SCCY “Generation 2” CPX-2 Lightweight, Compact 9x19mm Semi-Automatic Pistol

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

January 9th, 2013

 

Click pictures for a larger version.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slide lock (top), magazine release (bottom).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very comfortable and ergonomic grip.

 

 

 

 

SCCY Industries of Daytona Beach, Florida is in the business of producing small, lightweight pistols for the personal defense market, which is one of the hottest sectors of the firearms market right now. With more and more citizens choosing to exercise their God-given and Constitutionally-protected right to own and carry guns everyday, small auto pistols are selling as quickly as they can be produced. Handgun buyers have many good pistols from which to choose, and with SCCY introducing their Generation 2 redesigned auto pistols, they now have another good choice.

While SCCY has been busy cranking out pistols for a while now, this is the first one which I have had here for a review. I have held and briefly fired SCCY pistols on a couple of occasions, but until recently, had not fired one enough to do an evaluation.

The pistol shown here is the SCCY CPX-2, which has no manual safety lever. For those who prefer a manual safety, the CPX-1 is available. Differing from their first generation pistols, the Generation 2 pistols have improved ergonomics in the grip area, as well as a couple of internal changes to improve long-term durability.

The CPX-2 shown here is built with a stainless steel slide and barrel, aluminum receiver, and a polymer grip frame. The pistol uses ten-round double-stack steel magazines, with polymer followers and bases. Thankfully, the CPX-2 comes with two magazines, which is very unusual for a pistol in its price range. The magazines are shipped with finger-extension bases installed, but flat base plates are supplied with the pistol, for those who prefer that style. The pistol also comes with a well-designed trigger guard clamshell lock. The CPX-2 wears a set of steel three-dot style sights. The rear sight is adjustable for windage correction by drifting laterally in the slide dovetail. The CPX-2 has an external slide lock, and the slide locks open on an empty magazine. The magazine release is located on the left side, behind the trigger guard, right where God intended it to be. The SCCY uses a double-action-only trigger. The slide does not have to reset the trigger, as is usual on striker-fired pistol designs, as this pistol uses an internal hammer instead, allowing multiple-strike capability.

Critical specifications for the CPX-2 are listed in the chart below. Weights are listed in ounces. Linear dimensions are listed in inches. Trigger pull is listed in pounds of resistance, as measured with my Lyman digital trigger pull scale. Height includes sights and magazine base with the standard magazine base plate installed. Maximum width is measured across the top of the frame, and includes the slide lock.

Chambering 9x19mm
Weight with empty magazine 17.2 oz.
Trigger Pull 8.25 lbs.
Barrel Length 3.14"
Barrel Diameter 0.498"
Overall Height 4.43"
Overall Length 5.95"
Grip Thickness 0.93"
Frame Width 1.05"
Slide Width 0.995"
Maximum Width 1.21"
Trigger Reach 2.85"
Magazine Capacity 10
Magazines Supplied 2
Accessory Rail No
MSRP as of January 9, 2013 $319 US

I fired a variety of ammunition over the chronograph to check velocities, with the results listed in the chart below. Velocities are listed in feet-per-second. Bullet weights are listed in grains. JHP is a jacketed hollowpoint bullet. DPX, Buffalo Bore TAC-XP, and Double Tap TAC-XP are hollow nose homogenous copper bullets that are made by Barnes Bullets. Guard Dog is a FMJ with a soft plastic core to promote rapid expansion. FP is a frangible, pre-fragmented flatnose bullet. FMJ is a full metal jacket roundnose bullet. FMJ-FN is a full metal jacket flat nose Buffalo Bore Penetrator bullet. PB is Pow’RBall, a specialty bullet from Cor-Bon. Glaser is a pre-fragmented bullet. Velocities were taken at an elevation of 541 feet above sea level, with an air temperature of fifty-two degrees Fahrenheit with sixty-seven percent humidity. Velocities were recorded at ten feet from the muzzle.

Ammunition Bullet Weight Velocity
Federal Guard Dog 105 1113
Double Tap TAC-XP 115 992
Double Tap FMJ 147 1009
Atomic HP 124 1124
WCC NATO FMJ 124 993
Fiocchi FMJ 115 1056
Buffalo Bore FMJ-FN 124 1211
Buffalo Bore JHP 115 1262
Buffalo Bore +P JHP 115 1319
Buffalo Bore +P JHP 147 1039
Buffalo Bore TAC-XP 95 1334
Buffalo Bore TAC-XP 115 1150
Remington JHP 124 979
Cor-Bon Glaser 80 1555
Cor-Bon JHP 115 1300
Cor-Bon Pow’RBall 100 1289
Cor-Bon +P DPX 115 1119
Cor-Bon JHP 125 1138
Stryker JHP 115 944
International Cartridge FP 100 1042
Stryker FMJ 115 992

While Plus P ammunition is listed in the chart above, SCCY recommends using Plus P only in limited quantities, and I agree. Lightweight pistols such as this are carried for defense, so carrying the best ammo available is a wise decision, but a steady diet will accelerate wear on a lightweight pistol. Fire enough of your chosen defensive ammo to know that it will run one hundred percent reliably in the pistol, but for most practice, use good-quality standard-pressure ammo.

I ran every type of 9x19mm ammunition that I had available to me through this little pistol to check for reliability, with only one malfunction noted. I had one cartridge that failed to fire on the first strike, but the primer had a good dent in it, so the fault was determined to lie with the cartridge and not the pistol. The SCCY CPX-2 performed very well, feeding, firing, and ejecting every cartridge perfectly, with the exception of the aforementioned bad cartridge, which did fire on the second pull of the trigger. Ejection was to the right side, with no empty cartridge cases hitting the shooter. Cartridges fed smoothly and reliably from the ten-round magazines. The double-action trigger pull was very smooth, and the resistance felt lighter than the measured eight and one-quarter pounds. The slide never failed to lock open on an empty magazine. The grip of the CPX-2 is very comfortable when firing, even with the hot high-performance ammunition, and the grip fit my large hand very well.

The SCCY Generation 2 CPX-2 proved to be a reliable, compact, lightweight pistol that is entirely well-suited for concealed carry. It is small enough and light enough to carry well in a good holster on the belt, or in a suitable pocket holster. For those who prefer a laser sight on their defensive pistols, I have not yet tried one, but hear that ArmaLaser now has a laser sight available for the SCCY pistols.

One of the best features of this SCCY pistol is the price. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price as of the date of this review on the stainless CPX-2 shown here is only $319 US.

Check out the Sccy pistols online at www.sccy.com.

To order the Sccy pistols online, go to www.galleryofguns.com.

To buy quality 9x19mm ammunition, go to www.buffalobore.com, www.doubletapammo.com, and www.luckygunner.com.

Jeff Quinn

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Click pictures for a larger version.

 

 

 

 

CPX-2 comes with two ten-round magazines.

 

 

Trigger lock.

 

 

Disassembly is very quick and easy.