I've owned a couple Shadow 2s and I just recently got the Shadow 2 Optic ready. The difference between the guns is basically the rear of the slide is designed a bit different to accommodate electronic optics. The rear sight comes off on the plate and you can swap on a mounting plate for the optic of your choosing. The gun is heavy - but has an amazing ergonomic sculpt. The grips are very handsome if a little thin. The trigger is quite good - at about a 7-8 pound double action and about a 3.5# single action. The single action has a bit of some creep and the reset is a little long for this style gun. The slide to frame fit is quite good - very good - and the sights are also excellent - delivering a gun that's really really easy to be accurate with and shoot accurately. Since it's intended for USPSA carry optics competition it ships with three 19 round magazines that are nickel plated tubes - which is a great touch! The magazines are super high quality. The gun comes with a baggie of hex wrenches - which is great - and extra shock buffs for the recoil system. What it doesn't come with - is optic plates. And you can't buy the steel CZ pieces in the states - they're basically unobtanium. I ordered mine from a European vendor who shipped to the US in 7-42 days for $5 - so fingers crossed those show up! For a $1500 pistol - after you get over the high of handling the gun you'll be a bit disappointed the case is kind of weak and it doesn't come with optic plates - and frustratingly - they aren't readily on hand at the CZ-USA webstore. It's a great gun - just know the price tag doesn't stop with whatever you pay for it if you want to use an optic.