SCCY CPX-2 9mm

The SCCY (Pronounced Sky) brand is a newcomer to the firearms scene having started from scratch in 2003.  Some would argue the relatively young company lacks the pedigree and experience of a 100 year-old gun maker, and the experience gained through those years.  The other side of that argument is that a younger company is not saddled with 100 years of old equipment, old processes, and 100 years of customer expectations.

Whether you view the relative youth of the company as a positive or a negative, the company is building a solid, compact handgun that holds 10-rounds.  SCCY produces nearly every part of their pistols in-house via CNC machining and has recently announced a move to a brand new manufacturing facility in Tennessee.

The CPX comes in two models; the CPX-1 and CPX-2.  They are essentially identical except for a manual safety on the frame of the CPX-1.  The specs for both models are:

Height:                 4 inches

Length:                 5.7 inches

Barrel:                   3.1 inches

Width:                  1 inch

Weight:                15 ounces (Unloaded)

Magazine:           10 rounds 9x19mm

The gun feels considerably smaller and wider than the stats would suggest.  Handling the gun you would think it was no more than maybe four inches tall by three long, but you may well think is wider than one inch.  The CPX feels like a mouse gun and a holdout piece, but it feels like it has a substantial grip area.  They are reminiscent of a snub-nosed revolver with an oversize rubber grip.

In fact, let’s compare the stats of a Smith & Wesson J-frame Model 60:

Height:                 4.195 inches

Length:                 6.6 inches

Barrel:                   2.125 inches

Width:                  1.309 inches (Cylinder)

Weight:                 21.4 ounces (Unloaded)

Magazine:           5 rounds .357/.38

I brought up the J-frame because the CPX is in the same general category as the J-frame.  Both are closer to backup/holdout guns than primary fighting weapons.  The J-frame was the obvious choice for backup and concealed carry for decades.  When you look at the stats together you can see the SCCY delivers double the capacity in a package actually smaller than the revolver.

While we are comparing, let’s compare the Glock 26, a direct competitor with a 9+1 capacity:

Height:                 4.17 inches

Length:                 6.41 inches

Barrel:                   3.42 inches

Width:                  1.18 inches

Weight:                 21.71 ounces (Unloaded)

Magazine:           9+1 rounds 9mm

Here are the CPX and G26 getting acquainted:

The slides and barrels of the CPX models are all stainless steel milled from bar stock, the firing mechanism aluminum, and the frames are plastic.  A dizzying number of colors are available, at least nine in the current catalog, and several special limited edition color combinations have been available in the past.  Both models feature a slide stop lever and the slide locks back on an empty magazine.   The only other external controls are the trigger and a takedown pin.  The takedown pin does require a tool of some sort to pull it free.  A flat screw driver or even the rim of a shell casing can be effective, so it is not a specialized tool that can be lost, but it is still a minor annoyance.

The gun arrived in a printed cardboard box with laser cut foam for the gun, a cheap trigger lock and two excellent metal magazines.  Two base pads were included for each magazine; flush-fit and extended grip.  The base pads were easy to change.  I have large hands so I put the extended pads on to get more grip on the pistol and did not feel  the gun concealed any worse for the extended pads.

Cost

Both the CPX-1 and CPX-2 are available brand new between $200 and $250 depending on color.  Raspberry colored frames seem to sell cheapest and titanium colored finishes seem to command the highest price.  Of the two models  the CPX-2, the model without the thumb safety, seems to be the bigger seller.

The under $300 price point can easily make a shooter think the Sccy falls in with the likes of Raven and Hi-point, but that would be a bad assumption.  The Sccy uses a high quality steel slide and has an excellent reputation for reliability.  The gun has a metal chassis inside the plastic frame that runs the whole length of the frame.   The magazines are made in house by Sccy and seem solid and reliable.  The Internet, normally critical of inexpensive guns, is notably short on complaints regarding the reliability of the Sccy.

Range

Keep in mind what the Sccy is and is not.  This is an easily concealed holdout gun.  The sights are very serviceable and on a gun this size they are excellent.  Many pocket guns try to get away with a notch machined into the slide or miniature sights.  The Sccy gives you full sized sights with a three dot pattern of oversized dots.   These sights would be at home on a full sized handgun.

The diminutive size of the gun was still a challenge on the range requiring bracing the wrists for bench shooting rather than the front of the gun.  Five shot groups never got tighter than 3-inches at 25 yards and many were 5-inch spreads.  Those groups are certainly good enough for the realistic application of a gun this size.

On the range we did find the recoil disappointing.  The gun feels wider in the hand than it really is and the design of the grip with air-pockets in the back strap created the expectation it would tame recoil more effectively.   Unfortunately not the case.  Even 124 grain practice loads smacked the hand enough we were relieved to drop to 115 grain loads.

Here is an excellent picture of the air pockets and the calipers showing the grip.

I wish the textured insert on the back strap had been a softer plastic than the rest of the grip, that could have made all the difference and given a more pleasant range experience.  Recently an article stated the author would have no reservations about recommending the Sccy as someone’s first and only gun.  I doubt that shooter would go to the range often if the Sccy was their only gun.  Much like the snub nose revolvers compared to the Sccy earlier, this is the type of gun that gets carried often and shot seldom.

Trigger

In online forums the Sccy suffers the most complaints regarding its trigger.  To be fair the trigger weighs considerably more than common striker fired pistols, coming in at an average just under 9 pounds.  Again, keep in mind the Sccy is designed to compete head to head in the category of holdout/pocket guns with double action snub-nosed revolvers.  While we did not have a snubbie on hand for a side-by-side comparison, we have had pocket revolvers in the past with a trigger pull exceeding the 14 pound limit of the trigger scale.

In that context, the nine-pound average pull weight of the Sccy looks fantastic.  I always argue I will take a consistent trigger over a light trigger.  In the chart below the Sccy turned in a max deviation of one-pound in the trigger pull and a standard deviation of 5.3 ounces, just a hint greater than the recently tested FN FNS.

I suspect the trigger is less of a problem than our expectation.  We are generally used to firing all the 4-6 pound triggers that are currently popular.  If you handed the Sccy to a 1970’s police officer who carried a Security Six and a J-frame backup he would likely tell you the trigger was amazing.

Still, we are used to triggers in the five pound range and the nine pound trigger of the Sccy took some adjustment.  I only had one range session with the Sccy before I had to give it back.  If I had more time to get used to the trigger I have faith I could have turned in much better groups.

Conclusion

There is a lot to like in the Sccy CPX-2.  It is a small, concealable package and brings ten rounds of 9mm to the fight with sights large enough to actually use.  The CPX-2 is smaller and lighter than a Model 60 revolver with more barrel and twice as many shots.  The CPX-2 is still lighter and slightly smaller than a Glock 26 making it an excellent concealed carry gun.  The grip and sights are both large enough to be useful, the construction appears first rate, and the magazines are excellent.

Everything in life is trade-offs and getting a gun down to the size and weight of the CPX series of pistols comes with costs.  A nine pound trigger takes practice to master and the 15 ounce weight of the CPX-2 gives it some recoil. Much like the venerable J-Frame revolver the Sccy can be mastered and used very effectively by an experienced shooter willing to put in the time and training to master the gun.  In that case the Sccy beats the revolver in every category on paper.  Like the small frame revolvers, the CPX-2 is not a great choice for a beginner or anyone who won’t put in the work to master the gun.

At a price point of under $250 it is hard to think of a reason not to add one to the collection for a light-weight pocket gun either for backup or for a low threat environment.  I’m going to buy one for myself.