I've been waiting for a long time for someone to come out with a small, light, locked-breech, double stack .380. I won't deny that I would have preferred that it be Glock, SIG, S&W or Ruger (although Ruger has been iffy the past couple of years), but none of those guys have stepped up to the plate. I've been following SCCY teasing the CPX-3 for the past 18 months at least, even sending them a couple of emails last summer, which they did answer. So they finally released it in February (I think), and after chewing it over for a while, I decided to take a chance on the SCCY.
I bought it at a local gun store last Thursday, and I was telling the guys there that I don't buy budget brands so I was concerned about what I was getting. The owner told me they sell a lot of SCCYs and they've never had one come back, so I guess we'll see. They let me molest it for a while, and I was impressed with the fit and finish, so out the door I went with it.
Here's a picture of it in the box:
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The trigger lock is the nicest I have ever seen on any gun I've ever purchased. OTOH, I must say that I was less than impressed with the finish on the magazines. Fortunately, they're very easy to disassemble, unlike the mags for some of my guns (cough...Glock...cough), so I took them apart and gave the bodies a good scrubbing. The patches were dark brown, and even after cleaning they don't look all that great. However, functionally they're just fine. Here's what the finish on the mags looks like:
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Upon disassembling the gun, it's simple and seems ruggedly built. I probably should have taken a picture of it when it was disassembled, but I didn't. and I've now been drinking Absolut on the rocks for almost 2 hours, so I'm not going near it. But here are a couple of pictures of it all in one piece:
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So I went to the range today, and I had a great time with this gun. I will admit that I wasn't prepared for the trigger. I had been dry firing it for the past few days, and I thought it was long, but smooth, but I haven't shot any non .22 for more than a year that wasn't a Glock. I haven't shot a DAO revolver in at least a year and a half, and I've never even owned a DAO pistol. Needless to say, dry firing and live firing are not the same thing, and it was an adventure at first. But I actually like the DAO trigger. It was smooth, with a long reset.
All told, I fired 320 rounds:
SIG Elite 100gr FMJ - 100 rounds
Aguila 95gr FMJ - 100 rounds
Speer Lawman 95gr FMJ - 100 rounds
Fort Scott 95gr "Tumble upon impact" - 20 rounds
Not so much as a hiccup. Nothing. Nada. From the gun's perspective, this was just a boring day at the office, but I was totally impressed. My G42 sure didn't behave like this on its first range trip. Nor did my SR9c, or my P938, or my LC9s, or my G48, or my SR22. OTOH, Both of my G26s and both of my Shields did behave like this, so there's that. The gun is as soft shooting as my G42, and the slide is easier to rack than any pistol I've ever owned that wasn't a .22. I wish ShooterGranny could shoot this pistol. I'd love to hear her opinion of it.
I probably shouldn't post this picture of my target, because all the pistoleros will be making fun of me, but I'm almost 66 and I wear progressive lenses and it's a wonder I hit the target at all, so bite me. Anyway, I just used one target today (first range session is about reliability), and here it is at the end of my session with 320 rounds, all at either 7 yards or 25 feet. Considering the DAO thing, I'm satisfied with this:
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Needless to say, I couldn't be happier with the way this budget pistol has performed. I came home, cleaned it, loaded it, and since Vedder doesn't yet make a LightTuck for the CPX-3, I put it into its new Muddy River Tactical IWB holster, and it is now part of my carry rotation:
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And since I have nothing more to say, here are a few more pictures of it with my G42 (with the Taran Tactical +1). It is obviously fatter than the 42, but it's thinner than my G26:
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I bought it at a local gun store last Thursday, and I was telling the guys there that I don't buy budget brands so I was concerned about what I was getting. The owner told me they sell a lot of SCCYs and they've never had one come back, so I guess we'll see. They let me molest it for a while, and I was impressed with the fit and finish, so out the door I went with it.
Here's a picture of it in the box:
The trigger lock is the nicest I have ever seen on any gun I've ever purchased. OTOH, I must say that I was less than impressed with the finish on the magazines. Fortunately, they're very easy to disassemble, unlike the mags for some of my guns (cough...Glock...cough), so I took them apart and gave the bodies a good scrubbing. The patches were dark brown, and even after cleaning they don't look all that great. However, functionally they're just fine. Here's what the finish on the mags looks like:
Upon disassembling the gun, it's simple and seems ruggedly built. I probably should have taken a picture of it when it was disassembled, but I didn't. and I've now been drinking Absolut on the rocks for almost 2 hours, so I'm not going near it. But here are a couple of pictures of it all in one piece:
So I went to the range today, and I had a great time with this gun. I will admit that I wasn't prepared for the trigger. I had been dry firing it for the past few days, and I thought it was long, but smooth, but I haven't shot any non .22 for more than a year that wasn't a Glock. I haven't shot a DAO revolver in at least a year and a half, and I've never even owned a DAO pistol. Needless to say, dry firing and live firing are not the same thing, and it was an adventure at first. But I actually like the DAO trigger. It was smooth, with a long reset.
All told, I fired 320 rounds:
SIG Elite 100gr FMJ - 100 rounds
Aguila 95gr FMJ - 100 rounds
Speer Lawman 95gr FMJ - 100 rounds
Fort Scott 95gr "Tumble upon impact" - 20 rounds
Not so much as a hiccup. Nothing. Nada. From the gun's perspective, this was just a boring day at the office, but I was totally impressed. My G42 sure didn't behave like this on its first range trip. Nor did my SR9c, or my P938, or my LC9s, or my G48, or my SR22. OTOH, Both of my G26s and both of my Shields did behave like this, so there's that. The gun is as soft shooting as my G42, and the slide is easier to rack than any pistol I've ever owned that wasn't a .22. I wish ShooterGranny could shoot this pistol. I'd love to hear her opinion of it.
I probably shouldn't post this picture of my target, because all the pistoleros will be making fun of me, but I'm almost 66 and I wear progressive lenses and it's a wonder I hit the target at all, so bite me. Anyway, I just used one target today (first range session is about reliability), and here it is at the end of my session with 320 rounds, all at either 7 yards or 25 feet. Considering the DAO thing, I'm satisfied with this:
Needless to say, I couldn't be happier with the way this budget pistol has performed. I came home, cleaned it, loaded it, and since Vedder doesn't yet make a LightTuck for the CPX-3, I put it into its new Muddy River Tactical IWB holster, and it is now part of my carry rotation:
And since I have nothing more to say, here are a few more pictures of it with my G42 (with the Taran Tactical +1). It is obviously fatter than the 42, but it's thinner than my G26:
