{"id":1769,"date":"2024-01-02T20:02:43","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T20:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1769"},"modified":"2024-01-02T20:02:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T20:02:43","slug":"ayoob-springfield-echelon-review-the-armory-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1769","title":{"rendered":"Ayoob: Springfield Echelon Review – The Armory Life"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Massad Ayoob<\/a><\/p>\n

Y<\/span>ou\u2019ve been hearing a lot about the new 9mm Echelon, here and elsewhere. Two men I know and trust were heavily involved in its development: the legendary world champion shooter Rob Leatham<\/a>, and master gun designer Dave Williams.<\/p>\n

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The author\u2019s review included extensive range testing. Here he puts the ambidextrous mag release to use with his trigger finger dumping the mag. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Its mounting system for currently popular carry optics (the \u201cVariable Interface System<\/a>\u201d) is simply second to none. It eliminates the \u201cplate-mounting\u201d system, which has long been a weak point in the blending of pistol and optical sights. Screws shearing or loosening in plate mounts is one of the biggest problems I see with carry optic pistols as someone who teaches self-defense and shooting as a primary occupation.<\/p>\n

The Echelon\u2019s chassis-type \u201cCentral Operating Group\u201d fire control mechanism is state of the art for those individuals (and more importantly, those armed institutions) who have to adapt firearms to multiple hand sizes and trigger reach dimensions. You can find discussions of these handgun features in greater depth here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"State\n<\/picture>
State and regional shooting champion John Strayer tests the author\u2019s Echelon. Note the gun is already back on target with a spent casing in air. He left the test planning to buy an Echelon. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Accuracy? At the excellent gun forum pistol-forum.com<\/a>, you can find master shooter\/gunsmith Hilton Yam\u2019s video on the Echelon in which he shows a 1.5\u201d group his sample gave him at 25 yards with 147-gr. 9mm.<\/p>\n

The Echelon was designed from the ground up to be fully ambidextrous, and includes slide release\/slide lock levers on either side of the pistol. They look small, but I found them easy to operate in terms of both locking the slide open administratively and releasing the slide in an emergency reload from slide-lock.<\/p>\n

\"This\n<\/picture>
Here we see the copious, user-friendly grasping grooves and \u201cwings\u201d at back of slide to aid in racking. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The beauty of the smaller levers is that they are\u00a0much\u00a0<\/em>less likely for those who shoot with the currently popular thumbs-forward grasp to either over-ride and fail to lock the slide open to warn the shooter that the pistol is empty,\u00a0or\u00a0<\/em>to be accidentally bumped upward by the forward thumb during recoil and lock the slide open in the midst of a potentially life-saving string of fire.<\/p>\n

The Echelon offers interchangeable backstraps of different dimensions, and three grip modules in Small, Medium, and Large sizes. This modular combination gives one of the very best sets of options for hand-to-grip fit in the industry. The pistol comes standard with the Medium grip module, and you can replace them with Small or Large. Also, the interchangeable backstraps are designed to work with all three frame sizes.<\/p>\n

Hands-On with the Springfield Armory Echelon<\/h2>\n

One of my test team members is John Strayer<\/a>, a State and Regional Champion shooter who has won more matches with Springfield XD and XD-M<\/span> pistols than he can remember. He dry-fired my Echelon with Medium configuration and said, \u201cI think this is going to hurt my hand.\u201d On the range he discovered, \u201cI was wrong. It didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"One\n<\/picture>
Stippled digit resting places on each side of frame are safety and performance features. They serve as a felt index for \u201cfinger off trigger ready.\u201d Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We both thought Small would work better, but after shooting Falling Plates with the Echelon in all three sizes John said with surprise, \u201c I shot the best with size Large!\u201d On the plate rack, I found the same, our sweet-spot combo being Large \u201cframe\u201d with the smallest backstrap.<\/p>\n

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Fit is the issue, and the Echelon array of components has you covered on that. I usually shoot the best with the distal joint of my index finger on the trigger (more leverage!) but with the Echelon I too had my best Plate scores with the size Large and the pad instead of the first joint of the finger on the trigger. Go figure\u2026<\/p>\n

Under Time<\/h2>\n

Deadline and schedule precluded me from shooting a match with the Echelon to test \u201cshootability under stress,\u201d and I didn\u2019t have a holster for it anyway, so I shot a timed 4-to-15 yard qualification course with it from low ready. With the Medium grip module my score was 299 out of 300, the one point dropped by me, not the gun: I felt that bad shot go and it was too late to call it back.<\/p>\n

\"Massad\n<\/picture>
Massad Ayoob tested the new Echelon with a variety of 9mm ammunition including loads from Federal, Black Hills and Winchester. The gun proved reliable with all of them. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I tested the trigger pull weight on a Lyman digital gauge. From the toe (bottom edge) of the trigger where pull weight is generally tested, the average was 5.54 pounds. This is the general \u201ccommon custom and practice\u201d standard for striker-fired pistols. Pull weight from the center of the trigger where the finger actually is located during firing for most people is a bit heavier. That said, due to the ergonomics of the Echelon, the pull feels lighter than what the gauge says.<\/p>\n

\"The\n<\/picture>
Ayoob shot a 60-shot qualification under time including one-hand only each hand. The author states the single round outside the A-zone was his own fault, with the other 59 in a 4\u201d group. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That\u2019s important in a self-defense gun because it\u2019s common for false accusers to allege an indefensible negligent discharge due to a hair trigger. Speaking as an expert witness for the courts for the last 40-some years, I could honestly testify, \u201cThe Springfield Armory Echelon I tested, serial number BE281728, does NOT have a hair trigger consistent with unintentional discharges.\u201d<\/p>\n

9mm Pistol Details<\/h2>\n

My test gun\u2019s mags were easy to load up until the last one or two rounds, which I expect will ease up in use, and if that\u2019s a concern don\u2019t worry about it because it comes with a mag loading device.<\/p>\n

\"The\n<\/picture>
The author found the Echelon worked well withi his favorite \u201cwedge hold\u201d that uses the support hand index finger to create an upward camming force. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A big advantage of Springfield\u2019s XD series has been the ambidextrous magazine release button, a feature that continues on the Echelon. Some have worried about it being accidentally released, but Leatham, Williams,\u00a0et. al.\u00a0<\/em>saw that coming, and the Echelon has a protective ridge to shield the button. <\/p>\n

\"The\n<\/picture>
Springfield offers different grip modules for the Echelon. Shown are some of the multiple grip options. The complete gun in the center is Large and is flanked by Small and Medium. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rear of the slide has small, subtle \u201cwings\u201d to give the hand a better purchase for racking the slide. Like the trigger system and other elements of the Echelon design, it\u2019s proof that Springfield Armory adapted the \u201clatest and greatest\u201d of striker-fired pistol design improvements, along with their own innovations such as the optical sight mounting system to easily add a red dot or other optic.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts on the Handgun<\/h2>\n

Will the Echelon replace the XD series, or supplement it? Time will tell. I\u2019ve been very happy with my several XD-series pistols and damn sure won\u2019t be taking them to the pawn shop.<\/p>\n

\"The\n<\/picture>
The Springfield Armory\u2019s Echelon handgun uses ambidextrous controls. The author found they were easy to manipulate. Image:\u00a0Gail Pepin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That said, though, the test Echelon sufficiently impressed our test team that a check will be written and it will be staying here on my end instead of being returned to Springfield Armory.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Please be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Click the \u201cGo To Forum Thread\u201d link below to jump in and discuss this article and much more!<\/em><\/p>\n

Join the Discussion<\/span><\/h5>\n

Go to forum thread<\/a><\/p>\n

Featured in this article<\/span><\/h5>\n

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Echelon\u2122 Series<\/span><\/h3>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Massad Ayoob You\u2019ve been hearing a lot about the new 9mm Echelon, here and elsewhere. Two men I know and trust were heavily involved in its development: the legendary world champion shooter Rob Leatham, and master gun designer Dave Williams. The author\u2019s review included extensive range testing. Here he puts the ambidextrous mag release […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1770,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}