ntphd

Hey folks, thanks so much for the great information! I should have mentioned gun type, but truth is I haven't decided. Maybe a 1911 (commander) or a CZ P-01. Some of you already addressed the 1911. I also should have been specific about carrying circumstances. Although I realize this will make the purists cringe . . . The reason I'm interested in the clip-style iwbs is that I would like to be able to look out of my car window, decide "yeah, I should go ahead and carry here," and then slip it and clip it. I'll check out your suggestions. If anyone else wants to add to the list, all thoughts are welcome. Thanks again.

Okay, I realize this question is a bit off-topic (i.e., it's not about competitive shooting). Nevertheless, I'm guessing a lot of folks on this forum have experience with concealed carry. I have a concealed carry license, but do not carry regularly. I'd like an iwb holster that I can simply clip on when I need to carry. Anyone have any experience this sort of product? (http://www.falcoholsters.com/eshop/gun-holsters/iwb-concealment-holsters/leather-holsters/93-iwb-concealed-leather-gun-holster-with-steel-clip-it-20s.html) It looks like it would be great for convenience. I just wonder about stability. I wonder whether that one, convenient clip would allow the holster to move around too much when trying to draw. Any input/experience shared will be appreciated. Thanks.

I absolutely love my Shadow, and now I've started looking around for a compact. Any thoughts on the P-01 and/or P-02? Sounds like a reliable carry gun, which is essential for me. (The Shadow compact looks fantastic, but it is a couple hundred out of my price range.) Is the stock trigger long and heavy like the stock SP-01? Is it just as easy to lighten by switching hammer springs as it is for an SP-01 Shadow? The CZCustom site describes the P-02 (which I can't find on the CZUSA site) as having an "omega" trigger. Any comments on this trigger system? Thanks in advance. John

That is because it doesn't really matter what ammo or projectile you use, as long as you don't change it. By the time you are fiddling with fixed sight heights you have usually settled on a load or ammo type and will generally stick with that or ensure any other loads you use have the same POI. Changing loads with fixed sights is an exercise in frustration. Find a load and stick to it. Hope this helps. Okay, perhaps I misunderstood the op. Sounded like his POI was two inches low with the old sights, and still two inches low with the new sights. Doesn't seem like load consistency has anything to do with it. I guess I should phrase the question this way: have you tried other bullet shapes and weights, and do you get the same results?

My Shadow was POA=POI with wwb. When I started shooting my reloads (147 Montana Golds [with VV N320]), they didn't shoot high or low (which is what folks told me would happen). In my case, they consistently shot 2 inches to the left. I ran a thread and mostly got back a bunch of question marks. Finally, someone mentioned that the ogive (sp?) of the 147 is so different from the 115 that this sort of result is possible. I guess I was very fortunate; it's a lot easier to loosen the rear sight and move it than it is to change out the front sight. With that minor adjustment, I'm back to POA = POI.

I may be completely off-base here, and given the technical information in the op (way beyond me), I probably am. Still, no one in this thread has asked about ammunition and what type of bullet you are using. I raise the point only because my Shadow shot very accurately with wwb. When I switched over to my reloads, using 147 gr Montana Golds, I was consistently hitting two inches to the left. I ran a thread and someone explained that the ogive (sp?) of the 147 is so different from a 115 that it is not unusual to have this kind of result. Anyway, good luck with this. I'll be following along because I have considered picking up a P-01 and I'd like to hear more about them.

Following up on Torogi's question, do you mean IPSC or USPSA? If you mean the latter, the SP-01 Shadow and SP-01 Shadow Target are both legal in Production division. As you'll read all over this forum, 75 Shadow (doesn't have the full-length, heavy dust cover found on the SP-01 Shadow) is preferable for IDPA because of the weight issue. The only problem with CZs from the Custom Shop begin legal would be something like the following: When I was in the market for an SP-01 Shadow, I saw a used custom SP-01 Target on sale that a guy had purchased directly from Angus Hobdell at a match. This was not a Shadow Target. The difference is that the Custom Shop had taken out the Firing Pin Block when doing the custom work. One would have to put it back in for it to be legal for USPSA Production division (i.e., the FPB is a standard part of [non-Shadow] SP-01 pistols, and is therefore required). This is probably way more explanation than you wanted/needed . . . Just wanted to provide some clarification.

Welcome. I know you said you are overloaded, but would like to toss in a couple more cents. Definitely rent a CZ from your range, since that is a possibility for you. I would offer a different opinion from the "shoot what you've got" line. Perhaps just an adjustment: if you are *comfortable* shooting the P89 in competition, get some more mags, only load them with 10 rounds, and shoot Production. Doing all the extra reloads makes for great practice. From what I've read in your reply, however, it looks like the trigger on your P89 may be making competitive shooting even more difficult than it needs to be. I've personally never shot a P89. I have shot some semi-autos that would turn me sour on competitive shooting pretty quickly, only because the triggers were never made for competition.

I just recently purchased an SP-01 Shadow, and I love it. As burningsquirrels has said, the 75 Shadow is more versatile for shooting games because IDPA has a weight limit. Since I only shoot USPSA, I like the benefit of the heavier nose. The design without a FPB leads to better trigger pull and reset. I've never heard any problems about accidental discharge (I assume from dropping a cocked weapon with the safety off?). Since you are going to be using it at the range, and maybe in shooting games (where dropping your weapon is strongly discouraged), I wouldn't imagine you'd have any problems.

Thanks, Gerard. BTW, I watched your dry fire video (the New Year's resolution). The shadow is the first DA pistol I've owned. After practicing your dry fire routines in DA, do you notice any problems once your pulling the trigger SA during a stage? I guess I'm just wondering whether practicing every pull with the heavier trigger comes back to bite you when shooting the lighter SA after the initial shot. Thanks.

Rats. I thought about buying a steel guide rod when I was ordering a few other spare parts from CZ Custom, but forgot to do so. Just out of curiosity, how many rounds did you get through before the factory rod broke?

I picked up a new, stock Shadow about a month ago. For the first few times I handled it, I noticed that I could not press the safety all the way up unless the hammer was cocked. (This was the case in several different trips to the range.) While doing a little dry fire practice last night. I happened to push up on the safety even though the hammer was down, and thought to myself, "that's silly . . . I know it won't go up with the hammer down . . ." And then it clicked up into place. Don't get me wrong, I like it better this way. Is this just a "break in" issue? I'm asking primarily because CZs are new to me. If the safety popping up into place with the hammer down is an indication that I farted around and broke something, I thought it would be better to find that out now. Thanks, John

Thanks. This is really helpful. If it's more accurate, the slight cost upgrade is worth it to me. +1 on cleaner bullets. I've been happy to pay a little extra for the cmj from MG (both 45 ACP and 9mm), for the same reason. +1 also on staying away from molys. I haven't messed with them in 9mm, but tried them out in 45ACP hoping to save a little cash. Whatever I saved was more than used up in extra time cleaning that coating residue out of my gun!

I don't want to take this thread too far off on a tangent. As I mentioned in another post asking questions about 147 gr. bullets and POI, I'm pretty new to reloading. Sounds like there's no question about the consensus for 124 gr bullets. I would like to inquire, though, why folks choose hollow points for competitive shooting. Do those of you who use them find them to be more accurate? As I recall from looking at the MG site, they're not much more expensive. If people find them more accurate, I'd like to know since I'm planning to order some 124s anyway. Thanks for your patience with these noob questions.

That's good to hear. When I bought the Shadow, I had a couple hundred rounds left over from stuff I loaded for a G34. At around 1.142 they did not stick when I did the drop-in-barrel test, but they also did not chamber completely. When I loaded to 1.1 OAL, I had no trouble at all with the rounds chambering. Only problem was what I mentioned in the OP. I'll have to use a few hundred of these for upcoming matches anyway. I'll see how they work out. Two inches isn't a huge adjustment. I'm only C class, so it's not like I'm lighting any of these stages on fire to start with. Thanks again, folks.

Thanks for all the feedback, folks! I really appreciate it. Looks like I need to get some 124s. Wish I wasn't sitting on 2K of the 147s . . . Anyone know if MG does exchanges? Guess I'll give them a buzz. Can't hurt to ask.

He is the one, the only . . . eerw

Sorry, that was a vague way to put the thing about the trigger. What I meant is that I've been shooting both a G34 and a 1911 for a little while. I'm still getting used to the CZ trigger. To clarify, though, it is just a stock Shadow trigger.

Okay, I thought I knew how to shoot a group . . . Today was the second chance I've had to shoot my new Shadow. With wwb, I'm getting normal group clustering. Nothing to write home about (it's me, not the gun), but decent clusters nonetheless. When I switch to reloads, however, I'm noticing something I've haven't yet encountered: The groups are relatively good, but they are *all* ~2 inches left of my point of aim. I certainly wouldn't call myself a reloading expert. I've only been doing it for about a year, and have spent a lot more time working with 45 ACP. Never had anything like this. I'm using 147gr MG over 3.4 Vit N320 set to 1.1 OAL (Fed primers, though I can't imagine that matters). If the wwb groups were more or less the same as the reloads, I would think that I'm just pulling left a bit as I try to adjust to the new trigger. Any thoughts / experience with anything like this? Thanks

Yep, I'm sure most of us have been there, done that, and bought that T-Shirt. I've had trouble now and then on long stages. I've walked through several times, planned my reloads, etc. Then, when the timer goes off, I'll pop into "If I'm moving, I should be reloading" mode. That can really bite ya on the boo boo if you're not carrying enough mags, have any seating problems, etc. Not to mention the time reloads add, even if you're doing them correctly.

Although I can't say I agree with the tone of some replies here, there's no question about how important safety is for a USPSA match. I'd like to give a big hand to all the great ROs out there who not only *keep* the matches safe, but even prevent problems *before* they happen. In my first local match, I happened to double-plug. I was watching everything very closely, but I couldn't *hear* everything clearly. When it was my turn, I did what I saw the other shooters do: I got into position, waited until the RO took his position behind me, made sure no one else was downrange, and started to make ready. As my hand moved toward the gun, the RO yelled "STOP." I heard that. I hadn't yet touched my gun. The RO stopped the situation before it became a problem. By my next match, I had learned not to touch my gun until the RO said "make ready." Unfortunately, this was the first time I ever shot a stage in which the shooter begins facing uprange. You guessed it . . . The RO said, "make ready," and I moved my hand toward my gun while still facing uprange. Actually, I was facing the RO. Again, before I could get my hand to my gun, the RO told me I needed to be facing downrange while I made ready. (I'm pretty sure he also addressed me as "dumbass." Realizing what a stupid mistake I almost made, I certainly wasn't going to argue.) I didn't need to be DQed to learn those lessons. I've never done those things again. (Okay, I'm pretty sure I've been called "dumbass" a few times since then, but that's not the point.) Had the ROs in those situations not been on top of things, had they not gone above and beyond, I certainly would have earned DQs in both instances. More important, I would have endangered the safety of others, and that's the last thing any of us wants to do. To all you ROs: thanks for doing what you do!

I would agree with all of the posts above. And I would say that you should continue to shoot the G19 in competition, *if you enjoy shooting it in competition.* I shot a G17 for a few months in production. Loved it. Read everywhere how much better a G34 is, especially with Warren tactical sights. Hey, everybody can't be wrong . . . I upgraded. Never did like the 34 as much as the 17. Really didn't like the wonderful, expensive sights. Eventually sold the 34 and went to a different platform (CZ Shadow). I say, shoot the 19 and have a blast. If that is your carry gun, all the better. The more you shoot in various competitions, the more likely it is you'll find someone who might let you try shooting a 17 or 34. If *you* like to shoot one of those models more than the 19, then upgrade. All else being equal, a longer barrel should provide greater accuracy. Depending on the matches you shoot, however, the degree of difference may not be all that significant. To be clear, I wouldn't want to shoot 50-yard shots with a 19. But I only shoot local matches, and I can count the number of 50-yard stages I've shot on two fingers. Have fun!

There are a lot of folks who consider shooting limited minor to be an act of someone who has lost the will to live. I think it has more to do with the kind of matches you're shooting. One of the local matches I like to shoot is run by people who *really* like to pull the trigger (i.e., lots of spray & pray stages, including stages with round counts approaching fifty). I don't have a good limited gun, but sometimes shoot limited minor at those matches just for the fun of going faster. (If you've ever had the pleasure of shooting a "wall" [22 standard targets - two rows of 11] with ten-round mags, you know what I mean.) I wouldn't do it in a major match . . . not again, anyway. But local matches are a different story.

Nightrod, This may not apply to your custom Shadow Target. I just got a Shadow (stock) recently from CZ Custom. I was really surprised at how heavy the DA pull was. Come to find out, the stock version comes with a 17 lb. hammer/main spring. I put in a 13 lb, and found a HUGE difference. The custom jobs may already have the reduced weight springs. In terms of a smith, I've lost count of how many recs I've seen on this site for EERW.

Just bought a shadow target and want to try local USPSA-mainly shoot action pistol. Curious on your power factor. Is that load based on accuracy with your gun-barrel twist-bullet weight and velocity? New to this but you're PF is way above what it needs to be. Would a PF of say 127 give less flip and better control if accuracy is there. Is it based on having your pistol run 100%. Ok enough dumb questions. Thanks Someone (may have been Flexmoney) on another thread made a point about minor variations in PF that has always stuck with me: the difference between 135 and 127 is surprisingly only a few feet per second. 127,000 / 124 = velocity of 1024 fps 135,000 / 124 = velocity of 1088 fps 64 fps just isn't terribly significant when you're looking at the overall velocity. That's why folks will point out that the difference in recoil is pretty negligible. FWIW . . .