Reach for the SCCY

By Mike Keleher

I just learned a couple of things about the low cost SCCY Industries pistol I would like to pass along to you. I am pleased and often astounded to learn something new, because I figure I am forgetting more than that on a daily basis.

All I previously knew about the SCCY (they pronounce it “Sky”) was it was a compact budget priced pistol with a polymer grip that came in some crazy colors. I knew exactly one SCCY owner, and he raved about his pistol.

Being old and pre-jaded towards any”new” pistol that was not on par with my name brand Sigs, Glocks, Smiths etc, I was of course suspicious of how any American made gun could be sold for MSRP of $269.00, let alone be accurate and dependable- don’t you have to spend $600-$700 to get all of that in a small pistol? This gun can be found for about $190-200 price range on the counter at decent gun stores on online stores like Buds Gun Shop and Sportsman Outdoors Superstore.

I won this SCCY pistol, and knew next to nothing about it, so I read some favorable internet articles and sent off the gift certificate hoping for the best.

I started learning impressive things about the company immediately. In 48 hours, Liz Latorres called me from SCCY in Daytona Beach, FL and said they received my certificate and confirmed my picks on 9mm CPX-2 model, slide finish in Stainless Steel and grip color Kryptek Pontus, and they would build the gun that week. She emailed me the next day stating the gun was built and shipped and would be at my FFL within two days. Whaaa? Who has this kind of Customer Service? I was starting to suspect unusual things were going on here.

I don’t know if you are like me, but I take quite a bit of pride in finding serviceable low priced alternatives to high dollar items, but was still worried about the low asking price for the SCCY. (I have asked my wife, “Don’t you like any thing cheap? She always answers “I married you honey.”)

When I picked the gun up, I was set back on my heels a bit-I was not going to admit being “quote-impressed” yet until I shot it, but it was pretty darn close.

I found many things to like about this pistol. First off, picking it up and gripping it, the gun felt good in my hand. It felt substantial (you know what I mean) and pointed well. There were no stray tool marks on the Stainless Steel slide which sported a good set of 3 dot sights. The grip was quite comfortable and came with two magazines with pinky finger extension bases and two flat bases for max conceal ability. Hmmm.

The gun had a 3 inch barrel and was only 6 inches long, and weighed 15 ounces-that’s about a pound of nice compact pistol which takes double stack mags holding 10+1 rounds of 9mm.

The internet research I did found Joe Roebuck, the owner of SCCY Industries LLC, is a Tool and Die Maker and Mechanical Engineer who started making these pistols in 2003 to market an all American built pistol that could compete with bigger name brands at half the cost.

I thought these pistols were “new.” I was wrong. I have been wrong before (I am a married man you know. I make more mistakes before I get out of bed than most humans make all day…take my advice, just apologize upon rising and get the day started), and not only are these guns not “new” to the market, they have made and sold over 500,000 of these pistols.

SCCY produces all metal parts to include barrel, slide and chassis in house in Florida, and sells models with an external ambidextrous safety, or with no external safety, and now also offers a SCCY model in .380. All of the pistols have a double action only style trigger mechanism. Oh, and they throw in a lifetime warranty which they call a Perpetual Warranty.

I took my pistol to the range, and with only a couple of boxes of expended ammo found the gun to be surprisingly accurate at compact pistol distances from 0-15 yards. I will have to shoot the gun more to declare it dependable in my mind, but it shot on par with my other small 9mm pistols like a Glock 26 (which I still believe is the gold standard of compact pistols), a Sig P320 in sub-compact frame, and Smith and Wesson Shield.

At the range, I finally found something I did not like. I am not a fan of double action only triggers. I started my law enforcement career with double action revolvers and my trigger finger still remembers the mechanics, I just prefer other types of ignition systems. I understand the whys and wherefores of the DAO- it is a long deliberate pull of the trigger and believed to be harder to have a negligent or accidental discharges as well as being a dependable system for pocket sized guns-but I don’t care for them. The federal agency I worked for sent a non-gun guy to get some new guns for 1200 agents to replace our DA/SA 9mms and he came back with Sig DAK’s (a DAO type of system) thinking it was somehow “safer” and of course “cheaper.” I shot my issued DAK once for qualification and put back in the safe. Some people like them and shoot them well. I don’t.

I shot the SCCY double action trigger quite accurately at the range as did a friend of mine, and attribute a lot of it to the long trigger pull being only 9 lbs-substantially less than most revolver double action triggers. However, I bobbled some of the subsequent shots when I was looking to do a quick reset of the trigger like I do with Striker Fired triggers, DA/SA or SA only pistols.

You have to let the trigger all the way out to reset it. Anything less, is a bit like stubbing your toe when trying to go fast. I could practice with the SCCY and get more comfy with the trigger system, but let’s face it I am an American and I don’t have that kind of time! I want it now! The trigger system works just as it is designed to do-I’m just spoiled and need things to go my way if at all possible! To use my old dating analogy- “It’s not you, it’s me.”

When I got home from the range, I found via the internet Galloway Precision is the only company making a trigger upgrade for the SCCY pistols. I have used other Galloway products with good success and for only $70 I had one of their Short Trigger Stroke packages on the way about 10 minutes after returning from the range. The kit was in my hot little hands in two days.

The Short Stroke Trigger, Hammer and Spring Kit replaces the hammer and mainspring and a flatter aluminum trigger that is adjustable for pre-set and over travel. It stops the trigger going all the way forward and all the way far to the rear, so it is only travelling about 75% of the distance of the original trigger movement. It makes the trigger pull more to my liking. Galloway Precision has an excellent 20 minute YouTube installation video on their website on the same page as the kit is sold-how smart is that? I followed along using a small mallet, some punches and a pair of bent nose needle nosed pliers and had no problems installing the kit myself except when I had to run and scramble for a tiny hex key. Luckily for me, I have an enormous collection of hex keys of unknown sizes and from unknown sources scattered like L-shaped shrapnel all across my basement, so I got the kit put in and adjusted the trigger in 20 minutes. I have not shot it yet, but am pretty sure it will work as advertised.

So I am now pretty impressed with this SCCY pistol and can recommend it. What’s not to like? American made, low price, good looks, Perpetual Warranty, double stack 10+1 9mm, comfortable grip, good sights, accurate and dependable, and you can get it in 18 different grip colors, Stainless or Black Nitride slides, external safety or no safety and Outstanding Customer Service.