SCCY will officially announce a new .380 ACP pistol at the 2015 NASGW Expo & Annual Meeting. Called the CPX-3, the new handgun will be slightly smaller than the existing CPX-1 and -2 pistols with some upgrades that make it the best shooting gun in the company’s current line-up.
Let’s take a look at the gun and its new features…
Factory Tour
As many of you know, I am a regular contributor to several of the gun magazines produced by Harris Publications. SCCY invited several Harris Publications writers to the company’s factory in Daytona Beach, FL for a tour and early look at a new pistol. I was one of those writers.
While at the factory, I had a chance to meet and spend time with Wayne Holt, the president of SCCY, and Joe Roebuck, the company’s founder and CEO.
CPX-3
The CPX-3 is a new gun that looks similar to the existing pistols from the company but incorporates things like a lighter trigger and a new action. These are hammer-fired pistols, with the hammer concealed in the slide so that it will not snag on clothing, etc.
As stated above, the gun is slightly smaller than the existing 9mm pistols, but it is not what I would call a subcompact pistol. According to SCCY, the company did not want to release a handgun so small that it would be abusive to the shooter or difficult to operate. As a guy who’s shot a lot of handguns over the years, I can attest to the fact that tiny .380 pistols can be a pain to shoot. Sure, a Ruger LCP can be hidden virtually anywhere, but you sacrifice accuracy, capacity and controllability to get there.
Since the company was not focused on shrinking the CPX-3 to a tiny footprint, the gun has a relatively high capacity for a .380 ACP handgun: 10+1 rounds. This is the same capacity as the 9mm CPX-1 and -2.
These new handguns will not have the external safety lever found on the CPX-1 pistols. While market demands can certainly convince the company otherwise, there are no immediate plans to introduce a thumb safety version of the gun.
Other guns in the company’s line are offered in a range of colors. However, the initial models of CPX-3 will be offered with a black frame only. As time goes on, I would expect these pistols will have the same frame color choices that the other guns currently have.
Sights are a 3-dot pattern similar to what the existing SCCY guns use.
Roebuck Quad Lock System
Roebuck designed a new system called the Roebuck Quad Lock System. A simplified explanation is the system uses the tension on the rear of the barrel to press the front of the barrel into a V-channel. This eliminates virtually all barrel wiggle that is common on most, non-fixed barrel pistols. The theoretical result is a gun that is more accurate, but still operates for the user like a typical locked breech pistol.
Due to the way the system works, the slide is very easy to manipulate. The prior SCCY pistols use a heavy recoil spring that can be difficult for novice and weak shooters to manipulate. The CPX-3 is completely different. Gone is the heavy pull, and it is replaced by a smooth, light ride on the rails. For this reason alone, the CPX-3 is a significant improvement over prior models.
Range Time
I went with the SCCY crew to the nearby Hotshot Indoor Range for a chance to shoot the new pistol. SCCY brought two of the CPX-3 prototype pistols that they had been running for several months to test the design’s reliability and endurance.
SCCY employees encouraged us to shoot the guns as much as possible, and they were not stingy with the ammunition. When the other shooters and I seemed done, they nearly begged us to shoot more. They were certainly not afraid of us running the guns hard.
I found the CPX-3 to be very easy shooting. The grip was large enough that I could wrap both hands around the pistol and easily control recoil. For me, the gun pointed well with the sights in nearly perfect alignment the first time I brought the pistol up into my line of vision.
Recoil was very mild.
The CPX-3 had a long, smooth trigger pull. While the pull was longer than I liked, I could feel no stacking and the pull seemed to be very consistent. Compared to a CPX-1 or -2 pistol, the trigger on this gun was noticeably lighter. I was told by a SCCY employee that the CPX-3 trigger pull ran about 6-7 pounds while the pull of the original guns was several pounds heavier.
One of the things I did not like about the trigger is that you have to let the trigger ride all the way forward before you can shoot again. As the gun does not have a strong trigger return spring to forcibly push the trigger back to the forward position, it is possible to short-stroke the trigger during rapid fire.
This did happen to me once during the shooting. In fairness, I’ve experienced the same thing with other handguns such as the Ruger LCR. I prefer the harder push, like that on Smith & Wesson revolvers, to return the trigger to the fully extended position if it requires a full ride before the gun will fire again.
Excluding the short stroke, which is a shooter error, I only observed one malfunction with the guns. Another writer had a stovepipe malfunction on the last round in a string of shots. I can’t say what caused the error, but the shooter was very experienced and I don’t think it was a limp wrist induced error.
Accuracy seemed very good. All of my shots went where I aimed, and none of the writers seemed to have any problems placing rounds on target. Several of us made impressively small groups with the guns in the 7-15 yard range. It will be interesting to get a production gun and see exactly how accurate these pistols can be.
Final Thoughts
I want to be very clear: the guns we shot were pre-production pistols. I am not going to give the new SCCY CPX-3 a recommendation until I shoot a production gun and am convinced of its reliability. However, I did like the guns and suggest that you shoot one once they hit the market.
The new pistol promises a number of advantages that you may not find in other concealed carry guns. Considering how affordable the SCCY pistols are, the new CPX-3 may be one of the best buys on the market when it starts shipping.
Disclosure
As with my product reviews, I am disclosing all potential biases related to the preview of the CPX-3. This allows you to critically evaluate my statements and determine what information is most helpful to you.
SCCY invited me as a writer for Harris Publications to visit the company’s factory as described above. SCCY paid for a room at a hotel for a single night, plus bought me lunch. I paid for my own transportation costs. The company also gave me an embroidered SCCY polo shirt and some other nice knick-knacks with an estimated total value of $50 or less.
All of the SCCY officers and staff were friendly and seemed to be very honest and candid about the company’s products and development. No one requested or suggested I write about the company, much less do so in a positive light. No monies or other items of value (not described above) were exchanged or offered.
I do not have any investment or other interest in SCCY or any other product mentioned in this article. If you are interested in other SCCY pistols, check out my article SCCY DVG-1: Striker-Fired 9mm Pistol.
44 replies on “SCCY CPX-3 Preview”
So, where’s the big announcement? The NASGW Expo is here, and no CPX-3. At all. Nice way to run a business. Nothing on the website, Facebook account suspended. Zilch.
Aaaaand the NASGW Expo has come and gone, and, zilch. Nada. Nothing. Zero. There is absolutely no debut of any “CPX-3”. The gun is imaginary, and the company is a colossal joke.
What exactly are you basing your comments on?
Sccy’s own website, which has no mention whatsoever of any “CPX-3” after the Expo has already ended. If you’re going to debut a new gun, then debut it.
Actually, I was referring to the comment “The gun is imaginary, and the company is a colossal joke.” It sounds like you have a beef with the company, as the statement seems overly emotional and seemingly without merit.
I did not have time to meet with SCCY at NASGW, so I don’t know if the company started selling the new pistols to distributors in the past 72 hours. A delay – if in fact one happened – is not terribly unusual in any industry with a new product. It certainly doesn’t suggest the gun is “imaginary.”
You appear to have Internet access, so I would recommend that you stop on by the Sccy website and notice there’s no mention whatsoever of a “CPX-3”. There has been, however, mention of a .380 for several years, with nothing to show for it, hence the wholly accurate pejorative “imaginary”. If you’re going to promise something, then deliver it. Period. Emotions have precisely nothing to do with it.
Richard, are you aware that they’ve been promising the 380 in vague terms since the company was called Skky? Does the founder have any answer for the delays? What about the Skky MPX line that was debuted on their website but also vanished years ago? I think cgray has a point given their track record. I used to have PDF of a compensator model also that was supposed to reduce the muzzle flip tendency that the Sccy has, but it never came out either.
Thanks for acknowledging reality. That trait seems to be in short supply these days.
Hi Marshall,
Thanks for taking the time to read the article and post a comment. I am familiar with the history of SCCY and with previous information on .380 pistols that have been rumored/announced/promised by the company. I am not an employee of the company and have no interest in it beyond hoping they produce good quality guns that people can rely on.
As with many businesses, changing market conditions can make an item (such as the compensated pistol you mention) no longer a viable (profitable) product. I can point to numerous examples from Smith & Wesson, Taurus, Remington and others. That doesn’t mean that the average person would deem the company a “colossal joke.”
Frankly, I don’t know if the company began taking orders on the new guns at NASGW as I did not have time to stop by their booth and ask. If there is a delay, then I will report it when I have some sort of word from the company.
Richard
I own a CPX 2 and find it to be alot of gun for the price. If you observe the machining of the inside of the slide the quality is excellent the problem with some of the comments is that the ones who make them Do not have much knowledge of guns and probably are those who simply are followers who read other negative comments and join the band wagon. Great job SCCY keep them coming!
Good point! I’ve run almost 1500 rounds through my CPX-2 at this point (with 4 different SCCY mags) and have not had one single problem with it…the gun nor the mags. Waiting on the CPX-3 to become available.
That’s really good I have about the same amount threw mine will purchase the cpx-3 for sure!
The 380 has been delayed for over 10 years now so why would we expect it now.
The very first sentence of this post is wrong. SCCY did not “officially announce” the CPX-3 at the NASGW Expo, which ended last Friday. The prototype must be a lemon, and the people at SCCY have absolutely no clue how to cover for themselves after promising this gun ALL YEAR. Hilarious.
It’s clear you do not like SCCY and that is fine. I’m certainly not their, or any other manufacturer’s, advocate.
I welcome you as a reader and encourage reasonable discourse. However, the repetitive bashing and jumping to conclusions is growing a bit old. Please discontinue.
I am going to have to ask you to discontinue writing reviews of nonexistent firearms, or at least, when you find out you’ve been played by a well known dumpster fire of a company, to acknowledge the fact to your readers. “Reasonable discourse” includes total honesty, and the fact that you refuse to admit that you’ve been played by SCCY reveals that you yourself appear incapable of engaging in it.
I don’t tell you how to drive your truck, so don’t come to my property and tell me how to manage it.
Since you are unable to follow a reasonable request on my site, perhaps you will be happier elsewhere.
Sccy finally put it on their facebook page. Perhaps some of us were a bit quick to call foul. I’m still curious about the quad lock system as well. I find my CPX-2 to be less accurate than fixed barrel revolvers that I normally use. If I can get my gun adapted to use the quad lock I’d be willing to pay for it. Hopefully my local gun store will get one. He sells CPX-2’s like most people sell popcorn so I don’t see why not.