wanderinwalker
Member
If you recognize me from my thread up in General Discussions a few weeks ago, I swear I am reducing my accumulation of worldy goods. However, some things just can't be helped... 
Without further ado, and in the vein of the recent threads on other 9mm PCCs, here's a brief review of my new CZ Scorpion EVO Carbine.
First impressions: this is a trim, handy and well-built little carbine. The general layout of the controls is very easy to navigate. Coming from plenty of time shooting AR-15s, the Scorpion took no time to learn, aside from the charging handle location. It's a fun shooter, with the expected low-recoil and mild muzzle blast of shooting a small-capacity pistol round through a 16" rifle barrel. As the picture shows, mine has the muzzle brake instead of the faux suppressor under the handguards. I'm dubious to it's value on a 6.5-lb rifle, but there it is.
My first range trip was a hurried 150 rounds on my range's 25-yard pistol bay, just to get a feel for the carbine and zero the iron sights. This is just barely enough ammo and time for me to form a few thoughts.
The Good:
1) FUN TO SHOOT! This is a semi-automatic 9mm carbine. You can burn through ammo against steel plates and silhouettes at an alarming rate.
2) Accurate. Naturally, having a shoulder stock makes challenging pistol-range targets chip shots. 3" steel plate at 25 yards offhand? No thought required, front sight, press trigger, repeat.
3) Mild shooting. I've fired the KelTec Sub2000 and noticed those recoil more sharply than anticipated for a 9mm carbine. Credit likely due to the weight of reciprocating mass and the not particularly great ergos of the KelTec. The CZ is a breeze to shoot in comparison.
4) Ergonomics. Yes, it really is well laid out and thought through. Nothing is out of the way or in the way (generally, more to come in a moment).
5) Easy to load magazines. The double-feed polymer magazines didn't require any loading tools or special technique for me.
6) Great sights. The stock sights are quite nice, positive in adjustment and made out of metal. The rear even has 4 different apertures to pick from. My only issue is that manufacturers have started putting fuzzy front sights on their carbines and short rifles in the last 5-6 years.
The Bad:
1) The ambidextrous safety! The right side lever of the safety took the skin off my trigger finger somewhere between round 50 and 75. Not even a blister, just took a chunk off. Absolutely needs to be fixed.
2) The pistol grip is YUGE and weirdly angled! I'm positive this contributed to the skin loss issue above. I also found it fatiguing to my right arm and wrist even after only 30 minutes of shooting time. I have a replacement grip inbound that I hope resolves both issues, otherwise this carbine will be getting a right side safety delete next.
The Indifferent:
1) Small Charging Handle. Combine this with a fairly stiff hammer spring and it can be a bit of a chore to rack the bolt on the Scorpion from a hammer down position. It hasn't been an insurmountable problem for me, but it's something worth noting.
2) Magazines don't drop free from a locked open bolt. Yes, if you pull the charging handle all the way back and lock the bolt open, the mags pop right out when you hit the magazine release. But if the bolt is resting on the hold open, you will find yourself rocking the mags free while pushing the release. Not a major issue either, just different when you're coming from an AR-15 or similar.
3) Heavy Trigger Pull. No, I haven't gauged it. My SWAG is in the 7-8 pound pull weight range. Again, not insurmountable and not really an issue when slapping the trigger to bang close range steel plates. Just don't go in expecting a finely tuned trigger release.
Conclusion: If you've been thinking about getting one of these, JUST DO IT!
As long as you go in with eyes wide open to what a PCC is and isn't, and know what to expect from the CZ in particular, you won't be disappointed. Even with having to change the grip and possibly the right side safety lever, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I even have a new green dot Trijicon MRO on the way for it already, due to the aforementioned fuzzy sights issue.
Without further ado, and in the vein of the recent threads on other 9mm PCCs, here's a brief review of my new CZ Scorpion EVO Carbine.
First impressions: this is a trim, handy and well-built little carbine. The general layout of the controls is very easy to navigate. Coming from plenty of time shooting AR-15s, the Scorpion took no time to learn, aside from the charging handle location. It's a fun shooter, with the expected low-recoil and mild muzzle blast of shooting a small-capacity pistol round through a 16" rifle barrel. As the picture shows, mine has the muzzle brake instead of the faux suppressor under the handguards. I'm dubious to it's value on a 6.5-lb rifle, but there it is.
My first range trip was a hurried 150 rounds on my range's 25-yard pistol bay, just to get a feel for the carbine and zero the iron sights. This is just barely enough ammo and time for me to form a few thoughts.
The Good:
1) FUN TO SHOOT! This is a semi-automatic 9mm carbine. You can burn through ammo against steel plates and silhouettes at an alarming rate.
2) Accurate. Naturally, having a shoulder stock makes challenging pistol-range targets chip shots. 3" steel plate at 25 yards offhand? No thought required, front sight, press trigger, repeat.
3) Mild shooting. I've fired the KelTec Sub2000 and noticed those recoil more sharply than anticipated for a 9mm carbine. Credit likely due to the weight of reciprocating mass and the not particularly great ergos of the KelTec. The CZ is a breeze to shoot in comparison.
4) Ergonomics. Yes, it really is well laid out and thought through. Nothing is out of the way or in the way (generally, more to come in a moment).
5) Easy to load magazines. The double-feed polymer magazines didn't require any loading tools or special technique for me.
6) Great sights. The stock sights are quite nice, positive in adjustment and made out of metal. The rear even has 4 different apertures to pick from. My only issue is that manufacturers have started putting fuzzy front sights on their carbines and short rifles in the last 5-6 years.
The Bad:
1) The ambidextrous safety! The right side lever of the safety took the skin off my trigger finger somewhere between round 50 and 75. Not even a blister, just took a chunk off. Absolutely needs to be fixed.
2) The pistol grip is YUGE and weirdly angled! I'm positive this contributed to the skin loss issue above. I also found it fatiguing to my right arm and wrist even after only 30 minutes of shooting time. I have a replacement grip inbound that I hope resolves both issues, otherwise this carbine will be getting a right side safety delete next.
The Indifferent:
1) Small Charging Handle. Combine this with a fairly stiff hammer spring and it can be a bit of a chore to rack the bolt on the Scorpion from a hammer down position. It hasn't been an insurmountable problem for me, but it's something worth noting.
2) Magazines don't drop free from a locked open bolt. Yes, if you pull the charging handle all the way back and lock the bolt open, the mags pop right out when you hit the magazine release. But if the bolt is resting on the hold open, you will find yourself rocking the mags free while pushing the release. Not a major issue either, just different when you're coming from an AR-15 or similar.
3) Heavy Trigger Pull. No, I haven't gauged it. My SWAG is in the 7-8 pound pull weight range. Again, not insurmountable and not really an issue when slapping the trigger to bang close range steel plates. Just don't go in expecting a finely tuned trigger release.
Conclusion: If you've been thinking about getting one of these, JUST DO IT!
As long as you go in with eyes wide open to what a PCC is and isn't, and know what to expect from the CZ in particular, you won't be disappointed. Even with having to change the grip and possibly the right side safety lever, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I even have a new green dot Trijicon MRO on the way for it already, due to the aforementioned fuzzy sights issue.
