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SCCY Firearms and Company History
With the firearm market filled with such famous companies as Glock, Smith & Wesson, and Sig Sauer, it is remarkably hard for a new gun manufacturer to distinguish themselves. Either a new company has to price their guns high in order to make a profit, or they get known as making a “knock off” of a larger company’s design. However, some new firearms manufacturers are able to steer clear of these traps. SCCY (pronounced “sky”) is one of these special companies.
SCCY’s History
SCCY is quite new in the gun world, as it only opened its doors in 2003. Joe Roebuck founded the company in Daytona Beach, Florida, where they still operate. According to SCCY’s website, Roebuck—a tool and die maker by trade—began considering entering gun manufacturing in 1998. One reason for his shift from tool-and-die work to gun design occurred because of a problem that he had with a customer. A company hired him to do some firearm tooling but did not come through with payment. Roebuck was not initially a “gun guy” himself, but after that experience he recognized a hole in the firearms market. He decided to try his hand at filling the need for high quality but also affordable pistols.
Roebuck originally called his new company, Skyy Industries, LLC, but the name was already taken by Skyy Vodka. Although alcohol and firearms are two completely unrelated industries—or, at least, they should be—after Skyy Vodka complained, Roebuck agreed to change the spelling of his company’s name to SCCY Industries.
Roebuck still maintains a large degree of control over his company. In fact, in addition to his work as CEO, he also serves of SCCY’s chief engineer and machinist. Most firearm companies have different teams of people that work on these jobs—these team rarely get along. However, with Roebuck performing both jobs, the departments have no cause to argue. Roebuck calls what he does “concurrent engineering.”
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SCCY Manufacturing Process
In addition to Roebuck’s hands on approach, one thing that makes SCCY different from most other gun producers is their manufacturing process. All of their guns are hand built and come from their in-house factory in Daytona Beach. The only material not processed at their factory is the pistol’s polymer frame, which is made at another SCCY facility, also in Florida.
SCCY’s manufacturing helps keeps their costs down, while still ensuring a quality product. Firstly, the very fact that SCCY makes all of their own components helps to keep the costs low. Roebuck also has a room dedicated for producing tooling from his own wire EDM machine, which further keeps down the price of the pistols.
Secondly, Roebuck has taken his experience in the engineering and tool-and-die work and used it to the company’s advantage. For example, most pistol slides are made from metal injection moulding (MIM), an expensive process that Roebuck rejected. Instead he uses Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining for all of his metal parts. SCCY also makes their own aluminum allow receiver that is mounted into a molded polymer grip. Most companies that make polymer guns combine the grip and receiver into one unit. Roebuck’s unique approach is more efficient and cost-effective.
Different Models
In order to perfect each pistol that leaves their facility, SCCY only produces three pistols. Although, they have plans on adding many more sizes, calibers, and designs to their catalog in the future.
CPX-1
The first of SCCY’s pistols to hit the market. This is the initial pistol that Joe Roebuck designed when he decided to try his hand at gun manufacturing. As mentioned in our smaller break-out article about the CPX-1 and CPX-2., this pistol is a 9mm sub-compact with a DAO trigger. The CPX-1 model also includes an ambidextrous manual guarded safety that was much criticized in the firearm community.
CPX-2
Because the heavy criticism leveled against the CPX-1’s manual safety, SCCY released the CPX-2. This pistol has the exact frame and caliber as the CPX-1 but does not included the hated manual safety.
Both the CPX-1 and the CPX-2 come with a large variety of grip color options. More information about this pistol can be found in our break-out article.
CPX-3
SCYY’s newest addition to their catalog. The CPX-3 shoots .380 Auto and is slightly smaller than its 9mm brothers (the CPX-1 and CPX-2). The CPX-3 also includes some newly designed features that further set it apart from SCCY’s early pistols. These changes are detailed in our break-out article on the CPX-3.
The CPX-3 only has two different slide finishes, and no grip color options at the moment. However, this is scheduled to change the longer the pistol remains on the market.
Reliability
As mentioned above, SCCY’s unique manufacturing process helps them provide low cost firearms. Yet, that same process ensures a remarkably high-quality gun from this small company. Each and every pistol is hand tested and fired before shipment. They also have an over 50% inspection rate depending on the part, which is way above the industry standard 5-10% inspection rate. All of this care guarantees a superior product.
Roebuck’s tool-and-die background has also given him the ability to design new features in his pistols that ensure reliability. For example, the coil mainspring that powers the DAO trigger on all of SCCY’s pistols is stretched instead of compressed. This may not seem like that important of a change. However, it keeps that feature from wearing out quickly and is less likely to break, which ultimately makes SCCY’s pistols more reliable.
If you are in the market for a self-defense pistol, then reliability should be one of the biggest factors that you consider. If the gun doesn’t shoot when you need it to, then—no matter the price—it is not worth your time. SCCY helps makes your decision a no-brainer by providing a supremely reliable product that will work perfectly as a conceal carry self-defense weapon.
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Warranty
SCCY’s warranty is one of the greatest advantages of buying from the company. In fact, some reviewers have even claimed you should buy a SCCY gun for the warranty alone. SCCY ties their lifetime warranty to the pistol not the owner, which means that even if you purchased a used SCCY pistol, it is still covered by the company. Most modern firearms companies do not provide such a good warranty. For your convenience we’ve listed SCCY’s instructions for customer returns, you can also find them here.
“If possible, please ship entire firearm, otherwise we cannot guarantee it will be in working order when it is returned. If possible, please include both magazines, in original box. Turnaround time is approximately two weeks from date of receipt (subject to change without notice).
SCCY seeks excellence in every product it produces, but when issues do arise, we want to provide best-in-class customer support.
Please provide the following information when sending in your pistol for service:
– Customer Name
– Contact Telephone Number
– Return Shipping Address (firearms cannot be returned to a PO Box)
– E-Mail Address
– Serial Number of Firearm
– Model Number of Firearm
– List of Requested Services
Shipping Address
Attn: Service Department
SCCY 1800 Concept Court
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
*Customer is responsible for inbound shipping charges.”
Removal of No Questions Asked Policy
SCCY’s warranty has undergone recent changes, for in 2016 they removed their “no questions asked” clause on the warranty. This policy guaranteed that SCCY would replace any lost or stolen guns without asking any questions. Most in the firearms industry lauded SCCY for their dedication to customer service. You did not find anything like this policy among any of the other gun manufacturers. Most people used this policy correctly; however, as in many aspects of life, a few “bad apples” ruined it for the rest of us.
Problems began for SCCY’s “no questions asked” policy when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) noticed that a lot of SCCY’s pistols were appearing at crime scenes. That fact, plus the low “time to crime”—the time between the pistol’s purchase and its use in a crime—really interested officials at BATFE. They contacted SCCY, which after much deliberation decided to remove the “no questions asked” policy.
SCCY’s official statement had this to say: “We realize that the majority of people who have contacted SCCY in regard to stolen firearms are honest law-abiding firearms owners and this is another instance where a few bad apples have spoiled it for honest citizens . . . However, in the interest of the public’s safety and welfare, we have no choice but to abolish this program.”
For the most part, this change in policy has been received positively, especially considering that their lifetime warranty described above continues to remain in effect.
Conclusion
Most people want to buy a gun from a reliable company that produces high quality products and has a dedication to customer service. If this applies to you, then you will want to take a long, hard look at SCCY’s pistols. They may not offer the same number of models as larger, older companies like Smithfield Armory, Ruger, or Glock, but what they do, they do extremely well.
Because SCCY is still a company in its infancy, Roebuck sends sales representative directly to dealers. The company calls these visits “SCCY Day.” If you are a dealer and want to arrange a “SCCY Day,” you allow a sales rep to visit your store. They bring SCCY pistols and allow you to test them. They also explain the benefits of buying SCCY. This strategy has helped increase visibility and brand recognition for the manufacturer. If the dealers choose to sell SCCY pistols they now have a wealth of experience and knowledge that they can pass on to customers.
Roebuck’s exacting quality standards coupled with an MSRP of between $280 and $350 makes this an extremely exciting firearm, especially for beginners. The DAO triggers on SCCY’s pistols are recommended by some as a good beginner trigger, since they are harder to depress accidentally. The low cost of the SCCY pistols is also appealing to novice shooters, since it lowers the barrier to entry. Now, you don’t have to drop a mortgage payment on a gun just to begin learning how to shoot.
Novices are not the only type of shooter that can get something out of a SCCY pistol. Even experienced gun owners enjoy SCCY’s high quality and reliable guns. Instead of being a “Saturday night special,” these pistols are truly worth more than their price. They are supremely concealable, especially the new CPX-3 which allows for pocket carry, and they shoot proven calibers. While SCCY does not yet provide these pistols in the higher calibers–.40 S&W and .45 ACP—most popular for self-defense. Both the 9mm and .380 Auto will do damage and protect you well. Despite being a newer brand, SCCY has created a niche for themselves within the conceal carry market. While any gun purchase comes down to personal preferences, we highly recommend that you take a long and hard look at a SCCY pistol.
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