The CZ Tactical Sport quickly became a staple for USPSA Limited shooters, as well as those in IPSC’s Standard division. For a time things were good in action pistol sports, until CZ abruptly dropped the gun in 2018. The Czech company is synonymous with high-end competition pistols, and anyone who has run a Shadow 2 can attest to this statement. While the Shadow 2 is one of CZ’s best sellers, the gun is built to skirt the edge of the Production division. While I’m not knocking Production—I shoot in this division—shooters want to enjoy the benefits of higher magazine capacity and flared magwells. To let these shooters know that it didn’t forget about them, CZ reincarnated the Tactical Sport with multiple improvements, appropriately naming it the Tactical Sport 2 (TS 2, MSRP: $1,699; cz-usa.com).
The TS 2 gives competitive shooters a taste of what they’ve been missing without having to do anything to the gun other than stick it in a holster. The gun includes three 20-round magazines, so you should be able to get through most, if not all courses of fire without having to invest in more. Heck, in New York, three 20 rounders will yield a higher capacity than the five compliant mags that are on my belt. Through the use of solid steel, the gun weighs in at a whopping 48.5 ounces, which soaks up nearly all of the recoil of the 9 mm cartridge that it is chambered in. Yes, this gun is going to be shooting minor power factor, but if you shoot fast, you should compete fairly well.
Several features jumped out at me the first time I saw the CZ TS 2, sadly online only due to the 2021 SHOT Show being canceled. First was its sheer looks. The blue aluminum stocks grabbed my attention well enough to get me to click on it and after reading some of the specs, I knew I needed to get the TS 2 on the range. When the gun arrived, I was able to give it a once over and found that although it was almost the weight of a Desert Eagle L5, it balanced perfectly. Between the sheer mass and the optimized bore axis, I knew this was going to be a good-shooting pistol.
The TS 2 gets its low bore axis from the classic CZ 75 action that it is built on. Internal rails get the slide much closer to the palm of your hand, reducing the mechanical advantage that recoil has on you. This keeps those sights on target while firing and allows for effortless double taps. Couple this with the lightweight trigger and minuscule reset, and you have no reason to stop to find your front sight. Aside from the ergonomics and mechanical design, I appreciated the ambidextrous safety, even though it was cropped a bit for those looking to kick it off left-handed (like myself). Still, there wasn’t much to disengaging which in a way is even more important than how accessible it is.
On the range, I brought out ammunition samples from each end of the 9 mm bullet weight spectrum. On the light end was Doug Koenig’s 110-grain competition loads, which just made minor out of the 5.28-inch barrel. These will certainly take advantage of that power factor in USPSA, just be sure to place good shots on the pepper poppers so they fall. Better still, keep some of these around for Steel Challenge because recovery and transition speed is everything in those matches. From the heavy side, I brought out the 147-grain JHP offering from Fiocchi. The hefty bullet blows right past the power factor and does a better job of moving steel. In addition, some may prefer the longer recoil pulse of a heavy bullet moving slow to the shorter pulse of a lighter bullet moving fast. On the receiving end of this lead storm were two Champion IPSC steel targets. I figured if we’re shooting an IPSC gun then it’s only prudent to shoot IPSC-style targets. Besides, making AR 500 hum sounds like a symphony to my ears, and life is too short to paste cardboard.
Before getting to the action, I decided to see what type of accuracy I could expect from each load and get an idea of exactly what the gun is capable of. This also made for the perfect opportunity to get a feel for the trigger and to study the sights. From a distance of 25 yards, I sent down five groups of five per ammunition brand. An average of 2.32 inches came from the Fiocchi with the best group at 2.01 inches, and Koenig’s ammo had an average of 2.15 inches and also the best group at 1.43 inches.
The fiber-optic front sight and the solid-black rear sight combo made for rapid alignment and the elongated radius left very little room for error. With the TS 2, if you miss that 10-inch plate at 30 yards, it’s not the gun’s fault. I sent the rest of the ammunition downrange at the steel and received a great taste of what the gun was built for. My splits were lighting-fast, under 0.2 seconds in many runs and the gun swung from target to target as if it were on a pendulum. All I had for a holster was a leather universal jobbie, but the presentation was still absolutely true to my index and the gun went wherever I set my eyes.
Overall, I loved the way the CZ TS 2 handled, and the unique hybrid curved trigger fit my finger like a glove. The only thing that I want to see in the future is a chambering that can make major power factor, such as .357 SIG or even .40 S&W. I’m not saying it’ll make the gun better—it’ll just put another option on the table for those looking to shoot Limited. Regardless, if you are looking for a gun to roast the competition or something better for running the club’s plate rack, the CZ TS 2 is going to deliver.
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