I’m still fairly new to CZ pistols. That includes the CZ Shadow 2 I reviewed a few months back. Even though that review was months ago, I still don’t have enough rounds through the Shadow 2 for a thorough follow up review. That will happen soon enough. I’m sure of it. Regardless, I’m writing about it again because it has gone through a significant transformation that’s worth mentioning – it’s been cajunized.
Some of y’all might be asking yourselves, what is cajunized? I asked myself that very same question when I first heard the term and that happened pretty much the same day I let folks know I got my hands on the CZ Shadow 2. Folks were wondering if it had been cajunized or if it wasn’t, was I going to have it cajunized. I had no idea what they were talking about. So I asked what that meant and I learned that it is the term used to describe pistols that had been worked on by Cajun Gun Works (CGW for short from here on out).
That got me curious. I wasn’t sure I was going to send the pistol anywhere since I was impressed by how good it felt out of the box, but I was curious enough to learn a little more about it given how much praise folks were tossing around regarding cajunized CZ pistols. So I did exactly what any gun nerd would do and contacted CGW to inquire about the magic they perform on pistols.
I learned that having a pistol cajunized means having CGW install their Pro-Package. The package itself can be purchased without installation, but some of the parts require hand fitting and that’s the magic ingredient in having a pistol cajunized. The package includes a CGW race hammer with adjustable sear, TRPIN S-7 tool steel floating trigger pin, RPTRS music wire reduced power trigger return spring, two HPIN super ard and super smooth hammer pins, HS-12000, HS-13, 1489-T6 super hard disconnector, EXT-FP tool steel extended firing pin with matching 97045 heavy duty spring, S-spacer machined alum sear spacer, and a 75850 Shadow 2 reach reduction kit. One can also optionally add a barrel bushing as well. To be honest, I don’t know what half of those things are nor do I know how to install them, let alone how to hand fit them. However, curiosity got the best of me and decided to have the Shadow 2 cajunized.
The process was long, but simple enough. It started by calling CWG and telling them I wanted to have them install a Pro-Package. They placed me on a waiting list to start the work order. About six weeks later, I received an email indicating that they were now ready for my work order. The email included a link that took me to a special place on their website where I submitted my work order. Two days later, I received a follow up email with shipping instructions. Shipping the firearm was a little complicated since given the ever changing firearm regulations CGW requested FFL to FFL shipping. That meant packaging up the pistol, taking it to my local FFL and having them ship it to CGW for a modest fee plus the cost of shipping. CGW sent an additional email confirming they received the firearm. Five weeks after that, I got a call from CGW to let me know the work was complete and for payment. A few days later, the pistol was back at my local FFL ready for pick up. The entire process from start to finish took about twelve weeks which included about a week delay on my part to ship the firearm.
Was it worth it? As the magic eight ball might say, all signs point to yes. They quite literally took an already amazing pistol and made it way better. The most noticeable difference is in the trigger. The reach is a few millimeters shorter than before, but it makes getting a good grip (or as good as a grip as I can manage with my short sausage fingers and meaty palms) significantly easier. The reset is noticeably shorter. The trigger pull is as smooth as butter and much lighter. The double action weight went from 8 lbs 11 ounces on average to about 5 lbs 6 ounces. The single action went from just north of 3 lbs to just north of 2 lbs. It’s ridiculously light. So light that it will take some effort to get used to it.
Yeah, I’m going to be shooting the snot out of this pistol.