't have BTF problems that some Glocks have exhibited, nor the accuracy problems that still seem to plague the M&P, If anything, it's just another compromise...

Well said. I didn't mind carrying my P01.

[Sal Picante]

Doesn't EGW make a tool steel sear? Is imagine putting in tool steel for those parts would help greatly.

I think they did for the EAA/Tanfoglio. No dice for the CZ...

[scw2]

Hmmmm, how worried should I be about all the dry fire I do on mine? Is there anything I should be aware of or looking for when doing a field strip of the CZ?

[taadski]

1) do you think she needs more finger?

2) what is that lever her thumb is resting on?

3) Taadski, any advice you can offer her on that magazine base pad?


1.) No. Not necessarily, although she prolly has less finger on there than you do typically. ;)
2.) Ummmmm.....the safety.
3.) Not sure re the CZ 20 rounders, but as you're heckling would insinuate, I can definitively confirm that Sig Mecgar 20 rounders DO NOT fit in the USPSA production box. AND I'd recommend not having any in your range bag at majors either...ahem...just in case. Where's the middle finger emoticon, btw. :D



And just in case anyone just couldn't stand not knowing...


http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo324/taadski/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1413_zpsjbbc9bny.jpg (http://s388.photobucket.com/user/taadski/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1413_zpsjbbc9bny.jpg.html)


Making HK pro team members (not you Talionis) skeered and insecure since 2013. :cool:

[ralph]

Hmmmm, how worried should I be about all the dry fire I do on mine? Is there anything I should be aware of or looking for when doing a field strip of the CZ?

From what I've read, and what I now do, go get some #83 O-rings and squeeze the O-ring and put it in the back of the slide in the slot over the firing pin.. This will cushion the hammer striking the firing pin, and keep the firing pin from battering the roll pin that holds the firing pin in the slide. Snap caps will still allow the firing pin to move forward enough to batter the pin. The O-rings work, and you can get a package of them for around $3-4

[ralph]

I think they did for the EAA/Tanfoglio. No dice for the CZ...

I could be wrong on this. But didn't Angus Hobdell offer a hardned sear for CZ's? I seem to remember something about that and it's been years ago, But, I thought he did at one time.

[jeep45238]

I could be wrong on this. But didn't Angus Hobdell offer a hardned sear for CZ's? I seem to remember something about that and it's been years ago, But, I thought he did at one time.

It looks like Cajun gunworks offers a billet hardened sear and hammer with a setscrew to fine tune safety engagement.

https://cajungunworks.com/product/race-hammer-kit/

[s0nspark]

I could be wrong on this. But didn't Angus Hobdell offer a hardned sear for CZ's? I seem to remember something about that and it's been years ago, But, I thought he did at one time.

Cajun Gun Works does... An adjustable one too.

[ralph]

Cajun Gun Works does... An adjustable one too.

Yeah, I saw that.. Dosen't help me though.. I have a PCR. Besides I'm not too worried about it anyway, When it comes time to replace it, I'll get it replaced..

[Sal Picante]

Hmmmm, how worried should I be about all the dry fire I do on mine? Is there anything I should be aware of or looking for when doing a field strip of the CZ?

I wouldn't worry about it too much - If you notice hammer follow, consider it a warning.

This also happens way more on "tuned" CZs.

Actually - someone brought up the point of the roll pin. If you have a firing-pin block gun, consider the Cajun Gun Works solid pin. Super easy swap. The roll pin is shit and dies fast with a minimal # of rounds.

[GJM]

My buddies laugh at me, but I think my five gun CZ program works well for someone like me that can't rebuild them.

I have a dry fire gun.

I have a match gun.

I have a live fire practice gun.

I have two spares. This distributes the wear, and means my match gun is pretty low round count. Practice guns can go to failure and then get a trip to the Mink Spa.

Talk to Gabe about how many Glocks he has broken, including a slide last week. My wife has broken a number of them, too. These are mechanical things that wear out when you are dry and live firing them hard.

[s0nspark]

Yeah, I saw that.. Dosen't help me though.. I have a PCR. Besides I'm not too worried about it anyway, When it comes time to replace it, I'll get it replaced..

David did a work over on my PCR. I thought that included the sear but maybe not.

The PCR had the best trigger of the 4 he did for me.

[GNiner]

Talk to Gabe about how many Glocks he has broken, including a slide last week. My wife has broken a number of them, too. These are mechanical things that wear out when you are dry and live firing them hard.

I would like to hear about how many Glocks Gabe and your wife have broken and the approximate round counts. Particularly if the breakages were caused by dry fire (how else would you break a Glock slide, unless you dropped it?).

[GJM]

I would like to hear about how many Glocks Gabe and your wife have broken and the approximate round counts. Particularly if the breakages were caused by dry fire (how else would you break a Glock slide, unless you dropped it?).

My wife has broken the left rear rail on one of her main 34 pistols, deadlining it, and Glock replaced it. Broken three or four trigger group assemblies. Multiple slide stops. Gabe has been through many more, with equally good support from Smyrna.

[ralph]

I wouldn't worry about it too much - If you notice hammer follow, consider it a warning.

This also happens way more on "tuned" CZs.

Actually - someone brought up the point of the roll pin. If you have a firing-pin block gun, consider the Cajun Gun Works solid pin. Super easy swap. The roll pin is shit and dies fast with a minimal # of rounds.

I think you're confusing Cajun Gun Works with CZ custom, CZ custom has the solid firing pin retaining pin, CGW has a hardened roll pin, and according to CGW, the solid pins can peen the firing pin, causing it to drag and get light strikes. They don't recommend the solid pins.

[Matt O]

I think you're confusing Cajun Gun Works with CZ custom, CZ custom has the solid firing pin retaining pin, CGW has a hardened roll pin, and according to CGW, the solid pins can peen the firing pin, causing it to drag and get light strikes. They don't recommend the solid pins.

CGW first used a solid retaining pin. I've still got one in my original SP-01.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cheby]

FWTW - I broke two TRS's on my CZ Shadow (20K plus daily dry fire). That is all I had to do so far. I would replace a TRS regularly (Say 5K) and before any match that I care about. It takes 5 min once you know how to do that. I have just replaced a slide stop just in case. Honestly, I had more issues with my G34s - BTW I was running three G34's (One for matches and two for practice).
No doubt, it is way easier to fix/tune Glocks but I am getting there with CZs as well.

[cheby]

Forgot to mention that I did have a few issues with the sights. I lost the front sight once (Dawson ) and broke the rear fixed sight the other day.

[Urban_Redneck]

The O ring for dryfire works great, just don't forget to remove it- I once saw a guy in the mirror who carried his O ringed PCR for 2 days.

[ralph]

CGW first used a solid retaining pin. I've still got one in my original SP-01.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well,they must have changed their minds since then..On their website now, they don't sell them, and don't recommend them.. Hmmm,

[lightning fast]

I stopped tracking round count at 30k on my Mink Shadow.
So far broken parts have been:
1 TRS in dryfire, 1 dawson front sight, and had the rear sight come loose at the range one day.

I guess some might consider that fragile and finicky. I'm very content with it, and am replacing safe queens with more CZ products.

[Matt O]

Well,they must have changed their minds since then..On their website now, they don't sell them, and don't recommend them.. Hmmm,

Yes, I believe they have changed their minds, but David originally offered the solid tool steel FPRP to be mated together with his updated firing pin (http://www.czfirearms.us/index.php?topic=55988.msg365346#msg365346). I've broken an original gen firing pin of his, but my FPRP has never had any issues.

[htomeheb]

At this point My CZC Shadow has seen ~13k live fire, and easily 10x that dryfire. In that time I've replaced one broken TRS, and had exactly one malfunction that was caused by a bad round.


Also, at the risk of making myself seem like an idiot, an anecdote that I feel speaks to the durability of the pistol:

I was cajoled into the Shadow by a buddy. Prior to that I'd only ever owned polymer guns, and my typical maintenance/cleaning/lubrication habits would confirm that.

Got the pistol, was stoked, and jumped right in. I shot a few thousand rounds of factory ammo through my new gun and thought "man, this thing is outta control!" - I blamed it on my poor technique, made excuses that the gun was so different from all the pistols I'd learned on, etc. I liked my new gun, but I didn't. I was wondering why I paid so much for a gun I couldn't really shoot. I was having a hard time getting accustomed to it. I was also kinda surprised that the guide rod was getting peened so quickly... Chalked it up to "thats what metal guns do, I guess."

I loaned the gun to a buddy so he could load me some ammo and make sure it worked well. While he had it, he gave me his $.02 about the fact that I never cleaned/lubed it. Oops. I got the gun back after a weekend at his place and after some more practice and range trips with the new ammo I began to settle into the new gun. At the time I just figured my efforts were finally paying off, I didn't really think the ammo was that different. That is, until I ran out of those loads and went back to factory ammo and it felt like I was shooting +p+.

Then it dawned on me that I'm an idiot. The custom gun ships with an 11lb spring for those light game loads. Factory CZs have a 15lb spring for factory loads. Long story short, I let that gun beat the shit out of itself for ~4k rounds without realizing it. And CZC says the bit of peening on the end of the rod is really nothing to worry about. It's been going strong since, and I'm still slacking on cleaning/lubing it. If this thing keeps going for me, I'm sure it can't be all that bad.




.

[JTQ]

I just got so tired of having to fix them. Having an 8 month old really colors the situation: I'd rather spend the time with her than dicking with CZ parts...
Have you found the Beretta 92 more durable, or just easier to replace parts?

[jeep45238]

I've found the Beretta 92 to be much easier to work on/maintain, with better quality parts availabile at more venders and much easier to find cheap mags (assuming you're content with a 15 round capacity, the 17-20 rounders sell at a high premium in comparison). The possible execption would be a detail strip on a beretta G slide, Which I think is a bit easier than a full CZ strip including the sear cage/detents. That said, I'm not near a high-volume shooter as a lot of folks on the forum, and haven't messed with the P07/P09 or Omega systems yet.

[Slavex]

Okay, I am going to jump around a bit here,
First the pic of the new Shadow 2, that's a 17 round MecGar mag with a +2 baseplate (also from MG). that's the mag the gun is shipping with to places that can accept them that way. It's a gorgeous gun, I'll get the pics up to a host soon, but for right now they are on my facebook page (Robert Engh) if you want to friend me. The new surface treatment, which people are saying is nitriding, but CZ calls something else (can't remember it) is amazing. Super durable, no rust, blah blah blah. Very slick too. Watched a knife point get scraped around it, slides bashed into each other, and not a mark. Inside of the gun is a work of art, clean, crisp machining and no tool marks. Same on slide. it has a new sear cage, but it is not the Omega setup. Trigger, hammer and apparently the sear have been redesigned. Slidestops have had a bit of a fix as well, apparently the better the job you do with concentricity of the hole in the frame and tighter tolerances, the longer the stops last. LIke double or triple, throw in a shockbuff (the 2s come with them) and we should see some very long lasting slidestops. but they are still a consumable part.
The higher/deeper cut under the beavertail is great for small hands, I got a pic of Maria holding the gun and she can get her entire trigger finger on the trigger in DA without having to sacrifice hand position. and she has small hands as the other photo if my hand and hers will show.
The checkering on the frame is my favorite upgrade on the new 2, it's perfect in my mind. Not too aggressive, nor spread all over. It's in the right spots and done nicely.
Only real complaint I heard was that for manipulating the slide, the new contour isn't the best if you like using the back of the slide. But everyone on the CZUB team seems to use the front for stuff like that. I just use the top of the slide and sort of karate chop the slide for my manipulations. Sucks when it's got a target sight on it....
the new rear sight is awesome, I came back with 6 and have more on order, they fit regular Shadows, but you need a 7mm tall front sight for it.

Onto the regular Shadows, like GJM I have more than one. I have 6 now with 2 more (the new 2s) coming. I have a match gun, a back up match gun, a practice gun (all Shadowmates, the Canadian editions, which are incredibly tightly fit at the factory with polished chrome barrels). I then have my Steel challenge gun and the backup/practice Steel challenge gun and lastly my original Shadow which is now a .22. That gun has 165,000 rounds of 9mm through it at last count +/- 1000 and another 50,000 of 22. It ran an 11lb factory hammer spring for most of that, and that spring is now in my match gun. The backup gun has a Cajun 11.5lb spring in it as does the practice gun. The Steel guns have 8.5lb hammer springs. None of them have reduced firing pin springs, although the Mates is different than the regular, but still not quite like a reduced.
My match gun has 18,000ish rounds through it and backup double that. Practice gun is almost double again.
I do know that there have been a few slides break at the spring box, I've seen a couple that friends had (in pics) and seen more on the net. CZ says those are from a specific manufacture and they know why etc. All guns that experienced it were repaired, by CZ, regardless of round counts, last I'd heard.

Do they break? sure they do, just like every other gun. I've had extremely good luck with mine, and I think given the number I see in matches and at my classes, that they last as good as any other premium gun. they are heavy though, so for a carry gun I don't know. We can't do that here so I can't really offer a lot other than, I'd probably carry my G19.

[GJM]

Rob, excellent post.

[M2CattleCo]

My wife has broken the left rear rail on one of her main 34 pistols, deadlining it, and Glock replaced it. Broken three or four trigger group assemblies. Multiple slide stops. Gabe has been through many more, with equally good support from Smyrna.

I've seen two high use Glock 34s and one 35 break the rear rails. I think it's inherent to the long slides. Glock replaced all them with no hassle.

[GJM]

I've seen two high use Glock 34s and one 35 break the rear rails. I think it's inherent to the long slides. Glock replaced all them with no hassle.

Interesting, as I haven't observed this on the 17/19, but my wife and Gabe have broken rails on the model 34.

[GJM]

Rob, as I understand it, the new Shadow is a five inch gun. Any thoughts about how you like that?

[Slavex]

It is a 5 inch gun, and I really like it. Here are some pics that show the two slides compared to each other and also one with the new, longer, barrel, installed in a regular slide. Essentially it's an Australian legal barrel. But you also get the longer sight radius which is nice, add in the new, looks to be super durable, adjustable rear sight and I think it's a winner.

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