Posted: 3/2/2021 9:35:57 AM EDT
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So here it is! SHADOW SYSTEMS NEW DR920! What is it? Basically it is their take on the Gen4 Glock 17. It is the same size and general shape and uses some Gen4 parts but is not an exact copy. Probably the best way to think about the DR920 is as Gen4.5. It uses the original pattern slide release (non-ambi) but the barrel and locking block are Gen5 based. This means a Glock 19 or MR920 slide will fit. In fact the slide itself accepts the G19 recoil system but is extended to work with a G17 dust cover. I also notice that the firing pin is round and not rectangular as is also the case with Gen5 guns. Otherwise, the gun follows the MR920 in that it has the same sort of rough "grip tape" texturing and uses the slide-on backstrap inserts. It also has the pin-on mag well and the built-in beavertail. The optic cut is the same as that of the MR920. Same deep cut (and elimination of the extractor depressor) that will work with multiple optics. The light mounting point appears to be Glock and not 1913. I guess I'd have preferred 1913 but I don't know if anyone really cares. No rounds fired yet. I can maybe fix that this coming weekend. In the meantime, let me know if there are any questions I can answer.    |
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Quoted: @Melvin_Johnson is that a two piece guide rod? Wondering about the hole in it. Really like the Shadow Systems stuff. If I weren't such a Zev fanboy I'd definitely go this direction... though who says you can't have both?... well, my wife does.  The guide rod is pretty much what everyone else does in the aftermarket. A solid rod with a cap screwed on the end that holds the spring assembly together. I assume the hole is there to capture the spring and make unscrewing the cap easier? |
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I am happy with mine. I had previously seen the 19 size and their 918 and dismissed them. I usually am not one to pay extra for looks. That is what I previously dismissed it as, but it is not the case that this is all that separates them. I was looking for a new host, and would have had to have it milled for a red dot, pick up a threaded barrel, add suppressor height sights. I have several guns with basic AOS milling which I would of used. Decided to save myself the turn around time with agency and give this a shot. Figured with blue label prices this is still only about 150 bucks more (and I wouldn't have a spare non threaded barrel that I would have taken off or three factory glock mags). Features I didn't know I would love: Gas pedals - I had frame work done to 1 glock 17, and 5 glock 19's before to remove finger grooves by polymer refined when their books were still open. Never bothered with gas pedals as I never thought it mattered. I was wrong. They are a nice feature. Backstraps - I love the small backstrap. I always did pretty good with glocks and never had a hump reduction done. Didn't need it. But when I started shooting with RMR's I had more of a problem finding the dot on a glock then on my 22/45. This small change, for me, puts the dot right where it needs to be. Magwell - Not so much on the DR920 but on the MR920. Thought magwells were kind of silly. Glock already uses a double stack, single feed magazine. I still kind of do think they are pointless for feeding a mag, but on the mr920 the extra lip really forces my hand up high on the grip and locks it in. Other thoughts are that the optic mount is nice and low. It is solid. On guns smaller then the 17 I replace the trigger for a non serrated one so that saved me a couple bucks over a 19. It is just well thought out, the beavertail and angled slide back to reduce printing is a good example. The looks are growing on me. There are some proprietary parts related to the extractor spring (in the optic models) and the optic system itself. Being the paranoid type I ordered some spares, which are priced reasonably. |
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No rounds fired yet but impressions are favorable. The fit and finish is good and on par with my MR920. Slide machining is good with no visible tool marks or crooked lines or buffed out edges. The frame is also nice with just a slightly visible seam where the two halves are formed together. The trigger is a little gritty but is better than how I remember my MR when it was new. I assume the trigger will smooth itself out with continued dry fire and some actual range time. I haven't put a pull gauge on it yet. I plan on doing this after I've shot it a little bit. Otherwise I don't have much to report. The gun is essentially what I expected it to be which is in effect a Glock with some factory-installed upgrades. Will it sell well for Shadow Systems? Probably although I don't know if it will have the mass appeal of the MR. The DR is supposed to be a duty gun and some will no doubt find a home in duty holsters but I imagine the gun will mostly appeal to USPSA and similar shooters. Maybe I'm wrong. I never thought the 2011 would become a serious content as a duty gun but the Staccato P seems to be doing well in the market. |
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Just a brief update. I put three mags of CCI Blazer and one mag of Speer 147 Gold Dot through the gun this morning. Everything was shot on a B/C zone steel target. I didn't take any paper because the wind was blowing at the house. But it was calm and nice at the spot in the hills where I normally shoot. Go figure. Anyway, there was no drama. I had already mostly sighted in my Holosun 508T by dialing the dot into the irons. After I got things refined I shot for group at 15, 25 and 50 yards. The gun works as expected. No problems of any kind noted using the Magpul mags that came with the gun nor with a factory Glock mag. I guess the only "complaint" I have at the moment is that the barrel sticks out the end of my Blackhawk holster.    |