If you’re a CZ Shadow 2 fan like me, the idea of a lighter, smaller Shadow 2 for defensive carry probably sounds like a dream. That was the promise of the Shadow 2 Compact, but in my opinion, it fell flat. It nailed the lighter and smaller part, no question, but it dropped the ball on safety features needed for a viable DA/SA carry gun. The biggest miss? No decocker. Without one, it’s basically a single-action gun that has to be carried "cocked and locked." Sure, you could manually lower the hammer to half-cock, but good luck dealing with that after the adrenaline dump of a use-of-force incident before reholstering. And the manual thumb safety? It’s about as useful as tits on a bull with its flat, smooth surface. What I’m saying, in my long-winded way, is that it’s just not cut out for defensive carry.

The Shadow 2 Carry fixes those shortcomings. CZ added a decocker and went a step further with a firing pin block safety, making it drop-safe—something other Shadow 2s lack. These two safety features, critical for defensive carry, come with a trade-off: a heavier, slightly rougher trigger pull that’s not typical of Shadow 2 variants. Still, I’d argue the Shadow 2 Carry is what the Compact should’ve been from the start.