Gun Review: CZ Shadow 2 Carry 9mm Pistol [VIDEO]

Bridging the gap between competition and self-defense, the CZ Shadow 2 Carry starts with one of the most popular competition pistols ever made and equips it with carry-safe features. Is it a CZ P-01 with racecar features or is it a Shadow 2 with duty features? Yes, indeed.

Feature number one that differentiates the Shadow 2 Carry from the Shadow 2 and Shadow 2 Compact is the ambidextrous de-cocker. Gone is the manual thumb safety and with it, the option of carrying the pistol cocked-and-locked (as well as the temptation to lower the hammer with a trigger pull…a risky maneuver).

Similar to the P-01, though ambidextrous, the Shadow 2 Carry’s de-cocker operates by pushing downward on the serrated portion of the lever, rotating it clockwise until it hits a trigger-like wall, then clicks like a trigger break. That lowers the hammer to a half-cocked position, which is eminently safe for carry.

One reason it’s so safe is feature number two that makes the Shadow 2 Carry an arguably more appropriate choice for a carry gun than the straight-up competition models — an automatic firing pin block. Unless the trigger is pulled nearly all the way to the break, a spring-loaded plunger is physically blocking the firing pin’s ability to travel forward.

Not only does the half-cocked position of the Shadow 2 Carry’s hammer mean it’s nowhere near the firing pin and is, instead, resting its steel half-cock hook on top of the steel sear, but the firing pin itself is blocked by a steel pin. In both of these ways, the Shadow 2 Carry is made impact safe, drop safe, and just generally extremely safe from the ability to discharge the pistol without an intentional trigger pull.

In part, that’s also due to a heavier trigger pull than you’ll find in the Shadow 2 competition guns. It’s still super smooth, but it takes more force in double action (11.9 pounds according to CZ, 10.5 according to my trigger scale), half-cocked double action (about 8.75 pounds), and single action (4.7 pounds official spec, 3.75 to 4 pounds on my actual scale as well as my finger scale) than with the race guns.

As with all of the non-competition/custom CZ pistols in my experience, the trigger on the Shadow 2 Carry has smoothed out over the course of a couple of hundred trigger cycles as the sear and hammer hook faces self-polish, which likely explains the difference between CZ’s published trigger pull weights and what I measured at the end of our testing. For the record, CZ accidentally loaned us three Shadow 2 Carrys and the triggers were very consistent across all three of them when they were new.

The single action trigger pull on the Carry is also a little longer than on the Shadow 2 and TS competition guns thanks to some creep in the system due likely in part to clearing the firing pin block as well as due to a larger sear/hammer overlap cut at a safer interface angle (I can see the hammer cam slightly as I slowly pull the single action trigger up to its break). Reset, too, is slightly longer.

All of that said, don’t be discouraged. The Shadow 2 Carry’s bangswitch is a very nice DA/SA trigger. I believe it’s slightly smoother than the standard trigger on the CZ 75 series and the Shadow 2 Carry’s closest non-Shadow relative, the P-01. While trigger modification options for CZs abound and you could absolutely tune this bad boy to a lighter, shorter, crisper trigger than even the competition Shadow models, that isn’t why you ended up with the Carry instead of the Compact, eh?

This model has the very good, yet carry- or duty-appropriate trigger with its firing pin block, de-cocker, and carry-weight trigger.

So then, what makes the Shadow 2 Carry a “Shadow” and not a P-01? Quite a lot, really.

Gotta love those thin, machined aluminum Shadow 2 grip panels. They’re better looking and they fit more hands than the chubbier rubber grip panels on many of the non-Shadow models like the P-01.

Also aiding control and fast shooting is CZ’s competition-style deep checkering on the frontstrap and backstrap. This is a big improvement over the shallow, vertical lines on the P-01 (heck, some 75 models are completely smooth).

Also aiding in control is a high grip, and the Shadow 2 Carry has an extended, higher beavertail than the P-01. It isn’t as large as the beavertail on the Shadow 2 models, but this pistol needs to be concealable. It’s another example of the Carry bridging the gap between competition and EDC.

An enlarged, squared-front trigger guard leaves more space for a gloved hand than the trigger found on most of the 75 series.

While the P-01 only has a single slot machined into its dust cover Picatinny rail, the Shadow 2 Carry has three.

Separating the Carry’s frame from the full-size, competition-oriented Shadow frames is, above all else, its material. Machined from 7075 aluminum instead of steel, the Carry weighs a whopping one pound less than the full-size Shadow (30.4 ounces vs. 46.5 ounces). This’s effectively the same weight as the Shadow 2 Compact and the P-01, which also have aluminum frames.

One big, modern differentiator between the Shadow 2 Carry and the P-01 is the slide. Most obvious is that it’s optics-ready. It’s milled for the Shield RMSc footprint and the optics cut is also as low as CZ could make it, which is great because it co-witnesses with factory height iron sights.

As the CZ slide famously rides inside of its frame instead of over the top of it, there’s less real estate to grab with your hand. The Carry adds more purchase with a more angular slide design and more aggressive, grippier serrations as compared to most of the CZ 75 line, including the P-01.

Serrated steel factory sights sport a 3-dot arrangement with glow-in-the-dark dots.

There’s that flawless co-witness without the need for extra tall sights and without mounting the optic way high above the bore.

In the nice carrying case that comes with the CZ Shadow 2 Carry is your typical owner’s manual and lock, two, 15-round magazines, a cleaning kit that fits into a neat little tube that’s threaded on one end for the cleaning rods, a blanking plate for running the gun without an optic mounted while maintaining a clean look, and assorted tools. Not too shabby!

Dan and I had a lot of fun shooting the Shadow 2 Carry on the range. It’s fast and confident and, as you’d expect, 100% dead nuts reliable. In my opinion it shoots more like a P-01 than a Shadow 2, but this has to be expected with its full pound of weight reduction and a self-defense-appropriate trigger. The grip panels, frame checkering, and slide serrations are all fantastic.

If I owned this pistol, I think the only change I’d make would be swapping the ambi decocker for a left-side-only one. While it’s a nice thought, I found that I couldn’t operate the decocker without shifting my grip in order to move my shooting hand out of the way of the right-side decocker lever’s downward rotation. We shot a P-01 on the same day (see the video) and, without the right-side decocker, this feature was easier for us to use.

With all the cool factor, the sexy looks, and the many performance features of a Shadow 2 that have been modified in smart ways to make it safe and appropriate for carry and duty use, CZ’s new Shadow 2 Carry is an excellent option for anyone seeking a premium, DA/SA 9mm pistol born from a long lineage of proven military, police, and competition pistols. It’s as much the souped-up, modernized version of the NATO-approved CZ P-01 as it is the carry-safe version of the competition-winning Shadow 2 series.

Specifications: CZ Shadow 2 Carry

Caliber: 9×19
Trigger Type: DA/SA
Trigger Reset: 0.2-0.3 inches
Trigger Pull: 4.7 pounds SA, 11.9 pounds DA
Safety: Decocker to safety notch, firing pin block
Weight w/ empty magazine: 30.7 ounces
Magazine Capacity: 15 Rounds
Height: 5.4 inches
Length: 7.5 inches
Barrel Length: 4 inches
Width: 1.5 inches
Frame Material: 7075 aluminum
MSRP: $1,449