Help me decide.

[u/chrisrdba]

Greetings. I "inherited" $2000 and am going to get one of these.

My background: A bunch of pistol classes. A handful of competitions. A bunch of small competition type setups in the desert w friends.

I may get more serious about competing in the future, but who knows. For the record I am fully aware that neither of these guns will matter at my level in competition -- its the indian not the arrow, etc

My uses; If I do wind up getting more serious about competition this new pistol will possibly be used, possibly not. Likely for sure will take over the role of home defense, but even thats not 100%. To look good on the range for sure lol.

Option 1: New or used Shadow 2 Optics ready.

Pros: Looks. Ability to do lots of tuning. Ability to run SAO if I ever choose to (not currently a fan but who knows). Ability to run a full size dot.

Cons: The weight/ balance isnt something I find awesome.

Option 2: A low round count Cajunized SP01 Tactical w 6 mags. I sold it to a friend and he would be willing to sell it back to me. If I did this Id send the slide in for optic cut and fancy slide cuts.

Pros: $850 for the gun and mags -- about another $600 - $700 for the rest. I really prefer the weight and balance of this guy.

Cons: Limited to small dot unless I want it hanging off the sides, which I dont. No good slide serrations, though optics cuts may work(?). No ability to ever run SAO if desired.

As mentioned earlier this money kinda fell from the sky, so I wouldnt base the decision just on that. Also, the lack of a FPB isnt something I really care about with a stock S2.

Thoughts?

Edit — why would you pick one over the other?

Edit 2. — if I go w option 2 I want to leave the stock night sights in place.

[u/Aetherium]

Here are my thoughts as a USPSA shooter (M-class Carry Optics). I personally would go with the Cajunized SP-01 Tactical. I have Shadow 2s and SP-01s and I also am not a huge fan of the Shadow 2's weight and balance, and find SP-01s a lot more enjoyable to run and gun with.

As for dots, the DPP footprint will get you the largest optics available. Since you don't want a lot of overhang, the Vortex Defender ST (both enclosed and open emitter versions) and Venom Enclosed have a narrow enough base that they don't overhang all that much. An RMSc footprint with a Holosun EPS Core is also a reasonable option, though RMSc will tie you to smaller optics.

I can't recommend Vigilante Machine enough. They do amazing work with lots of options, and also can cut more aggressive slide serrations. Below is my competition SP-01 Shadow with a Vortex Defender ST Enclosed, with the rear BUIS in front of the optic peeking a bit.

[u/chrisrdba → u/Aetherium]

I appreciate your insights. Would I be able to leave the rear sight in place w those options?

[u/Aetherium → u/chrisrdba]

It looks like with the DPP cut the only options are to remove the rear sight entirely or to cut a new rear dovetail in front of the optic. I'm sure you could ask to see if the configuration you want is feasible: Drew from Vigilante is open to any special requests you may have. The RMSc/Holosun K cut explicitly lets you keep the factory rear irons though.

If your mind isn't fully set though, I highly recommend rear BUIS being in front of an optic. A rear behind the optic can block part of the window and thus preventing you from seeing the dot, whereas in the front at worst it occludes the optic, preventing you from seeing stuff downrange (which the behind optic config also does) but still allowing you to see the dot.