By Joe W Gorman
CZ Scorpion Evo 3+ before adding any accessories.
I was content to utilize my Mossberg 940 Tactical 12 gauge topped with a Vortex Defender Compact 3 MOA red-dot and crammed full of Winchester Government-contract 00 Buckshot, as my primary I-need-to solve-a-life-and-death-problem-very-quickly implement. Truth be told, it is a definitive tool for such things. No matter what the state of mind of a creature attempting to kill me or invade my home, Mister Mossberg will end the game with a single shot. The only dilemma with this solution is my 5’2’ 120-pound wife who is almost as old as me; she is intimidated by the weight of the shotgun and the physics involved with the recoil. If I was not around when something went sideways at the ranch, she would forgo the 940 in favor of a small handgun which may or may not be a good choice.
Enter CZ’s Scorpion Evo 3+ 9mm pistol. This compact, accurate and crazy-reliable machine opened my eyes to the wonders of intermediate weapons. Honestly, I had no idea these small weapons were capable of sub-2” groups at 100 yards, could digest all manner of 9mm defensive ammunition and could run on minimal maintenance without complaint.
CZ Scorpion with HB Industries HK style mount and brace. This was a big help with shooting accurately
After receiving the Scorpion I squirted some CLP on the bolt and recoil spring guide and proceeded to drain a couple of 35-round Magpul mags stoked with Remington Green Box 115gr FMJ. Neat as you please, Mr. Scorpion chewed threw all the ammunition I had loaded into mags as fast as I could pull the trigger. The controls on the Scorpion felt AR-ish, familiar, and that’s a good thing. Wipe off the safety with your thumb and drop the mag with your shooting hand’s index finger. Plus, if you lock the bolt back and insert a fresh mag, you can perform the HK slap to charge it like a terrorist in Die Hard!
Tee hee.
——– Sidebar ——–
While the Scorpion was new to Joe, this platform has long been a favorite of mine. In fact I can take credit for introducing Joe to my personal EVO 3 S1 which is the latest in my personal evolution of the platform. When CZ first introduced the Scorpion to the US market I knew that I had to have one, I started out with a carbine version with the pencil barrel, under the assumption that I would need the extra barrel length to achieve acceptable accuracy. I soon found that that was not the case and upgraded to the EVO 3 S1.
Over the years since buying my Scorpion EVO 3 S1 I have it I upgraded it with the folding brace and 30 rd mags, but never took its modification to the lengths that Joe describes in this article. It just goes to show that we can let excellent stand in the way of superb. Now I will need to decide if I want to continue to upgrade the S1 or step up to the 3+… either way my assessment of the Scorpion platform, it is truly an excellent Subgun platform.
James Toothaker
I was getting good groups from 10 yards and so I went back to the 50-yard line on a bench to see what it would do with premium ammo. The innovative sights on the Scorpion allow the user to select from several rear apertures of varying sizes so I could choose a small diopter for accuracy. And oh man, the Scorpion is accurate! But the stock trigger…it was a bit gritty and heavy. I asked my friends at Timney for a solution and sure enough, they make a drop in trigger that has adjustable pull weight. (I left it on the 3-pound default setting for my testing, but it is user adjustable to 5 pounds) When it arrived it was a 15-minute job to install it. (This also showed how easy the Scorpion is to field strip. I would say of all the weapons in the Gorman Ranch, this is the quickest to strip down and clean.) Once installed the Timney trigger allowed me to bench rest shoot with much better results. Plus for field use, the Timney trigger is a game changer as it’s much easier to make an accurate shot if you have a light, crisp trigger.
Installing the Timney Trigger
Timney trigger is installed. What a difference a good trigger makes
HBI offers a HK style brace for the Scorpion that provide an improved purchase of the Scorpion for bench shooting. Figuring out the learning curve on the brace, how to hold the weapon to utilize the stability inherent in the brace, really made my groups tighten up. The HBI brace was super easy to install and has proved to be rock solid and durable over the course of testing. Of further note is the fact that with the brace folded, the weapon is fully operational and can perform a mag dump without interference.
Hornady’s humble 9mm+P 124 American Gunner ammo was crazy accurate. Actually, all the premium ammo with bullet weights between 115 and 124 grs did well in the accuracy department
As good as this set up was at shooting tight groups, I suspected my old man eyes were keeping me from wringing out the most from this weapon. There really was only one solution to overcome the limitations of my eyesight…check that. Two, there really were two solutions, to overcome the limitations of my eyesight: a quality red dot and a quality long eye relief scope. When fitted with the tried-and-true Leupold VX 1.25-4X LER scout scope with Leupold Open Range rings, I shot amazing 50-yard groups. AMAZING 50-yard groups!!! I had Hornady American Gunner 9mm +P 124gr XTP rounds print 5 shots in .728” measured center to center from 50 yards out. Even the humble 9mm Winchester 115gr Silvertips printed a 5 shot group of .85” from 50 yards. As odd as this rig looked with a scope mounted, it was very effective. Moving out to 100 yards, Federal 124gr HST stayed just under 2”. I did not spend much time shooting 100-yard groups with this rig, but it is interesting to note that with the scope mounted and zeroed for any of these premium hollow point rounds, the CZ scorpion could put a 9mm bullet in a grapefruit 10/10 times from a football field away. It is also worth noting that as the weight of the bullet went up beyond 124 gr, the accuracy diminished. That is to say. the 115gr and 124 gr premium rounds were the most accurate and the 135gr and 147gr premium ammo opened the groups up more. Also, it is worth noting that during our testing, FMJ rounds would typically shoot groups much larger than their premium ammunition counterparts. This phenomenon may be due to the lack of FMJ variety on hand and we may need to test this more, for science.
CZ Scorpion ready for sniper duty! Fitted with a Leupold VX 1.25-4x LER scope this pistol could group like a hunting rifle!
Fixing a red dot to the Scorpion seemed a practical match. We used the Vortex Defender CCW 3MOA micro dot, mounted to the top picatinny rail. This was a very practical set up that allowed me to see targets within the practical range of the Scorpion and remained unobtrusive. When mounted in the included picatinny rail adapter, the sights could be left on to co-witness the dot. The kids like to do this, so I left the sights on and rolled the rear sight to select the largest diopter. I have fired hundreds of 12-gauge slugs through my Mossberg 940 Tactical with a Vortex CCW mounted in the cut. The Vortex CCW has never balked at the recoil and shakes awake every time. Setup with the dot, the Scorpion can direct premium 115gr to 124gr ammunition, that it likes, into 4” circles at 100 yards without much trouble. Running a table full of bowling pins from 25 yards goes PDQ with the Scorpion fixed with the Defender.
Federal’s 124gr HST also performed well at 50 yards!
The Scorpion at this point had a tremendously stabilizing HBI brace, a crisp and light, group-shrinking Timney trigger, unstoppable 35 round Magpul magazines and two great optics: the Leupold VX 1.25-4X LER scope for precision and a Vortex CCW Defender Micro Dot for everyday wear.
Winchester’s Old school 9mm 115gr Silvertips did well too.
But there was still something missing from this Scorpion build.
How do you say, “wrong house” without saying, “wrong house?” Charging a Scorpion would be a good start. What would make it even better would be if you could also spark a 1000 lumen tactical weapons light with a LASER (Dr. Evil voice) for emphasis. Sun Tzu said, “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” Point taken. If Mr. Misguided Miscreant were to break into a window on my house, I would much rather call the Sheriff’s Department to report that I had confronted an intruder, and he fled the scene rather than to call for an ambulance.
Fitted with the solid Streamlight TLR-10 with red laser. This superb weapon light features multiple modes (light only/light with laser/laser only and a strobe light) and is made in USA! The TLR-10 is bright enough to allow you to see out to 200 yards in pitch black.
The 1000 lumen, Streamlight TLR-10 produces a piercing light that shines for 200 meters and, can also produce a laser beam which can be zeroed to the weapon it is mounted to. The TLR-10 was amazing around the ranch at night, I could tactically sweep and clear the barn and the machine shed and run serpentine back to the house with the Streamlight TLR-10 engaged to lead the way. I am certain my neighbors could see this. This sort of thing has generally been accepted by them as “normal” from me.
The intensity of the light from the TLR-10 at 10 yards, when shown into my eyes at night, instantly gave me orange-floating-ball vision and I was unable to see past it. If that’s not screaming “wrong house” at the top of your lungs, I don’t know what is! Suddenly, the intruder hears the bolt strip off a round and chamber it, the 1000 lumen Stream light turns 3 am into noon in the Sahara and there’s a red laser dot on a bad guy’s chest. I believe it’s time for him to leave.
In conclusion I would like to say that this CZ Scorpion Evo 3+ has opened my eyes to what is possible with an affordable sub gun. I had no idea the Scorpion was this accurate, reliable, easy to operate and simple to clean and maintain! My wife is not intimidated by it and consequently her confidence in shooting it is high. I can literally shoot the x ring out of a B27 target at 15 yards with ease and if I had to discharge it indoors, I would not be blinded from the flash. I took it into the field for 3 days with me to western South Dakota to stomp around on the tundra and vanquish the prairie rodents that eat native grasses. I was able to dispatch 2 of them with ball ammo while standing.
Now if this only had a suppressor…
Accuracy Results CZ Scorpion Evo 3+
50 yards Bench Rest with Leupold VX 1.25-4x LER scope
| Ammunition | Avg Muzzle Velocity (fps) | Best 5-shot group* |
| Hornady 9mm+P 124gr XTP AG | 1320 | .72” |
| Hornady 9mm+P 135gr Critical Duty | 1105 | 1.3” |
| Hornady 9mm 124gr XTP Custom | 1165 | .95” |
| Winchester 9mm 115gr Silvertip | 1185 | .85” |
| Federal 9mm 147gr Hydra Shok | 1060 | 1.8” |
| Federal 9mm 124gr HST | 1190 | .74” |
| Remington USA 9mm 115gr FMJ ball | 1180 | 2.8” |
*Measured center to center
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