I’ve been a bit harsh with my opinion of CZ over the years. I’ve always looked at the company as having come up with an amazingly good design in the CZ 75, but building pistols of only average quality. In fact, if talking some decades past, downright crude quality. Now, I’ve always said that they built some very good performing pistols from an accuracy and reliability standpoint. However, I gave credit again to the design more so than the execution. I guess I’ve always felt they got more credit than they deserved among the masses. While I think the design is one of the best ever, I never thought CZ themselves did it much justice.
I wanted to keep an open mind, especially because CZ seems to be introducing some higher end pistols of late. I decided to buy a couple of their best currently produced pistols and give it a go. Also, I wanted the pistols from CZ, not the USA based CZ Custom offerings (was not overly impressed with a recent Bull Shadow that I owned). The pistols I decided to go with was the Open-ready TS Czechmate and one of their newest offerings, the Shadow 2 Orange.
As far as the Czechmate is concerned, its currently produced, but still more of an older school CZ that I’ve wanted for several years. However, my sticking point was paying $3200 for a CZ. Well I decided to finally bite the bullet and found a decent deal on a new old-stock Czechmate on Gunbroker. The Czechmate itself is a modified version of the old Tactical Sport. The frame is drilled to accept a C-More optic and the 5” barrel is threaded to switch from the front sight to a compensator, when switching the gun from Limited to Open spec. I’m personally not a competitive shooter and also don’t care for optics, so my Czechmate will be staying in Limited spec. I guess after saying that, one would think I should have just bought a standard Tactical Sport (which I owned in the past) or a TSO. The bottom line is that I wanted something different. The Czechmate isn’t a pistol you see all that often and its basically CZ’s top of the line handgun, at least from a pricing standpoint. I also just love the menacing appearance of it. I think its one of the coolest looking pistols I own.
While I haven’t shot it yet, The Czechmate’s frame also has a higher cut beavertail and more undercut trigger guard to provide the shooter with a higher purchase on the pistol, thus keeping bore axis lower. Its noticeably lower in hand than both my new Shadow 2 and my old CZ 75 Champion. I happen to really love how pistols point when the bore axis is this low and the Czechmate points amazingly well and is extremely comfortable in hand. My example has the updated front and back strap checkering brought over from the TSO, whereas the older Czechmates had the lousy checkering from the original Tactical Sport. This one also has the jet black thin aluminum grips and magwell, giving the whole gun a dark “Darth Vader” look to it, that I love. The Czechmate also utilizes the plain black post front sight and the fixed rear sight carried over from the standard Tactical Sport. As long as it shoots point of aim, I’m fine with that. The ergonomics are superb and much better than the old Tactical Sport and due to the higher grip, also better than the TS Orange, in my opinion.
While I love all these things about it, I’d be remiss if I didn’t speak about some criticisms. The fit and finish is just ok, as is the attention to detail. The black finish used on the Czechmate seems dull and cheap compared to other guns I own in this price range and even compared to the finish on my new Shadow 2. The build quality is good, but not great. The trigger is absolutely ridiculous since they use the plastic trigger from the original Tactical Sport with it. To me, that’s inexcusable on a $3000+ pistol. Just a really poor choice on CZ’s part, especially since the TSO and even the old CZ 75 Champion have steel triggers. The last criticism is very small, but I’ll mention it anyway. The checkering on the front of the trigger guard is the old crude style from the original Tactical Sport. I guess that and the trigger may seem like petty complaints, but its all about attention to details and this is what I’ve come to expect from CZ, unfortunately. Having said all this, I do really like the look and feel of the Czechmate and expect it to shoot like a laser. I just want to be honest with my initial thoughts.
The Shadow 2 Orange is very impressive. It is hands down the finest CZ I’ve ever owned or handled. The gun takes the standard Shadow 2 platform and ups the anti with more hand fitting and better features. For starters, the trigger is tuned. I compared this gun directly with a standard Shadow 2 and the difference is immediately evident. There is zero creep in the SA pull, where as the standard model has noticeable creep. The DA pull is smoother and a bit lighter. The reset is fantastic. The slide to frame is hand fit on the Orange as well, but the difference to the standard Shadow 2 isn’t as noticeable as the trigger. Still the gun feels like a solid block of steel in hand with no rattle anywhere. Finally the Orange version features a 1911-like barrel bushing to tighten the lock up and improve the accuracy. How much it improves the accuracy, I have no idea, but it sure looks cool.
Whether or not these features justify an $800 price hike over the standard Shadow 2, is debatable. However, as a person that always leans towards the finer pistols, this appealed to me while the standard Shadow 2 really doesn’t. Not that it’s a bad gun, because I’ve shot a couple examples and they perform extremely well, but its just too ordinary to peak my interest. The Orange puts it over the top. Build quality on this pistol clearly exceeds that of the Czechmate, despite it being a good amount less expensive. Everything on the Shadow 2 Orange is perfectly fit and the attention to detail is outstanding. The gun locks up like a bank vault, so I’d expect accuracy to be about as good as any pistol I own, save for a very select few. Just picking up the Orange feels like quality. Its just dense and heavy, which I love. Despite having a thinner frame, a shorter barrel, and less features, the Orange weighs an ounce and a half heavier than the Czechmate. That’s a whopping 46.8 ounces with an empty magazine, to be exact. I love heavy guns, so I’m good with it. I also love the smooth, jet black finish, which is clearly nicer than that on the Czechmate.
My only gripe about the Orange is the presence of a rail. I don’t have any need for a rail and I hate the look. Before recently, I never owned a metal framed gun with a rail, but I’ve learned to accept it on new production pistols. I do wish the Orange had a higher cut beavertail like the Czechmate, but the bore axis is still fairly low, so not a huge deal.
So those are my initial impressions of my two new CZ’s. Obviously, I look forward to shooting getting them, which could possibly happen later this week.
Who here owns one of these? :dunno:
As always, please enjoy the pics and share your thoughts.
Thanks! :supergrin:
I wanted to keep an open mind, especially because CZ seems to be introducing some higher end pistols of late. I decided to buy a couple of their best currently produced pistols and give it a go. Also, I wanted the pistols from CZ, not the USA based CZ Custom offerings (was not overly impressed with a recent Bull Shadow that I owned). The pistols I decided to go with was the Open-ready TS Czechmate and one of their newest offerings, the Shadow 2 Orange.
As far as the Czechmate is concerned, its currently produced, but still more of an older school CZ that I’ve wanted for several years. However, my sticking point was paying $3200 for a CZ. Well I decided to finally bite the bullet and found a decent deal on a new old-stock Czechmate on Gunbroker. The Czechmate itself is a modified version of the old Tactical Sport. The frame is drilled to accept a C-More optic and the 5” barrel is threaded to switch from the front sight to a compensator, when switching the gun from Limited to Open spec. I’m personally not a competitive shooter and also don’t care for optics, so my Czechmate will be staying in Limited spec. I guess after saying that, one would think I should have just bought a standard Tactical Sport (which I owned in the past) or a TSO. The bottom line is that I wanted something different. The Czechmate isn’t a pistol you see all that often and its basically CZ’s top of the line handgun, at least from a pricing standpoint. I also just love the menacing appearance of it. I think its one of the coolest looking pistols I own.
While I haven’t shot it yet, The Czechmate’s frame also has a higher cut beavertail and more undercut trigger guard to provide the shooter with a higher purchase on the pistol, thus keeping bore axis lower. Its noticeably lower in hand than both my new Shadow 2 and my old CZ 75 Champion. I happen to really love how pistols point when the bore axis is this low and the Czechmate points amazingly well and is extremely comfortable in hand. My example has the updated front and back strap checkering brought over from the TSO, whereas the older Czechmates had the lousy checkering from the original Tactical Sport. This one also has the jet black thin aluminum grips and magwell, giving the whole gun a dark “Darth Vader” look to it, that I love. The Czechmate also utilizes the plain black post front sight and the fixed rear sight carried over from the standard Tactical Sport. As long as it shoots point of aim, I’m fine with that. The ergonomics are superb and much better than the old Tactical Sport and due to the higher grip, also better than the TS Orange, in my opinion.
While I love all these things about it, I’d be remiss if I didn’t speak about some criticisms. The fit and finish is just ok, as is the attention to detail. The black finish used on the Czechmate seems dull and cheap compared to other guns I own in this price range and even compared to the finish on my new Shadow 2. The build quality is good, but not great. The trigger is absolutely ridiculous since they use the plastic trigger from the original Tactical Sport with it. To me, that’s inexcusable on a $3000+ pistol. Just a really poor choice on CZ’s part, especially since the TSO and even the old CZ 75 Champion have steel triggers. The last criticism is very small, but I’ll mention it anyway. The checkering on the front of the trigger guard is the old crude style from the original Tactical Sport. I guess that and the trigger may seem like petty complaints, but its all about attention to details and this is what I’ve come to expect from CZ, unfortunately. Having said all this, I do really like the look and feel of the Czechmate and expect it to shoot like a laser. I just want to be honest with my initial thoughts.
The Shadow 2 Orange is very impressive. It is hands down the finest CZ I’ve ever owned or handled. The gun takes the standard Shadow 2 platform and ups the anti with more hand fitting and better features. For starters, the trigger is tuned. I compared this gun directly with a standard Shadow 2 and the difference is immediately evident. There is zero creep in the SA pull, where as the standard model has noticeable creep. The DA pull is smoother and a bit lighter. The reset is fantastic. The slide to frame is hand fit on the Orange as well, but the difference to the standard Shadow 2 isn’t as noticeable as the trigger. Still the gun feels like a solid block of steel in hand with no rattle anywhere. Finally the Orange version features a 1911-like barrel bushing to tighten the lock up and improve the accuracy. How much it improves the accuracy, I have no idea, but it sure looks cool.
Whether or not these features justify an $800 price hike over the standard Shadow 2, is debatable. However, as a person that always leans towards the finer pistols, this appealed to me while the standard Shadow 2 really doesn’t. Not that it’s a bad gun, because I’ve shot a couple examples and they perform extremely well, but its just too ordinary to peak my interest. The Orange puts it over the top. Build quality on this pistol clearly exceeds that of the Czechmate, despite it being a good amount less expensive. Everything on the Shadow 2 Orange is perfectly fit and the attention to detail is outstanding. The gun locks up like a bank vault, so I’d expect accuracy to be about as good as any pistol I own, save for a very select few. Just picking up the Orange feels like quality. Its just dense and heavy, which I love. Despite having a thinner frame, a shorter barrel, and less features, the Orange weighs an ounce and a half heavier than the Czechmate. That’s a whopping 46.8 ounces with an empty magazine, to be exact. I love heavy guns, so I’m good with it. I also love the smooth, jet black finish, which is clearly nicer than that on the Czechmate.
My only gripe about the Orange is the presence of a rail. I don’t have any need for a rail and I hate the look. Before recently, I never owned a metal framed gun with a rail, but I’ve learned to accept it on new production pistols. I do wish the Orange had a higher cut beavertail like the Czechmate, but the bore axis is still fairly low, so not a huge deal.
So those are my initial impressions of my two new CZ’s. Obviously, I look forward to shooting getting them, which could possibly happen later this week.
Who here owns one of these? :dunno:
As always, please enjoy the pics and share your thoughts.
Thanks! :supergrin:
