I have a small scar in the web of my right hand between my thumb and forefinger. It’s not terribly noticeable, but it was the beginning of my falling “out of love” with an old, but very accurate Browning High Power/P35. Taking too-high a grip on the originals was one of those “self correcting errors.” It wasn’t the worst mistake, but it left an impression.
A worse mistake left twin slices from the slide as it made its way across/through the same web area. Think of them as the difference between a “bite” and a “chew”.
Both the High Power/P35 and original 1911s shared those common threats. That’s likely one reason I matriculated to revolvers for many years after my last “hammer bite”.
Today’s versions of these classics have eliminated those problems via extended beaver tails and modified hammers. I gladly started shooting both pistols again after those improvements, because they define, at least for me, “classics.”
Springfield Armory’s SA-35 brought the proven John Moses Browning design back several years ago. It included several manufacturing improvements that helped it be both better behaved and more accurate.
Earlier this week (add link to SA-Announcement) Springfield Armory announced their latest expansion of the SA-35 line: a 4-inch barrel variant. Think of it as a 1911 “Commander” model SA-35.
I’ve been toying with one of the new models for a bit, and I have to say the changes have made a good gun even better operationally. The biggest improvement, at least to me, is the addition of two rounds to the mag capacity. But I also like the extended thumb safety and “modern” iron sights (although I have a difficult time seeing any “irons” anymore, the white dot front sight does help with alignment).
Haven’t done any shooting with the new pistol yet, but I’m hoping to get time on it in the next couple of weeks. A friend who served in the South African Defense Force is a longtime fan of the design. His unit carried South African clones of the Browning. He tells me the barrel “shortage” doesn’t make much difference when shooting (he’s a terrific shooter), but it’s hands-down more comfortable for concealed carry.
He shot what I had considered respectable groups with it (they’re the groups in the picture). That was before he told he he shot the pistol at 20 yards, not 7 or 10. From 20 yards - with iron sights- they’re somewhat better than “respectable” (as I mentioned, he’s a really good shooter).
This isn’t intended to be a deep review of the new SA-35 4-inch. As I’ve written over the years, I don’t consider myself qualified to review a gun for anything other than my personal impressions. And my personal impressions are influenced -heavily- by my numerous trips around the sun.
For me, the appeal of any tool, whether it be a pistol, pickaxe or pocket knife, is influenced by the industrial artistry I see in it. That’s likely why there are unworn watches, untested cameras, vintage hand tools, “older” guns and leather holsters and dozens of knives around my house.
To me, they remind me of my childhood heroes. My heroes weren’t Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger, they were Roy Rogers, John Wayne and Audie Murphy.
Can’t speak for Roy, but I think Wayne, who carried a Browning High Power in McQ and Brannigan, would like the latest model of Springfield’s SA-35, especially the additional ammo capacity. That’s despite the fact very few movie heroes ever ran short of ammunition.
As we get some more trigger time on the new pistol, we’ll keep you posted.
— Jim Shepherd