{"id":313209,"date":"2022-09-14T07:00:11","date_gmt":"2022-09-14T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/?p=313209"},"modified":"2022-09-23T15:19:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T21:19:54","slug":"springfield-sa-35-a-modernized-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/springfield-sa-35-a-modernized-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Springfield SA-35: A Modernized Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"

The SA-35 from Springfield Armory is one of a long line of P35 variants made over the years. This new spin on the Hi-Power is meant to look like a classic military issue sidearm, but the gun has enough updates to make it a unique branch of the Browning family tree. And it isn’t a gun meant to be tucked up in the safe\u2014the Springfield SA-35 is at its best on the range.<\/p>\n

\"The
The SA-35 is perfectly in tune with Springfield Armory’s tradition of making functional historical homages.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Springfield’s Wide-Ranging Identities<\/h2>\n

No one can pin down Springfield Armory. Their production line of 1911s set the single-action bar pretty high. Yet they also have a reputation for reliable concealed carry that stems from a constant evolution of polymer-framed imports.<\/p>\n

\"Springfield
The stainless barrel fits tightly in the lug. It moves like many of Springfield’s high-end 1911s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Their historical homages, though, are also worth noting. Springfield goes to great lengths to make guns that are close, but not actual copies, of originals. Their Mil-Spec 1911 would be ideal for any living historian to wear with a vintage WWII uniform, yet it has some updates, too, that stray from the historical originals\u2014updated sights, for one.<\/p>\n

And their M1A line of .308s take the martial version of the M-14 to new levels with updated optics mounts, stock materials, and barrel lengths…, but there’s always the classic walnut and steel option, too, for the purists.<\/p>\n

Enter the SA-35<\/h2>\n

At launch in October of 2021, the Springfield SA-35 caught some by surprise. It shouldn’t. I’d like to see Springfield take on more mid-century classics.<\/p>\n

\"Both
Both the lines and the movement of the action are reminiscent of a good 1911. Even racking the slide is smooth\u2014an oddity for an older design with an external hammer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’m not a historian, though I do get into the minutia of some guns’ histories. Following the history of the Hi-Power is even more complicated as there were several people involved in its original design, across a couple of decades. And then, during World War II, the design changed, even more, when it was produced by multiple companies around the world.<\/p>\n

It began as a contract request by the French military. They wanted a gun that could do what the 1911 did, only with more rounds in the magazine. The initial request was for more than 10, and this was easy enough to do with the 9mm cartridge.<\/p>\n

John Moses Browning and Dieudonn\u00e9 Saive<\/h2>\n

John Browning got the nod to build the prototypes. Much of what he wanted to do with the design was complicated by his own 1911 patents, which he no longer owned. He had the successful model to replicate, but couldn’t, and so some of his early designs would be hard to recognize in the P35, which is how many around the world know the Hi-Power.<\/p>\n

\"two
The family resemblance is easy to see. This wasn’t always the case with the Hi-Power design. But once 1911 patents expired, Browning, and later the crew at FN, could take the parts that worked well from that build and mix them back into what would become the P35. Some 90 years later, we have the Springfield SA-35.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We’re simplifying a lot here, but so be it. Browning died before the design was truly finished. Dieudonn\u00e9 Saive at Fabrique Nationale picked it up. The process drug out long enough that many of the patents on the 1911 expired, so more of that gun’s influence worked its way back in.<\/p>\n

The ghost of Browning and FN produced a really compelling gun, but France went with another competitor. Still, the P35 had promise.<\/p>\n

\"Springfield
The safety on the Springfield SA-35 is only on the left side, for traditional right-handed thumb deployment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

FN put it in the catalog and shopped the gun around to various countries. 1935 was a pretty contentious time. Some of the first adoptions came from Belgium, but the Germans wanted them, too, and they were basically taking everything they wanted during that time.<\/p>\n

High Power production continued under German occupation, but also moved to Canada where the name was shortened to Hi-Power. And, for the period, 13 rounds in a magazine was Hi-Power<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The gun would stay in production for a long, long time. FN produced the gun from 1935 to 2018, and they’re back at it in 2022. Others picked up the slack, like Springfield. The SA-35 is one in a long line of variations, but it is one that stands out.<\/p>\n

And it has to be daunting as hell to work on design upgrades on a Browning-inspired classic. It is one thing to take the 1911 and add some new slide serrations or some extra textures to a front strap, but something altogether different to go back and fix some of the issues that defined the original.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Springfield SA-35 doesn’t have a decocker. It does have a half-cock position for those who don’t want to carry cocked and locked.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Springfield SA-35 Specs<\/h3>\n