Sphinx SDP Owners, status update?

Hopefully the US produced guns are as well made as the Swiss ones. I wonder if the same amount of hand fitting and polishing will be done.
 
I had one sub compact. It would not fire four of the eight different brands of ammo that I had. The loaded rounds would get stuck in the barrel chamber. No support from the company. Sent the gun back to them after a month it returned but still did the same thing. Lost $300.00 on that gun returning it to were I bought it telling them about the problems with it. traded it for a revolver. Get a CZ they work great.
 
IMightBeWrong said:
I wonder if the same amount of hand fitting and polishing will be done.
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It is my understanding -- from having talked with KRISS representatives -- that the major redesign was undertaken to allow for more precision in the manufacturing process so that much less hand-fitting and polishing is required. The newest Sphinx guns are a result of that change in production methods and philosophy. That hand work was a killer for Sphinx, and kept them from producing weapons on a large-enough scale to be really compete at the mid area of the market place -- where LEO, MILITARY and CIVILIAN sales seem to find a "sweet spot." (The Sphinx top-end guns are very popular in Europe; I assume those guns are using the same production approach, but probably will get extra attention during and after production.)

In the civilian market here in the U.S. they are already competing in the mid-to-top ranges where you find SIGs and H&K guns. I suspect that is their target area. (That is MY conjecture -- not based on anything I've heard or seen from KRISS or SPHINX.)

The current guns (from Switzerland) are very nicely finished and fit is quite good. I would NOT expect weapons made in the U.S. to be any different IF they are eventually produced her. (Making them here, however, would make them much more attractive for the LEO market -- as many of them require guns MADE in the U.S.A. And, given currency fluctuations and the very strong US Dollar, making them here could lower their prices in the U.S. Market.) If Beretta, Glock, FNH and others can do it, I would think that Sphinx can too.

I've had no reason to deal with KRISS customer service, but will be disappointed if customer support is as bad as some here have indicated. We don't need another EAA...
 
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You either got a smoking deal on the Sphinx mags or overpaid for P30 magazines.
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Neither. I paid between $30.00 to $35.00 for the SDP mags and $36.00 to $38.00 for the HK mags. I bought mags from two places for each gun. I'd say it's the other way around.
 
TunnelRat said:
Yea I should have tried some different springs. I don't know why I didn't. I think I have a 75 hammer spring pack kicking around somewhere too.
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Get springs for the compact CZ models from Wolf.

Changing the spring is as simple as taking the grip off (driving out the pin) and undoing one screw on the base of the gun. Drop the old one out and drop the new one in. It's not the major production I always had to deal with when changing a CZ mainspring.

I think the factory spring is about 20lbs. 17lbs. or 16lbs makes a big difference. Some claim to run springs as low as 13 lbs -- but they must have done something else, too...
 
The SA is not as crisp and has a bit more slack than the SRT in my experience, however the reset was also more tactile than the SRT in the sampling of SDP models I held so it's pretty much preference. It still hasn't stopped me from considering the pistol on and off for a while now.
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From my experience, I put them about the same for both sound and feel. The SRT has zero take up after the reset where the SDP has a little bit.

It took me a awhile to decide to buy my SDP. I handled and shot quite a few before picking one up. I think had the grip been a tad longer or the finger groove under the trigger guard would have been a little bigger, I would have got one sooner.
 
To the OP. I am a big fan of the current production Sphinx pistols. I own a Compact and a Subcompact. If I could get my hands on one I would also own a doutone which is all stainless steel.

That said my Subcompact did have to go back to Sphinx. You can see more detail of that RMA in this thread. They replaced the barrel, slide stop, pivot and guide rod. They also replaced the rear sight which had a tool mark on it. http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=563792

Since its return to me the gun has been 100% and is slick. It is slicker than my compact and I carry it most days. The trigger is fantastic. It is lighter than my compact which has Cajun Gun Works springs in it. The DA pull is coming in at 8lbs 6oz avg of 5 pulls and the SA is 4lbs 6ozs again avg of 5 pulls. I really like the way they feel in the hand and the level of finishing that goes into the pistol.

There are however some draw backs to these pistols. They are a small manufacturer and have the support of a small importer. They are not Sig Sauer or FN Herstal. They are Sphinx and Kriss. The economy of scale is not there yet to have large aftermarket support because there simply is not enough demand. They have been slow to get night sights approved and into production. This is not a big deal for me but for many it seems like a deal breaker.

The other main issue that has come up is that the way the guns are manufactured they are super tight. Maybe too tight and as a result Cajun Guns works stopped working on them. They were too labor intensive and were hard on their machinery. There is a thread about it over on one of the CZ forums in the clone section. I cannot verify the truth of these statements but David has always been 100% upfront and accurate every time I have dealt with him so I have no reason to doubt him.

As others have stated I believe that production is moving into the US for many of the current models. Time will tell if the quality is the same and I would imagine the support will be better.

I think that they are great guns and worth the price of admission if you do not over pay for them. Do not pay too much and by too much I mean more than $850 for a Compact, $800 for a Subcompact.

PS there are mags available right now on Kriss' website. They just got a shipment in. http://kriss-usa.com/shop/products/sphinx/magazines
 
Sorry to bring back an old thread but what's the website for the 17 pound hammer spring. Someone said it was a wolf spring for CZ pistols? Thanks
 
Is it just the hammer spring to change out or are there other springs too that lighten up the DA trigger pull. Also is the cz hammer spring for the compact model correct? I have the sdp alpha compact
 
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Is it just the hammer spring to change out or are there other springs too that lighten up the DA trigger pull. Also is the cz hammer spring for the compact model correct? I have the sdp alpha compact
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The CZ compact hammer spring is all that has to be done to greatly improve the SDP trigger pull, but CAJUN GUN WORKS offers a kit that includes other springs.

(I picked up the kit some time ago, but never installed it -- as I've been pleased with the compact hammer spring change alone, which I did BEFORE I ordered the springs from CGW. I'll probably eventually change out the other springs, too.)
 
I have run both the 17# Wolff spring and the CGWs spring kit. With the Wolff spring I had light primer strikes. The CGW has been 100%. My understanding is it will vary from gun to gun.
 
Just called Cajun gun works and they no longer sell the spring kit. I ordered the 16 and 17 pound cz compact hammer wolff springs. Hopefully they work and are easy to install
 
The hammer spring is very easy to change out on this model.

I have the kit installed in mine. It helped a very good trigger get a little better. Still not the best DA/SA trigger out there but well above average.

My gun has several thousand rounds through it now and it's still very tight. They are well made with very tight tolerances.
 
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