SCCY CPX2 early impressions and comparison to XD-e

[tahunua001]

a while back I had the opportunity to pick up a SCCY CPX2 for roughly $180 + tax. I decided that for roughly what people are asking for Hipoints in my area, I might as well give it a shot. for some reason I have an attraction to cheap handguns and no matter how many I buy and subsequently sell due to the poor quality, I just can't stop myself.

while playing around with the different display models I noticed that there was quite a bit of variability in the triggers. each one had a different level of grittiness and trigger pulls seemed to vary by quite a bit from pistol to pistol. I asked for the one that had the best trigger of the bunch which also happened to be the all black (aesthetically my favorite color for handguns), but rather than give me the display I ended up with one that just looked like it. the one I bought had probably one of the worst triggers of the bunch I felt out of the box but I hoped it would break in.

I brought it home and cleaned it, and despite the interesting method of takedown which requires a flathead screwdriver to remove the takedown pin, had it apart and clean in no time. I gave it a good coat of lucas gun oil, just because a lot of the handguns I've been buying lately have been coming with samples of it and I have it everywhere, and put it back together.

I dry fired it probably close to 100 times trying to break in the trigger before actually taking it to the range and to get used to the very long and heavy trigger pull. when I finally took it to the range I put probably 100 rounds through it. 20 rounds where 124gr speer gold dots and the rest were 115gr sellier and bellot fmjs. the gun itself was very precise although the rear sight is going to need drifted as it does hit a bit to the right. I believe with the gold dots I was able to place 10 rounds inside a credit card at 10 yards. the sellier and bellot was quite a bit larger of a group. I also did more poorly as the day went on due to fatigue caused by the heavy trigger. the trigger never did get lighter or less gritty.

when I did get around to cleaning it, I was surprised and horrified. if there is a place that metal surfaces touch on the inside of this handgun, it was covered with a 1/32" thick coat of sludge that was a mixture of mostly gun oil and metal shavings. the stainless barrel has several areas where it contacts the slide with extreme signs of wear already. the hammer, slide rails, barrel/chamber, even where the guide rod rubbed on the recoil spring showed signs of wear. the substance took quite a bit to remove, I could have probably scraped it off and marketed it toward computer repairmen as thermal paste(the substance that mates your computer's processor to the heatsink). I have firearms that were fired 1000 rounds completely dry that have less wear.


of all of the budget guns I've owned, I would say this one definitely exhibits the most sign that it is made with substandard materials. the sad thing is that this handgun has so much potential to be an amazing firearm. I got to comparing it with my springfield XD-e that I purchased last summer and have never bothered carrying. even though the XD-e was specifically designed to be a compact carry piece, and as such is a single stack low capacity handgun, the CPX2 is smaller in every dimension even though it's a double stack magazine. even though the XD-e is better balanced, the CPX feels lighter overall.

my opinions on the XD-e are better suited toward a separate thread altogether but I believe that if the weight and grit of the CPX trigger were to be reduced, even slightly, and if it were constructed out of much better materials, I believe I would find it far superior for my purposes of concealed carry and personal defense than the springfield. however given the poor construction, and what I am assuming is going to be an extremely poor service life before I get to test out that life time warranty, and subsequently sell it, I will not be likely to recommend a SCCY to anyone who is strapped for cash, looking for a good defense piece.

[Bill DeShivs]

The Skyy gun is a copy of the Keltec P11.
The P11 has been around for 20 years. All the kinks have been worked out long ago.

[Sequins]

The P11 is excellent in my opinion. I like Keltec.

[tahunua001]

I've never been overly fond of Keltec's ergonomics. that weird waffle texturing never agreed with my hands.

[Bill DeShivs]

P11s are checkered. The PF9 has the waffle patterning.
Either are easily modified with a file or some sandpaper.
As far as Skyy ergonomics- I can remember where my fingers go.

[lamarw]

Send it back to SCCY and explain the problem. Don't send it on your dime. Call Customer Service and request a shipping label.

You have nothing to loose and will be able to test out their customer service and maybe get a better pistol.

They need to hear of your experience just as you shared it with us. Tell them what you liked about the gun and most importantly what did not meet your expectations.

[TomNJVA]

That is strange - I am wondering if a used gun was put back in the box and sold as new, either by a store employee or returned by a customer. My SCCY CPX2 was clean when received and the trigger is very smooth. I have put a couple of hundred rounds through it of various makes and it runs fine. I would definitely return it, either to the store for an exchange or back to SCCY. They are renowned for their service.

[tahunua001]

it was new when purchased. no mars, burrs, or other signs of wear out of the box.

[Pahoo]

interesting method of takedown which requires a flathead screwdriver to remove the takedown pin, had it apart and clean in no time.

You don't need a screw driver as you can pull the pin, using the base rim of a 9mm. As far as dirt and wear, There should not be any issues so perhaps you got an exception or whatever ?? ...

I have cleaned a number of these for folks and always remind them that these come with a Perpetual Life-time Guarantee. Stolen or lost guns are no longer covered. You paid less than the going rate and there might be a good reason. If or when I see the problems you have mentioned, I surely will post a reply. ...

Be Safe !!!

[Glockgreat23]

I say send it back. I have about 500 rounds through mine and have never seen any issues like you describe. I think it's pretty amazing for the price and yes, the trigger does get better with time

[Ibmikey]

I too have about 5-600 rounds through my SCCY 2 and the first one I bought my neighbor told me he has fired 800 rounds through it. My pistol cleans nicely and exhibits very little wear on barrel and slide, my neighbor’s was so dirty having not been cleaned since he “borrowed” it from me. I cleaned it and found no appreciable wear on any part...by the way a flat blade screwdriver is not needed, the take down pin is removed using the rim of a 9mm to pop it out. “ Substandard materials” are just not found in my SCCY sorry....this pistol and a couple of small KelTec’s are the only budget pistols in my safe of over 100 and seem to hold their own with the expensive ones.

[sigxder]

Don't have one but have some friends that do and they like them. I have heard they have good customer service. I would give them a call. Heard their customer service was pretty good. What do you have to loose?