Pc1663 Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Thinking about buying one as a CCW but I'm having a hard time finding any reviews on it. Sphinx Compact reviews are everywhere but little to no info on the sub compact version. Has anybody shot one? Opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jh3g Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 According to TTAG, the full-size and subcompact will be coming to market this year. That explains why there isn't much info -- the gun is very new to the US market. http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/01/jeremy-s/new-sphinx-sdp-standard-sub-compact-pistols/ There are two on GunBroker currently tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGus Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) There are several Sphinx SDP Compact and SubCompact currently for sale on Gunbroker. Prices look fairly steep, but I know it's a premium gun. And a great looking gun. The cost for a CZ P01 or RAMI is several hundred $'s less. But I've never had a problem paying a premium for a premium gun. That's assuming it can live up to it's billing. Edited February 5, 2015 by JGus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twowheels Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 (edited) I've got a sphinx subcompact. I'm a big CZ fan owning more than half a dozen and wanted something smaller than my CZ compact but with a CZ manual of arms. In addition, I'm left handed so I was attracted to the ambi decockers. The sphinx line gets stellar reviews so I thought I would buy one when they became available. In short, it's a fantastic premium grade firearm. The machining, parts, fit, finish, and build quality is as high as anything I've ever seen in a firearm. It oozes quality and precision. It is a piece of mechanical art. While expensive, I feel that the guns are well worth what they cost. The grip feels great. The sights picture is nice although at some point I will try to find a shorter front sight. The gun is extremely accurate and reliable. The decocker function is perfect. I ride the decocker lever when I shoot the gun but have never accidentally activated it. The DA pull is smooth but heavy. The SA pull is very smooth with a short reset. It is about 4.5-4.75 lbs. The gun runs CZ compact mags fine. There are a few negatives. There don't seem to be many holster molds available. I haven't tried very hard but I haven't found a holster maker who will make a specific holster for it. It does fit decently in my sig 228 holsters. They are expensive. I haven't yet found anyone offering springs. I'd like to do a little spring tuning to see if I can drop the pull weights a bit. And the few CZ mainsprings I have tried don't fit having too large of an OD. CGW has a spring kit for the compact but I haven't asked Dave if he plans to offer same for the subcompacts. The subcompacts are very new and seem to just now be trickling into the USA. I'd like to see more aftermarket support. Hopefully, that will occur over time. I'd love to have TT gunleather make me a couple holsters for it. I'd like to install a lower front sight. And I's like to do some spring tuning. Edited February 6, 2015 by twowheels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhart123 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 As for aftermarket support, I hear CGW is going to be the official custom shop for Sphinx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pc1663 Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the input. I broke down and bought a Sphinx Compact SDP instead of the Subcompact. I just couldn't find any reviews on the subcompact. The Compact is nice. Really nice. I immediately swapped out the springs with the ones CGW offers. It made a huge difference in the DA pull, and a slight difference in the SA. The DA was extremely heavy out of the box and the SA really nice with a short reset. The spring change fixed the DA. I still think I prefer my CZ Custom SDP. The Sphinx seems to handle the recoil better and is every bit as accurate but it is slightly larger. I think I shoot the CZC SDP better only because I prefer the Heinie sights to the three dot (my Sphinx has the HALO night sights). The CZC SDP does have a better trigger, but that's not to diminish the Sphinx's trigger. The CZC SDP, after having the SRTS installed, cost me around $1350 compared to the $950 (spring swap included) for the Sphinx. Both money well spent in my opinion. If I could have only one, I would probably pick the Sphinx and use the extra money on a holster, extra mags and ammo. Edited February 9, 2015 by Pc1663 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhart123 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Pc1663, I think the Sphinx is softer shooting because of the built in recoil buffer in the frame. The nice undercut beneath the trigger guard might help some as well (higher grip). I am also thinking about adding a subcompact to the collection since the SDP is so well made and it is a nice shooter too boot. I have not seen any subcompact reviews (that were not done by the manufacturer) either. They are supposed to be commonly available anytime now so maybe the reviews will start to roll in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdave24 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 How does the sphinx sub compact compare in size to the cz rami? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhart123 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 That's a good question bigdave24. Hopefully someone will review and have a comparison in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhart123 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 There's a review on Sigforums by Prefontaine where it's compared to a Glock 19. The grip is just a little bit shorter than the G19 (you can get your whole hand on the grip without an outlandishly long mag extension) and the barrel/slide looks to be about 5/8ths of an inch shorter than the G19. I'd say the Sphinx subcompact is bigger than the RAMI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhart123 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I'm hoping the internals are the same as the compact in which case the spring set from CGW should work in the subcompact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhart123 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Got my Sphinx subcompact last night. I don't think the CGW spring kit will work though as it appears that the hammer spring will be shorter and the firing pin is shorter as well. Nice crisp SA trigger with a very short reset on it though and the DA trigger is not so heavy I can't work it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjflannery Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Hi...just purchased the Sphinx Sub Compact. Immediate impressions were favorable. I put about 300 rounds down range and let my buddy shoot it. It worked perfectly. When I pulled it out of my bag to clean it, the front sight was missing. No clue what happened to it. I called Kriss this morning and they don't have "approval" to sell the front sight and couldn't recommend an alternative solution. No idea on when the issue will be resolve. Two appeals for help. 1) Have any other subcompact owners had an issue with the front sight? 2) Does anyone have any suggestions on a replacement? Thanks Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhart123 Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 (edited) Are they HALO sights or metal/dot front sight? Did the whole sight fall off or did an insert fall out of the sight? Did you buy it new? If so it should be warrantied? Edited May 27, 2015 by rhart123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjflannery Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Sorry for the delay. I ended up sending the slide back and they immediately (like within 5 days I had it back) replaced the sight. Still don't know why it happened, but it seems fine after another 300 rounds or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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