Ayoob: My Take on the SA-35

The Hi Power, known generically as P-35 because it was introduced in 1935, is a modern classic. Conceived by the incomparable John Moses Browning and finalized into the form we know it by his protégé Dieudonne Saive after Browning’s death, the P-35 was adopted by many nations, and it was manufactured in multiple countries — sometimes with a license, and sometimes not.

The author, Massad Ayoob, shot a maximum score of 300 out of 300 with this borrowed Springfield Armory SA-35 during a training class demonstration. Image: Gail Pepin

For decades it was the official military gun of the British Commonwealth nations and indeed, a majority of NATO countries. During World War II, even the Nazis used the Hi Power after they overran Belgium and took over the FN factory. The CIA also had quite a few in their armory.

It was the first popular double-stack 9mm, its magazine holding 13 rounds of 9mm. Many considered it John Browning’s ultimate handgun design. The grip shape fit both small and large hands. It was reliable with the full metal jacket 9mm Luger it was designed for.

An Imperfect Classic?

However, it had its shortcomings. Its burr hammer often bit the web of the shooter’s hand. The thumb safety was small and flat with a mushy feel that made it hard for the hand to know whether it was “on” or “off” safe. It was iffy in terms of feeding most hollow point rounds.

Massad Ayoob rapidly fire the SA-35 on the shooting range — Massad Ayoob rapidly fires the SA-35 on the shooting range. The controllability of the gun during recoil makes fast shots possible. Note the multiple pieces of brass and little muzzle rise. Image: Gail Pepin

Regular users learned it was most reliable with the magazine loaded one round down: British SAS guys told me they’d be docked a week’s pay for every Browning magazine they were found with that had been topped off with the 13^thround.

It was not drop-safe with a round in the chamber. Nor was it as durable as a 1911; in Caracas I was shown multiple P-35 frames that had been broken by hot ammo from Venezuela’s CAVIM factory, and I saw the same in Britain due to the hot Radway Green Arsenal 2Z ammo their military used.

In recent years, quality pistols of this design were becoming harder and harder to find, with the original Hi Power being discontinued. Remember that song that goes “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone”? Springfield Armory heard the music and danced to the tune, and in 2021 introduced their own version, the topic of this article, the SA-35.

Enter the SA-35

Springfield Armory took a very specific approach to the SA-35. They decided to keep all the classic features people knew and loved about the gun, and update/modernize/improve the ones they didn’t — all while keeping a classic profile.

out of the box this Springfield Armory SA-35 shot a 2-inch 25 yard group with inexpensive practice FMJ ammo — Right out of the box, the author shot a 2″ 25 yard group with this Springfield Armory SA-35 and inexpensive practice ammo. Image: Gail Pepin

Good high-visibility fixed sights. A smooth trigger. No mag disconnector to begin with and thus, drop-free magazines. The iconic burr hammer configured so it didn’t bite the hand. And stocks in a Craig Spegel configuration that felt even better in the hand than the original. Moreover, it came with Mec-Gar’s new 14-round P-35 magazine that worked 100%. It would have been hard to ask for more.

The market agreed.

Shooting the SA-35

I’ve shot three samples of the SA-35 fairly intensively, and bought one of them for personal use. None has yet malfunctioned. They were all consistently excellent. They come throated for hollow points and happily gobble up hot loads: +P, +P+, and 9mm NATO. I’ve never seen an SA-35 bite a shooter’s hand. Springfield Armory assures me that the SA-35 is drop-safe with a round in the chamber.

Massad Ayoob shoots a timed weak hand only qualification with the SA-35 — Massad Ayoob shoots a timed, weak-hand-only qualification with the SA-35 during a training class in Delaware. Image: Gail Pepin

About the only thing I could ask for would be an ambidextrous safety, but I’m right-handed and the single-side lever on the Springfield gun works just fine. Mine remains completely “out of the box.”

In 2022, teaching a MAG-40 class in Delaware, on a whim I borrowed an SA-35 from my friend and host Dave, who has an excellent YouTube channel called “Justin Opinion”, to demonstrate the qualification course of fire for a couple of dozen students.

Massad Ayoob carries the SA-35 in a Milt Sparks Executive Companion Holster — Massad Ayoob demonstrates carrying the SA-35 concealed. In this photo, he is using a Milt Sparks Executive Companion holster carried on his strong side. Image: Gail Pepin

The bone-stock P-35 gave me a perfect score, 300 out of 300, with a group that measured about four and a half inches for 60 timed shots from four to 15 yards, including one-handed firing with either hand. That speaks well for the gun’s “shootability.” If an arthritic septuagenarian can do that with the SA-35, think what you could do with it.

Value

If I could condense my opinion of the SA-35 to one word, it would be “value.” In its last year of production, the original P-35 started at over $1,100 in 2018 money. Back in the day, the 1980s and early ’90s, to get a Hi Power customized to the equivalent of an SA-35 was around $1,500, dollars that were then worth a helluva lot more than they are now.

Massad Ayoob tested wide range of ammunition types in the Springfield Armory SA-35 pistol. He found that both FMJ and hollow point loads fed and fired without issue. Image: Gail Pepin

The MSRP of an SA-35 like mine starts at $799, and has the same features and performance of the custom guns of yore.

You’re getting a gun with a heck of a lot of heritage and panache, not to mention a very controllable 5½-lb. trigger and a famously good fit to many hands. I’ve noticed that a lot of petite females and men with short fingers take particularly well to the P-35. Recoil is mild and very easily controllable, and by cocking the hammer to take mainspring resistance out of the equation, the slide is easy to run.

Justin Opinion and Massad Ayoob at shooting range with SA-35 — Justin Opinion and Massad Ayoob at the shooting range with the Springfield Armory SA-35 9mm pistol. Image: Gail Pepin

The great gun guru Jeff Cooper, who considered the 9mm impotent, once said that no gun fit his hand better than the High Power, and it was a shame it was not chambered for a caliber of consequence.

I load my SA-35 with Winchester 127-gr. +P+ Ranger-T 9mm, which runs at 1,250 feet per second, only 100 foot-seconds short of .357 Magnum with similar bullet weights. That largely eliminates the “inconsequential caliber” argument.

Back when it was introduced, I wrote in GUNS magazine and in On Target that the Springfield Armory SA-35 was the best value of the year. Now, in the mid-2020s, I see no need to modify that judgment.

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