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Forget Threading: The 1960s Tech That Screws Today’s Better SMG and PCC Suppressor Mounts

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Fact: Tri-Lug Barrels are the oldest, easiest, and one of the best ways to quickly mount a suppressor.

However, the attachment style is also limited in what it can do and, sadly, is overlooked.

Where did Tri-Lug or 3-Lug come from?

In Oberndorf, Germany, in the early 1960s, Helmut Baureuter, Manfred Guhring,  Tilo Moller, and Georg Seidl cooked up probably the most mature sub gun of the 20th Century– the Heckler & Koch MP5. Recycling a roller-locked action first used on legendary machine guns in WWII and carried over to the G3 7.62 NATO battle rifle, it proved durable enough to become legendary.

It also had a funky, albeit innovative, barrel accessory mounting system on the muzzle: three equal-sized (roughly 0.310-inch) raised external lugs, spaced equally about 120 degrees apart center-to-center around the outside of the barrel, and ramped towards the muzzle.

These lugs were not an afterthought, welded, screwed, or pinned in, but something machined directly from, or forged with, the same piece of steel as the barrel.

Tri-lug, as seen on a Springfield Armory Kuna (male) and SilencerCo Spectre 9 and 36M (female). (Photos unless noted: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Even back in 1966, when the HK MP5, developed from the HK54, was introduced with its slimline handguard and straight waffle-pattern 9mm magazines, it had a tri-lug barrel.

old HK MP5
Talk about a blast from the past…

The tri-lug barrel endured through the Cold War and into the GWOT era and is still seen on classically styled MP5s and other SMG/PCCs.

HK MP5 Afghanistan
Seen above with casual SF types in an Afghanistani aloha snackbar joint in 2003. (Photo: National Archives, magnification by Guns.com staff). 

The funny thing was that the tri-lug barrel wasn’t meant for attaching a suppressor. The lugs were originally for affixing accessories (Zubehör) such as a flash-hider (Feuerdampfer), a blank firing adapter (Manoverpatronengerat), and a sleeve for a 22mm cup-style tear gas grenade launcher (Granatfuhrung) fired with a blank round.

Thus:

HK MP5 accessories
Via an early HK MP5 manual. 

Over the years, the accessories fell away while the MP5’s use with suppressors skyrocketed, especially after N (Navy) model MP5s entered the market in 1986, which included both a threaded barrel and tri-lug.

By 1988, inventor Timothy Bixler, with AWC Suppressors (Dr. Phil Dater’s old company) and Knights Armament, took out a patent (US4893426A) for a rotating collar utilizing Tri-Lug, and the rest is history.

How to use Tri-Lug

First off, Tri-Lug is a left-on (clockwise), right-off (counter-clockwise) kind of thing. Remember, “Left gets tight, right takes flight.”

trilug attachment
Align, press down, turn to the left, release. Reverse to take off

Align the lugs, push in to depress the spring of the mount, twist about a quarter turn to the left until it passes the detents and stops, release the spring by letting go, boom. You are locked in. Reverse it to remove. Easy on, easy off, but still rock solid while in use.

Example:

Plus, with the Tri-Lug, you don’t have to worry about the suppressor backing off or loosening under rapid fire as you do with more common threaded-barrel models.

Tips:

  • You can’t attach the can to the muzzle by twisting in the wrong direction, as the geometry won’t work, so don’t freak out about that.
  • Also, new mounts and/or new barrels will likely be super tight, and the spring stout, so be sure to lube up and work them in on a safe firearm before heading to the range and trying it for the first time. Nobody gets confidence from the guy tugging on his can in the corner.

Not HK-only anymore

Besides assorted Heckler & Koch MP5/SP5 models and the myriad of clones such as the Century/MKE AP5 and SDS MAC-5, you have offerings from PSA like the AR-V and variants of the B&T APC9, GHM9, and SPC9 that sport in-spec Tri-Lug direct from the factory. Plus, you can get adapters from folks like SilencerCo that convert standard threaded muzzles to Tri-Lug.

SilencerCo’s Tri-Lug male muzzle adapter. As long as you are 1/2x28TPI, you are good to go. Other companies such as Angstadt, Griffin, and Rugged also make such adapters. 

As far as making your suppressor Tri-Lug ready, there are adapters for that as well from Banish, Dead Air, SilencerCo, and others, so that’s not a problem.

SilencerCo’s Alpha Tri-lug coupler. 

A new model to the market introduced earlier in the month is a dedicated Tri-Lug barrel version of the Kuna, a dependable roller-action that is fast becoming one of the most popular large-format 9mm pistols on the market.

The new Tri-Lug barrel Kuna, right, compared to the standard model. 
The Springfield Kuna Tri-Lug in its natural environment, with a SilencerCo Spectre 9 attached. 

MSRP for the unbraced model is set at $1,179, and the FSA-braced model’s MSRP is set at $1,330. Low-capacity 10-round options will also be available for those unfortunates living in restrictive states.

So, is Tri-Lug Perfect?

No.

As the design doesn’t support boosters (Nielsen devices), Tri-lug is tied to its original platform type: pistol caliber SMGs, PCCs, and large format pistols with fixed barrels. While primarily a 9mm offering, you also see Tri-Lug adapters for .45ACP (reverse to .578×28, 5/8×24, 9/16×24, and M16x1 LH threads), but that is about it. Plus, since the mounts are spring-based, they can wear out with extensive use, requiring new springs at some point in the distant future.

Still, for those classic MP5 styles and new offerings from folks like B&T and Springfield, the old standard can be a king when it comes to quick-detach.

Here’s to more Tri-Lug in more places.

New (and more affordable): Echelon Alpha

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For 25 years, Springfield Armory and Croatia’s HS Produkt have partnered on polymer-framed, striker-fired handguns, starting with the XD series, followed by the popular Hellcat, and, since 2023, the modular Echelon. We’ve reviewed the full-sized 4.5F, 4.0C Compact, 4.0C Comp, and 4.0FC crossover, and we’ve had little to criticize.

They perform reliably.

We’ve put over 5K rounds through assorted Echelons during reviews since the pistol was released and never had a notable problem with these guns. They run. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Springfield has also gained meaningful traction for the Echelon in law enforcement. In December 2024, the St. Louis County Police Department, with nearly 1,000 officers, adopted it as its duty pistol under a $2.1 million contract, reinforcing the company’s claims about the pistol’s reliability and performance. The Echelon has secured other major law enforcement contracts as well, and abroad, the Spanish National Police have chosen it as their standard duty sidearm.

What do you get with the Alpha?

Based on the G19-sized Echelon 4.0C Compact, which is likely the company’s most popular offering in the series, the new Alpha is the same gun at its core.

The new Springfield Armory Echelon Alpha 4.0C is a 15+1 capacity 9mm with a 4-inch barrel. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Weight is 24 ounces unloaded. The Vortex Defender ST red dot shown installed is not included.

It utilizes the same Central Operating Group, a serialized stainless-steel chassis that can be easily swapped to different sized/styled polymer grip modules. The striker-fired pistol disassembles without having to pull the trigger.

It is optics-ready with Springfield’s Variable Interface System, which enables direct-mount capability for more than 30 optics directly to the slide without the use of adapter plates.

The MSRP on the Echelon Alpha is $599, which is a good bit less than the $710 ask on the standard Echelon models. Keep in mind “street price” at retailers will likely be even less.

For the full review, head on over to my column at Guns.com.

How about an NFA compliant 18 inch PDW with a Honey Badger Brace?

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Featuring a 5.5-inch barrel, Colt-pattern 32-round magazines, and an SB Tactical HB brace on a three-position receiver extension, the new Saint Victor PDW from Springfield Armory is maneuverable and uncompromising.

Springfield introduced its first 9mm blowback-action Saint Victor model AR in late 2022, featuring a Melonite-coated 16-inch CMV barrel with a 1:10-inch twist, ambidextrous safety, nickel-boron-coated flat trigger, and a standard GI-style charging handle. In a departure from the widespread use of Glock double-stack mags for 9mm PCCs, the Victor carbine accepted 32-round Colt SMG stick mags, which are widely available. We’ve evaluated these carbines in the past and found them to deliver on the range.

Since then, the stick-magged 9mm PCC proved popular, with Springfield responding to customer feedback by delivering more compact models, including an 8.5-inch and a 5.5-inch pistol outfitted with an SB Tactical SB-A3 stabilizing brace. The 5.5-inch, in particular, taped out between 20 and 22.5 inches due to the adjustable receiver extension.

Going even more compact, the new Saint Victor 9mm PDW sticks with the 5.5-inch barrel, while its SB Tactical HBPDW brace, paired with a short buffer system, shrinks the overall length to 18.5 inches and feels much more solid.

And that brings us to this:

The new Saint Victor 9mm PDW uses forged 7075 T6 aluminum, Type III hardcoat anodized receivers finished in a low-glare Tungsten Gray Cerakote. 
With its HBPDW brace collapsed into its shortest format, the pistol is 18.5 inches long while still offering a 23.5-inch extended length. Like the rest of its family, it runs Colt-pattern 32-round stick mags.

Sporting probably the best brace I’ve felt and using a common ($30) double-stack steel mag that gives it a very SMG vibe, this new AR-9 from Springfield knocks it out of the park and fits in just about any bag big enough to hold a laptop.

We found the Victor PDW to fit easily in a 5.11 LVC12 Backpack. The bag is small enough (19″ H x 11″ W x 7.5″ D) to be discreet with a clean, urban profile, and still has lots of extra storage available besides the pistol and extra mags.

If you want a solid and utterly dependable 9mm PDW platform that can live in just about any bag that stands 19 inches high, this is it. The tolerances are tight. It is well thought out. It has a vibe.

About the worst you can say is that it is hefty by comparison, about a half pound heavier than a Kuna, which has a softer recoil and is a little cheaper. Plus, when you first load those Colt pattern sticks with 9mm ammo, take your pre-workout because you have to work on it to get to 32. After a while, they break in, but you have to climb that hill first.

Still, if you are looking for an AR-9 platform that can fit in almost any bag, here you go.

the new Springfield Saint Victor PDW
The MSRP on the new Springfield Saint Victor PDW is $1,399

Springfield’s Hi-Power Clone gets a Detective Model

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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.

Springfield Armory SA-35 4-inch
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)
Springfield Armory SA-35 4-inch
Overall length is 7.1 inches, while the height is 4.8 inches. 
Springfield Armory SA-35 4-inch
The SA-35 4-inch, left, compared to its 7.8-inch full-sized brother. 
Springfield Armory SA-35 4-inch
The difference in length is just under an inch, while the weight savings are about two ounces. 
Springfield Armory SA-35 4-inch
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. 
Springfield Armory SA-35 4-inch

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. 

More in my column at Guns.com.

Meet the New Springfield Armory Kuna

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After leaving cookie crumbs around the world for months, Springfield Armory on Tuesday announced that the Kuna large format pistol platform is available in the U.S.– and we’ve been kicking one around for a few months.

Designed by popular Croatian gunmaker HS Produkt, the Springfield Armory Kuna (Croatian for “Pine Marten,” the national animal of that country) sub-gun first surfaced last October when it beat the top-shelf B&T APC40 and Steyr M40 for a contract with the PMESP, the Sao Paulo Military Police – the largest police force in Brazil. Chambered in .40 S&W, it also appeared at EnforceTac in Germany back in February with a promised 9mm variant inbound as well. The word was that the svelte little burp gun, using an advanced roller-locked system of operation, had been developed with international counter-terror teams in mind.

Now, it is available in a semi-auto pistol variant in the U.S., initially just in 9mm. It will be sold at launch in a standalone pistol variant as well as a more deluxe version sold with an installed Strike Industries side-folding stabilizing brace. The MSRP varies between $999 to $1,149, with the braced model running higher.

The overall length of the brace-equipped Springfield Armory Kuna is 24.5 inches with the brace deployed and a more compact 15.5 inches folded. The gun can be fired in either position. (All photos unless noted: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Nobody was looking for the Kuna to roll into 2025 and instantly turn heads. Well-made 9mm large-format handguns in the SMG/PCC style have been increasingly popular in recent years, and it is clear that the folks behind the Kuna did their homework and did it well. You get a smooth-shooting and reliable platform that allows easy use with suppressors, lights, and optics for right around $1K. Taking notes from the Echelon, Hellcat, and Hellion when it comes to ergonomics and sights, Springfield is playing the hits here. It feels like a smoother and more updated version of the MP5K on the range.

The full review is over in my column at Guns.com.

Springfield brings new 9mm AR pistol to market– and it takes Colt SMG sticks

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Springfield Armory this week delivered a 9mm pistol variant of the Saint Victor to complement its PCC models. The company debuted the direct blowback-action Saint Victor 9mm carbine in late 2022 with a Melonite-coated 16-inch CMV 1:10 twist barrel, ambidextrous safety, nickel-boron-coated flat trigger, and a standard GI-style charging handle. In a departure from the widespread use of Glock double-stack mags for 9mm PCCs, the Victor carbine accepted 32-round Colt SMG stick mags– which are widely available.

Now, for 2025, Springfield is shrinking the platform down to an NFA-compliant pistol format with a 5.5-inch barrel inside a free-floating M-LOK handguard and outfitted with an SB Tactical SB-A3 stabilizing brace on an adjustable three-position receiver extension. Other standard features include a full-length top Picatinny rail, short-throw ambidextrous 45-degree thumb safety, a B5 Systems grip and trigger guard, and a SA muzzle drum on a threaded barrel.

Gotta love those Colt stick mags.

The Gun Glock Should Have Made

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For the neat 30-year span between 1988, when the Glock 19 was introduced, and 2018 when the SIG P365 appeared, the 7.36-inch long, 4-inch barreled, 15+1 shot, 24-ounce unloaded G19 was the magic box of dimensions that every pistol maker chased.

Today, we have the new Springfield Armory Echelon 4.0C, which is 7.25 inches long with a 4-inch barrel, uses 15+1/18+1 magazines, and is 24 ounces, unloaded.

Unlike Glock, the Echelon has a chassis system that can be swapped around multiple grip modules of varying size and color and has a far better and more adaptable optics mounting system than Glock’s MOS plates.

Plus, it’s reliable, has ambi controls, a decent trigger, and much better sights.

The Echelon 4.0C could offer a good multi-purpose pistol for either home defense, especially with a good weapon-mounted light, or carry.

Full review in my column over at Guns.com.

Springfield, Breaking Boundaries

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For the past few months, I have been stacking up 7mm Mag groups out of a new bolt gun: the Model 2020 Boundary– from Springfield Armory, of all people.

It’s got an option for a fluted or carbon-fiber wrapped barrel, comes in 7 modern calibers (including PRCs and Creedmoors), runs a traditional profile AG carbon fiber stock with M-LOK slots and QD cups, and is optics- and suppressor ready. Plus it has a Trigger Tech adjustable trigger and comes with a sub-MOA guarantee.

The Boundary, as shown “Field ready” with a SilencerCo Scythe Ti suppressor, a Leupold VX-6HD 3-18×44 CDS-ZL2 and rings, adjustable sling, and three rounds loaded in the magazine, hit the scales at 9 pounds 7.3 ounces.

And I was able to stack up some decent groups with it.

The Boundary feels a lot like a custom rifle that costs a bunch more than this out-of-the-box bolt gun. Springfield seems to be breaking out of its traditional 1911 and M1A mold as of late and this rifle is a step in the right direction if the company is seeking to fill a niche with savvy 21st Century hunters, especially those seeking a PRC-chambered gun that is light enough for Western hunting and with all the best features. 

More in my column at Guns.com.

Springfield Armory Enters the Retro Carry Handle Space

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Back in 1986, the Colt AR-15A2 HBAR was where its at…

Back 20-25 years ago, fixed carry handle A2 style ARs with a 20-inch barrel were about the only thing you could find on the black rifle market, and even those were typically neutered by the Federal AWB (which ran 1994-2004) so that they didn’t have such evil features as a bayonet lug and shipped with 10-round mags. Still, they were good enough for DCM/CMP matches.

These days, with the M4 being the standard post-9/11, rifle-length fixed carry handle ARs are hard to find and only a few niche sources exist to get one– Bushmaster, Fulton, and H&R (the latter sold through PSA)– with prices starting at $1,299, and they are frequently sold out.

Talk about not being in Kansas anymore…

So, interestingly enough, Springfield Armory just introduced a very nicely done homage to the M16A2 in the form of the SA-16A2, which includes all the correct throwback features (forged 7075 T6 aluminum receivers, a 20-inch 1:7 twist government profile chrome lined barrel, round handguards with heat shields, a full-length fixed stock with rear compartment, a fixed A2 carry handle with adjustable/dual aperture sight, A2 F-height front sight post/gas block, rifle length gas system, a full-auto profile BCG with a phosphate exterior with a hard chrome-lined interior, mil-spec trigger, and a hollow GI grip) you expect.

The SA-16A2. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The SA-16A2 has some upgrades to enhance performance that the 1980s M16A2 never did, including an Accu-Tite tensioning system to cut down on the slop between the upper and lower receivers and M4 feed ramps.

The lower receiver features “Government Property” rollmarks as well as a non-functional “Burst” selector marking in an ode to the M16A2. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

A full look in my column at Guns.com.

Jan 1944: Two millionth SA M1 Garand is Born

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With World War II far from over, the 2 millionth M1 Garand Rifle manufactured at the U.S. Army’s Springfield Armory was crafted some eight decades ago this month. 

The below image, from January 1944, shows U.S. Army Col. George A. Woody observing Mr. Norbert R. Bonneville, who is inspecting U.S. Rifle M1 .30 caliber, Springfield Armory SN# 2000000. On the table is a framed portrait of Jean Cantius Garand, better known as John C. Garand, the designer of the rifle whose action he patented in 1932 after a decade of development. 

(Springfield Armory National Historic Site Photo 4326-SA.A.1)

At this point in the war, Eisenhower of course was busy planning the liberation of German-occupied France by landing Allied troops along the Normandy Coast when the weather broke in June, while in the Pacific the liberation of the Japanese-occupied Philippines was being planned by MacArthur along a similar timeline. 

For a deeper dive into the above photo, Col. Woody was the superintendent of Springfield Armory from Aug. 1943 to Aug. 1944, and his sought-after “G.A.W.” inspector stamp appears on correct M1 Garands made at the armory during that period. Sadly, the photo is one of the last of the colonel. Woody, a career Army Ordnance officer, and Aggie (Class of ’17), became ill in the summer of 1944 and was relieved at the armory by Brig. Gen. Norman F. Ramsey in October. Woody, suffering from a rare liver disease, spent his remaining days in Walter Reed Hospital where he passed away in November. He is buried at Arlington.

As for the younger man in the photo, Norbert Bonneville, who at the time lived in South Hadley, Massachusetts, was working the overnight “MacArthur” shift at the armory when the 2 millionth Springfield M1 receiver came down the line and the operator of an automatic numbering machine had the honor of stamping the serial at 2 a.m. “to the cheers of assembled workers who gathered to witness a historic event,” as chronicled by the New England Minute Man. 

As further described by the Minute Man: 

Final assembly into a completed weapon came later. In the stocking shop selection was made of a piece of walnut with a particularly fine grain. In finishing the stock, master craftsman at the armory lavished upon it all their skill. When the rifle was assembled, they put on a polish with the luster of an opal. A walnut mount was made for the gun and it was placed in the office of the commanding officer, later to be removed to the Springfield Armory museum to take its honored place with other historic arms that have been manufactured through the years.

Presented to Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Hayes after the war in 1946, it eventually made its way back to the Springfield Armory Museum where it remains today as catalog # SPAR 913. The Armory’s collection also contains several other key serial numbered guns, including SN# 1 manufactured in 1937, and SN# 100000, completed in December 1940 at a cost of $67.09.

But what about Springfield SN# 1000000? That one, completed in November 1942, was put back in storage until Mr. Garand retired in 1953 and was presented to him as a gift. It made it back to the museum on loan in 1994 and was later sold by its owner at auction in 2018 for $287,000.  

Mr. Garand, seen with an M1 on the Springfield assembly line in 1940, and sometime later with what looks to be the millionth rifle.

In all, Springfield Armory manufactured over 3 million Garands through 1945 when WWII ended, and, as noted by firearms historian Scott Duff, its production peaked in January 1944 – the period the 2 millionth gun was made – “with 122,001 M1s produced that month. This translated to 3,936 rifles per day or 164 rifles per hour.”

Springfield was the last government armory in the Garand-making business, and their final M1 .30-caliber rifles came off the line in May 1957, at which point it had been replaced in front-line service by the M14 rifle. By then, the serial number range was in the region of 6,099,905.

A graying and smiling Mr. Garand, then several years in retirement, was on hand for that moment as well. 

Official caption: “Group of men surround the last M1 .30-caliber rifles off the production line. Col. Hurlbut stands on the left. Lt. Col. Septfonds stands second from left. John C. Garand stands second from right and he holds the last rifle.” (Springfield Armory National Historic Site Photo 12808-SA.1)

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