Gun of the Week: CZ Shadow 2 Carry

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posted on April 3, 2026
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From its vaunted CZ 75 to modern competition and concealed-carry guns, CZ USA has offered a range of designs to suit the needs of today's handgun enthusiasts. One of the latest models to hit the consumer market is the company's Shadow 2 Carry. Watch our "Gun of the Week" episode above to see the details of this carry-oriented design.

"Now the Shadow 2 is a name that we're pretty familiar with, and if you're in the competition circuit, you're very familiar with it because it is a stellar line of competition-oriented handguns," American Rifleman Executive Editor Evan Brune said. "And there are a number of features in those guns that people loved so much that they were like, “Can we put this into a carry variant?” and CZ answered the call with this particular model."

The CZ Shadow 2 Carry is a hammer-fired, double-action/single-action design chambered in 9 mm that accepts 15-round box magazines. Guns are outfitted with textured aluminum grip panels and have a slide cut to accept Shield RMSc-footprint red-dot optics. Unlike the all-steel competition guns, the Shadow 2 Carry is built on an aluminum frame with a Picatinny-railed dustcover for accessories.

"Weight-wise, unloaded, you're coming in at about 30 ounces with this," Brune said. "Still quite a bit heavier than your polymer-framed nines, but, if you want something that is absolutely solid and still is carryable, this is your platform."

Control-wise, on either side of the frame, there is a bilateral decocker that allows for easy use by left- and right-handed shooters, along with a single-sided push-button magazine release and slide-stop lever on the left side of the frame.

"So, all in all, you know, CZ, they're answering the consumer call for a carry version of the popular Shadow 2," Brune said. "And this is still a great shooter on the range as well as something that you can carry every day."

For more details, visit cz-usa.com.

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