CZ vs. Beretta

The Shadow 2 blue is most definitely a better shooter than a standard M9.

The Shadow 2 Orange is a nice upgrade, but not necessary.

Just an FYI, the Shadow 2 series has no firing pin block and lacks a decocker. To carry with a round in the chamber with hammer down, you have to manually lower the hammer with your thumb, on a loaded chamber.

It *should* be drop safe as the firing pin is inertial, that is, it's too short to protrude from the bolt face with the hammer resting on the back of the pin. The hammer must strike it at full velocity to impart enough inertia for the pin to overcome spring retention and come in contact with the primer.

Beretta is now making SAO options which may be worth a look for you. Plus, won't need different mags if you went that way.

I have both; an M9 with a M*CARBO kit and a Shadow 2 in Urban Gray. (A now discontinued option for the S2 series.) The CZ is stock.

IMHO, there is no doubt I shoot the CZ much better than the Beretta, both on paper and steel plate racks/dueling trees.
(And like you, my S2 was bought to be a range toy.) It is a fairly heavy pistol with aggressive checkering on the frame, so it sits deep in my hands and does not move under recoil.

I guess I could carry it, as my CZ 75SP-01 is my primary HD/car pistol, but I don't. Its just for fun.

The prices for S2 Blue have dropped from the early $1,300 +\- cost when they were newer, so the value is a bit better today than earlier in their production.

As for the lack of a decocker, all my CZ’s without one have to have the hammer lowered manually to uncock. (As do my lever rifles, single action revolvers, single shot shotgun. pump and rolling block rimfires, etc.) It really is no big deal to diligently lower the hammer from cocked to uncocked.

Give one a whirl, I think you’ll like it.

Stay safe.

The Shadow 2's are great guns. is it better then your Beretta? Only you can answer that after you shoot them side by side. Sounds like you have a pretty sweet M9 with the trigger mods. If you are looking just for a range toy, as Ohen Cepel says Beretta is making SAO versions now.

There are some great CZs out there besides the Shadow 2 for carry. The 75D series like the PCR or the P07 are great compact hammer-fire pistols with a decocker.

badkarmamib said:

I have and EDC a Beretta M9. I love it, it fits my hand perfectly, and I shoot it well. I prefer DA/SA to striker, personal opinion. It has an M*Carbo spring kit and a Langdon trigger bar.

My boss has a CZ Shadow 2 Orange, that I have shot. Better groups, easier follow-up, definitely a nicer shooter, but not for carry

I am considering a Shadow 2 Blue as a range toy and occasional woods carry. I can get one for $1,000 in my hand, which would be my limit, thus precluding the Orange. I can't fire one in person.

My question is: Would the Blue be a noticeable improvement over the Beretta as I have it, and not too much of a drop from the Orange to leave me disappointed? I will not compete with it, it would just be a range toy, but the most expensive firearm I have ever purchased.

Thanks.

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Yes, it will be an improvement even with the stock trigger, and even more so with a good trigger kit put in it. I did one for a friend, and I thoroughly enjoyed test firing it after I got it done.

The CZ Shadow 2 line of pistols are the most accurate, and easiest to shoot, autoloaders I’ve ever fired. When I got my Shadow 2 Orange, I took it to the range and was immediately able to hammer 8” plates out to 50 yards as fast as I could fire. I was laughing out loud, it was literally indistinguishable from magic. I fell in love with it immediately and went and bought its cousin, the TS 2 Blue (SAO). Both of these have single action triggers under 1.5 lbs. just amazing guns, really. Maybe a custom 2011 could be better, but at 3 times the cost at least.

I haven’t owned nor fired a Beretta 92FS/M9 in many years. From what I recall, mine was an intrinsically accurate pistol but nowhere near up to the capability of these CZs. However, for carry, I’d be more inclined to carry the Beretta as the CZs are HEAVY. ‘Course, that kind of weight is what you want for a flat shooting game/range gun.

My advice is to get the Shadow 2. You’ll adore it. You’ll shoot it better than anything. It will spoil you. Then you’ll buy a Shadow 2 compact (or another CZ-75 variant of your choice) for carry. Your other 9mms with gather dust with benign neglect in the back of the safe.

Briley builds up Prodigys that might exceed your Shadow Blue, obviously they are SAO. But they are a few hundred bucks more than a Shadow Orange. ($1400 on top of the $1200 or so the gun costs)
I fired a Nighthawk Custom 9mm 1911 with a compensator on it that gave me the same feeling you describe, as did the Shadow Blue I did the trigger job on.

I'm impressed that you EDC a Beretta M9. That's a HEAVY gun. I briefly owned a 92FS that I bought to familiarize myself with, since I was working in Iraq during the GWOT.
I shot well with it but it didn't offer any advantages over my light weight polymer Glocks at the time.

badkarmamib said:

I am considering a Shadow 2 Blue as a range toy and occasional woods carry.

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I would not carry a DA/SA with no firing pin block. I know, there was a time when we carried a Series 70 Colt (well, I didn't, I was too young for CC). But why do it today?
BTW, CZ has excellent options like P-07. Yes that thing is super ugly but you're carrying it concealed, so who cares.

A friend has a Shadow 2 Blue. It is very nice. He loves it. He carries a P07.

The CZ 2 is soo accurate it just eclipses all my other handguns. I carry a CZ P-01. Hammer down first shot DA. I'm not going to need a carry gun that shoots dime sized groups at 25 yards. My Son has a 92 FS, another great carry gun. I see these as two distinctly different types of guns.

entropy said:

Briley builds up Prodigys that might exceed your Shadow Blue, obviously they are SAO. But they are a few hundred bucks more than a Shadow Orange. ($1400 on top of the $1200 or so the gun costs)

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Who in their right mind is dumping 1400 bucks into a Prodigy? That's Staccato money, all you have is still a Prodigy.

My CZ S2 runs circles around my Prodigy.
Don't have a M9, but have the 92X Performance which is all steel with frame mounted safety. The S2 is a better pistol.

You could throw a CGW barrel bushing, disco, extended firing pin and some new springs for about 120-150 and have a gun that close to that S2 orange.

Righteous. I promise you will be amazed. If by some miracle, you are able to outshoot your Shadow 2, there are bushing, trigger and sear kits that will tighten things up all that much more as has been illuminated above. But you’d have to be really, really, really good.

sevt_chevelle said:

Who in their right mind is dumping 1400 bucks into a Prodigy? That's Staccato money, all you have is still a Prodigy.

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Pretty much.. I recently saw a Tisas built by one of the best 1911 Smiths in the world. I am still scratching my head over that one.

I admire the 92 platform as a quality gun, but I don't find them to be in the class with any of the metal-framed CZ 75-based guns for actual use and shooting in my hands. I had the 92SB (with good trigger job from a qualified gunsmith) for more than 25 years before I got my first CZ 75-based gun (an 85 Combat). Within a couple years I had 6 CZs and had sold the 92SB because I just had no more interest in shooting it. It was an outstanding quality gun, felt like it was on roller bearings when you worked the action, was accurate (but not quite as accurate as the CZs), etc., but to my hands it felt more like the box that an ergonomic handgun might have been shipped in , and it definitely wasn't as sweet-shooting. And the trigger, though worked, still wasn't to my liking. I sold it for $940 on GB a few years ago.

As someone who has multiple Berettas and CZs (including the S2 SAO), I can confirm that the CZ S2 will be a better shooter than the Beretta. However, for carry, I’d stick with the Beretta as Beretta offers decockers and/or safety variants and have firing pin blocks. If you want a gun to shoot right groups, use for competition, and have fun at the range, the S2 wins.

It's a sweetheart, I have the CGW Shadow 2 SAO. I did add some LOK palm swell grips, not a fan of the flat aluminum. As for loading for the Shadow, I've had the best results with Hornady JHP HAP bullets seated out far as you can and still 'clink' against the chamber. Get the CGW barrel bushing when you can.

badkarmamib said:

Yeah, swapping the safety for the extended one was not a 5-minute job.

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After doing it about four times it's a 5 minute job, first time is more like 20 if you don't lose anything heh.

Yeah these pistols fit together TIGHT. I used a wee little brass hammer to assist the safety swap as well.

In order to do it without full disassembly you have to hold everything in just the right position so everything lines up to get the new piece in. It is not intuitive