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New, Young Shooter and the P09 with a Kadet Kit


Andy9

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Hi All,

My son, 13,  has been going to practice and a few IDPA matches with me and the Air Soft / BB gun is just not enough. He doesn't like the recoil of my SPO1 and i am looking as cost effective options for him to move to the next level. 

Just looking at option of a P09 with a  Kadet Kit, looks very good, that way after he moves past the 22, he can swap the 9 mill slide back on and go. Then we can continue to use the 22 to keep costs down for practice and to introduce new shooters into the fold.

I am wondering if the P09 /  Kadet Kit combo is reliable? I have heard poor feed back and there are just not enough reviews out there to make a good decision. 

If not this what else could we look into? Would it be better to go into a 75 and that Kadet Kit? Cost and reliability are the top considerations, but i would spend more if the value is there.

 

Edited by Andy9
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I have the CZ P09 Kadet. So far it’s been reliable even with the cheap bulk 22 ammo. If you have put a lighter hammer spring in you can run into problems with light strikes. Outside of this I haven’t had any reliability issues. Also, like most 22’s I’ve owned it’s sensitive to ammo for accuracy. Better the quality of ammo the better accuracy.


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Hi Andy.  Your question has almost perfect timing.  I shoot my .22LR conversions 90% of the time while seriously shooting drills and training.  I switch to 9mm just before a match and for the match itself. I am typing a response below, but have so much experience with Kadet and Sig .22LR conversions that I don’t have time to communicate everything by typing it. I will PM you my phone number so we can talk if you want to extract all of the wisdom I’ve gained from my head 😁 I don’t know everything, but I do know a lot and am happy to share what I’ve learned so you and your son minimize your frustration and learning curve. 

 

I have complete .22LR conversion slide assemblies on 4 pistols and my AR and have shot over 7500 rounds through all of them.   Lube is critical to reliability  I use Slip2000 EWG (Extreme Weapons Grease) as my slide to frame lube.  I use it because it is a very light grease,  effective at preventing wear while maximizing reliability because it is not highly viscous like automotive grease.  

 

  1. I have shot my SP-01 with a Kadet2 (the all steel .22LR conversion slide assembly) for well over 5,000 rounds with less than 10 failures of any kind.  This pistol even has an SA pull just under 3 pounds.  I put a Dawson Precision fiber optic front sight on it. I shoot 40 grain ammo with velocity of at least 1230fpm - Blazer silver box and CCI MiniMags are the best for me.  Accuracy is amazingly good.  My Kadet2 to frame fit is tight - I need to push with just a couple pounds of force to get it on and off because there is an ever so slight interference fit. 

 

  2.  I JUST purchased a SP-01 Shadow aka Shadow1.  When I put the aforementioned  Kadet2 conversion slide on it, reliability suffered - I was getting 5-10% light strikes even though this Shadow has a heavier main/hammer spring than the SP-01 I discussed in #1 above.  The good news is that the round would ignite with a second strike if it did not fire the first time.    

 

  (3) My experiences documented in #1 and #2 above are fairly common because the dimensions and tolerance stack ups of the lower and upper pistol assemblies affect how well the Kadet2 is going to perform.  This situation has been addressed a number of times on the CZ forum, here are 3 important points from it.  

  A) The previous responder is correct - up to a 17 lb main/hammer spring may be required

 to eliminate light strikes completely.  My SP-01 has a mainspring down in the 11 lb range and the Kadet2 runs amazingly well on it. The Shadow1 has a notably heavier CGW blue main spring in it; even so it has had the light strike issue.  

  B) Per the CZ Forum, I made a very slight modification to the Kadet2 firing pin and that cut the number of light strikes by 60%. I am continuing to work on the Shadow1 to get the Kadet2 to run as reliably on it as the SP-01 in #1 above, 

 C) Cleanliness is also a notable factor with some conversions - some guys must clean their upper, in particular the mating faces of the breech and the back of the barrel, every 300 rounds or so.  

 

4.  I just bought my P-09 back from the man I had sold it to. I sold the P-09 and purchased  a SP-01 Phantom because I absolutely love the SP-01, but I then discovered that I do not like the recoil level of the Phantom. In addition, there is no .22LR conversion for a Phantom.  On the other hand, to me, the recoil level of the P-09 is notably less harsh and it DOES have a Kadet .22LR conversion kit!  The short term bad news is that I just received my P-09 Kadet in the mail this week and my first shots with it will be this weekend, so I cannot comment upon its performance. Yet. I will share that as soon a so have some. 

 

I am looking forward to sharing what I have learned because, as a Certified Armorer for 6 different types of pistols, reliability is my #1 criteria. Any firearm that does not function reliably is too frustrating to deal with. More importantly, it is really a rock, not a firearm, and I will not spend $500 and up on a rock. 

Edited by DCSigCZ
Added more helpful info.
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Hi DCSigCZ,

I appreciate you reply and i do want to connect!!

Thanks for wanting to share your experiences. I think that these kits will not only help my son move past recoil bothering him but also make for economical training.

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