First Look: Tactical Gray and Coyote Brown SA-35 Pistols

By Justin Opinion

A few years back when the Springfield Armory SA-35 was first introduced, I was eager to get my hands on one. I wanted to see the modern touches Springfield Armory had applied to the legendary John Moses Browning P-35 design.

When I received my SA-35, I wasn’t disappointed. It’s one of the best modern takes on a timeless design I’ve ever seen. Over the years, that pistol has seen thousands of rounds fed through it, all without a single malfunction. I even loaned it to Massad Ayoob one day so he could shoot a qualifier course with it. He punked me by shooting a perfect score, beating me with my own gun. But, I should have expected that to happen, right?

In the intervening time, I have made several modifications to the handgun using Apex parts, such as the magwell and trigger. That experience was documented here on the The Armory Life.

While Springfield did a great job updating the classic design for modern shooters, the one option they left off was a radically new look. The original SA-35 hewed very closely to the original, with an attractive matte finish and high-quality walnut grips. It also featured tough forged steel slides and frames, along with a cold hammer forged barrel.

[Read Rob Garrett’s Springfield Armory SA-35 review for more information on these pistols.]

The company has now launched two versions offering a new look for this proven design — Coyote Brown or Tactical Gray. These two new Cerakote finishes really transform the look of the pistol, each in a different way. The Coyote Brown suggests a rugged duty sidearm that represents the useful tool it was engineered to be. For me, the Tactical Gray finish gives the SA-35 a more sophisticated, maybe even elegant look. I’ll talk more about these new colors in a bit, but first some back story on the gun itself.

Source Code

The SA-35 is the Springfield Armory version of the original P-35 design from John Browning, which is nearly a century old. The truth is, Browning didn’t fully complete the gun before his death, and so even the original gun was a bit of a collaboration.

It was initially designed at the request of the French military, with some basic but sensible criteria. It needed to be small enough to be a sidearm for the common soldier and officer alike, yet be powerful and effective enough to be an effective defensive tool. It was also required to have impressive capacity, as well as an external hammer and a manual safety.

The resulting 9x19mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistol was a single-action design that was both reliable and durable. It was also very simple to maintain. Remember, at the time of the development of this pistol, Europe had just emerged from a World War where soldiers were fighting from trenches in brutal conditions. Easy field stripping for cleaning and maintenance was crucial.

Where It Counts

The Springfield Armory SA-35 strikes a balance between being a respectful homage to the legendary Browning design, while also giving it some important modern updates and enhancements. These include elements like a recontoured bobbed hammer to reduce the risk of “hammer bite,” an extended thumb safety, modernized sights — made up of a white dot front and a Tactical Rack black serrated rear, a beveled magwell and more.

Two other very notable upgrades I’d like to mention are related to the magazine. First, the SA-35 features a flush-fitting, 15-round magazine, rather than the original design’s 13-rounder (although the pistol is designed to accept those as well). In addition, the pistol does not feature the original design’s magazine disconnect that prevents the pistol from firing when the magazine is removed. This design change not only brought the SA-35 in line with all of Springfield’s other offerings, it also allowed for a greatly improved trigger pull.

As noted earlier, the original SA-35 was finished in a beautiful and traditional matte black finish with deep, rich tones that befitted the era represented by the classic design. In addition, the grip panels were walnut with attractive checkering. The new offerings change that up in a very interesting way. 

A Sleek Look

Let’s start with the Tactical Gray SA-35. The Cerakote finish is not just great looking with its smooth and even texture, but durable as well. Set against the smooth, gray finish on the steel is a perfectly contrasting set of well-textured black grip panels. Featuring G10 construction, these grips add a very modern touch that complements the gray finish. Combined with the black controls, the pistol has an elegant and refined two-tone look.

Conversely, to my eyes, the Coyote Brown SA-35’s “earthy” finish suggests a serious handgun for a serious user. Finished in Cerakote like its sibling, the finish not only looks good but is also quite protective and durable. Again, the finish contrasts against the black small parts, and the brightly polished barrel hood stands our particularly well. Like the Tactical Gray version, the Coyote Brown model also features G10 grip panels that complement the Cerakote finish extremely well. The textured grips have a swirled, multi-color design that includes tans, browns and blacks.

Underneath those great new colors is the same well-built SA-35 that we all know. The 9mm handgun fits the hand with the natural ergonomics for which John Browning was known. It’s a natural pointer that provides great accuracy.

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Its all-steel construction makes the recoil of the SA-35 easily managed, and its modern sights are a great improvement over the original. Despite the double-stack magazine that holds 15 rounds, the pistol has a thin and comfortable feel in the hand, even for folks with smaller-sized paws. The single-action trigger of the SA-35 is smooth, and it has a very crisp break with a reset stroke that is nicely tactile. The enlarged manual safety has an easy but definitive click both on and off.

Perhaps the greatest beauty of the SA-35 is the elegant simplicity of the original design, to which Springfield has stayed true. When the initial P-35 was created, it was possibly the most ergonomic handgun made up to that time. While the family resemblance to the 1911 is apparent, the sleeker appearance and more gently curved and tapered lines — especially in the backstrap and at the muzzle end of the slide — are pleasing to hold and behold.

Perhaps it was the increased magazine capacity over the 1911 that pushed Browning away from the straight lines of the 1911 and his previous handguns, realizing that it might become too blocky otherwise. Whatever the reason, he left us with a pistol that was the natural evolution of his previous works, and I believe is every bit as much a timeless beauty.

Specifications

Hands-On

Oh, and did I mention that it’s also a shooter? There are some guns that are just so enjoyable to shoot that I sometimes lose myself in the enjoyment. The pistol’s natural pointing, tame recoil and excellent ergonomics kept me refilling the magazine over and over. In fact, while doing my range testing with the SA-35s, I continued shooting after all the cameras had been turned off. More of the same footage of me shooting the gun wouldn’t be necessary, but I was having too much fun to quit.

Another original objective of the design was simplicity, such that it could be easily field-stripped. Mission accomplished. John Moses Browning met the challenge by reducing the number of small parts from the 1911 that are involved in takedown and reassembly, such as a barrel bushing. Additionally, the barrel has the more modern style lug and feed ramp configuration. The pistol’s barrel is just shy of 5” long, is cold hammer forged, and has a very 9mm-friendly 1:10” twist.

Takedown requires no tools, and you don’t have to hold your tongue just right to have the slide in a mysterious sweet spot against spring tension while pushing out the single locking pin. It was designed far too long before “there’s an app for that” was a thing, so there’s a notch for that! The manual thumb safety serves double duty by locking the slide in the takedown position in this second notch, allowing you to easily push the takedown pin through and remove the slide. The removal of the guide rod/recoil spring assembly is done in the manner of most of our modern handguns, as is the barrel, which is tilted and lifted out to the rear. The parts are few and simple, and the reassembly is an easy reversal of that process.

Conclusion

For me, these two new colors only further enhance the natural beauty of the SA-35, while offering a nice way to make a more personal selection. Of course, the new challenge presented by this is the question — “which one?”. My solution to such a dilemma is usually simple — one of each! The original SA-35 finish when I’m feeling nostalgic, the new Tactical Gray finish when I’m feeling fancy, and the new Coyote Brown when I’m feeling tactical. What’s your choice?

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