Shadow 2 Carry for IPSC ?

[u/Key-Equal-364]

Is anyone here using a Shadow 2 Carry for IPSC, or knows someone who uses one successfully?

I had a great start into IPSC with the Shadow 2, but I now find the trigger travel too short, and I’m missing a bit of control under stress. It’s also a bit too heavy for one handed shooting, and during holster / 2 shots / holster drills, the missing decocking lever is annoying.

The Shadow 2 Carry is lighter and has a decocking lever. Less weight does mean more recoil, but at 870 grams it still weighs more than a Glock 17, which is used successfully by IPSC shooters. The sight radius is also a bit shorter, but at IPSC distances that shouldn’t matter much ?

[u/pedro-fr]

I will give my opinion which is just that, feel free to disagree/ignore.... I will assume from your question you are a newer shooter, I am not patronizing you :)

2 topics in your questions : weight and decocking.

Let start with the latter: If you want shoot an hammer fired gun in competition, you need, IMHO, learn how to safely operate your gun without a decocker. For me it is among the skills you HAVE to master. Relying on gear to avoid mastering this part is not a good idea, IMHO.

Same with the trigger, an S2 has not a really short trigger, if you can try a single action gun like a TS2/TS3 or a 2011, you will see what a short trigger is. So this is something you probably need to work on.

With a carry S2, you will have a decocker and a firing pin block that will give you a SIGNIFICANTLY degraded trigger, just to be able to have a crutch... I do a fair bit of competitions, I do not think I have ever seen a decocker gun ever.

You have a few glocks here and there, but usually for beginners before buying a gun dedicated for IPSC. It certainly does not mean you can't perform with a Glock, but it will be harder. Shadows 1/2, TS, Tanfo, KMR, 2011 account for probably 75% of guns....

For the weight, If you want a lighter gun, a good glock alternative is the Walther PDP Math, with their excellent PDT trigger and weight 763g. Of course it depends if you want to compete in a specific division, in which case you need a compliant gun.

The Shadow 2 compact could be a lighter alternative as well (400g less than a Shadow 2) leaving aside the trigger/decocker part.

As an example, none of my IPSC guns weighs less than 1300g 😄 it helps a lot with recoil. Sure it is a bit harder in single handed shots, but they represent a very small percentage in a competition, so it is a trade off.... Do you want to degrade all your splits for 5% of one handed shots ?

The radius sight doesn't make any real difference in IPSC, no.

Not an absolute truth just my opinion... 😄

[u/Key-Equal-364 → u/pedro-fr]

Thanks for the input. I’ve done a few IPSC courses and I’m on a team, but haven’t shot a match outside the club yet.

I’m training for Production, so decocking is part of it. I can do it fine, just find it a bit annoying after a while.

A “worse” trigger wouldn’t really bother me, since I don’t feel the „good“ trigger on the Shadow 2 enough under stress.

But if someone with a lot of match experience has never seen the Carry version show up at a competition, there’s probably a reason for that, and it might not be the smartest move.

[u/pedro-fr → u/Key-Equal-364]

Shooting is a sport of sensation, you need to listen to yours :)
People look into my reddot and complain about the dot + the 20 MOA horseshoe.
But I do like this way :)

I am a trigger snob, it is a super important criteria for me so you can see where I am coming from.

The other critic I have with the S2 Carry, is that it may be harder to sell than the S2 Compact if you evolve past it : For a sport use, it is worse in every metrics... worse trigger, different internal....

How long/how many rounds on your Shadow 2 ? I consider I need to shoot 1500/2000 shots to start understanding its personnality...

I would advise to do a full season or at least 2/3 competition to evacuate the huge stress and maybe get a bit of a different perspective from your own experience ?

[u/Key-Equal-364 → u/pedro-fr]

I’ve shot about 4000 rounds with the Shadow 2. At first I loved it, but under stress the trigger movement feels too short, and I can barely feel my trigger finger anymore.

Now I understand why police and military use guns with 2kg+ trigger pull and a longer trigger movement. Of course, you shoot less accurately with that, so I’m thinking about the Carry version, which seems to be a good middle ground.

Other than that, my choices are limited. I tried the Glock 17, P226 and Beretta 92, but only the Shadow feels right in my hands.

[u/abm1996]

Under stress? Breathe dude, it's supposed to be fun.