billypilgrim Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I bought a Shadow Target a month and a half ago from CZC and love it, it was and still is dead nuts accurate out of the box, and feels great in my hands (except I am still working on finding the right grips for me, the thin Al are just too thin for my hands, weapon hand fingers wrap around past the grip tape on support hand side). My only issue is that is very rarely will lock the slide back when I am empty. When I first got it, I took it to the range and went through 150-200 rounds, only filling mags to 10, so I would shoot each mag until empty and the gun locked the slide back maybe 3 or 4 times. I didn't think it would be too much of an issue, but last week it became a slight issue when I was shooting a USPSA match. It was my first time shooting production, and sadly was not doing too well on a stage. I got to a point where I instinctively reloaded, but did not know the mag I was dropping out was empty, so I loaded a new mag, pulled trigger, no bang. Racked slide, and it was good to go. If the gun did lock the slide lock I think I could have possibly gained a second because I did the mag exchange while moving and would have saw it was locked back. tl;dr Has anyone else had issues with their Shadow Target not locking the slide back? The interesting thing is if I load an empty mag and pull the slide back, it locks back every time. It is only during shooting that it does not lock the slide back. Any advice would be great! Thanks, -billypilgrim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfd147 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 The factory mag springs are weak, this is common. Replace them with the Wolff +10% springs and it should solve your problem. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racer377 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 When I was shooting shadows, I noticed the same thing. the problem turned out to be my thumb riding the extended SP01 slide stop lever. I put on the shorter 75 release and the problem disappeared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alma Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Even with the factory springs I haven't had this problem but it's possible. Since you have large hands is it possible that you are inadvertently depressing the slide release with your thumb or support hand? I have had to change my grip a few times to avoid this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Slide stop reloads suck! Use a barney mag, start with 11 in the gun, reload every ten shots and you'll be good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billypilgrim Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 I do not think that it is my thumb riding on the slide release. I just inserted an empty mag in, pulled slide back so that it would lock slide back, got a good grip and tried to release the slide. I could not get enough of my thumb on the slide release to be able to activate it while naturally gripping the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alma Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 But it doesn't take as much force to keep it from engaging as it does to engage it. You mentioned in happening in competition so it could be related to the way you came back on the gun, your force on the gun being different when on the clock, and etc. I had this exact same issue happen back when I was shooting a Glock 34. Modifying my grip helped but I also switched out the extended magazine release for a standard one solved the issue. Not saying that is an option here but just trying to help you diagnose. Since you are near your gun, does it seem like your current empty mags are able to lock back the slide now? If so then it is likely an issue that you are unintentionally introducing with your hands during live fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billypilgrim Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 Inserting an empty mag and pulling the slide back always locks the slide. I don't think it is necessarily something different when on the clock because when I first got the gun I took it to the range just to shoot it and it only locked back 3 or 4 times. Hopefully I will be able to make it to the range this weekend and I will take a video of my support side and see if my thumb could be actually depressing the slide release. I also have a stock CZ75B that has the non-extended slide release, can I just take the slide release out of that gun and put it into my Shadow Target? If so, I can take that to the range and exchange those parts and see if that helps any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racer377 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Inserting an empty mag and pulling the slide back always locks the slide. I don't think it is necessarily something different when on the clock because when I first got the gun I took it to the range just to shoot it and it only locked back 3 or 4 times. Hopefully I will be able to make it to the range this weekend and I will take a video of my support side and see if my thumb could be actually depressing the slide release. I also have a stock CZ75B that has the non-extended slide release, can I just take the slide release out of that gun and put it into my Shadow Target? If so, I can take that to the range and exchange those parts and see if that helps any. People tense up in ways they don't consciously realize when shooting. It happens to just about everyone, so don't rule it out. Yes, the 75b slide stop should drop right in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpankYa Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Load up a few mags with one round only. Shoot each right-hand only. Does it lock back? If so, then your left hand is getting in the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpredictable Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I definantly have this problem with my sp01 shadow, all due to taking an aggressive grip. Thanks for the info about swapping in a 75b slide stop, anyone selling one or interested in a trade? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alma Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Load up a few mags with one round only. Shoot each right-hand only. Does it lock back? If so, then your left hand is getting in the way. I have pretty large hands so in my case it was my right hand thumb on top of the safety and just barely touching the slide stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpankYa Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Load up a few mags with one round only. Shoot each right-hand only. Does it lock back? If so, then your left hand is getting in the way. I have pretty large hands so in my case it was my right hand thumb on top of the safety and just barely touching the slide stop. Do you shoot with both thumbs forward? Where's your left thumb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mespo Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I had this same problem when I first starting shooting my Shadow. As much as I didn't believe it was my grip, until I made a conscious effort to keep my thumb off the slide release while shooting, the problem continued. I did not realize I was letting my thumb ride on the slide release. Once I ruled everything else out, I realize it had to be the problem. Just my experience... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alma Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Load up a few mags with one round only. Shoot each right-hand only. Does it lock back? If so, then your left hand is getting in the way. I have pretty large hands so in my case it was my right hand thumb on top of the safety and just barely touching the slide stop. Do you shoot with both thumbs forward? Where's your left thumb? Thumbs forward. I will can provide a picture tonight. On Glocks I also switched my right hand thumb to ride on my left hand instead of on the gun. CZ is a bit different since I use the larger safeties and wanted to make a habit of riding the safety always to ensure it stayed off and to make it easier to shoot from cocked and locked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) When shooting thumbs forward with big hands the slide stop is a great place to rest your thumb, so my question is: why to you want the slide to lock back? The whole idea of stage planning is to make sure you reload before you run out of ammo. It seems silly to work on changing your grip so you can use the slide stop when no top shooters use the slide stop; why not spend that time working on not running the gun empty mid stage? I ground the nub off the slide stop so it can only be activated manually (long loaded heavy bullets have the tendency to make the slide lock open mid mag ) Edited February 28, 2014 by kneelingatlas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racer377 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) When shooting thumbs forward with big hands the slide stop is a great place to rest your thumb, so my question is: why to you want the slide to lock back? The whole idea of stage planning is to make sure you reload before you run out of ammo. It seems silly to work on changing your grip so you can use the slide stop when no top shooters use the slide stop? Why not spend that time working on not running the gun empty mid stage? Occasional slide lock reloads are a fact of life in production. The gun needs to work properly. Edited February 28, 2014 by Racer377 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Different strokes for different folks I guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alma Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Pretty sure any top shooter in Production/SS etc. would want a slide stop that functions. Limited and Open has enough rounds in the gun to get away without using it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I'm not going to argue who's preference is superior and I'm certainly not a top shooter in any division, but there are plenty around here to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billypilgrim Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 I have no real intention to change my grip, even if it turns out to be the cause of the slide not locking back. The failure to lock the slide back occurred when my stage plan fell through (stupid steel). It's difficult to adhere to a stage plan when you start missing steel and do not have a good sense of where I am at in my 10 rounds. Something I need to work on. It was my first production match... My whole point of this thread was to a determine if there might be a mechanical issue with the gun. So far, from the feed back, this does not seem to be the case. Next time I go to the range I will try a couple of the ideas suggested and report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) Load up a few mags with one round only. yep, I echo this idea. but I don't believe it's left hand in the way. it's the tip of the right hand thumb in most cases I've seen. mine had worked always. one weekend I pulled apart all my mags and gave them a really aggressive cleaning. the next time I shot some mags wouldn't lock back. I thought it was down to old springs. so I did the 2 rounds in each mag test and it seemed to change each time I ran through. sometimes a mag would work, sometimes it wouldn't. I found my grip had improved and the tip of my strong hand thumb was just ever so slightly touching the slide stop lever. I can almost guarantee that your problem is grip too. like other guys here I was damn sure it wasn't my grip. right up till I eliminated everything else. it was grip. Edited March 3, 2014 by BeerBaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smitty79 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Was at range with Billy. CZ 75 slide release solved it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfd147 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Grip problems then? Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smoothdraw Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Or learn how to count 10 :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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