A 16-shot capacity meets vintage class in Springfield’s newest SA-35 4-inch model, which brings compact carry wrapped in polished carbon steel and checkered walnut.
We were among the first to cover the reintroduction of the classic (and then-recently retired) Browning Hi-Power by an American gunmaker when Springfield introduced the SA-35 in 2021.
Since then, the SA-35 line has grown and evolved while retaining the improvements to Mr. Browning’s original design, with a chopped-down 4-inch compact model performing nicely in a review we published in April.
With its more Detective-length, the “Dick” SA-35 4-inch is very slim and actually makes a good carry gun
Now, the company has added a 4-incher with an eye-catching polished blued finish on its carbon steel frame and slide. We’ve been passing it around the office for the past few weeks to get a sneak peek.
Drink it in, folks.
This new SA-35 features a polished blued finish on its carbon steel frame and slide, giving the durable forged components a deep, lustrous appearance. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Complementing the polished steel are attractive walnut grip panels with natural grain and finely cut checkering for confident purchase.
As with all SA-35 pistols, its 4-inch barrel features improved feed ramp design for reliable function with modern defensive ammunition and is forged for durability and strength. It ships with a branded zipper case.
Made in the U.S.A., the SA-35 features rugged forged steel parts for strength and durability, improved ergonomics and enhanced controls, a factory-tuned trigger, modernized Tactical Rack rear and white-dot front sights, an improved feed ramp design, and an increased 15-round capacity in the flush-fit magazine.
The polished 4-inch SA-35 compared to the standard matte-finished model.
The SA-35, especially in this new polished version, salutes the appeal of the “wood and steel” era of arms making.
And yes, it shoots. This is two magazines running the BHP classic Mozambique failure drill at 10 yards. In all, we put just over 300 rounds through the pistol right out of the box without fail.
Don’t sleep on this one as a carry gun if needed. With its twin 15-round flush-fit steel Mec-Gar magazines, superior accuracy, excellent single-action trigger, and wide holster availability (see Commander-sized 1911 fits), it makes a lot of sense.
And if nothing else, it can be something of an “instant” heirloom.
Like you need an excuse for some extra steel…
The MSRP of the new Springfield Armory SA-35 4-inch polished (Model HP9205) is $799, the same as the matte-finished variants.
Earlier this year, we had Chase with EAA in the GDC studio as a podcast guest and got the lowdown on the company’s Windicator series of European-made wheel guns– which they have been importing for 30 years.
“I mean, they’re just tanks,” he said. “And look, I mean, there’s no denying that Germans make some great firearms. And they have a very deep history in making really, really, well-made firearms. For sure. So it’s just cool to see those out there. And people kind of, you know, they’re neglected. People sleep on them. They do. They 100 percent sleep on them.”
Produced by Hermann Weihrauch Revolver GmbH in Mellrichstadt, Germany – about 30 miles from the legendary Thuringian firearms-making and gunsmithing hub of Suhl – Weihrauch dates back to 1899. Btw, for those curious, you would pronounce the name “Vyre-owk” with a hard “ch” on the end. Really put the sauerkraut into it. Likewise, “Windicator” is likely a take on the maker’s last name blended with Vindicator, using the German more V-like pronunciation of the W.
After origins as a rifle maker, the company introduced its HW Arminius series revolvers in the 1960s, named for a Teutonic hero of the first century AD famous for slapping around the Romans at the Teutoburg Forest.
Imported and sold in the U.S. under a variety of brands (e.g., the Dickson Bulldog and Herter’s Guide Model) and by assorted firms (F.I.E., LA Distributors, etc.), the revolvers were a staple in hardware stores and gun shops coast to coast for generations.
An HW Arminius .32 in the Guns.com Vault and an FIE ad on the series from 1976. For reference, the quoted $120 price is $725 in today’s dollars.
EAA has imported assorted double-action Weihrauch revolvers into the U.S. under the Windicator name since at least 1993, later adding Bounty Hunter–branded single-action wheel guns from the same factory.
Today, EAA sells the Windicator in both .38 Special and .357 Magnum, in 2-, 4-, and 6-inch formats, and in blue/black or nickel (not a misprint). As snubby fans, we opted to review the blue/black 2-inch .357 (770130), right off the boat from Bavaria.
The EAA Windicator 2-inch .357 six-shot double-action revolver. Weihrauch catalogs this model as the HW 357 T. (Photos unless noted: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
It is beefy for a snub, tipping the scales at nearly 29 ounces, unloaded. By comparison, similar six-shot .357s such as S&W’s $1,300 Model 19 2.5 Carry Comp weigh 33 ounces, while the $900 Colt King Cobra Carry 2-inch is billed at 26 ounces.
The snub 2-inch Windicator is a medium-frame, not a small-frame, revolver. It feels closest, in the author’s opinion, to his Fink’s Custom (at Gunsite Academy) chopped-down S&W 2-inch K-frame.
For full disclosure, EAA provided this Windicator revolver to Guns.com for review purposes. All testing was done on this one gun, which has been under evaluation since early May.
What we found:
It takes K-frame speedloaders.
It was dependable over the course of 500 mixed rounds of .38 and .357
It has a very stout double-action trigger that you need to take your pre-workout to run at the range.
It is affordable.
The only big rock we could toss at the $400~ Windicator was its very limited aftermarket support (no grips, can’t change the sights, virtually no parts). But EAA carries a lifetime warranty if something goes wrong (by comparison, Colt runs a three-year warranty).
With that in mind, if you want to upgrade your snub with different sights and accessories at some point, you may want to look toward a Colt or S&W. The closest six-shot .357 Mag snub we can find in the Windy’s price range is the Diamondback SDR, which runs nearly $700.
If you want a basic .357 (big) pocket gun that will go bang and you don’t anticipate upgrading, the Windicator is a, well, win.
Florida-based KelTec continues its established trope of delivering strange yet intriguing new guns to the market, introducing the SUB-SDP last week.
The pistol, dubbed the “Nub Sub” in the company’s own marketing materials, is based on the KelTec SUB2000 folding carbine, made into a pistol format and sporting a stabilizing brace instead of a stock on a shorter extension tube and a 6-inch barrel.
Set up to take Glock-pattern 9mm double stacks (i.e., G17, G19, G45), the base model ships with a Magpul 15-round magazine. Weight is 3.57 pounds, while the overall length goes from 10 inches with the pistol folded to 17.7 inches when extended.
While at first the Nub Sub seems funny, compare it to similar products such as the Flux Raider, which costs two to three times more, and the laughing slows.
It may not stop, but it at least slows.
Plus, you have to love the release video, done by the folks over at Offensive Marketing.
Alabama-based Kimber went double-stack 1911 in 2024 after at least a 30-year run in the field of making single-stacks. We have reviewed a couple of these excellent pistols since then and are past the 3K round mark on our original test gun with zero (0) hiccups to report, leaving us feeling good headed into the new Comp series.
Released in January at the SHOT Show in either stainless (SST) or black in both 5-inch full-sized (Government) and 4.25-inch Pro (Commander) sizes, with flush-fit 20- and 19-round magazines, respectively, as the name would imply, the Comp models all sport a compensated barrel and slide.
The 4.25 model has an overall length of 7.79 inches. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Weight is 33.4 ounces, even with a full-length rail on the frame’s dustcover.
This gun was a dream to shoot on the range. Full stop.
We ran a bit over 1,000 rounds through it and should probably talk about how we ran them. Coming after our trouble-free 3,000-round review of the full-length 2K11, we had a feeling the 2K11 Pro Comp would be able to comfortably digest just about any commercial load we could throw at it.
So that’s what we did.
A typical range box for our Pro Comp field trip:
Note the mix of rounds. About the only thing that unites them is that they are factory 9×19 Luger/Para loads. We’ve got some Speer, Hornady, and Federal JHP in there, Federal Syntech in a few different loads (the colorful rounds), Remington bulk pack 115 FMJs, CCI Blazer Brass 115s, some Winchester 124 NATO loads, et. al. We would typically try to mix up the rounds in each magazine to include everything from 115s to 150s from numerous loads. No issues.
If you prioritize a gun that looks great, shoots better than it looks, and gives you minimal heartburn while still being carryable in a pinch, the Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp is a “cry once, buy once” option.
It ran so well on the range and felt good in the hand that finding things to complain about is a chore.
Holsters for double-stack 1911-style railguns with a commander-length slide are a bit tough to find. The nose of the 2K11 Pro makes it even harder. Luckily, Kimber has gone the extra mile and stocks a variety of 2K11-specific OWB and competition holsters on their site from Blackpoint, Ghost Hydra, and Red Hill Tactical. Still, we’d love to see folks like Galco, DeSantis, Falco, Philster, Safariland, and Tenicor cranking them out as well, especially in an IWB format because this shorter 2K11 could make a great carry gun, giving the Staccato CS or HD C4X some serious competition.
Other than that, about the only sticking points that got under our skin were the fact that you had to leave the excellent rear sight at home when you opt for a red/green dot. Further, the mag release and safety lever were stiff right out of the box but wore in over time.
Introduced in 1955, the original Bodyguard snub was a shrouded-hammer, alloy-framed Airweight .38 revolver that later became the Model 38, while its steel-framed counterpart was the Model 49.
The original Smith & Wesson Model 49 Bodyguard J-frame. Using a shrouded hammer with an accessible spur, it was DA/SA
Then, in 2014, the M&P Bodyguard .38 hit the scene with some significant changes, including a different internal lock work, an ambidextrous cylinder release, and a frame made lighter via the magic of polymer. Further, while the previous Bodyguard models were double-action/single-action with a humpback frame and shrouded hammer whose top spur could still be manually cocked, the new revolver was DAO with no access to the hammer.
In short, it was Smith’s answer to the Ruger LCR, which had entered the market as a DAO snub in 2009.
By 2026, the new Bodyguard 2.0 retains the core appeal of the original while adding several modern features, all in a 14.2-ounce package that carries five rounds of .38 SPL +P. You still have the ambi cylinder release and a lightweight uni-body design that comes from a mix of alloys and polymers, but you have several improvements from the circa 2014 design that we’ll cover below.
For now, let us meet the new Bodyguard 2.0 .38:
With a 1.875-inch stainless-steel barrel and a one-piece aluminum alloy upper frame ending in a polymer boot-style grip, the new Bodyguard 2.0 keeps the weight down to under a pound. Plus, it does not have an internal safety lock. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
An ambidextrous, center-mounted cylinder release allows for straightforward operation with either hand, supporting intuitive use for both right and left-handed shooters.
The MSRP on the new S&W Bodyguard 2.0 is $449, while a Crimson Trace laser-equipped model runs $549, prices that are typically lower at retail.
Quick summary: An evolution of a design that has been chugging along for three quarters of a century, the newest Bodyguard model has better sights, trigger, and ergonomics than its predecessors while keeping just about everything that made it popular in the first place.
Meanwhile, Last Resort Tactical’s R.A.C. (Rapid Access Carrier) mimics the size of a medium-sized bifold wallet and keeps the speed loader (s) indexed for quick, consistent draws. Better than having a speed loader floating around in your pocket.
Beretta and Ernest Langdon have teamed up on what could be the penultimate Model 92 series defensive pistol.
The new 92G Elite Combat LTT is just stacked with competition-grade features. Standard is an Elite LTT slide and frame, LTT G10 grips, and a chrome trigger with an ambidextrous G-series slide-mounted decocking lever. Then comes the Toni System improvements in the form of a single-port compensator and flared magwell, along with a trio of Toni System +4 magazine extensions to give the user three 22-round magazines out of the box.
But as the man says, “wait, there’s more.”
Additional features include a black threaded barrel, a fiber-optic front sight, an extended disassembly lever, and DLC-coated hammer and sear. Lots of attention is put to updated ergos, with enhanced frame beveling and front strap checkering, some very aggressive front slide serrations, an extended mag release, and an accessory rail.
Roll those images.
The overall length of the new Beretta 92G Elite Combat LTT is 9 inches with the Toni comp installed on the 5.1-inch barrel, giving it a sight radius of 6.1 inches.
Weight is 36.2 ounces, unloaded.
Grip width is 1.3 inches, while overall height is 6.45 inches.
The compensator and flared magwell work together with Toni System +4 magazine extensions to enhance recoil control and increase reload speed.
The Toni System comp is removable, leaving an extended threaded barrel that is suppressor-ready
The new Beretta 92G Elite Combat LTT ships in a clamshell plastic box with three magazines, each with TS +4 extensions.
So how much does all this functional beauty cost?
The MSRP on the new Beretta 92G Elite Combat LTT is $1,299, closer to $1,198 at dealers.
That’s actually a screaming deal when you consider the much more vanilla 92G Elite LTT II has an MSRP of $1,249 and does not come with the three Toni System mag extensions (which run $45 a pop), the TS comp runs another $100, and the magwell another $100.
The 13+1-shot Browning Hi-Power, introduced in 1935, was the first “wonder nine” and a worldwide classic for generations until the company finally put it to bed in 2017.
Then came a few companies to fill the void, with EAA offering a Turkish-made clone by Girsan and Springfield Armory, in 2021, debuting the SA-35. We evaluated the latter and found it a very faithful salute to the classic 1960s/70s C/T-series BHP in terms of aesthetics, but with the bonus of several subtle improvements to boost performance.
Now, Springfield has whittled down the gun by about an inch in length while keeping everything else, akin to the old Argentine FM Hi-Powers seen on the consumer market in the early 1990s
You know, these guys:
Both the standard and “Detective” FMs were readily available once upon a time, as noted by this circa 1992 SOG ad in The Shotgun News.
However, Springfield didn’t just redo the Detective concept, but did it better done with several notable changes and flush-fit 15+1 round magazines.
I just posted a review on the new gun today as the embargo lifted.
The new Springfield Armory SA-35 4-inch runs a steel frame, slide, and barrel, hitting the scales at 29.8 ounces unloaded. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Overall length is 7.1 inches, while the height is 4.8 inches.
The SA-35 4-inch, left, compared to its 7.8-inch full-sized brother.
The difference in length is just under an inch, while the weight savings are about two ounces.
When compared to a 4.25-inch Commander-length 1911, in this case, Springfield Armory’s Operator AOS Commander, the SA-35 4-inch comes in both noticeably shorter and thinner.
We found the SA-35 4-inch to fit common Commander-sized holsters we had on hand, such as this Falco Langdon Timeless Open-Top IWB.
Mossberg is known for their shotguns, but actually started off in 1919 making pistols, the .22LR Brownie pistol.
A four-shot break-action pocket gun with a rotating firing pin, some 32,000 of the little Brownies were cranked out before 1932, when Mossberg closed out the classic popgun and moved on to bigger and better things.
Fast forward to 2019 and, in celebrating the company’s 100th anniversary, Mossberg reintroduced a handgun, the 9mm MC1sc subcompact.
Front and rear slide serrations, an optional manual safety, 7+1 9mm capacity. The MC1sc had a lot going on
Offered in four models with an ask of between $425 and $526, it was slow going for the MC1sc, which was not surprising.
The company revamped the design with the double-stacked MC2c the next year, with a price between $490 to $595, depending on the model.
While it reviewed well, Mossberg never put in the effort to really advertise it, and it remained a sleeper option with a tough uphill climb against arguably better (or at least more recognizable) pistols that had a cheaper acquisition point.
So, it should surprise no one that the MC line disappeared from Mossberg’s site altogether around January, leaving only a few parts and magazines available for purchase.
The problem is, with so much market share already invested deep in the Ruger LC9/EC9, S&W Sheild, HK VP9SK, and the G43, I feel like this pistol will get about as much love as the Taurus AR15 or Remington R51.
Maybe an MC3c is inbound? Probably not. The polymer-framed handgun market is swamped.
Either way, it looks like you can widely pick up a new-in-box MC2c for around $325, and used models for less, which probably aren’t that bad of a buy– just be advised you will likely be on your own for support.
Springfield Armory and Croatia’s HS Produkt have collaborated on polymer-framed striker-fired handguns for 25 years, producing the XD series, Hellcat, and, since 2023, the modular Echelon. Our reviews of the Echelon 4.5F, 4.0C Compact,4.0C Comp, and 4.0FC hybrid models found minimal issues – they perform reliably.
The guns are billed as “duty-grade,” a claim that has been supported by their adoption by several large U.S. law enforcement agencies, including those in Henderson and St. Louis County. Overseas, the Echelon just earned a Spanish National Police Corps (Cuerpo Nacional de Policía) contract for over 6,000 pistols to replace older HK USP Compacts, beating out several big-name contemporaries submitted for competitive evaluation.
Now, with the exclusive one-year relationship between Aimpoint and Glock over, the former’s excellent small-form COA enclosed red dot is available for use with the Echelon line – factory installed. Springfield this week debuted three new COA-equipped A-Cut footprint Echelon models: the full-sized 4.5F, hybrid 4.0FC, and compact 4.0C pistols.
The MSRP across the line is $1,119, which is a deal considering the published price for the COA direct from Aimpoint is $617, while the standard Echelon models start at $710, pointing to an easy $200 savings. Plus, keep in mind that the counter price we are seeing at launch is closer to $950, so…
Why the COA?
First off, let us talk about the Aimpoint COA and why it is a big deal. First introduced at SHOT ’25, the 3.5 MOA COA red dot eschews plate systems and direct mounts into its distinctive A-Cut via a wedge system that helps eliminate movement. With a 15×15 mm aperture, the ultra-compact 7075-T6 aluminum housing is fully sealed and rated as being submersible to 80 feet or so, and offers much the same performance as Aimpoint’s “bomb-proof” ACRO but in a smaller package with a deck low enough to allow most irons to co-witness. The optic is billed as surpassing a 40,000-round endurance standard.
The A-Cut allows the COA optic to be mounted deeper into the slide, increasing stability. Note how the mount provides an iron sight index for the optic. (Photo: Springfield Armory)
Note the tactile dot brightness adjustment with four night vision and eight daylight settings.
Note the side-accessible compartment for a single standard CR2032 3-volt battery, with a 50,000-hour (over five years) advertised lifespan. Weight is 1.4 ounces.
Here we see the Echelon COA stacked against a similar Echelon with a Vortex Defender-ST micro red dot.
Note the difference in how low the deck sits versus the overall height. For reference, our Echelon 4.0C COA, as reviewed, has an overall height of 5.8 inches from the bottom of the flush-fit magazine to the top of the optic housing.
Glock and Aimpoint blazed a path for the COA – which we extensively reviewed– but soon all but pulled them from the market for one reason or another, discontinuing the Gen5s and not (as of 3/17/26) offering the package on the U.S. market for the Gen6.
About the only rocks we can toss at the gun is that the COA and its A-Cut, for now, is a double-edged sword, painting the owner into a corner without any other (as of 3/17/26) optics available for it. Of course, that could change in the coming months and years. Other than that, the only knocks we can give the gun are its $35 magazines and not amazing (but upgradable) trigger.
In closing, we’ve always found the Echelon to be a superior gun that is often overlooked in a crowded market. When paired with the Aimpoint COA, at a reasonable price, those sleeper days could be in the rear view.
The Shadow line, originally based on the CZ 75 SP-01, has been a top choice in competitive shooting since winning the 2005 IPSC World Shoot. The well-reviewed Shadow 2, launched in 2016 with improved features and an optics-ready option in 2020, is now widely used by leading IPSC competitors, including Eric Grauffel.
In response to demand for a lighter model, CZ released the Shadow 2 Compact in 2023, featuring a 7075-aluminum frame, 4-inch barrel, and 15+1 magazine capacity on a gun that was about a pound lighter. Both versions offer textured grips and smooth trigger action.
Testing both models, the full-sized Shadow 2 and Shadow 2 Compact side by side in Czechia at CZ’s range in 2024, revealed impressive performance that differed little between big brother and the new kid on the block. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
As the Shadow 2 Compact is based on a DA/SA competition gun, there’s no firing pin block plunger system, which can be a pucker factor for some, being drop-safe if carried with a round in the chamber. That led to the Shadow 2 Carry, which retains everything folks loved about the S2 Compact but deletes the manual safety lever in favor of a simple de-cocking lever, while adding a safety notch on the hammer and an automatic firing pin block.
Additionally, it features a direct mount with a K-series footprint, while retaining excellent sights, unlike the universal plate-based optics pad on the Compact, which requires removing the rear sights. The magazine release has also been made shorter, more akin to that on the P01– something we complained to CZ about directly back in 2024 on the Shadow Carry, so you are welcome.
Boom. The CZ Shadow 2 Carry as made in Europe for the U.S. market. As you can tell from our installation of a Holosun 507K, it is optics-ready (but doesn’t ship with one).
The new CZ Shadow 2 Carry has a 4-inch barrel, giving it an overall length of 7.5 inches. All the dimensions are a 1:1 comparison with the Shadow 2 Compact, which means you can swap barrels, many internals (not controls), and holsters.
The width over the ambi decocker is 1.5 inches, while the height is 5.4 inches.
As you can see, when compared to this early 1980s CZ75 “Pre-B,” it carries forth the same lineage that has been the benchmark for the company’s 9mm family of semi-auto pistols for over 50 years.
Including the low bore axis and gliding internal slide rails.
And the overall grip angles and feel. People love the classics, man.
Quick summary: CZ responded to those who wanted a safe-to-carry Shadow 2 Compact with the same race gun lineage known and loved for generations, and the resulting Shadow 2 Carry delivers on that promise, blending style, performance, and dependability in one platform.
