Shadow systems “glock”

[love2fishnshoot]

Is anyone running a shadow systems gun in either the mr920 or dr920 for carry optics? Debating on getting one since they look good to go. Just need an optic. Was wondering how the trigger is also. Saw a dr920P getting released after shot show and want one of those too 

[lgh]

If you do a search, you will find thread(s) on the subject. I like mine (it's for carry) although the trigger is too mushy compared to a Gen5. I The Shadows do not take Gen 5 parts. The slide is milled for a low lying optic which is nice. RMR foot print.

[fbzero]

On 1/23/2022 at 1:05 PM, love2fishnshoot said:

Is anyone running a shadow systems gun in either the mr920 or dr920 for carry optics? Debating on getting one since they look good to go. Just need an optic. Was wondering how the trigger is also. Saw a dr920P getting released after shot show and want one of those too 

I have a MR920 that I carry on occasion with one of the PA ACSS red dots on it.  The trigger breaks lighter than a stock Glock, but as lgh mentioned, feels a bit mushier.  It does smooth out some after a few hundred rounds.  All in all, I like it quite a bit and seem to shoot it considerably better than a Glock.  I shoot 2011's more than Glocks, so I suspect this has something to do with being able to replicate that grip angle on the MR920.

[love2fishnshoot]

So far sounds like a promising one for carry optics and range fun. I have a spare DK trigger I can throw in it

[matteekay]

On 1/24/2022 at 5:41 AM, lgh said:

If you do a search, you will find thread(s) on the subject. I like mine (it's for carry) although the trigger is too mushy compared to a Gen5. I The Shadows do not take Gen 5 parts. The slide is milled for a low lying optic which is nice. RMR foot print.

 

I think the barrels are Gen 5 (at least on the MR920L) according to the site. I recently picked one up and really like it; feels like a Glock with all the upgrades you'd want to add to it.

[bulldog009]

I had the chance to handle a DR920 and a Zev OZ9 yesterday, and they are both nice, but if I was spending the money, I'd go with the Zev. But the Shadow Systems products are a great value for the money. I got to handle some of what were the original batch releases they did several years ago, my LGS was one of their original distributors here in Dallas (Shadow Systems is based in Plano, TX, just north of Dallas). They have come a long way since then and make a pretty good product. 

As some others have mentioned, the trigger is not as good as it could be. I'm very interested in the DR920P they released at Shot Show, the integrally compensated DR920 with a shorter slide and a "nested" compensator. The price looks very competitive, I just hope it makes it to market when they say it will. 

[Desk-Jockey]

Just my $0.02.   I started shifting to dots for carry and got a bit frustrated by MOS pricing and availability.   I read some good reviews and so  I picked up four of SS guns last summer.  Two were going to be carry guns and one was carry optics and the other production.  My thinking it is a glock with most of the mods I make straight out of the box and cheaper.  Fit and finish looked good on the first one so I picked up the others before I shot #1 more than 50 rounds.    I noticed that there were some oem glock parts on a couple of my SS guns.  I confirmed that SS was having some parts shortage issues due to supply chain etc. so they mixed and matched.   I liked the optics mount a lot.  Easy to install and no new sights for an rmr or holosun.   
 

Meanwhile, #1 started misbehaving about 150 rounds in. Blew a couple stages on a match. Trigger got very gritty and then stopped resetting about every third round.  Live round in the chamber, tigger all the way to the rear and non functional. After a bit of digging, it seems like SS had some bad  parts batches as they ramped up production.  Triggers, extractors and some issues with mag release buttons that dumped mags upon recoil.  Their opening bid was shoot it some more.   I said I wasn’t wasting the ammo.   They offered to send me some parts so if could figure it out.   I opted to send it back to shadow and said I don’t want it back until it shoots like it should.  Overall CS was OK.  Communication was pretty good.  I did have to remind them to respond a couple times.  They replaced the trigger and said it was fine.   I said - take your time and make sure it is 100%.   They went through the gun again found the slide firing pin channel was drilled so far out of spec that they replaced the slide.  Two major flaws with that gun.   it has shot fine since I got it back but it undermined my confidence in carrying them and I have since bought a p320 for carry optics.
 

 I am still on the fence with what to do.  I usually will put 500-1000 rounds through a gun before I will call it good for carrying or home defense.    With ammo availability being what it is today I am having a hard time justifying dropping a $$$ to see if these things work or not.  One of my other DR920s starting having the gritty trigger thing last range trip.   Now I am suspect of the whole bunch and don’t feel like wasting the ammo and time to find out if the other three are duds.  I am still putting rounds through #1 to try to get 500 or so down the tube.  Temped to go back to stock glocks and call it a day.  
 

overall, I really wanted them to be my answer to glock but I don’t keep “problem” guns around for long and I don’t shoot glock because they are they best shooting guns, I shoot them because they go boom when I want them to.  

[love2fishnshoot]

Thanks for the write up. I have an extra DK trigger laying around so I will be putting it into the DR920 once I decide to order it. Hate that you had issues with any of them though

[MuffintopMarksman]

Seen a couple guys running them locally. They love them and no function issues. With some of their new stuff coming out, I’m actually starting to lean Shadow Systems more than Zev; seems like their cost is more appropriate for what you get (not knocking the OZ9 concept). 
 

I’m not the biggest Glock fan in the world, for the same reason a diet of nothing but grilled chicken loses its appeal rather quickly. However, Shadow Systems is slowly warming me to the idea of replacing my 17 gen 5 so I can look cooler while I miss. 

[Nathanb]

I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by how good they are. I picked up an mr920 for carry use. 

[lgh]

I put a Johnny G 5.5std connector in my SS. Its an improvement over the rolling break in the stock pistol. No reduction in take up but a definite wall and break. Not a light trigger but it's what I want for EDC.

 

I'll be curious to know what others do to their Shadow Systems Glocks if they use them as game guns. I have an eye on the full size. At about 1K they have everything I would otherwise have to do on my Glocks except an acceptable trigger.

[Lingering]

SS Trigger is mildly better than a stock Glock. I think still inadequate for competition, but adequate for carry. My Glock trigger I customized per Frank Proctor from WOTG has a great pull I'd consider reasonable. 

 

My main issue is QC seems to be a problem. I just got an MR920 and put it through the 150 round break-in today. My barrel is scratched to hell (either a finish issue or there are some burrs in the slide somewhere) and had 15-20 FTFs using Fiocchi 115gr. May have just gotten a lemon but extremely disappointed in my experience thus far. 

[love2fishnshoot]

Well I ended up putting this purchase on hold since I was able to get a canik rival for a deal so I’ll be shooting it in co now 

[matteekay]

I've been shooting my MR920L in a few matches and I really like it. I swapped in the Timney Alpha trigger; the break isn't quite as clean as it is in a Gen 3 frame but it's really nice.

 

My only issue was point of impact using the irons. At 11-12 yards I was hitting 5-6" high. I took out the threaded barrel and installed a Grey Ghost non-threaded barrel I had and suddenly my POA and POI are perfectly aligned. I use a relatively slow 147gr bullet so my guess is the rounds weren't fully out of the muzzle when the gun was beginning to recoil, leading to higher, sloppier groups. Never run into this before but the gun is running like a sewing machine after the barrel swap so I'll take it.

[floater]

Can't recall what one I shot, but it was not worth the cost in my mind over a factory Glock.

[usmc1974]

I have tried them all and now,  I shoot in the original glock 19 Generation 5.  I am sure there will be another new wonderful, outstanding better then Glock,  Glock.   in the near future. And a ton of people will lay out the cash for 1. 

[lgh]

14 hours ago, usmc1974 said:

I shoot in the original glock 19 Generation 5.  I am sure there will be another new wonderful, outstanding better then Glock,  Glock.

It might make sense for you but not for everyone. To make them work for me, all my Glocks get grip reductions, new sights, and usually a new connector. My 43x costs me well over $1K by the time I was done with it and that is with irons. Good thing I like it. But I won't be getting rid of the SS any time soon only to have to replace it with something which is, ultimately, more expensive. OTOH, if a stock Glock was working for me I wouldn't get a SS, Zev, or anything else.

[usmc1974]

Just a thought.

https://www.usa-gun-shop.com/the-best-custom-glocks-in-the-world/

[matteekay]

2 hours ago, lgh said:

It might make sense for you but not for everyone. To make them work for me, all my Glocks get grip reductions, new sights, and usually a new connector. My 43x costs me well over $1K by the time I was done with it and that is with irons. Good thing I like it. But I won't be getting rid of the SS any time soon only to have to replace it with something which is, ultimately, more expensive. OTOH, if a stock Glock was working for me I wouldn't get a SS, Zev, or anything else.

 

This is how I wound up with one. If you're going to run it bone stock and the frame fits your hand well, a plain Glock is the more economical option. If you're going to modify the grip, mill the slid, add an optic, add a threaded barrel, etc, the Shadow Systems is actually a better choice.

 

Having said that, I did drop a Timney Alpha trigger in mine, and I'm slowly gravitating toward my Gen 3 G19 (even though it has the ergos of a cinderblock). I'll need to shoot them head-to-head at some point and see which feels better.

 

[usmc1974]

Not all my Gen 5 glock 19's are custom. Pretty much only the one I carry, with the custom slide and holosun 507C. But that said, it still has a 4 1/2 pound trigger, because, I carry it every day. The other 19MOS is bone stock and unfired. The non MOS Gen. 5 just has Dawson precision sites and a light. There is nothing wrong with the shadow system's guns, if that's what you want to buy.  But, more than likely you're still gonna buy a red dot sight a trigger and a light Just saying.

[Nathanb]

For me I wanted an optic cut and a threaded barrel. Couldn’t find a Glock mos in that config so I would have had to buy the components to do it. This was cheaper 

[lgh]

If it weren't more expensive, I'd get a Gen 5 with a grip reduction (Ben Simonson at Boresight Solutions) and milled slide.  RDS of choice. For carry, suppressor sights +/- RMR. The Gen 5 trigger on my 43x is just fine for me. I really wish SS would do something with their trigger. It's 2022 and there is no reason to have such a mushy trigger, even on a Glock.

[Lingering]

On 5/9/2022 at 4:02 AM, lgh said:

If it weren't more expensive, I'd get a Gen 5 with a grip reduction (Ben Simonson at Boresight Solutions) and milled slide.  RDS of choice. For carry, suppressor sights +/- RMR. The Gen 5 trigger on my 43x is just fine for me. I really wish SS would do something with their trigger. It's 2022 and there is no reason to have such a mushy trigger, even on a Glock.

My trigger broke in reasonably well after dry-firing a ton. There's still stacking before the break but it's much crispier and has cleaned up significantly. 

 

My main issue is the grip size is too small--I've got large hands and there's not a lot of room for my support hand. I've also had a ton of reliability issues and the customer service has been not great. 

[matteekay]

33 minutes ago, Lingering said:

My trigger broke in reasonably well after dry-firing a ton. There's still stacking before the break but it's much crispier and has cleaned up significantly. 

 

My main issue is the grip size is too small--I've got large hands and there's not a lot of room for my support hand. I've also had a ton of reliability issues and the customer service has been not great. 

 

What kind of reliability issues?

[love2fishnshoot]

I’ve had probably 12 glocks through my collection. All of them had grip reduction, stipple, double under cut. All except my daily carry had slide window cuts, serrations, or optic cut. What was appealing most to me about the shadow systems was that it had all the features I would have done to a stock Glock anyway plus the optic mounting system is pretty cool to me.also could change the grip angle to more of a 1911 style.  I think I’ll still get one soon though. And throw in a dk trigger I have laying around. I’ve just always been a Glock guy even though I’ve always had to put a lot of money into them to get them where I want them to be. But I’m the same with all my guns especially ARs