Just returned from my fourth trip to the range with the Shadow Orange Custom and I can honestly say it's pretty badass. I've had a couple of revolvers and 1911's that have come close but, none of them perform with the same degree of consistency that this thing does. Doesn't seem to matter if it's either blue light special Magtech or my go-to Sellier & Bellot 124gr, this pistol just doesn't care about what its fed.
No, the greatest challenge seems to be maintaining composure. I tend to get carried away and make faster follow-up shots than I should, resulting in some egregious flyers at times. It's a bad habit I freely admit and this gun only exacerbates it. The trigger is on the same level of crispness as any Colt revolver I've either owned or currently own. All other consideration aside, though, the CZ Custom trigger work is really what makes the Shadow Orange the competition-ready pistol it is straight out of the box.
Last Saturday morning I took it to a bowling pin match where neither one of us stood much of a chance going against .45's and .40's being shot by shooters who do it (well) on a regular basis but, I kinda knew that going-in. I've never been able to do well with factory 124gr FMJ and this match would be no exception. Plus, I made some truly boneheaded mistakes because I was overly-jazzed, shooting a new pistol for only the third time and not wanting to look like a total dork. In two of the six relays, though, I forgot to flip my thumb safety off before trying to take my first shot. LOL So much for not looking like a dork.
124gr 9mm just doesn't have enough 'oomph' to take the pins completely off the table on a consistent basis unless they're hit
just right, which isn't easy to do when shooting against the clock. I focus more on time than accuracy in a pin match because, with a .45, all it needs to do is nick a pin to send it flying 10 feet off the table. It's also no coincidence that the club's champion shoots sub-4 second relays with a Glock in .40 using his own reloads so my expectations were realistic under these circumstances. Opinions may vary but, an 11.57 second average for my low-3 relay average wasn't all that 'stanky' considering that the 59 total rounds fired, I averaged two shots for every pin for a grand total of 30 pins for six relays. I had no time penalties for either missing a pin or leaving one on the table. I'd like to think if that table was a bit shallower/thinner and it only took one shot per pin, my average would've been under six seconds.
Still, I had a great time and was not disappointed with how the Shadow Orange performed. Pins may not be its best game but, it never missed all day. Not even once.
