CZ Shadow 2 Carry Model Review

The new CZ Shadow II Carry. Let’s check it out.

 

Guys, been a huge fan of the CZ-75. If you’ve been watching my channel, you know I have a number of different models. They’re just great guns. Just the ergonomics, the way it just naturally fits in your hand.

What I really love is the internal slide rails. Well, look at that. It actually fits down into the slide, gives it a very low bore axis, and they shoot like a dream.

But one of the CZs that I’ve had very little experience with is their Shadows. So CZ has just introduced their Shadow II Carry. This is very similar to the CZ-2 Compact, but there are some upgrades and really what make this a better concealed carry option.

Now, one of the things about the Shadow, and we’re going to look at some reasons why you would choose the Shadow over your standard Compact CZ-75. But the CZ Shadows have won a number of national shooting events, and they have really gained a huge reputation. And so I’ve always wanted to check out the Shadow, and now we’re going to check it out.

And guys, I want to give a big thank you to CZ for sending the Shadow II Carry for this review. Well, guys, the CZ Shadow II Carry. The Shadow series has really been a huge plus for CZ.

These are very refined handguns. In fact, the full-size version has won a number of different national championships, including IPSC and USPSA. So this is a really favored gun for competitive shooters, which translates into self-defense.

I’ll be honest, I have never owned a Shadow until now, and so I’ve been very excited. I’m a big fan of the original CZ-75. These were designed in 1975 when Czechoslovakia was communist.

And when they developed this handgun, they would not allow them to get a patent, but you couldn’t get the CZ-75s in Western countries. So these were very difficult to get at first. It kind of built up the legend of the CZ-75.

And those that people got ahold of, the one thing is the ergonomics. This is a very natural feeling handgun. I mean, it just fits into your hand and it fits like it’s molded.

It is a double single action, and these are some of the most copied handguns in the world. Of course, now the Glock clones, we may have that beat, but the CZ-75 is legendary. And so, of course, there have been a number of different models that have been introduced since that time.

And this is, again, a more compact size, and this is made for carry. Now they did come out last year or so with the compact model, and that has a lot of the same features that the carry does. But one of the biggest upgrades with the carry over the compact is it has a firing pin block.

And we’ll talk about that in a few minutes. But here is my CZ-75. This is the compact version.

It’s the PDR. I’ve had this for a number of years. I love this handgun.

CZ makes just really ergonomic guns. And then there was the Ramie, which was really small, and I believe those have been discontinued. We’re going to look at some differences between the two, but we’re going to talk a little bit about the shadow itself, and why would you spend the extra money for a shadow over your standard CZ-75.

The first thing, we’re going to drop our 15 round magazine, and then we’ll check the chamber. The Now this one has a decocker, and so we’ll just drop the hammer, and it goes into the half-cock position. And this is a safe way to carry.

It’s just like a revolver. When you have a double action revolver, you don’t have a safety on it. And the reason is because of that longer trigger pull.

Now one of the things up front, and we’re going to really get into the trigger. We’re going to compare it with your standard CZ-75. This has a much upgraded trigger system, and that’s very important for competitive shooters.

The one thing about the shadow pistols is that they were competitive handguns, and yet they brought them down to everyday carry. And so you have a really refined handgun that you can carry. Now the price is definitely more expensive than your standard CZ-75, but you have to decide, is it worth it? And we’re going to look at some of those details.

Now this is an aluminum frame. It’s 7075 T6 aluminum. It has the full shroud, and we have three-slot Picatinny rail.

It is optics ready, and that’s one of the big things with the shadow series. And this actually is a direct mount with the shield RMSC, or your Holosun 407K. Very common sight option.

And we have one-third co-witness sights. They’re not really low. They actually come up just a touch, but they’re not like suppressor height sights, and they don’t stick up.

I do like the sights. They are a three-dot sight. They are luminescent.

They’re not tritium, and of course, obviously they’re not just three-dot. So they do glow when you hit the light to them. They are dovetailed in the front and the back, and it has a cocking shelf for one-handed reloads.

I really like that on a self-defense option. To me, this is really mandatory. We also have lines that are just cut into the top of the slide just to cut down glare, but that is a very expensive proposition.

It does add some cost to the gun, but it really looks great. And I do like that you don’t have to order adapter plates and things like that. You can just mount that direct.

That’s a big deal. We have front and rear cocking serrations, and they have been deepened a little bit over the compact model. Now on the compact model, it is a safety.

So it just clicks off and on. And again, it doesn’t have that firing pin block. So a lot of people are kind of iffy about carrying it.

And it’s really great to see that firing pin block. I’ll show you when we get into the disassembly. But that way, when you drop that hammer, you have a much lighter trigger pull than you do with the standard CZ75.

And then in the cock position or your subsequent shots, it’s actually lighter as well. And we’ll test out the trigger pull weight. It has aluminum grips.

They’re very textured, and they’re actually beautiful grips. We have 20 lines per square inch on the checkering on the back and on the front. So this gives you a good solid grip on the handgun.

And for competitive shooters, it’s very important. Honestly, for self-defense, it’s important. You don’t want your grip shifting.

And the front and the back strap are what actually lock in that grip to give you that really control over it. But the side panels actually work to keep it from rotating in your hand. Also, we have an improved beaver tail that goes over the standard CZ75.

And so it kind of scallops up. The hammer has been cut back to make it more unobtrusive, and it has serrations. So you can pull that down and you can thumb cock it.

And again, we can just drop that down. And this is safe to carry. One of the chamber, again, the 15 rounds.

Now the original compact version is just 14 rounds. And you’ll also notice that it doesn’t have that dust cover that comes out. There’s no Picatinny rail, but they do make the P01 model in this same size.

And it does have one slot for a Picatinny rail. But again, it doesn’t have that optics option. You’re just stuck with what you have.

And we’ve upgraded these sites with fiber optics, but it does have the lines that go across the top. I mean, CZ is one of the premier companies that’s making firearms and very sought after, even though these have been around for a number of years. One of the things about the CZ75 is it has internal slide rails.

Now we’ll look at it a little bit closer when we disassemble. But you can see the rails are actually inside the slide. So it rides all the way down the whole length of the frame.

And that allows for extremely soft shooting, but it also gets the slide really low. And it’s one of the things that CZ is known for is the shootability. These are extremely smooth to shoot.

A lot of it has to do with that slide just going down into the frame. You’ll notice there’s not a lot of real estate up here with the slide showing. So these serrations are very important to be very grippable.

And they are very grippable. Actually, in contrast with the original, which has these really close serrations. Now you can get them and they’re fine, but the new model or the shadow is definitely a big improvement.

Because the slide fits down into the range, it rides really close to your hand. And this is a very low bore axis, especially for a double single action semi-automatic. And that way, when you’re bringing it back and we’re going to bring the hammer back, it just goes right over your hand.

Now you’re protected with your beaver tail and that’s fine, but that really gives you a low bore axis. And again, guys, it translates to the mass of the slide going over your hand, the higher up it gets, the more you’ll feel the felt recoil. The closer you get, it’s just physics and it will allow for much softer shooting.

Now the carry model will fit all of your compact CZ75 magazines. It’s pretty much the same profile. But when it comes to some of the other compacts, and I’m not sure about the P01, because one of the things about the barrel is it’s four inches in length, whereas the original compact model is 3.75 inches.

So it’s a little bit shorter. And there is a slight difference. It looks like maybe a quarter of an inch, so it’s not a lot.

And the barrel does protrude just a touch out of the end of the barrel. We have an improved slide stop on the Shadow, whereas on the original, it’s a little bit bigger and beefier. Again, you can get a feel for how much that beaver tail does come out just a touch.

It gives it more surface to the web of your hand when you’re shooting. The magazine release does come out somewhat, makes it really easy to get those mags. And we have a bevel around the bottom of the grip.

And so it gives you a little bit of a mag well to be able to slide those in. Also, the grip itself on the original is bowed out just a touch. And it’s kind of difficult to tell here, but it does come out a little bit more.

I want to make sure we have these lined up just right. But it does kind of extend down, whereas this is more of a flat surface with the checkering. And so this to me, it just feels better in your hand.

I’m going to tell you, when I pulled this out of the box, it just felt so natural the way it just sat in my hand. In fact, my son Seth was over here when we got it in, and I just told him to hold it. And he was like, wow, that is a great feeling handgun.

Now there’s a lot of very ergonomic options out there in the polymer world. But to me, the CZ75 is just one of the top ergonomic choices out on the market. Then with the original compact model, the magazine again is 14 rounds.

There is a bevel around the bottom, but again, it just holds 14. It’s flush fit. And these magazines do work in your regular compact model.

And of course, those flat magazines work in the shadow. So it just gives it an extra round, which is an extra round. Now we have these e-grips on here.

One thing I like is a lot of times with the polymer guns, there’s not really any choices to change the grips out. I really like that feature. There’s just so many cool options out there.

So these are VZ grips, they’re G10, but man, this makes this gun look incredibly sweet. These came actually with a rubber grip, and it was kind of plain, so I wanted to change that out. But I’ve had this gun probably for eight, nine years, and it’s been just a great firearm.

But man, it makes a huge difference when you switch it over to the grip. Just the slight ergonomics of the grip, it just seems to ride really well. Now you’re not going to get extra back straps and all those things to adjust the grip.

It is what it is, but it has a really nice feel to it. Honestly, I feel like this is the double single action of your Browning Hi-Power. And yet it’s not quite as thick as far as the grip.

Slide may be actually a little thicker. And that’s one thing as well, is the slide on the shadow has been beefed up. You can see one of the reasons is because when the optics plate here, just to rest your optic, it actually comes in.

So this has actually been extended out just a touch, and so it does give you a little more room too to grab those serrations. And then it kind of narrows out. But still, I believe it’s a little bit thicker even toward the end than your original compact.

Now the sight configuration has been changed as well. And you’ll notice that we do have just a pin that goes through to hold the sight in. Here we have it, but we also have a dovetail and the pins actually at the front.

And then here on the front, you can see with that dust cover coming out and then with the original, you just got that extra weight at the end, which is going to help with felt recoil. Now the trigger guard has been enlarged, but this has a lot of area right here that this just doesn’t have. It’s a more of a straight line all the way down.

And so while it is a little bigger, you’re going to be able to get gloved hands into the shadow a little easier. This comes out just a little bit to give you a little more room. And we have a lanyard loop on the original compact and with the new shadow, we don’t.

I know a lot of you guys are going to hate that. The finish on the original, and that also includes your standard CZ75, has kind of a baked on enamel finish. It holds up really well and it’s been great.

This is some kind of black nitride finish. It gives it a much cleaner look to it. And honestly, it’s going to be more corrosion resistant.

And guys, for just a size comparison, we have the Glock 19. This is pretty much the same size, maybe just a touch different, maybe just because of the beaver tail, but otherwise this pretty much is almost identical in silhouette as far as size. Now, of course you have the polymer frame and this is going to make a very light option, even though we have a fairly thick slide.

Now this is a gen three Glock 19. And of course with the gen five, that kind of changes the game some. But one of the things I’ve found lately is that I’m going more toward the aluminum or metal frame guns than the polymer guns.

And we’re seeing more and more metal frame guns. I mean, this is definitely a gun that I would carry, but I would probably carry this as a barbecue gun. Now we’re going to check out the trigger action.

We’re in double action right now. We’re at half cock, but here we just come to hit a wall. Now this is very smooth.

And then as we pull, it’s very smooth all the way to the break. And it’s a nice break. Reset right there.

And for a double single action, that’s a very quick reset. Now for single action with the hammer in the rear position, we have take up to here, little bit of resistance, and then a really nice break. And reset right there.

On the original CZ 75 compact, take up to here, a very much heavier trigger pull. And it’s not quite as smooth. And then we have the break.

Reset right there. About the same. Single action, right to here.

Yeah, just a little bit of stacking. CZs actually are known for really good triggers for a double single action. And this is not a bad trigger, but compared to the CZ Shadow 2 Carry, this is a great trigger.

Now let’s check our trigger pull weight with our Lyman trigger gauge and Brownells, 7 pounds, 7.3 ounces. And for single action, 3 pounds, 15.7 ounces. Weight on the Shadow 2 Carry, 30.5 ounces.

Glock 19, 23.9 ounces, or about 24 ounces. So we have about 6 ounces above what your Glock Model 19 weighs, and yet it’s going to be very shootable. One of the things about the CZ 75 in general is it’s a very pointable, well-balanced handgun.

This just brings it down. And just like the big brother of the CZ Shadow 2, it’s a phenomenal gun. Again, it’s won a number of national awards with the IPSC matches and also USPSA.

Big thank you to Fiocchi for sponsoring our ammo. All made in the USA. One of the biggest suppliers of ammunition in the country.

Also a big thank you to Lula Loaders for making range day great again. Okay, it was already great, but this just makes it nice. Guys, the Shadow, legendary.

A lot of people, especially guys who like CZs, love the Shadow. Of course, those internal slide rails are one of the big things about the CZ 75 design. Glides really well on the slide, gets a really low bore axis.

Man, it shoots great. The ergonomics are terrific. I mean, this thing just molds in your hand.

Now, the trigger’s been improved. There’ve been some other improvements. It’ll take any of your CZ 75 magazines and it’s optics ready.

You know, that first pull of the double action, it’s so smooth that it’s not an abrupt difference when you go to single action. That’s one thing about a lot of handguns. They’ve got that really heavy double action.

So when you hit that first round of single action, it’s a surprise. And it’s almost like, you know, but this is very smooth transition. Sights, really well done.

I mean, they just show up very well. Three dot sights. The top has that serration, so it kind of cuts any kind of glare.

Love the slide serrations. And I love it because they’re a little thicker. Because this slide fits down into the frame, it’s more important that they have a little bit of bite to them.

I’ll tell you guys, if you’ve never experienced the Shadow, or for that matter, if you’ve never experienced CZ, the 75 is just top-notch. And it’s been around for, I mean, 50 years. So this is just a great design and they just keep getting better.

I mean, smooth like butter. All right, for disassembly, we’re going to drop our magazine, go ahead and check the chamber. The gun’s empty.

We want the hammer in the rear position. Now you see those two notches between the slide and the frame. You want to line those two up and you want to hold them in that position.

On this side, you want to take your takedown lever and this little pin, and you’re going to take your magazine and just push it through like that. And it’ll give it just a little bit of an extension and then we can bring that right out. Now just take your slide right off the frame.

We have a recoil spring. It is a flat recoil spring. It’s all metal.

And we have our barrel and they are cold hammer forged. These are very well-made barrels. And again, it’s four inches in length.

Now the interior is extremely well done. We do have a little bit of relief cut here, but here is your firing pin safety. And so this blocks the firing pin action.

So unless the trigger’s pulled and it disengages your firing pin block, this cannot be fired. But the machining is extremely well done. And we have not shot this yet.

I am so excited to get this out. In fact, I picked this up today. And then here with the frame, you can see that you just have opened area.

Again, this is 7075 T6 aluminum. And then we have our trigger mechanism. And it’s definitely more complicated than your striker fire polymer frame type handguns.

And I’ve changed some safeties out and done some things with them. And it’s very doable, but it’s a little more complicated. And one thing to notice again is the slide rails are internal.

And so they’re all the way down through here. They don’t fit over the frame like most handguns. And that is one of the things and really the secrets of the CZ75 series.

And then of course, you can see your slide rails inside the frame. And it has frame to slide contact like crazy. I mean, it is all the way down and back.

So it gives you a very smooth glide with the slide in the frame. And that translates at the range. And guys, that’s all you need to do to field strip.

We’re just going to reinsert our barrel into the slide, our recoil spring and guide rod. And then we’re going to bring it over our frame. And again, it’s a little bit different to get that inside.

But you can see how it rides right in the frame. And we’re going to just bring it all the way back. Now line your marks up, and then you can reinsert your slide stop.

There we go. And it snaps right into place. Go ahead and rack our slide, drop in our magazine, test for function, and we’re back in business.

And guys, I’m going to tell you, that is a super slick, very rigid action. And again, it makes it a lot of fun at the range. Now keeping your firearms maintained and cleaned is vital.

Otis makes some of the best cleaning equipment out there. They make a number of different kits that are dedicated for different rifles, pistols. They also have Shooter’s Choice, which makes excellent CLP and bore solvent and different cleaning materials.

The Ripcord is one of their signatures, and there’s a whole system based around it. They are suppliers to the US military. So check out Otis Technologies, highly recommended.

And we want to thank Otis for being a sponsor of the channel. It does come in one of the soft shell cases, which is really nice. Double zippers, open it up, closed foam padding makes it really fit very well into the case.

And also we have a place for magazine. Now this obviously is also the same case for the bigger brother. In the top, we have our owner’s manual, which is really concise and has a lot of information.

Then a zippered compartment in the back. And we do have a cleaning kit and we have the federally mandated lock. And we have a lot of accessories for cleaning, your brushes, your rod, and we have the handle that’s built into the container.

That’s just a pretty cool addition in itself. Now the retail price on the CZ Shadow II Compact is $1,449. I haven’t gotten a price yet for the carry.

This has just been released, but I’m sure that it’s going to be that same price or right close to it. And of course, market price is going to be less. So what are some pros and cons? Well, first off, it’s a very refined pistol and also it’s a CZ75.

I mean, they are just legendary for being extremely ergonomic. The internal slide rails are huge for shooting and keeping a low muzzle rise, just helps with felt recoil. With the Shadow II, this is really based on a competition model that’s been dropped down to a carry size.

And that’s really the big thing. Guys, they want to shave off every second. They want to have a great trigger.

They want to have great ergonomics. And that’s what you’re getting with the carry model. A little bit longer barrel than your standard CZ75 Compact.

And the slide has been reconfigured a little bit and it is optics ready, which is a big plus for the Shadow series. I love the aluminum scales. The checkering is very well done.

The grip reduction, the expansion of trigger guard, the extended beaver tail. The hand fitting that’s gone into this is just excellent and really makes this worth the money. When it comes to your standard CZ75 Compact, these are running $799 retail.

So you’re getting this for really about half the price you would for the Shadow. But the Shadow, again, really brings everything up a notch. And really, Shadow’s one of those handguns that people really want.

I’ve wanted a Shadow for a long time and really the carry is my preference. If I was doing competitive shooting, its larger brother would definitely be in the running because they are, again, just legendary handguns. This does have the decocker instead of the frame safety, which honestly, I like the frame safety a little better because it does help with making it a little smoother trigger pull.

But that firing pin block is a very important option, especially if you’re concealed carry. So I really think this is an upgrade over the original carry, especially if you’re carrying that gun. This gives you just a little more safety feature.

It is optics ready. I love that it’s direct mount with your Shield RMSC or your Holosun 407K. So it gives you a multitude of different optic choices and the sights do co-witness one third.

One more con I would say is while the luminescent sights are fine, I would really like to see tritium sights, which that can be fixed because they do make tritium sights for it. And this does fit in your CZ Shadow 2 carry holsters. And the slide stop has been redesigned as well.

So there’s a lot of cool features about the CZ Shadow 2 carry. It’s one of those guns that really is a bucket list gun or a dream gun. Yes, the price is going to be up there a little bit, but that’s for you to decide.

And to be honest with you, that standard CZ compact is an excellent gun just in itself. This just takes it way up a notch. So guys, if you’ve wondered what it is that makes the difference with the Shadow over the standard CZ 75s, I hope this answers a lot of questions it did for me.

And man, I am a huge fan of this handgun. I still love my originals, but this just again takes it up a notch. And again, a big thank you to CZ USA for sending the Shadow 2 carry for this review.

This thing is beautiful.

 

Be strong, be of good courage. God bless America, Long live the Republic.

 

-Don