Shadow Systems CR920XP…..The hype is real.

Nov 3, 2024

This is an in-depth tabletop review of the Shadow Systems CR920XP, which is a very interesting and amazing pistol.

I did my best to remain passive and not go over the top hyping what is an awesome firearm. Let me know in the comments if you have a shadow. Plan to get one? Maybe you just want to troll Glock owners or bujee Glock owners. Have a fun discussion, ask your questions and I will, as always, do my best to reply and respond to them and answer them to the best of my abilities!

Let’s start at the beginning of my Shadow journey. I did a 1k review on the CR920 pistol. I didn’t care for the gun overall, however, this is due to the ergonomics that go with a G43-sized firearm and my larger-than-normal hand size.

Then…..the CR920XP entered the chat. G48/43X frame size, and around the G48 in size with the slide. I am a sucker for a 4” CCW pistol.

The pros:

Visually the firearm is truly special in its appearance and the fluted copper colored barrel is just the right touch of color. The comp is all business and extends the standard CR920X pistol slide to be the same length as the G48 MOS slide length. For years my go-to EDC was a G48 pistol.

Let’s go back to front on the feature set. Slightly thinner than a G48, it has awesome texturing which works well to keep the firearm planted in your hands, even with sweaty hands. Subtle flair at the base which gives a significantly better hand purchase on the frame. I had to install a mag well on my 48 to have a better grip. This eliminates the need for a mag well, and the shadow has a subtle flair that serves to aid reloading.

Moving forward, the controls are just right, not too big of a magazine release, just right location for the slide stop, and a subtle beavertail that is reshaped slightly compared to a out of the box G48. Trigger reach is just right, and with my larger hands, the slimmer grip was not an issue after a slight adjustment to my hold technique. Generally I don’t enjoy the micro size category handguns. The shadow, and it’s Austrian brother are just about as slim and short as I would feel comfortable operating without any issues.

Trigger:

I am of the opinion that the stock trigger is fantastic on the shadow. If you browse the forums, you will find many who would disagree. Understanding this pistol was designed to be a fighting pistol, for defensive carry and not a Gucci range toy is the key difference I think. The trigger really breaks in and comes to life around 500 rounds, and has a clean, crisp and short take up and break. I love how the wall feel of the trigger is, and the reset. My god it’s the best reset on a striker fired pistol I have experienced right out of the box. Perfectly audible and tactile, almost aggressive in nature when you let slightly forward to hit the reset point.

Barrel:

We cannot look at this pistol without commenting on the match grade, fluted barrel with triangular compensator mount just completes the classy look of the pistol. I went with the copper color, and to be hones it’s very subtle in person.

Optics and sights:

The optic mount pocket design is one of, if not the best on the market and acomidates a wide variety of optics. Comes with hardware and thread locking compound. It perfectly cowittnesses with a Holosun 407k/507k or most RMSCc sized optic plates. I mounted a Meprolight MPO-Pro-S on mine, and the factory sights provide a subtle but visible cowittness to the larger size mailbox. With a 507 or 407k you would have a perfect lower 2/3rds co witness. I will be installing taller sights later on down the road to match the optic.

Factory sights are front tritium and rear blacked out steel. A cocking shelf is built into the rear sight that works well.

Slide machining:

It is beautifully machined, the cocking serations work perfectly, so no matter how you run the pistol, you can run the pistol. To contrast my G48 is quite slick, and I frequently have my hand slip off the front serations when press checking the pistol.

Magazines:

Stainless steel, coated with a slick coating the 15 round magazines work very well. The mags are propriarity, and not compatible with glock OEM mags or shield arms mags. They keep mag cost low, coming in around $27 give or take. Gunmag warehouse has them in stock usually, if Shadow sells out in their store.

Comp:

Yes it works, and it works well. The back bored comp design feels like Chuck Norris karate chopping the pistol back on target every shot, go faster? The optics barely moves from the target. It does not eliminate recoil, but it really smooths out the impulse and feels incredible every round. It is a very mild shooting gun, even when compared to my G48 in stock trim, and my Shield plus carry comp. The tooless design is really great for cleaning, but the design leads to one of my complaints. When you remove the comp, it can be difficult to remove the carbon build up on the tri lug mount. I clean my guns after every range session, be it 15 rounds or 500. So if you are a clean freak, a quick bronze brush will get it back to clean, though the first time you clean it, it will take you a while. Clenzoil is my gun cleaner of choice.

Overall impressions of the pistol after 1400 rounds and climbing.

This has firmly moved into my keeper pile, and while I still choose my Shield plus carry comp as an EDC, this pistol is growing on me exponentially and after finding a suitable holster setup, will be part of my EDC rotation. Accuracy with the factory irons is truly sublime, and the optic just adds the final touches to this masterpiece of firearms engineering. This is a fantastic first pistol, CCW pistol, or even competitive pistol that can be shot all day, with minimal recoil and perfectly reliable with good ammo.

There is a break in period, of approximately 200-300 rounds prescribed by the owners manual. I see the people out there in gun land swearing up and down that it shouldn’t be so, but yes it’s a requirement. To compare it directly with a G48, you will see it’s a much tighter tolerance gun, and thus requires a few rounds to slick up and work as intended. The manual recommends 124gr Nato pressure level loads for the break in period, after which you can basically feed it whatever you wish and it will run.

I ran the gun hard, fast and hot during the initial impression video, as hot as 2 magazines will allow me to anyway. The fluted barrel works well to help mitigate the heat build up, and the heat transfer through the frame to the shooter is also minimal on an extended range session. For comparison, 50 rounds through my G48 and the gun is too hot to hold and continue without a significant cool down period. After 350 rounds, I simply ran out of time and ammo with the shadow. After about 3-4 min, I was able to tuck the pistol in my holster and go home comfortably. The coatings and design of the gun really come into play, and do help keep the gun nice to handle.

To sum it all up,

Many people compare it to a Glock, but it really is an item in it’s own category. It looks and operates similar to a glock, and in fact takes some factory glock parts.

But it is a very different pistol in hand, the shadow is aimed at someone who has owned a glock, and want a full upgrade package, without losing reliability. It a dressed up Glock? yes and no, the parts are fit with a tighter than OEM tolerance, and all machined in house in the US of A. The trigger is clean, crisp and better than a stock Gen 5 trigger, which is a good thing. It is slightly heavier, but this is by design as a carry platform. The glock gen 5 trigger is not bad either, but still leaves a little bit on the table for improvment.

By contrast the Glock is squarely aimed at the mass market appeal, and it’s a great shooting and reliable platform, that is minimal on features. Sometimes a chicken nugget is great, and sometimes you want a fully developed chicken sandwich. Shadow systems is there for when you want that something extra.