So, I was finally able to shoot my new CZ Evo Scorpion carbine yesterday. (Sorry for the weird spacing, I typed this in notebook first and copied.) I shot hand loads only, 124 grain Montana Gold CMJ, which were moving at right around 1100 FPS from the 16" barrel and achieve around 900-950 FPS through my handguns. I also tried another batch of coated 147s and was able to get good cycling in the Scorpion below 1000 FPS.
I found a few things to be very positive:
The irons are really nice and are a great design. Low profile and with a ferris wheel sortof of rotating rear aperture. The front sight is similar to an AR and adjusts the same way. I bought the CZC RMR mount, BUT I forgot to put a little blue loctite on the screws (and a wrench at the range), so I noticed it was loose and couldn't tighten it. It offers a nice co-witness though. Accuracy seemed good, but I think it would be better with hotter ammo.
The weight, feel, and the balance are awesome. I think it weighs just over 6lbs and it feels great in transitioning compared to a 16" AR. Sure most of it is polymer, but that doesn't bother me. The polymer seems to be very durable and my HK pistols have a lot of polymer too.
I like the stock. It is easy to fold, easy to deploy, just about the right length, minimalistic and keeps weight down.
The muzzle brake is good too. It's pretty minimal and light weight and I sortof assume all 9mm brakes are equivalent in function, so a lighter one is better to me.
It is very quiet, I suppose this is common to all PCCs, but it was a pretty nice change over my AR with muzzle brake.
The ergonomics are really great. With a little practice, I think better than an AR, more akin to a SCAR, but without a reciprocating charging handle.
The magazines are great. They are a very durable/solid feeling translucent polymer and they are only about$20 each (10,20, or 30). I have had zero issues finding them.
I found some things to be okay or acceptable:
The factory safety didn't bother me. I will not likely upgrade it. I am sure it depends on hand size, but I could use it just like I use the ambi safeties on my ARs.
The factory grip was fine by me too. I already bought the yeti upgrade, so I will swap it, but it wasn't necessary to me.
I would almost put the charging handle in the negatives, but it was acceptable. It would be ideal to have a little bit more handle to grip given the force it takes to move the bolt, but i am in no hurry to change it.
The mag release was fine, but I have the gear works extended one on my bench and I think it will make mag changes easier.
Then there were the things that I didn't like:
First, as anyone who has read about the Scorpion would know the trigger is pretty rough. I didn't find the quality of it to be as bad as the very heavy pull. I would think that the quality is about that of a Glock trigger, but at twice the weight. I will be acquiring new springs as soon as I determine if I have the welded trigger pack.
Second, the blowback design is both good and bad. I think the blowback will allow me to reliably shoot even lighter weight subsonics, but it also has recoil. It's not recoil like I am used to though. It is more of a very short bump, almost a ping. It feels like a nail gun or a staple gun and you are very aware of the large bolt cycling as you fire. Once it is suppressed though, I think I will prefer the blowback over a gas gun and the difference in volume will be negligible.
All in all, I think it is a cool gun. I bought it just to plink with and to teach my kids to shoot on. I think it will make a nice/fun step up from a 22 LR with a little more recoil, but also really quiet. I don't really see a purpose for me other than that, as I think that my 300 blackout (future SBR) will do pretty much everything better than this PCC, but I started looking at ammo costs and realized that it won't take a ton of 300 blk subsonic ammo expended to essentially pay for this carbine.
I found a few things to be very positive:
The irons are really nice and are a great design. Low profile and with a ferris wheel sortof of rotating rear aperture. The front sight is similar to an AR and adjusts the same way. I bought the CZC RMR mount, BUT I forgot to put a little blue loctite on the screws (and a wrench at the range), so I noticed it was loose and couldn't tighten it. It offers a nice co-witness though. Accuracy seemed good, but I think it would be better with hotter ammo.
The weight, feel, and the balance are awesome. I think it weighs just over 6lbs and it feels great in transitioning compared to a 16" AR. Sure most of it is polymer, but that doesn't bother me. The polymer seems to be very durable and my HK pistols have a lot of polymer too.
I like the stock. It is easy to fold, easy to deploy, just about the right length, minimalistic and keeps weight down.
The muzzle brake is good too. It's pretty minimal and light weight and I sortof assume all 9mm brakes are equivalent in function, so a lighter one is better to me.
It is very quiet, I suppose this is common to all PCCs, but it was a pretty nice change over my AR with muzzle brake.
The ergonomics are really great. With a little practice, I think better than an AR, more akin to a SCAR, but without a reciprocating charging handle.
The magazines are great. They are a very durable/solid feeling translucent polymer and they are only about$20 each (10,20, or 30). I have had zero issues finding them.
I found some things to be okay or acceptable:
The factory safety didn't bother me. I will not likely upgrade it. I am sure it depends on hand size, but I could use it just like I use the ambi safeties on my ARs.
The factory grip was fine by me too. I already bought the yeti upgrade, so I will swap it, but it wasn't necessary to me.
I would almost put the charging handle in the negatives, but it was acceptable. It would be ideal to have a little bit more handle to grip given the force it takes to move the bolt, but i am in no hurry to change it.
The mag release was fine, but I have the gear works extended one on my bench and I think it will make mag changes easier.
Then there were the things that I didn't like:
First, as anyone who has read about the Scorpion would know the trigger is pretty rough. I didn't find the quality of it to be as bad as the very heavy pull. I would think that the quality is about that of a Glock trigger, but at twice the weight. I will be acquiring new springs as soon as I determine if I have the welded trigger pack.
Second, the blowback design is both good and bad. I think the blowback will allow me to reliably shoot even lighter weight subsonics, but it also has recoil. It's not recoil like I am used to though. It is more of a very short bump, almost a ping. It feels like a nail gun or a staple gun and you are very aware of the large bolt cycling as you fire. Once it is suppressed though, I think I will prefer the blowback over a gas gun and the difference in volume will be negligible.
All in all, I think it is a cool gun. I bought it just to plink with and to teach my kids to shoot on. I think it will make a nice/fun step up from a 22 LR with a little more recoil, but also really quiet. I don't really see a purpose for me other than that, as I think that my 300 blackout (future SBR) will do pretty much everything better than this PCC, but I started looking at ammo costs and realized that it won't take a ton of 300 blk subsonic ammo expended to essentially pay for this carbine.