It is always good to start things off with some simple facts, as it keeps us focused. The 9mm is the most popular pistol cartridge used in the world today. The story of the 9mm started back in 1901 with Georg Luger, and has been going strong ever since.
Over the years, there has been much debate over the 9mm vs. .45 effectiveness in self-defense, but with recent studies and research conducted by the FBI and modern technology, the 9x19mm Parabellum remains the #1 pistol cartridge in the world. Pistols chambered in 9mm come in every shape, size, material, action, configuration, etc. It has gotten to the point where it can be challenging to decide which one is right for you.
The newest addition to the development and design of pistols has been the introduction of polymers, starting in earnest back in the 1970s. However, it really didn’t take off and start becoming popular until the 1980s. Using polymers in the lowers of pistols has significantly lowered the weight but also dramatically changed the feel and ergonomics of these pistols because of the nature of polymers. When they first came out, there was a lot of skepticism and concerns, but that is ancient history now.
Leader of the Pack?
In my opinion, Springfield literally blasted the market with the introduction of the XD series of pistols around 2002. The XD, which stands for eXtreme Duty, then led to the XD-M. I will be honest, I don’t remember when I got my first XD-M, but it has been my go-to ever since.
So, when the Echelon 9mm was released in 2023, of course I had to see what it was all about. Just like the XD series the Echelon is a striker-fired pistol, and one with a host of patent-pending and innovative features. We will get to those, but the one feature that caught my attention the most is the Variable Interface System.
One of my biggest complaints with optics for pistols is the fact that there are several different mounting systems (e.g. RMS, Doctor, Delta Point, Vortex, etc.), and all use different screw lengths and pitches as well as pin positions. In my opinion, it’s a nightmare and causes me great aggravation when reviewing optics on pistols.
That is not the point of this review, but the Echelon’s system addresses and fixes this issue. It really is genius; they use a series of movable self-locking pins adaptable for a wide range of footprints, allowing the optic to be mounted directly to the slide without a plate in most cases. It works with more than 30 of today’s most popular optics. The reason I bring this up is that to take a pistol to extreme distances, at least for me, I need a red dot on it.
The Echelon was designed to be modular and highly adaptable, with a robust stainless steel serialized chassis, superior ergonomics, and the ability to withstand the harshest conditions. I very much enjoy the aggressive serrations that are located both front, back, and on the top of the slide.
There are many other notable features on the pistol, but the last one I want to specifically mention that is relevant to this review is the standard tactical rack U-Notch rear sight and tritium front sight with luminescent ring. There is also the three-dot configuration available I have that creates a very effective and efficient sight picture in total darkness, which I discovered while doing a review of Olight’s Valkyrie PL Turbo vs. Turbo.
I put the older Turbo on the Echelon as it just arrived the day I was going to test them on pistols to show how bright it was, and I noticed I could actually see the sight and shoot at 50 yards. I honestly was very surprised; it was quite easy with the light to make the shots and hit the steel consistently, as you can see in the video. Most people don’t realize that when you have light mounted on your pistol, while you can see what you are shooting at, you often can’t see the sights to aim. That is, not without a red dot or night sights like on the Echelon.
After making the shots with the Echelon at 50 yards with the tritium night sights, I had to see if I could do that at 100. I had not even tested the Echelon yet, let alone shoot out to 100 yards. It was a bit of a shocker that I was able to do it without a red dot. It was pretty consistent and the only thing that really hindered the ability to do it faster and more consistently was the smoke from the gun on a cool night obstructing the view.
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I also took it back later to the CQB (close quarters battle) range and just ran it through a few transition drills at more realistic distances with the iron sights. You could say just making sure it works great for what it was really intended for — shooting within 25 yards.
Reaching Out
When you go to the Springfield’s webpage, they show it with Trijicon’s RMR, so I wanted to use that red dot to see just how far we could go with it. Once you go beyond 100 yards, at least for me, I need a red dot so I can make the proper adjustments for elevation. As is the case with most every pistol, the front sight post will completely obscure the target at 200 yards, so you can’t actually see how far you are above the target. With a red dot, that is no problem; you are just left with the core difficulty of shooting a pistol out to 200 yards and actually hitting something.
Just as I expected, it was possible. I was able to hit the steel at 200 yards using the RMR on the Echelon. I will not lie; it is challenging, but that is exactly why I like to do it. What is the fun or the challenge of doing mag dumps on paper at 5-10”? If that’s challenging, then it’s necessary to continue to practice to make sure you can put shots on target quickly and accurately at the proper engagement distance.
However, if you can do that easily and consistently, why not challenge yourself and start increasing the distance? Another advantage of doing this is that you do have to shoot slower, so you use less ammo (with the cost of ammo, this is a good thing). You get more time at the range, improving your skills and saving ammo/money. Sounds like a win/win/win to me!
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