Friday, January 7, 2022

Springfield Hi-Power SA-35 Tops March/April Handgunner

“Springfield announced their Hi-Power surprise, the SA-35, on October 25th, 2021 — causing the internet to break,” recounts Roy Huntington in the Mar/Apr cover feature of American Handgunner. “All this fuss for an 88-year-old design that obviously still tugs at the heartstrings everywhere. The best part of it all is the fact the SA-35 deserves every moment of attention.”

Springfield made small but significant changes to the original design: The rough, gritty trigger common to originals is gone now. The silly magazine disconnect is gone too, as well as the firing pin safety. All contributed to clutter and could interfere with the trigger-pull quality. The sights on the new gun are much better, modern, bold, easy to see and effective, and the hammer has also been redesigned so it doesn’t bite any longer.

“In short,” Huntington concludes, “they nailed it.”

The Canik TP9 is actually an extensive family of handguns ranging from subcompact concealed carry heaters all the way up to long-slide, tricked-out race guns with everything in between. As Will Dabbs, MD explains in more detail in “The Canik TP Family Portrait,” quality is superlative throughout.

Mossberg’s MC2sc tops the Mar/Apr Handgun of the Month giveaway package. The micro-compact 9mm offers increased capacity but is comfortably sized for concealed carry. With an OAL of 6.25", a height of 4.30" and slim 1.10" width, the MC2sc also features an optics-ready slide for ease of mounting micro red-dot sights. The lucky winner will also receive a Black Midi DX2 from Alien Knives and an Invisible Dehumidifier from Silent Dry. Valued at $685, readers are encouraged to enter the free drawing at AmericanHandgunner.com/giveaways.

Other points of interest in the Mar/Apr issue include Lindsey Bertomen’s primer on how not to blow yourself up in the Handloading column. In the Shooting Iron installment, Mike “Duke” Venturino casts his vote for the worst military handgun (hint: it originated in the land of the rising sun). Dave Anderson details the rise and fall — and rise and fall — of the 9mm in Better Shooting while Tiger McKee makes the case for using a lever action for self-defense in Tactics & Training.

Exclusive online-only articles can be found at AmericanHandgunner.com. Purchase the Mar/Apr issue or order a digital subscription at www.fmgpubs.com. Kindle and digital versions are also available.

CONTACT: Tom McHale

editor@americanhandgunner.com