Sccy CPX-2 Pistol Review: Part 6

Sccy CPX-2 Pistol Review
Part 6 - Range Test
March 21, 2013

My goals for range testing the Sccy CPX-2 Pistol were to get an idea on point-of-aim (POA) versus point-of-impact (POI), get some basic accuracy data at 7 yards from a bench, shoot freehand at varying distances to about 25 yards at my steel torso target, and finish up by running some more rounds through the pistol to get an idea of reliability.

The photo below shows my basic setup used during my range testing. Please ignore the double chronograph. I setup two in line to get some comparative data between two different chronographs.

Figure 1

During the range testing, I used a variety of ammunition that ranged from 115 grain FMJ to 147 grain JHP and had a mix of both brass and steel cases.

Figure 2

My first order of business was to determine the POA versus POI. To do this, I got about 10 yards from my torso target and fired a couple of rounds. I quickly found that there was a significant difference between POA and POI when using a level sight picture with all dots inline and where the top of the sight cuts the center of the target. The point of impact was around 10" high with this sight picture. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo to show this. I then adjusted my sight picture so that I would be on paper at 7 yards and started the accuracy portion of the tests (shooting groups), while knowing I would continue to tweak my sight picture.

To get an idea on the potential accuracy of the Sccy CPX-2 Pistol, I shot a single 10-shot group (one full magazine) from a bench at 7-yards for each type of ammunition. I figured this would give me a good idea on accuracy while at the same time help me ration my ammunition. With recent events, getting 9mm ammunition to use outside of a formal shooting range is hard to find and I prefer to do all my range testing at my own property so I'm not rushed and can setup properly.

I started out shooting the Herter's steel case 115 grain FMJ ammunition. For the target below, I lined up my sights so that the top of the front dot was inline with the center of the rear dots and the top of the front sight cut the center of the target. At 7 yards, the group centered about 3" high. This 10-shot group measured 2.68".

Figure 3

Next I switched from the large 12" Caldwell Orange Pell targets to 4" targets and shot the brass cased Remington Golden Saber Bonded 147 grain JHP ammunition. This time I adjusted my aim point down slightly, but not quite far enough for these targets. It is hard to tell, but I had one of the 10 shots cut the right edge of the paper. This 10-shot group measured 2.79".

Figure 4

Next I switched to the brass cased Federal Premium 147 grain Hyda-Shok JHP ammunition. For this group, I aimed one inch low on the target with the top of the front dot in line with the middle of the two rear dots and the top of the front sight was in line with the bottom of the "9" ring. This seemed to get elevation about right. Since elevation is not adjustable, you will need to develop a sight picture that works for your possible shooting situations or find a shorter rear sight. Windage was slightly off to the left and I could have adjusted it, but I didn't make any adjustments. This 10-shot group measured 2.72".

Figure 5

Next I switched to the brass cased Blazer 115 grain FMJ ammunition. While keeping the same sight picture as above, I shot this 10-shot group which measured 1.97".

Figure 6

Last, I finished up the accuracy testing with the steel cased WPA 115 FMJ ammunition. For some reason (probably me) there was much more spread on this 10-shot group than the others. My guess is that the spread was all me, but regardless, this was the group I shot. It measured a whopping 4.64", but should have been closer to that of the Herter's.

Figure 7

I have summarized my results in the table below and also show a "Best of 8 Group" where I drop the two shots that fell farthest from the group center. Basically this is saying that I'm only about 80% effective in getting a decent shot down range. Although this sounds bad, the reality is that most handguns are more accurate than the shooter and I want to give the Sccy CPX-2 Pistol a fair evaluation on accuracy. Averaging all 5 of the "Best of 8 Groups" gave me a 2" group average. In my mind, this is pretty good for a subcompact pistol.

Ammo	Case	Weight (gr)	Avg. Vel. (ft/sec)	Std. Dev (ft/sec)	Energy (ft-lbs)	10-Shot Group	Best of 8 Group
Herter's	Steel	115 FMJ	1045	16	279	2.68"	1.79"
Remington Golden Saber	Brass	147 JHP	837	8	229	2.79"	1.76"
Federal Premium Hydra-Shok	Brass	147 JHP	898	12	263	2.72"	2.24"
Blazer	Brass	115 FMJ	1008	8	260	1.97"	1.47"
WPA	Steel	115 FMJ	1061	17	287	4.64"	2.87"
Best 8 Total Average							2.03"
Groups shot from bench at 7 yards. Velocity is average of 10 shots with chronograph ~10 feet from the muzzle.

I then switched to having some fun shooting the steel torso target at different distances and tried some drills shifting from tree to tree while making quick follow-up shots. Although the CPX-2 has a relatively long trigger pull, after a while I started getting the hang of it and was making decent shots. It wasn't until I was down to my last two magazines of the steel cased WPA when I had my first failure to eject. Actually this happened three times in a row so I decided to take the pistol apart and take a close look. It turned out that the spent steel cases were getting stuck in the chamber and a good cleaning (which it needed) fixed the problem. Other than this, the CPX-2 was completely reliable with no failure to fire or feed. If you keep your pistol clean and shoot brass cased ammo when it counts, I think you would be pleased with the CPX-2's reliability.

In Part 3 of the review I mentioned that after about the 7th round was loaded into the magazine, the rounds would rattle slightly. With the magazine in the pistol, sometimes they would still rattle and sometimes they were solid. Regardless, this rattling didn't seem to have any impact on the function of the pistol during testing.

Thoughts

If it were not for the fact that the sights shoot high with a normal (my preference) sight picture, I would say that my range results were great for the value line Sccy CPX-2 Pistol. As long as you develop a sight picture that works for your shooting situations, the sight picture shouldn't be an issue. The light weight of the pistol did make it feel a little snappy, but at 17.3 ounces unloaded, that is what you get. One thing I plan on doing is rounding the front edge of the trigger slightly so that it doesn't press into your finger. You can take a look at this photo to see the trigger edge. I feel doing this would make shooting a couple of boxes at the range even more enjoyable.

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.

Sccy CPX-2 Pistol Review: Part 1 - Introduction, Specifications and Summary
Sccy CPX-2 Pistol Review: Part 2 - What's in the Box
Sccy CPX-2 Pistol Review: Part 3 - External and Operational Features
Sccy CPX-2 Pistol Review: Part 4 - Disassembly
Sccy CPX-2 Pistol Review: Part 5 - Internal Features
Sccy CPX-2 Pistol Review: Part 6 - Range Test (this page)

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