CZ-75 SP-01 Shadowmate Canadian Edition - Trigger Spring Broke After Only Dry-Firing

[VooX]

Let me first thank all of the contributors to this forum for providing a wealth of information and rational discussion. As a new gun owner, your forum has been an invaluable resource to me.

Exactly one month ago I brought home my first gun, a CZ-75 SP-01 Shadowmate Canadian Edition. Just like the one Slavex has. As I am also in Canuckistan, and all gun related permits are a waiting game, I am still waiting to get my Authorization to Transport my CZ to my range. While I have been waiting to take my CZ shooting, I have been regularly dry-firing the gun to work on my DA trigger pull, my sight picture, my grip, and to smooth out the internals of the trigger. When I practice my technique, I pull the trigger deliberately. When I am trying to smooth out the internals and don't focus on my technique, I pull the trigger rapidly. Both in DA and in SA modes. I always use snap caps even though I know that a CZ-75 Shadow is safe to dry-fire without them.

I have dry-fired my CZ approximately 800-900 times in the past month. This evening, while dry-firing rapidly, my CZ broke. The trigger no longer resets after the hammer falls and I release my finger. Field-stripping my gun, I noticed that one arm of the trigger spring broke off. This really upsets me.

I bought this gun, at a premium price over most guns and other CZs, because I wanted a reliable and competition-ready gun that I could develop my accuracy and practical shooting skills with. While no mechanical device is ever infallible, CZs do have a reputation for being reliable guns. That mine should fail via dry-firing, before I even shoot a live round through it, does not inspire a lot of confidence in my decision to buy this gun. Especially considering I have not even dry-fired the gun a thousand times.

I was going to buy a German-made Sig P226 but instead chose the CZ-75 Shadowmate Canadian Edition because it seemed like an excellent choice for the IPSC production division.

What should I do? Should I get the gun repaired or should I return the gun altogether for a full refund and get another brand, like the P226?

I have already invested in an IPSC/USPSA holster and magazine pouches for the CZ. As they are still unused, I would likely be able to return them for a refund. I do like the ergonomics of the CZ but reliability is the most important factor in my choosing a particular handgun over another. The other important factors to me are ergonomics and accuracy. I would like to have a handgun which would be a good choice for the IPSC production division as well as being an accurate shooter.

Thanks in advance for your feedback and advice, I do appreciate it.

[45dotACP]

It is likely still the best choice as a competitive shooting pistol. If you have already invested in the cost of putting together a setup for the CZ, then to go through the process of acquiring another handgun (I am not certain of the process in Canada) would likely be time consuming and ardous. I'm a huge fan of learning how to repair and troubleshoot your own pistol for just this reason.

It would trouble me as well if my gun were to break a trigger return spring after only a thousand dry-fires, but frankly if I were to abandon all hope in a gun after it broke a single part, I'd not trust any gun. Better it break now, rather than for it to break in the middle of a match....

[VooX]

It is likely still the best choice as a competitive shooting pistol. If you have already invested in the cost of putting together a setup for the CZ, then to go through the process of acquiring another handgun (I am not certain of the process in Canada) would likely be time consuming and ardous. I'm a huge fan of learning how to repair and troubleshoot your own pistol for just this reason.

It would trouble me as well if my gun were to break a trigger return spring after only a thousand dry-fires, but frankly if I were to abandon all hope in a gun after it broke a single part, I'd not trust any gun. Better it break now, rather than for it to break in the middle of a match....

Thanks for your reply.

The process to replace my gun with another brand is not an arduous one.

I do like the handgun overall in terms of trigger feel and ergonomics.

I do have a gunsmithing video for the CZ-75 which shows a detail strip and reassembly. Because the gun is my first, is new, and I am a couple of months away from bringing it to the range legally, I have not yet bought the necessary tools to detail strip the gun.

[Leroy]

If you do a lot of double action pulls with the Shadows you will break trigger return springs, it is just a fact of life. Everything else on the gun will last a long time except the slide stop pin, CZ Custom recommends replacing them every 15,000 rounds. You will need to buy spare parts and keep them on hand, the trigger return spring is $3, buy a half dozen of them, replace as they break and replace before a major match. There is a newer TRS out there that is suppose to last longer than the older TRS which your gun may have. Cajun Gun Works also sells a 1/2 lb. reduced TRS. You will want to get a punch set from Cajun Gun Works or CZ Custom so you can replace your own parts.
CZ metal guns are a bit complicated internally and can be a bit daunting at first. Once you learn how to take them apart, what parts to keep on hand, and when to replace them there is probably no rival in terms of shootability from a DA/SA.

[GardoneVT]

Let me first thank all of the contributors to this forum for providing a wealth of information and rational discussion. As a new gun owner, your forum has been an invaluable resource to me.

I bought this gun, at a premium price over most guns and other CZs, because I wanted a reliable and competition-ready gun that I could develop my accuracy and practical shooting skills with.

The following is sure to set off a call to tar and feather me, but I believe -not quanitfiably, just personally-CZs and variants thereof are strictly range toy products.

After owning two Tanfoglios, which incorporate some improvements over the CZ including the trigger spring /plunger geometry, my stance is anyone intent on using them seriously needs to approach them like a 1911; have parts on standby, and be educated in installing them.HKs they are NOT.

Im not bashing the genre, but the limitations should be known along with the benefits. They're not piles of fail, but theyre also not Glock 17 Gen 2s.

[Alpha Sierra]

You can go through all the internet drama about "toy" vs "serious" pistols, you can wonder endlessly about reliability of other brands, or you can simply replace a known failure point with a known fix and never worry about it.

Cajun Gun Works (a highly respected CZ gunsmithing and custom shop in Louisiana) has a redesigned trigger return spring that is proven to last tens of thousands of rounds. They also have a redesigned trigger pivot pin that makes removal and replacement of said pin a piece of cake (while the OEM pin is a pain in the ass).

So, while you wait for your ATT, call David Milan at Cajun, explain your issue, let him recommend you which parts and tools you will need to replace both the trigger pin and spring, pay him for the parts (the advice will be free) and when the parts get to you, fix up your pistol and never worry about it again.

http://www.cajungunworks.com/

ETA: If you need some tutorials about how to remove the trigger assembly, or do anything else inside those pistols, just ask. I have quite a few resources bookmarked.

[GardoneVT]

You can go through all the internet drama about "toy" vs "serious" pistols, you can wonder endlessly about reliability of other brands, or you can simply replace a known failure point with a known fix and never worry about it.

What kind of expense is the OP looking at in time and money to fix this?

[Alpha Sierra]

What kind of expense is the OP looking at in time and money to fix this?

Less than $30 in parts and tools and between two to three hours of his time plus whatever it takes UPS to get him the parts. If you've opened up these pistols before, it should take an hour or less.

Note: re-staking the trigger pin should NOT be done when using Cajun Gun Works' replacement pin.

http://czechpistols82792.yuku.com/to...placement.html

[Alpha Sierra]

Because the gun is my first, is new, and I am a couple of months away from bringing it to the range legally, I have not yet bought the necessary tools to detail strip the gun.

Ummm, you need a hammer, an assortment of pin punches, and a few slave pins. That is it.

[GardoneVT]

Less than $30 in parts and tools and between two to three hours of his time plus whatever it takes UPS to get him the parts. If you've opened up these pistols before, it should take an hour or less.

Note: re-staking the trigger pin should NOT be done when using Cajun Gun Works' replacement pin.

http://czechpistols82792.yuku.com/to...placement.html

Thanks.

While this particular issue is hardly a major issue, in the aggregate my concern is over the long haul. In a few thousand rounds it'll be something else....and so on and so forth.$30 + time and labor adds up .