What off the shelf ammo do you like to use for competition with the CZ Shadow 2?

[kmam2010]

I am new to competition shooting. I have tried multiple brands of 115 grain and blazer brass 124 grain. I have found that the blazer 124 grain seems to group tighter. I am eager to try the 147 grain at some point. What brand ammo and grain weight do you recommend for use with the shadow 2 for USPSA. Thank you in advance for your time.

[GrumpyOne]

When I had to buy ammo for my Shadow 1, I went with Federal American Eagle 147

[robchavous]

Federal Syntech

Atlanta Arms

T1 ammunition

NC Shooter's Supply (quality reloads)

 

I've found my Shadow 2 likes 124s. I've tried 135s and 147s, but I also reload.

 

 

 

 

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[wav3rhythm]

I’ve had great luck with the Federal Syntech 150 and Suppressor 124 ammo in my Stock 2.

Someone told me that Federal has a new primer that is less sensitive while I was at nationals. Has anyone else heard anything about that?


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[MissionaryMike]

115 gr. Blazer Brass shoots pretty accurately, the recoil is extremely manageable (128-130 PF), and it’s cheap at around $.18/rd. 

[DesertTortoise]

Buy the cheapest crap you can find and pew pew pew. Seriously

[StandardError]

3 hours ago, wav3rhythm said:

I’ve had great luck with the Federal Syntech 150 and Suppressor 124 ammo in my Stock 2.

Someone told me that Federal has a new primer that is less sensitive while I was at nationals. Has anyone else heard anything about that?


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I heard similar and saw some shooters switching to American Eagle b/c they didn't trust syntech.

[vrwm]

6 hours ago, GrumpyOne said:

When I had to buy ammo for my Shadow 1, I went with Federal American Eagle 147

This is what I use when I don’t shoot reloads, shoots pretty soft and has  fired every round  with 11.5 hammer spring and 11lb recoil spring. 

[kmanick]

lawman 147 shoots a bit softer than the American Eagle 147 so I used to shoot that all the time for 147

for 124 the S&B 124 shoots very accurately and is reliable.  It's a bit hotter than most 124 but I got used to it and shot it 

quite well.

I reload now so I try to only shoot my own 147 rounds during competition.

For plinking on the range I still shoot Blazer,S&B AE, lawman, Aguila. As long as it goes bang I'm not too picky

[kmam2010]

Thank you for your help.

[Hi-Power Jack]

3 hours ago, kmam2010 said:

Thank you for your help.

 

What did you decide to use ?

[kmam2010]

Federal American eagle 147

[Dirty_J]

Syntech150's is a very nice recoiling ammo. If I didn't load my own... I'd shoot that in a heartbeat.  

[WxGuy]

Black Dot 147s.  Made in Alabama.

[Wrecks]

Syntech 155g

[Texas45]

Syntech 150, softest shooting in my S2 for CO.  Dot barely moves. I have a plate to put on for Production. I have used Atlanta Elite 147, had them left from previous gun, they are a little snappier. 

[alloutdoors]

I get the best performance (recoil/accuracy) out of 147 grain and suggest trying a few of the main suppliers...

[JGus]

When i reload i shoot 147 gr out of my Shadow 2. I have used both SNS and Xtreme. Both work great. 

 

However, for at least the last year,  i've been finding a lot of cheap 9mm 115 gr factory ammo deals for 16-17 cents per round. WWB, Winchester Service Grade, Federal Target, Remington, Blazer Brass, etc. These deals pop up once in awhile and i jump all over them. So i've been shooting various factory. I really haven't noticed a difference in groupings. And because it's 9mm out of a heavy gun, the recoil of one brand vs another isn't an issue.  Just find what's cheap and shoot it.

[Czechyoself]

Never ever use WWB in guns like the TS, TSO and Shadow 2. I know people do, but they regularly produce garbage that has an overly long case that won't seat in the chamber and their quality control has taken a major nosedive. CZ is well known for having a shallow "throat", i.e. a short chamber, since their guns are built to SAAMI specs essentially so it's not unusual to come across cheap commercial ammo that just won't lock up 100% because the cartridge is too long. Reloaders run into this also; you load for CZ, you keep the cartridge on the short side and keep OAL very tight. 

 

For plinking, Federal aluminum @ 18 cents per round, fairly hot ammo, is super reliable and well loaded. I also like steel cased "junk" ammo like Wolf or Monarch which tend to be underloaded and shoot soft as well, particularly in 40. 

 

For competition, hands down, no questions asked, dead on balls accurate and reliable as a sunrise, Federal / American Eagle Syntech 150gr. It can be found as cheap as 22 cents per round if you can find it in stock to begin with. It is subsonic by default, knocks down steel easily, doesn't splash or frag like FMJ (nearly every square hit on steel just pancakes and drops straight down), and meets 130pf. Also keeps your gun clean and doesn't poison you with their proprietary primers. I have run thousands of these rounds through my Shadow 2 and TS9, and have never had a single failure of any kind. The downside is, word is getting around and competitive shooters are making it harder and harder to buy. If you don't reload, it's the best you can get from a commercial manufacturer. 

[MemphisMechanic]

@Czechyoself the entire problem is that CZ does *not* produce chambers that accomodate SAAMI spec ammunition.

 

SAAMI was founded in 1926 by a group of American manufacturers.

 

The European equivalent is the CIP.

 

Edited November 20, 2018 by MemphisMechanic

[Rb43]

American Eagle 124

[Czechyoself]

45 minutes ago, MemphisMechanic said:

@Czechyoself the entire problem is that CZ does *not* produce chambers that accomodate SAAMI spec ammunition.

 

SAAMI was founded in 1926 by a group of American manufacturers.

 

The European equivalent is the CIP.

 

Thanks for the info 

[ClangClang]

I recently brought my Shadow to the range with a box each of Blazer Brass 115, American Eagle 124 FMJ, American Eagle 147 FMJ (flat meplat), LAX 115 FMJ reloads, and Magtech 115 FMJ.  I have not chronoed anything, these are only my subjective opinions. I shot a full mag of each ammo, and then stacked rounds in mags 3A, 3B, 3C, etc, and then staggered rounds ABABAB, BCBCBC, etc for the most detailed testing.

• The softest recoiling ammo was the LAX reloads (loaded very soft, probably right at the 125PF floor). However they are not reliable and FTF maybe 1/100. Practice ammo only.
• Next softest were the Syntech 150 and the Magtech 115. I was satisfied with the accuracy, repeatability, and consistency of both rounds. I have shot 1000-2000 rounds of each and experienced no failures that I can recall. I use Syntech for bigger, more important matches (to me) and Magtech is my ammo of choice for my basic weeknight club match. I did find one report here on Enos from 5+ years ago of someone who took Magtech to a Level 2 match and he went sub minor, but I have not chronoed it myself, but it's on my to-do list.  Magtech can be found for as low as 16.5 cents per round, shipped, so it represents excellent value.
• Next softest was AE 147 and Blazer 115 - about equal.
• Finally AE 124 was the hottest. It had the loudest concussion and most muzzle rise.  I found this surprising because so many people swear by it.

[MemphisMechanic]

26 minutes ago, ClangClang said:

Finally AE 124 was the hottest. It had the loudest concussion and most muzzle rise.  I found this surprising because so many people swear by it.

 

(1) At 1125 fps or 139.5 power factor, a 124 goes supersonic at sea level. Most factory 124s have a sonic boom going on that your 147s don’t. That matters a lot in report. (All my match 124s are just under the sound barrier at 135ish.)

 

(2) They don’t mind shooting it... because recoil barely matters. Ben Stoeger routinely crushes everyone at major matches with factory ammo. Power factor doesn’t matter much; chasing M class now I barely care what my ammo feels like. Back in C and B class I obsessed over finding the softest recoiling magic load. It all comes back to grip and trigger control; if you’re on your game there you’ll do well.

 

There’s not much difference between 128 and 138 power factor anyway. People just don’t want to admit that their expensive Dillon didn’t help them load magic match winning bullets.  

 

 

Edited November 20, 2018 by MemphisMechanic

[Kilrb]

4 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

 

(1) At 1125 fps or 139.5 power factor, a 124 goes supersonic at sea level. Most factory 124s have a sonic boom going on that your 147s don’t. That matters a lot in report. (All my match 124s are just under the sound barrier at 135ish.)

 

(2) They don’t mind shooting it... because recoil barely matters. Ben Stoeger routinely crushes everyone at major matches with factory ammo. Power factor doesn’t matter much; chasing M class now I barely care what my ammo feels like. Back in C and B class I obsessed over finding the softest recoiling magic load. It all comes back to grip and trigger control; if you’re on your game there you’ll do well.

 

There’s not much difference between 128 and 138 power factor anyway. People just don’t want to admit that their expensive Dillon didn’t help them load magic match winning bullets.  

 

 

I have shot a lot of different ammo since I started USPSA, took classes with a Ben and Frank Garcia. Just as you stated what I have learned after a lot of rounds over 3000 between the two classes with them, grip and trigger control. This is what I focus on now.