SA-35 Review

[SinisterKid76]

Happy to report it was a successful outing with the SA-35. 265 rounds without any issues.
I started out with some Blazer Brass and made it through my 3 mags, mag dumped Hornady Critical Defense, then blew through the remainder of brass and finished it off with 50 rounds of aluminum and the pistol performed flawlessly.
Had the wife's step-dad pay close attention to the ejection pattern and from what he said and where all the cases ended up on the ground, it was very consistent unlike the first time out.
I am confident SA has done their homework with resolving the issue.
It is a sweet shooter.

 

[rcsch5056]

Hello all,
First time here and still hunting a SA-35 - none to be found in my area of Western Colorado.
I have been doing lots of web searching and info reading to learn more about this great new Pistol.
As I said - lots of reading - and downside of that is a portion of these posters have reported extractor & ejection problems.
Just finished this thread.
Some great posts here!! Lots of info.
Has anyone with a recent purchase had a chance to duplicate these failures or have had better experiences with later pistols?
Anybody have any suggestions where to find/order one from??
Have a great day
rcsch5056

 

[Talyn]

Hello all,
First time here and still hunting a SA-35 - none to be found in my area of Western Colorado.
I have been doing lots of web searching and info reading to learn more about this great new Pistol.
As I said - lots of reading - and downside of that is a portion of these posters have reported extractor & ejection problems.
Just finished this thread.
Some great posts here!! Lots of info.
Has anyone with a recent purchase had a chance to duplicate these failures or have had better experiences with later pistols?
Anybody have any suggestions where to find/order one from??
Have a great day
rcsch5056

There are 20 on GB right now.

 

[SimonRL]

Welcome to the forum. There are several members on the forum with SA-35s and it seems that they’ve all experienced some level of disappointment and a couple of guns have gone back to be worked on. The extractor problem is real. I would bide your time until the SA-35 becomes more easily available. I think it is beyond coincidence that this gun was revealed to such great fanfare and was a guaranteed money maker for Springfield and it has all but vanished all these months later. You’ve got a far better chance of buying the new Sig P322 from Bigfoot.

 

[Elfego Baca]

I purchased a SA-35 2/3/22.

About 2 years ago I picked up a Browning Hipower at a decent price. It was made/assembled in Belgium. I couldn't believe it became so popular due to its terrible trigger.

My SA-35 came with a decent trigger. The finish is OK.
My test of acceptability was whether it could handle my handloads using my own cast bullets. It took a few adjustments but my reloads work!
No failures to function with my ammo. I haven't tried factory ammo!

I bought some 15 shot mags direct from Springfield Armory and got a few 13 mags from Brownell. My Browning came with two after market mags. They all work!

I purchased an ambidextrous safety from cylinder & slide.
That was time consuming installation job with many breaks to eliminate my frustration.

. The initial challenge was to find one. At the time North 40 had two but not on display. I asked tried the trigger, was happy, and paid $695.49 with sales tax.
I am a happy buyer/user.

 

[Dean Motoyama]

Hello, new to the forum with limited handgun experience. I recently picked up an SA-35 (low 4000's serial number) and just test fired it this week. Only fired 200 rounds - 100 each Herters and CCI 115g. Only issue was FTF the last or last several rounds. After firing most of the rounds, the slide would lock to the rear like an empty mag, but there would be a round or several rounds left in the mag. Removed the mag and no round/shell casing left in the chamber/barrel. So, no extraction issues (as reported on many YouTube videos). I used the 1 factory (Mec Gar) mag and 2 ProMag 15 rd mags (couldn't find any Mec Gar at the time) and 1 ProMag 30 rd mag. All of the mags had the same issue, including the factory Mec Gar one. I did notice the followers for the ProMags were sticking a bit on inspection. I plan to pick up more rounds and fire it again - after taking apart the magazine and coating select areas with dry lube. Also will make sure to have the rounds seated fully to the rear of the magazine. I used an Uplula to load, and some of the rounds may not have been seated fully to the rear - maybe?. I'll post an AAR when I fire it again. Oh, and one minor "inconvenience" is the slide stop is very tight - that is I have to use something (like the edge of a magazine) to push in the pin side before I can pull the stop out. Not sure if this will "loosen" up after more rounds or not. I'm envious of the guys with SA-35's who can easily work out the stop with just their fingers. Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions. Dean M