My adventures in customizing my CZs...aka Can I make a 'Poor mans Shadow'

Mitch Rapp

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Some time back, I bought a CZ PCR and had never done much with it except shoot it. About half my CZs stay stock with nothing more than the 3 spring upgrade, and the other half usually end up with a CGW Pro Package in them.
This PCR was no exception. I started with the gun, CGWs Pro Package, some TFX Pro night sights, and some Cool Hand grips.

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I installed everything and turned out pretty typical results for the combo:
A nice looking, sweet shooting, crisp breaking gun with a DA pull of 8 lbs 12 ozs and a SA pull of 3 lbs 7 ozs and about 3/16" of reset.

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So, as time goes by, I begin thinking, "Hmmmm...I wonder what CZ Custom does to the Shadow that makes that trigger so amazing?"
Not that the CGW trigger is bad, but that CZCustom Shadow is just a cut above.
So, I begin research. I started with the custom parts that are put in each gun and found that most of the parts and springs are the same.
The differences between them were the pre B disconnector/sear combo, deletion of the firing pin block and all the lifters and springs associated with that.
CZ Custom claims a DA of 8-9 lbs and SA of 3-4. In reality, my Lyman put them at 7 lb 7 oz, 2 lb 11 oz, and an amazing 1/16" reset.
Could I get close to that?
Let's find out lol.

I odered some parts...a pre b disconnector and a sear cage spacer to keep proper spacing once the lifter and spring for the Firing Pin Block were removed. I used the spacer instead of a pre b sear because the sear is meant for a safety equipped gun and Im doing this to a decocker. The level of fitting required would be a little beyond my capabilities.
Also grabbed some sweet aluminum grips to finish it out lol

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When I got the parts I set out to work. Bust down the entire gun to get to the parts Im concerned with.

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Gave all the contact points a goid polishing, being very careful not to change any geometry. Then I removed the parts that are being replaced/deleted.
L to r: CGW short reset disconnector, oem FPB, CGW reduced power FPB spring, CGW short reset FPB lifter. Not pictured is the lifter spring which went M.I.A. on me. Good thing I was deleting it lol.

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Next up, replace the disconnector. But first, I compared all three of them.
L to r: oem, CGW, Pre B
As you can see, there is a pronounced difference in the thickness of the horizontal arms of each (that arm actually sits vertical when installed).
That's the dimension that controls the reset distance for SA.
In the oem it's very thin because the trigger bar has to travel a long way yo allow tbe FPB lifter to swing back into position and the FPB to fall back into place.
In the CGW it's thicker, reducing travel distance, because the CGW lifter has been reprofiled to require less distance before both it and the FPB regain their positions.
In the pre B it is so much thicker because there is no FPB or lifter to influence how far the trigger bar must travel. Minimal travel to SA reset only.

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Next, it's hard to see, but there's a length diffetence to these discos also. This becomes important later.
Cgw vs pre b

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Lastly, there are two wings on the pre B that the trigger bar pushes on vs one on the post b discos. The wing on the left of the pre b will have to be removed to keep it from interfering with the decocker.

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So, I het to work removing the wing and installing the pre b disco on my hammer and hammer strut. Did pretty good, actually. That reprofiling did not cause my later problems. It was someting else.

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I reassembled the gun and ran a function test. It passed. DA felt weird, but more on that later. My main focus was on tbe SA.
The trigger felt amazing in SA. It was noticeably lighter with a noticably shorter reset.
I measure it, and I cut the reset down to 1/16". Startin to feel good lol.
I put my Lyman on the SA pull and got a five pull average of 3 lbs 1 oz. Within 6 oz of CZCustoms professionals! Feelin pretty spunky now lol

And then, bam! I was so concerned with the SA, I had not really paid attention to the DA pull much. When I tested pull weight on it, it was 11 lbs 4 oz...a full 2 1/2 pounds heavier than when I started.
Remember the length difference of the disconnector arm I mentioned earlier? Well it was long enough the top of it would not properly clear the underside of the sear cage and the point was digging into the frame at the bottom.
Note: other than the clearance and added weight on the DA pull, all resets and trigger breaks, both DA and SA, functioned correctly.
Well, I took it apart and put it together at least ten times during the fitting process. First, I took a little off the point, then a little off the top, a little more here, a little more there.
I got it to where it was travelling unimpeded in the DA pull, but all of a sudden it wouldn't reset in DA.
I'll spare you the details, but as I reprofiled and fixed one thing, another thing would pop up. Fix that and it was something else.
My gun went through no da reset, to no sa reset, to not relessing when the trigger was pulled, to riding forward on the trigger when it was pulled lol
It was at this point I realized two things: I had screwed up this disconnector fatally and there's a reason the guys at CZ Custom are professionals lol.

At this point, I dropped back and punted. If I put CGWs disco back in, I would at least retain the good reset they give you. The deletion of the FPB and associated parts was going to lighten up the trigger like I wanted and I figured I *might* get a small advantage in reset from the parts deletion.
Turns out I was right. I did not get all the way down to the 1/16" reset, but I knocked off 1/16" and came close at 1/8". I shaved another 5 oz off the CGW DA with a five pull avg of 8 lb 7 oz, but still one full pound off from CZCustoms 7 lb 7 oz. The SA surprised me. I cut 3/4 lb off of CGWs SA, and as it turns out, exactly matched CZCustom at 2 lbs 11 oz.

I came very close to my goal on this project and learned a few things in the process. If I do this again in the future, I'll completedy skip the pre B disco and just go straight for the spacer, parts deletion, and a dang good polishing of contact surfaces. Those three things are all it needs.

Here is my compact decocker 'Poor Mans Shadow' lol

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My first thought when I read the title was "Oh no, baby, what is you doin..."

But it appears you have it well under control. My PCR is one of my favorite pistols bar none.
 
Here I have been thinking them CZs were perfect right straight out the box.

@draco88 Awesome work you did there.
 
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Sooooo...I got at it again. Did a compact last time, so I wanted to make it a set with a full size this time.

Took a SP-01 Tactical, laid out some custom parts (CGW Pro Package + sear cage spacer ring), tools, and got to work.

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Busted it all down to it's individual pieces and gave it a really good polishing on all the contact surfaces. I just skipped that whole hand fit a disconnector failure this time lol.
Once again, I deleted the four parts on the left (FPB lifter, lifter spring, FPB plunger spring, the Firing Pin Block itself) and replaced them with the single part to the right (sear cage spacer ring) to keep all the proper internal spacings.

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Got everything done, put back together, and checked my results.
My results repeated themselves. I ended up with a DA of 8lb 10oz and a SA of 2lb 11oz with a 1/8" reset.
I now have a Poor Mans Shadow and a Poor Mans Shadow Compact lol

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Looking forward to your chapter on Glock upgrades. :D
 
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Sooooo...I got at it again. Did a compact last time, so I wanted to make it a set with a full size this time.

Took a SP-01 Tactical, laid out some custom parts (CGW Pro Package + sear cage spacer ring), tools, and got to work.

View attachment 140118

Busted it all down to it's individual pieces and gave it a really good polishing on all the contact surfaces. I just skipped that whole hand fit a disconnector failure this time lol.
Once again, I deleted the four parts on the left (FPB lifter, lifter spring, FPB plunger spring, the Firing Pin Block itself) and replaced them with the single part to the right (sear cage spacer ring) to keep all the proper internal spacings.

View attachment 140119

Got everything done, put back together, and checked my results.
My results repeated themselves. I ended up with a DA of 8lb 10oz and a SA of 2lb 11oz with a 1/8" reset.
I now have a Poor Mans Shadow and a Poor Mans Shadow Compact lol

View attachment 140126
So when can I bring you my sp01 tactical and p10c?

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
 
Looking forward to your chapter on Glock upgrades. :D
It'll be a short chapter...full of youtube links lol. I know next to nothing about strikers in general
So when can I bring you my sp01 tactical and p10c?

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

Bring me that tactical anytime you want. My only experience with the P10 is five live trigger pulls...I wouldnt trust me with it lol
 
Can you link to the parts you bought? I browsed CGW and I'm not sure. Might like to take a swing at my SP-01 Tactical
 
Can you link to the parts you bought? I browsed CGW and I'm not sure. Might like to take a swing at my SP-01 Tactical

It's not cheap, but it's about $175 cheaper than having them do it...and that's not counting the shipping both there and back, either lol.

This package will give you a really sweet shooter.

https://cajungunworks.com/product/75664-pro-package-for-decockers/

Typical home install results are a DA pull of about 8 lbs 12 ozs and a SA pull of about 3 lbs 8 ozs and about 3/16" of reset.

If you do the home install, the staryer punch and slave pin is a must. It's worth ten times its weight in gold.

https://cajungunworks.com/product/inst-dc-dcer-install-kit/

If you want to go as far as I did (parts deletion for a sub 3lb SA), you'll need this spacer.
Disclaimer: This is not mandatory and you'll be disabling a safety feature of the firearm if you do this.

https://cajungunworks.com/product/s-spacer-sear-spacer/

If you do decide to take a crack at it, PM me when you start. I have a couple tips/tricks/lessons learned that might help you out.
 
Over time I did all of these mods except the short trigger reset. Haven't got around to that yet. I absolutely love the results. My shooting buddy has a Shadow 2 and the two guns compare extremely well. Except for the longer trigger pull on mine. For now. The comments about the slave pin and starter punch are right on.
 
Very helpful tips. I have the T 120 clone. I put a Dawson front sight on it, which may pan out eventually. It's accurate enough. I even watched the you tube on Cajun stuff. All this spring changing seems expensive and demanding skill wise but doesn't really fix the bigger problem of creep and sloppy break. Do you have to switch out hammer, sear, and connector to address that issue? And trigger? I might pay for a crisp, clean break. Weight doesn't bother me. Wait and hope does!
 
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Very helpful tips. I have the T 120 clone. I put a Dawson front sight on it, which may pan out eventually. It's accurate enough. I even watched the you tube on Cajun stuff. All this spring changing seems expensive and demanding skill wise but doesn't really fix the bigger problem of creep and sloppy break. Do you have to switch out hammer, sear, and connector to address that issue? And trigger? I might pay for a crisp, clean break. Weight doesn't bother me. Wait and hope does!

Ive never worked on a Canik, so I dont know what the final result will be, but it sounds like you need this

https://cajungunworks.com/product/30100-the-ultimate-canik-upgrade/

It seems like that would crisp it up and minimize creep.
 
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