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Sphinx SDP........ worth it,,,?
- Thread starter gmoney
- Start date
Cheapshooter
New member
Sounds like a good price from what I've seen. But I don't get the "tight tollerances". Other than on a precision shooting bullseye gun, which it isn't, all tight tollerances does is increase the possibility for malfunction. For shootin' or carryin', give me a little reliable "rattle".
rt11002003
New member
That's the price I paid a couple of years ago, NIB. Well worth it. Excellent pistol.
Yea that price stopped me from getting one sooner but just got one on sale for 699. Great shooter about 300 rounds all different ammo no issuesThat's the price I paid a couple of years ago, NIB. Well worth it. Excellent pistol.
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$900 is too much depending on which on you are looking at. For the SDP Alpha you can get one for $750 + shipping and whatever you pay for transfers. The all Aluminum Black adds about $100 IIRC. These prices are if you are patient but I believe Gunprime has them at this price right now.
They were worth the money to me. They are not really CZ clones. They are based on the CZ 75 design but they are more refined and have superior fit and finish. My CZ Shadow 2 is not as nicely finished as my Sphinx. With a quick spring change you have a gun on par with a CZ custom P01 or CGW P01. IMHO
One thing I would mention is that they are no longer made in Switzerland. They are now made here in the US IIRC in the Norfolk, VA area. Some of the US produced guns still say made in Switzerland because they are still using Swiss parts. All reports are that the US guns are still made to the same high standards.
The are very close to a semi-custom gun. I have custom CZs and these guns out of the box are very close to those semi-custom CZs.
They were worth the money to me. They are not really CZ clones. They are based on the CZ 75 design but they are more refined and have superior fit and finish. My CZ Shadow 2 is not as nicely finished as my Sphinx. With a quick spring change you have a gun on par with a CZ custom P01 or CGW P01. IMHO
One thing I would mention is that they are no longer made in Switzerland. They are now made here in the US IIRC in the Norfolk, VA area. Some of the US produced guns still say made in Switzerland because they are still using Swiss parts. All reports are that the US guns are still made to the same high standards.
The are very close to a semi-custom gun. I have custom CZs and these guns out of the box are very close to those semi-custom CZs.
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Glockgreat23
New member
I think there are two ways to look at this question. The Sphinx is a terrific pistol and if you well machined, higher end guns and can afford it, go for it. Up until 3 years ago, I owned many custom made rifles, with perfect machining and gorgeous French walnut built by some of the best in the world. Then I bought a $400 Thompson Center Venture in 30-06. The first 5 shots I took with it formed one ragged hole.....none of many $thousands I had in my customs would do that, so -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED-!!!. For me personally? I'd take that same $900 plus and Buy Two of something else. But if you buy it, please be sure to share because this addiction is never satisfied!
Only you can decide if a particular model is worth it to you. I have a SPD that I have shot quite a bit. It's loosed up ever so slightly, I can release the slide with the lever a lot easier now.
For me there are good and bad traits, like an other gun. The few things I don't like would be the following. The DA pull is pretty heavy and has a flat spot once it hits the half cock position. I've shot 6 others besides mine and dry fired about that many as well. There have been a few others with this flat spot but, none as bad as mine. For my size of hands the SDP is right on the edge of feeling fine to me. It's the trigger guard under cut which is very Glock like and tends to be a little too small for me. I'm not a huge fan of the blacked out/solid rear sight. I'd prefer the two dot set up instead, but sights can be changed out.
I do like the quality of this gun. Every thing is machined out of metal and has very tight tolerances. Reliability through 5K-6K rounds has been perfect so far. I mostly shoot reloads with a box of factory loads mixed in time to time. I would put accuracy as very good as is the SA pull. Reset is decent in terms of distance and sound. I like the grip modules and the feel to me is better than the CZ hammer line. With the polymer bottom/grip and AL upper part of the lower, It's a unique model.
Out all of my 9's, this would be the first one to go If I decided to change something up. If you want a unique model with excellent quality this would be where I would start though.
For me there are good and bad traits, like an other gun. The few things I don't like would be the following. The DA pull is pretty heavy and has a flat spot once it hits the half cock position. I've shot 6 others besides mine and dry fired about that many as well. There have been a few others with this flat spot but, none as bad as mine. For my size of hands the SDP is right on the edge of feeling fine to me. It's the trigger guard under cut which is very Glock like and tends to be a little too small for me. I'm not a huge fan of the blacked out/solid rear sight. I'd prefer the two dot set up instead, but sights can be changed out.
I do like the quality of this gun. Every thing is machined out of metal and has very tight tolerances. Reliability through 5K-6K rounds has been perfect so far. I mostly shoot reloads with a box of factory loads mixed in time to time. I would put accuracy as very good as is the SA pull. Reset is decent in terms of distance and sound. I like the grip modules and the feel to me is better than the CZ hammer line. With the polymer bottom/grip and AL upper part of the lower, It's a unique model.
Out all of my 9's, this would be the first one to go If I decided to change something up. If you want a unique model with excellent quality this would be where I would start though.
Walt Sherrill
New member
Worc said:The DA pull is pretty heavy and has a flat spot once it hits the half cock position.
If you haven't already heard, lightening up the DA trigger is as easy as getting a lighter CZ Compact hammer spring and installing it. (Some folks go as light as a 13lb spring., but I was happy with a 15 lb. spring.)
(Wolff Springs has them in a variety of weights, and a package of different weights is the way to go.) It's a very simple process -- much less difficult than with a CZ. If you talk with Kriss, that's what their reps might suggest. Changing that single spring changed my SDP from about an 8 lbs DA, to about a 4.5 lbs DA... You can also get a spring set from Cajun Gun Works, and install them yourself. (I have the kit, but mine improved so much after doing the hammer spring I had already purchsed, I didn't bother installing it - as there have been too many rave reviews NOT to do it -- but I may still do it, one of these days, as it's supposed to improve the action even more.
The CZ Forum (see link) has good HOW TO instructions for more advanced trigger jobs in regular CZs, and the mechanisms are similar. http://www.czfirearms.us/ David Milam at CGW, can offer guidance, too, if you get one of his spring kits.
(I haven't noticed a flat spot in my gun's trigger pull, but I'm sure yours will be less noticeable with a lighter hammer spring.)
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I tried the CGW kit not long after it was released. Personally I didn't think it changed much, may be better now though.
Back when the Spinhx SDPs were $900 I picked one up. At that time no I didn't think they were worth it. Mine was very soft shooting but had numerous failures to eject unless I used 9mm that was bordering on +P. At the time KRISS also had zero parts, zero mags, really zero anything for the pistols when I called and asked and no idea when they might. I also found the trigger frankly subpar for the price. The SA was nice but the DA was, IMO, notably worse than a stock CZ. I sold the pistol. For the $750 I've seen them for lately I think they're in a more reasonable price bracket. I probably still wouldn't buy another.
Back when the Spinhx SDPs were $900 I picked one up. At that time no I didn't think they were worth it. Mine was very soft shooting but had numerous failures to eject unless I used 9mm that was bordering on +P. At the time KRISS also had zero parts, zero mags, really zero anything for the pistols when I called and asked and no idea when they might. I also found the trigger frankly subpar for the price. The SA was nice but the DA was, IMO, notably worse than a stock CZ. I sold the pistol. For the $750 I've seen them for lately I think they're in a more reasonable price bracket. I probably still wouldn't buy another.
Cheapshooter
New member
There's those "tight tolerances" for you!but had numerous failures to eject unless I used 9mm that was bordering on +P
There's those "tight tolerances" for you!
It really had nothing to do with the pistol being tight. It was oversprung IMO.
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Walt Sherrill
New member
TunnelRat said:It really had nothing to do with the pistol being tight. It was oversprung IMO.
Oversprung certainly would explain a problem with ejection UNLESS +P ammo was used, and it also explains a heavy DA trigger pull.
As I found from talking with a Kriss rep., the trigger springs were originally lighter, but they got complaints about the triggers being TOO light, so they responded.
I've used a wide range of ammo in mine and never had functional (feeding, extracting, or ejecting) problems -- but I really didn't like the original DA trigger pull. Until I changed the hammer spring.
(I'm having a similar problem with a Lionheart LH-9, and there's no obvious replacement hammer spring for that one, although I'm still experimenting. Several S&W Third Gen springs are close, as are some cZ springs. Maybe I should check Numrich and see if they have any DaeWoo DP51 springs?)
PS: Numrich was out of hammer springs, but an EBAY vendor had one for about $3.50 and shipping. I've had several DP-51s and they all had lighter triggers than the LH9. Except for trigger weight, the LH9 is a nice gun. The EBAY price was cheap enough to try one.
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Back when the Spinhx SDPs were $900 I picked one up. At that time no I didn't think they were worth it. Mine was very soft shooting but had numerous failures to eject unless I used 9mm that was bordering on +P. At the time KRISS also had zero parts, zero mags, really zero anything for the pistols when I called and asked and no idea when they might. I also found the trigger frankly subpar for the price. The SA was nice but the DA was, IMO, notably worse than a stock CZ. I sold the pistol. For the $750 I've seen them for lately I think they're in a more reasonable price bracket. I probably still wouldn't buy another.
Same here. Mine shot 4" low left when I first got the gun. After a couple of hundred rounds, did not improve any.
Finally called Kriss, they emailed an RA, except they expected me to pay the shipping. After speaking with the manager, they relented and sent a pre-paid label.
After 8 weeks it came back with barrel replacement. Accuracy was better, but still shot low left, although not as bad as before sending it back. After speaking with Kriss again, they said it was within spec after barrel replacement.
The DA was awful. SA was good, not great.
Back when I bought it, there were no mags available, and what was around was expensive. No aftermarket sights. Like you, tried the CGW kit, and found no real improvement. Sold the gun and put the money towards a CZ Accu-Shadow.
Probably won't try another one again.