From plinking tin cans to handling armed suspect calls, the CZ EVO 3 has a variant that’s optimized for you. For those that are tasked with responding to violent call-outs, the Micro-K just might be the variant you need.
One of the beautiful things about the Scorpion is that it’s a modern design and it lends itself to modularity, meaning that it can be optimized for whatever mission you have, whether that’s fun or duty. I’m fortunate in that I’ve been able to shoot just about every variant available, including the duty variants with the fun switch, and I’m going to tell you what I like about the platform and why I think it’s a serious contender for modern LE.
First, let’s address what it’s not. It’s not an AR. It’s designed from the ground up to deliver accurate, consistent results with the 9mm cartridge, it’s not a full sized rifle scaled down to be a pistol. The bolt is blowback, designed to be simply maintained and serviced by armorers. The bolt handle is non-reciprocating and rotates up into a notch when drawn all the way to the rear. This gives the shooter the option to either use the bolt release or to slap the handle down, allowing the action spring to send the bolt home. The bolt release may be faster, but slapping the handle is way cooler. The choice is yours. The gun also utilizes polymer where it can, this keeps cost and weight down without sacrificing durability or reliability. The ergonomics are also designed with the 9mm in mind, meaning that in any of its incarnations, whether pistol or rifle, the Scorpion is an incredibly easy weapon to shoot accurately. The grip module is at a perfect angle to control the gun and access the safety, which is ambidextrous and easy to move through its positions without sacrificing your grip. The bolt release is very generous, and is operated by pushing it upwards, rather than inwards. This sounds somewhat awkward to those used to the AR15 controls, but in use, it’s very easy and fast. The magazine release is an ambidextrous paddle that’s incorporated into the trigger guard, which also takes some getting used to if you’re used to AR controls, but like the bolt release, it’s very fast and efficient when you’re actually using the Scorpion the way it was meant to be used.
The carbine versions are as much fun to shoot as you’d imagine, but I prefer the shorter SBR/pistol versions. With the shorter versions, the Scorpion’s balance really shines, and it’s incredibly easy to shot fast, especially transitioning between targets and driving the gun on to the target. After talking about my preferences with some of the LE guys at CZ, they sent me one of their most popular LE variants, the Micro-K.
The Micro-K is the direct result of over two years of feedback from actual field use as well as agency testing and is only available to Military and Law Enforcement customers through CZ’s IOP program. The Micro-K is a purpose driven variant of the Scorpion that is built for active shooter scenarios, where lone Officers may have to engage quickly and away from back-up. To that end, the Micro-K comes in its own self-contained backpack, making it extremely easy to grab and go. Also of note is that unlike many companies that reject the aftermarket, CZ has embraced the aftermarket and there are several aftermarket upgrades included in the Micro-K package.
The first change I want to talk about is the short barrel. While the typical Scorpion pistol/SBR has a 7.72 inch, cold hammer forged, and honed barrel, the Micro-K comes in at an even shorter 4.5-inch tube topped with a KAK Industries Mini Flash Can. The high quality (and I’m guessing the honing) of the barrel provide a little extra velocity to projectiles, and I found that my chrono results were anywhere from 20-40 FPS faster than out of a standard 9mm Pistol with a similar barrel. From a rest, the Scorpion is capable of very good groups, with every load shot staying under 2 inches at 25 yards and the excellent Federal HST and Speer G2 loads both hugging one inch. I didn’t group my personal Scorpion at 50, but with the EoTech XPS in place, 100-yard steel wasn’t especially challenging if I did my part.
Housing that stubby tube is a Micro Mlok handguard with a Magpul hand stop. The handguard does a good job of providing enough real estate for some common sense white/IR/light/laser additions, and grasping the abbreviated handguard wasn’t too onerous of a task, but I was grateful for the Magpul hand stop.
The Micro-K also has some other upgrades that serious users will appreciate, such as the Magpul enhanced paddle magazine release and the HB Industries Mini-AK safety selector switch, which eliminates interference of the selector by the shooters trigger finger. I have never had issues with the stock magazine release, but the Magpul unit opened my eyes a bit in regards to speed and consistency. HB industries also provides the extended charging handle, which is twice the length of the standard version. The Micro-K also uses the fantastic Yeti Wurks Switchback Grip to provide enhanced ergonomics. With all of these upgrades, you’d be right to expect the Micro-K to perform, and when used like it is intended, this gun definitely shines.
The trigger is unlike most other triggers on the market. It is long, but it’s single stage break is very consistent. I’m not an engineer, so I can’t speak to intent, but the practical result of the long trigger with a crisp break is that it makes the Scorpion very easy to shoot when moving and engaging multiple targets. It isn’t a bullseye trigger, but it’s not a bullseye gun. It’s a fighting gun and on a fighting gun, this trigger works really, really well.
Utilizing the SB Tactical folding brace, which is also an upgrade over the standard brace, the Scorpion is more than capable in any active shooter or even home defense situation that I can imagine, short of an armored suspect. I generally avoid running too many drills on steel only, as I like to actually see where my rounds hit, but in training, the Micro-K had me running through steel drills like a fat kid running through a birthday cake. I know training is supposed to be serious business, but good lord, if you can’t have fun training with this gun then you’re broken inside.
Because of that direct end user feedback that we discussed earlier in the article, the Micro-K ships with two 20 round magazines and 5 30 round magazines, making it not only the very best weapon in its class, but also the best value in its class. On duty or at home, this Scorpion stings way above its weight class.