What else have you tried? Shadow 2s are awesome.Originally Posted by Clusterfrack
What do you think the issue with the others were?
I almost always have to Goldilocks my CZ grips to get my hand into proper position and I’ve found that by going thinner on a TSO and wider on an S2 then makes the overall reach to trigger similar.
The TSO is probably my favorite.
The Shadow2 is so well balanced, and the ergos fit me like a glove. I think I’ve shot or at least handled virtually all the other models. The TSO felt kind of big and goofy to me, but admittedly I don’t have any significant time with one.
The older 75 models are great, but I strongly prefer the shape at the beaver tail on the S2 (and the P-07).
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
The Shadow 2 is an impressive pistol in feel an ergonomics. I can’t imagine wanting to shoot anything else in production or carry optics. It’s even my no preferred gun for 3 gun (over the STI). That said, I’ll stick with STI for limited and open, because I don’t feel it can take the abuse of high round count major PF like the 2011 can.
Since you can compare: Is the Alien as it comes from the factory more front-heavy than a Shadow 2?
Context:
I once shot a Sphinx 3000, which before was kind of a dream gun for me. But when I shot it, I did not like its balance - too front-heavy. I like the balance of a plain CZ75B very much - this feels well-balanced to me. I know, probably the split times with a 75B are a few hundreds slower, but split times are not everything for me. BTW: I like the old Sphinx 2000 very much. The best CZ75-clone on the planet for my taste. My best shooting buddy has one. It was made in Switzerland, unfortunately no longer. Very precise weapon.
Last edited by P30; 12-28-2021 at 07:50 AM.
So some context regarding reviewing what’s inherent in a platform versus what’s easily changeable.
Two of the cars we have owned (RS4 and GTR) were good cars but set up kind of “tight” from the factory with tendency to understeer. A combination of front toe in and tire width stagger.
Changing alignment and wheel / tire combination to be more neutral or “playful” is well within my “normal,” but I understand that a lot of people would want an out of the box solution.
For me, that’s as minor of a thing as putting a flashlight on a Glock or grips on an Alien.
My other perspective is:
When I assess balance of a gun, I judge based on the mag length and capacity I plan on shooting it with.
A P365 balances well with a 12-15 round magazine full. But is obviously nose heavy when empty.
A Czechmate is super duper nose heavy with the steel factory comp and regular mags. But balances very well with 29 rounds in a 170mm magazine… the way I normally use it.
I would say that an out of the box Alien is more nose heavy than a Shadow 2 but that’s not a negative to me as I hope to use it with 170mm magazines some day.
In the meantime, the LOK palmswell grips give it delicious balance with the 17 round grips.
Thanks for posting this. Just who I was hoping to hear from. And that seems to fit with what I've read elsewhere.
I hope you enjoy the daylights out of yours. I don't think the Alien is for me though.
@JCN Thank you very much for the answer!
In my case it's not so much the wish for an out of the box solution (I have a bit motorsport experience, too). I don't want to make the gun much more heavy in order to balance it. I like that its lower part, I mean the grip, is made of an aluminium alloy. But I understand: If one wants to optimize the Alien even more for fast split times - like a race car so to speak - then a bit more weight likely helps.
But maybe I'm splitting hairs. I should test fire one. But they are still very rare here in Germany. If I drive a few hundred miles, I can shoot one.
I wish you good luck concerning the availability of 170 mm magazines! Then you have the very best of many worlds! We in Germany are limited by law to 20 rounds in pistols. But that's not so bad.
Last edited by P30; 12-28-2021 at 10:46 AM.
It has become a bit quiet here about the Alien. How successfully is it used in dynamic sport shooting competitions in the US? Or any interesting news about it to share?
Why I ask: I've started efforts to get another pistol license as a sport shooter (here in Germany). The Alien and an Infinity 2011 (like this one) are my top acquisition candidates. This will probably be the last pistol for which I can get a license without selling one of the pistols I already own (what I don't want to do). Saved money for some time and would like to buy a great pistol for dynamic sport shooting.
Last edited by P30; 06-16-2022 at 11:56 AM.
It’s radio silence on competition Aliens in the US because no extended magazines, IMO.
In Europe where there are 15 round divisions it’s been very competitive.
In the US, it’s not competitive in any division because the US divisions are generally 20-30 round capacity for the places where the Alien would fit.
Local 2 gun match this weekend (PCC/pistol) had a competitor shooting a Tavor PCC and Alien with optic. He had one mag he was trying out a home modified M&P 140mm extension, but it wasn't entirely reliable. Another local/regional guy uses one pretty successfully in 3-gun/Limited with factory mags.
I can't remember what (if any) starting point Luago used, but I'm guessing it wasn't a clean sheet design. Hopefully someone can figure out an easily adaptable extension.
Anything I post is my opinion alone as a private citizen.
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