Sccy CPX-2 Pistol Review
Part 3 - External & Operational Features
March 3, 2013*

Sccy CPX-2 Review

In this part of the review, I cover all of the external and operational features of the Sccy CPX-2 Pistol.  The CPX-2 is a compact polymer frame 9mm pistol and comes with a 3.1" barrel.  This pistol is rated for 9mm only (no +P) and has a magazine capacity of 10 rounds.  These next four photos give you some isometric view of the pistol (remember that clicking on a photo will bring up a high resolution image allowing you to see the details in the photo).

 

Figure 1
Sccy CPX-2 Review

One thing that I thought was confusing was that Sccy states that this black version of the pistol is both Stainless Steel and Carbon Steel.  Since there is a difference between these two steels, I contacted Sccy and they stated that the slide was Stainless Steel.

Figure 2
Sccy CPX-2 Review

Figure 3
Sccy CPX-2 Review

Figure 4
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The CPX-2 measured 1.27" in width across the slide hold open lever, 1.11" across the grip and 1.00 across the slide.

Figure 5
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The height measures 4.80" with the finger extension magazine base installed and 4.48" with the flat magazine base installed and both of these were different than the specification height of 4".  The length measured 6.00" which was also different from the specification length of 5.7".  The right side of the pistol was marked with "9mm" on the barrel and marked with the text below on the polymer frame. 

SCCY INDUSTRIES -  DAYTONA BEACH - FLORDIA - USA
READ AND UNDERSTAND OWNER'S MANUAL BEFORE USE
WARNING: WILL FIRE WITHOUT MAGAZINE INSTALLED

Since this text clearly states that the pistol "will fire without a magazine installed", there is no magazine disconnect in the CPX-2 Pistol.  Also, there are no controls on the right side of the pistol, so this pistol is slightly biased towards a right handed shooter.  The reason I say slightly is that since there is no safety, a right or left handed shooter has a potential for 10+1 rounds before an action is required.  When you compare this to most compact revolvers, you have only 5 or 6 rounds before having to take action.

Figure 6
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The only markings visible on the bottom of the pistol is the manufacturer's name SCCY on the magazine bases.

Figure 7
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The left side of the pistol is marked with the "SCCY" on the slide and "CPX-2 9mm" on the polymer frame.  Also the grip area has the logo and "SCCY" name molded into the grip.  On the left side, you can also see the magazine release, slide hold open lever and the end of the takedown pin.

Figure 8                                                  Figure 9                                                 Figure 10
Sccy CPX-2 Review   Sccy CPX-2 Review   Sccy CPX-2 Review

The CPX-2 Pistol weighed in at 15.10 ounces without a magazine, 17.30 ounces with an empty magazine and 21.40 ounces with a magazine and 10 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense 115gr FTX ammunition.  Although the 15 ounces stated in the specification does represent the weight of the pistol, most manufacturers list their weight with the magazine installed, so I believe a comparable advertising weight would be 17.30 ounces.

Figure 11                                    Figure 12                                     Figure 13
Sccy CPX-2 Review   Sccy CPX-2 Review   Sccy CPX-2 Review

The CPX pistols come with high visibility white three dot sights.  The front sight is not adjustable and appears to be made from a polymer material and double pinned into the top of the slide.

Figure 14
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The rear sight nests in a dovetail slot and is adjustable in windage only.  To adjust this sight, you use a 1/16" Allen wrench to loosen the set screws and then shift the sight in the direction that you want to move the point of impact.  When I loosened the set screw, the sight shifted easily without needing a punch and hammer.

Figure 15
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The photo below gives you a good idea of the sight picture.  At my arms length, the gaps on the side of the front post are visible, but slightly less than that shown below.  Also in the photo you can see the back of the aluminum receiver and the serial number is stamped into the receiver.  Sccy states that the receiver is made from 7075-T6 aluminum alloy and this alloy is high strength and standard for most aluminum receivers.

Figure 16
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The grip/frame is made from a Zytel polymer material which is basically a glass filled nylon and this type of material is regularly used by other manufacturers for pistol frames.  The magazine release and slide hold open lever are located on the left side.  The slide hold open lever has a polymer covering to give you a bigger surface to press on when releasing or locking the slide.  Both the magazine release and slide hold open lever seem to be located in ergonomic locations for most hand sizes.  When you press the magazine release button, the magazine falls free of the pistol.  The trigger pull measured 8.5 pounds based on 10 pulls from a Lyman Digital Trigger Pull Gauge.  The trigger has about 0.13" of initial take-up and fires after about 0.72" of travel.  Reset occurs at about the 0.04" position.  Overall I would say it has a long trigger pull like you would expect from a double action only hammer fired pistol.  The trigger had a good feel with it seeming to be at its highest pull weight at the beginning of the travel.  The trigger pull was very smooth throughout and staging the trigger seemed to take more practice.

Figure 17
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The grip area has two finger grooves molded into the grip. With the addition of the finger extension magazine base, you have three grooves and can get all fingers wrapped around the front of the grip.

Figure 18
Sccy CPX-2 Review

For my hand size (medium palm with long fingers), the CPX-2 seemed to have a full size feel and you can see this based on the amount of grip exposed on the left side of the pistol.

Figure 19
Sccy CPX-2 Review

I measured the girth of the grip just below the trigger guard and found it to be about 6.0".  When I compared this to my full size SR9 Pistol, the SR9 had a girth of about 5.4", so clearly the CPX-2 would have a larger feel.  I checked a couple of more pistols and all seemed to measure just under the 5.5" girth.

Figure 20
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The size of the grip is related to having a 10-round double stack magazine and the CPX-2 pistol has an area on the back of their grip that they call an "integral re-coil cushion".  Since this cushion is a thinned out area of the molded polymer material and is supported by ribs, this area is still very stiff and provides very little in terms of energy absorption.

Figure 21
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The barrel is made from 416 stainless steel and measured 3.14" in length.

Figure 22
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The barrel rifling has 7 grooves and a 1:16 right hand twist.  Although the photo below is not as good as I would have liked, you can still see the 7 grooves at the end of the barrel.

Figure 23
Sccy CPX-2 Review

With the slide open, you can see the breech face, firing pin hole, extractor and ejector.

Figure 24
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The extractor has a hook like edge for positively gripping the case.

Figure 25
Sccy CPX-2 Review

When the slide is locked open, the takedown pin can be removed by using the tip of a screwdriver to pry it out of the hole.  Once the pin was pried out slightly, I was able to remove it with my fingers.

Figure 26
Sccy CPX-2 Review

This next set of photos shows how the extractor also functions as a loaded chamber indicator.  The photo below is with the pistol unloaded.

Figure 27 - Pistol Unloaded
Sccy CPX-2 Review

These next two photos are with a round in the chamber and you can see the extractor sticks out slightly giving you both a visible and tactile indication that a round is in the chamber.

Figure 28 - Pistol Loaded With Round Chambered
Sccy CPX-2 Review

Figure 29 - Pistol Loaded With Round Chambered
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The CPX pistols are hammer fired pistols.  The hammer is a low inertia hammer that is completely shrouded by the slide.  The photos below show the hammer in a "ready" state (trigger not pulled) and close to a "fire" state (trigger pulled).

Figure 30- Ready State                                              Figure 31 - Fire State
Sccy CPX-2 Review   Sccy CPX-2 Review

When you remove the magazine and look inside the magazine well, you can see the hammer spring at the rear.

Figure 32
Sccy CPX-2 Review

On the front right side of the magazine well you can see the magazine catch.

Figure 33
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The magazines have a steel body, polymer follower and polymer base plate.

Figure 34
Sccy CPX-2 Review

Figure 35
Sccy CPX-2 Review

It is hard to tell in the photo, but there were some sharp edges on the rear of the polymer magazine base plate that seemed rough on the hands.  I rounded the edges with a small file.

Figure 36
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The right side of the magazine has two round holes which are used to indicate how many rounds are in the magazine.  When a round is covering the majority of the first hole (right hole in photo), that represents 5 rounds in the magazine.  When a round is covering the second hole (left in photo), that represents 10 rounds.

Figure 37
Sccy CPX-2 Review

The follower has "CPX 9mm" molded into the top.  You can also see below where there is a small shelf (top right in photo) where this shelf pushes against the slide hold open lever to lock the slide in the open position after the last round.

Figure 38
Sccy CPX-2 Review

These next two photos show the magazine with 10 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense 115 gr FTX ammunition.  One thing I noticed was that as I loaded the magazines, sometimes after about the 7th round, the rounds would seem to rattle.  I was able to load all 10 rounds in both magazines.  With one of the magazine, I had to give the bottom of the magazine a hard hit with the palm of my hand for the magazine catch to engage.

Figure 39
Sccy CPX-2 Review

You can see below how the rounds form a double stack inside the magazine.

Figure 40
Sccy CPX-2 Review 

 

Thoughts

Clearly, some of the specifications were slightly different from what the manufacturer stated.  Although the grip seems large, it has a good feel in my hand, but those with smaller hands may prefer a smaller grip.  Trigger pull measured an average of 8.5 pounds and had a good smooth feel.  With the 7th+ rounds rattling in the magazine, this may or may not be a problem and range testing will have to sort that out.  My main thought and at this point (not having shot the pistol) is that the Sccy CPX-2 Pistol seems like an attractive well built simple pistol.

For more detailed photos and commentary, make sure you check out the other parts of this review and feel free to leave comments on my Reader's Comments page.  The following links are provided to help you see other parts of this review. 


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