Springfield Armory SA-35?

[Kraschenbirn]

Anyone have any experience with Springfield's HiPower clone? A couple years ago, in a moment of weakness...brought on by a gooey sweet trade offer...I let my old Argentine FM get down the road and, lately, been thinking about a replacement.

Bill

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I'm sure you'll get a bunch of answers, as there were several threads on the SA-35 a few months back.

There was a time I owned a very nice Belgian Hi Power, Nazi stamped, with the tangent rear sight. It was fairly accurate if one could get around the really heavy trigger pull. One day I was sitting with both the Hi Power and a 1911 in front of me, examining both, and concluded that John Browning got it right the first time. Sent the Hi Power down the road........

DG

[Noah Zark]

Kraschenbirn: I had one for a few years around Covid time, bought it used and unfired on a great deal, and used it to compare with a Browning Mk III HP for an article for American Gunsmith magazine. The SA35 was very well made and finished, with an even, uniformly colored phosphate on both slide and frame. The fit of the slide on the frame was precise with little play, as a modern CNC produced firearm is.
It digested the limp UMC "yellow box" ammo I keep around for function testing (so weak that an SMG generally runs away until the mag is empty), W-W Value Pack "white box", my handloads with the Hornady 124 jacketed truncated cone " Air Force" bullet, and both Wolf and Tula steel case without any blip whatsoever.
The trigger was almost like a glass rod, but a thick one - 5.6 lb on my Lyman gauge, so grouping suffered a bit. I worked on it and took a full lb off the force and groups tightened. I almost kept it, but a friend was mad interested in it, having shot it with me. As I have long had a BHP Mk II (Belgium) and the aforementioned Mk III (assembled in Portugal), and a standard Argie FM HP,and two Argie FM Detectives, all of which with years of familiarity, I let the SA35 go for what I had in it. So I netted the $700 I got paid for the AG article.
That said, I would not hesitate to buy another SA35, knowing what I do, if I had no BHP. After all, everyone needs a BHP.

Noah

[36g]

I have no experience with the SA-35 but have a couple Belgians, an Argentine, and several FEG's.

While people tend to view the FEG's as clones there is data to show that they were license built on Belgian supplied equipment (https://highpowercollectors.proboard...s-informations). I have found that all parts are interchangeable between Belgians and FEG (within respective models).

In any case, if an FEG should cross your path don't hesitate to take a look at it. They show up somewhat regularly on Century's website.

[shooting on a shoestring]

Here’s my comparison:
https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...k-III-Standard

I’ll say that after several hundred more rounds, the SA-35 is getting a few more hits. Still not in the same class as my BHP.

[HWooldridge]

I owned a Belgian, but it was not sufficiently accurate for my tastes. I know the HiPower design can be accurized but I prefer the 1911.

I have a Facebook friend who got one of the early SA-35 models and his unofficial review was pretty good, as I recall. Very reliable, accurate enough and reasonably priced.

[Dan Cash]

I have a SA-35, a FEG and 2 Tisas P-35s, one ceracote and one hard chromed. The best of the bunch is the hard chrome Tisas once the magazine disconnect was removed. The slide to frame fit is tighter and the trigger break is lighter and crisper on this one, not to mention that operation is slicker than rooster snot. The nest best is the ceracoated Tisas. The FEG coomes next and dead last is the SA.

The SA-35 is nice in that the mag disconnect is non-existant and I like the single sided safety and safety lever shape better than any of the others but trigger pull is gritty with a week worth of creep. When the trigger is pulled, there is significant slide lift.

None of the four guns exhibits accuracy on par with a rack grade 1911 but again the chrome Tisis surpasses the other P-35 clones by delivering 3 to 3.5 inch groups at 30 yards with ball ammo. The other pistols give between 4 and 6 inch groups at the same range. The Springfield shoots about 10 inches low at 30 yards.

All 4 guns are dead nuts reliable as far as function and firing.

[FergusonTO35]

The SA-35's I have seen locally compare nicely to my Browning, just with a plain finish. I think they are a good deal, American made faithful copy from a reputable maker for not much more than an import.

[Rodfac]

I've had the Springfield SA-35 since Sept. of '23....It came from KY Gun Co's Louisville store and was one of a shipment of 6. I examined them all, tried all of them for trigger weight and bought the first one...though all of them were essentially identical. They were all good.

Fit and function have been outstanding...mine will feed anything I've tried, from Speer, Federal, Remington & Winchester hollow points to my own LSWC, home cast prescriptions. It feeds them all. In all honestly, I can't remember a malfunction with a round count that's approaching 1500.

I have experience with BHP's, having carried one for the bulk of my first tour in Vietnam, 1970. Working out of a Special Forces B camp on the Cambodian border, the gun's 13 round magazine appealed to me vs. the 6 shots in my USAF issued M15 S&W. Since then, I've never been without one, but did not regularly CC with one till I bought the SA-35. My present BHP's are a Mklll Practical in 9mm and a Standard in .40 S&W. Neither has a trigger nor accuracy that approaches the Springfield, and yes, I have removed the magazine "safety" on both of them. Springfield has also reworked the hammer to aleve hammer bight.

So what do I like: usable controls in the form of the safety that easily sweeps off without fumbling or the use of two hands; sights that are easy to see and present easily from the leather without hanging up. It's issue grips are walnut, with good checkering and entirely usable, but I replaced mine with a set of Hogues for their sheer beauty. And did I mention accuracy...it's got it over any HP I've owned over the past 54 years...it's easily a 2" grouper with 78 year old eyes doing the steering.

Unless Springfield has cheapened their production, I'd rank it with any of my gun-smithed 1911's of Series 70 Colt pedigree for function and accuracy. It's a hellofa gun. Here's the obligatory pics...the holster is a Bianchi "Askins Avenger"...an OWB that rides high in my 4:00 position....Rod

[Goldstar225]

I had an SA-35. My only criticism of the gun was some failures to extract. This was reportedly a problem with those in the serial number range of 7,000 and below. Mine was in the 23,000 serial number range. A change to a cylinder and slide extractor cured that. As Rodfac has stated the improvements made by SA (hammer, mag safety delete, sights, and thumb safety) are worthwile. I sent mine down the road but not due to any flaw in the gun. I have simply had to accept that a double stack magazine gun doesn't work for my handsize and I have to limit myself to single stack designs. For the same reason I regrettably cannot use an "N" frame effectively.

[Bigslug]

INSERT MOVIE TRAILER ANNOUNCER VOICE HERE:

"IN A WORLD with a wide range of choices in 9mm 1911's, who in their right mind would buy a Browning-Had-Nothing-To-Do-With-It-Hi-Power?"

My BHP experience was heavily tarnished by a FEG clone with reliability issues that could not be resolved despite repeated tear-downs and tweaks. When dismantling and servicing 1911's and Glocks, one has a sense of "this is an intelligently designed machine". With the BHNTDWIHP, I was filled with a deep sense of "Dieudonne Saive shoulda stuck to machineguns".

The Springfield has done away with the horrid mag disconnect, and claims to have re-vamped the ring hammer to prevent hammer bite, but it's still going to have the crazy teeter-totter fire-control system that transfers the force of the trigger pull from the frame to the slide, back to the frame, and back up to the slide. It's also going to have the need to first remove that teeter-totter lever in order to remove and service the extractor.

Kinda, sorta decent ergonomics hiding horrible mechanics, IMO. Also, the vertically-driven extractor pin really cuts into the BHP's ability to adapt to the brave new world of red dot sights. Yes, you could theoretically mill it for an optic, but you'll need to strip your optic to service your extractor.

All that said, Springfield's a great company to deal with if you ever do need their support. . .and they make 9mm 1911's. . .

[fourarmed]

I have one that I sent back twice because it didn't group well at 25 yards. They paid shipping both ways, but didn't fix it, so I installed a barrel from Cylinder & Slide. With my home trigger job, it will now shoot 1 to 2 inch groups with certain ammo. Reliability has been excellent. I plan to have a buddy TIG weld a little metal onto the top rear of the factory barrel and fit it like I did the one from C&S. I suspect that will greatly improve on the original groups.

[FergusonTO35]

INSERT MOVIE TRAILER ANNOUNCER VOICE HERE:

"IN A WORLD with a wide range of choices in 9mm 1911's, who in their right mind would buy a Browning-Had-Nothing-To-Do-With-It-Hi-Power?"

Because its the sexiest handgun ever.made, that's why!!

[Rodfac]

Because its the sexiest handgun ever made, that's why!!

Well said, Ferg.....best regards, Rod (in La Grange, KY) Here's a cpl more...

[FergusonTO35]

Sweet! Mine is just like yours in the bottom pic.