Had a chance to take the brand new Springfield Echelon for a test drive this week, thought I'd share some initial thoughts.
Bottom line up front: I love it, and feel really weird about saying that about a plastic Springfield. Shoots nicely, and it's surprisingly easy to run flat and fast.
How cool this is depends on what level of perspective you have. If you're of the "all plastic guns are the same" camp, then this is just another plastic gun and you'll have no interest in it whatsoever. If you're interested in innovation in the industry, this one's got some very cool features.
WHAT I LIKE:
1. The optic-mounting pin system is brilliant. Whoever thought that up needs a kiss on the pp. No more plates to mount the optic of your choice.
2. It's ambidextrous out of the box. Not just the slide catch but also the mag release (the button, uh, goes both ways).
3. The slide design is great. Forward cocking serrations are deep and useful, and the rear charging supports (stolen from the VP9 in principle) are useful.
4. The grip is great, with three tool-less backstraps to choose from. Triggerguard has a nice double-undercut with some stippling underneath.
5. The front of the grip has subtle flares on both sides that will serve as a bit of a thumb ledge / index point. This is an interesting move I've never seen before. The takedown lever itself is a small gas pedal.
6. It's got a serialized FCU like Sig's been doing lately, which paves the way for easy swapping of grip modules.
7. The trigger shoe is flat-ish and feels great. It's a good wall with a nice wall, clean break and short reset. The one I got averaged 3lb 3oz on the Lyman gauge. It's not quite a Canik trigger, but it's really well done.
8. For a full-sized pistol (same size as the G17) it's got a relatively modest grip profile. People with medium-sized hands will like this one a lot I think.
9. It comes with flush-fit 17rd mag, an extended 20rd mag, and an extra +3 so you can upsize the 17 if you're so inclined.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE:
1. You get your choice of u-notch or 3-dot sights, which is like having to pick whether you want to be kicked in the left nut or right nut.
2. The optic plate came loose after about 150 rounds. This is nothing more than a lack of good threadlocker from the factory, but it was a dumb problem to have.
3. The slide catch levers are unnecessarily tiny, and I could see myself getting angry with them over time.
Bottom line up front: I love it, and feel really weird about saying that about a plastic Springfield. Shoots nicely, and it's surprisingly easy to run flat and fast.
How cool this is depends on what level of perspective you have. If you're of the "all plastic guns are the same" camp, then this is just another plastic gun and you'll have no interest in it whatsoever. If you're interested in innovation in the industry, this one's got some very cool features.
WHAT I LIKE:
1. The optic-mounting pin system is brilliant. Whoever thought that up needs a kiss on the pp. No more plates to mount the optic of your choice.
2. It's ambidextrous out of the box. Not just the slide catch but also the mag release (the button, uh, goes both ways).
3. The slide design is great. Forward cocking serrations are deep and useful, and the rear charging supports (stolen from the VP9 in principle) are useful.
4. The grip is great, with three tool-less backstraps to choose from. Triggerguard has a nice double-undercut with some stippling underneath.
5. The front of the grip has subtle flares on both sides that will serve as a bit of a thumb ledge / index point. This is an interesting move I've never seen before. The takedown lever itself is a small gas pedal.
6. It's got a serialized FCU like Sig's been doing lately, which paves the way for easy swapping of grip modules.
7. The trigger shoe is flat-ish and feels great. It's a good wall with a nice wall, clean break and short reset. The one I got averaged 3lb 3oz on the Lyman gauge. It's not quite a Canik trigger, but it's really well done.
8. For a full-sized pistol (same size as the G17) it's got a relatively modest grip profile. People with medium-sized hands will like this one a lot I think.
9. It comes with flush-fit 17rd mag, an extended 20rd mag, and an extra +3 so you can upsize the 17 if you're so inclined.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE:
1. You get your choice of u-notch or 3-dot sights, which is like having to pick whether you want to be kicked in the left nut or right nut.
2. The optic plate came loose after about 150 rounds. This is nothing more than a lack of good threadlocker from the factory, but it was a dumb problem to have.
3. The slide catch levers are unnecessarily tiny, and I could see myself getting angry with them over time.
