Your SA-35 Experiences?

I guess I'm number 5 today. Bought my first Hi-Power in 1984 and I've had more 1911s than I can remember. Never a bite from any of them including the SA-35. My hands aren't big; they aren't small. About normal I'd say. So I don't think the five of us are weird at all. :)
 
Nature Boy said:
That makes two of us, on both accounts. Are we weird?
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Reinz said:
How about three of us lucky sumbucks.
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Ironicaintit said:
Make that four...I've been shooting Hipowers for 35 years and have never been bitten by the hammer.
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RainDodger said:
I guess I'm number 5 today. Bought my first Hi-Power in 1984 and I've had more 1911s than I can remember. Never a bite from any of them including the SA-35. My hands aren't big; they aren't small. About normal I'd say. So I don't think the five of us are weird at all. :)
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I happened to see a video from Hickok45 that shows why he sometimes gets hammer bite with some guns. Check out this linked video at the 9:00 minute mark. It shows his hand gripping a 1911 and how he gets bit. It looks like his hand is pretty huge and has more loose skin/more fleshy in the web area between the thumb and index finger, and the skin rolls up over the beaver tail.



I guess we were blessed with better-designed shootin' hands. :) (But he sure can shoot just about any gun he picks up!)
 
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My hands are XXL also, and I don't recall ever getting hammer bite.

On some pistols I have to use my trigger finger in a very specific way or it will get pinched.

I have to be careful with smaller pistols about not getting my right thumb nicked by the slide.

I've had my FEG High Power clone since the late 80's and it still fits my hands just fine. The design doesn't interest me as much as it does some people, but the pistol is still accurate and reliable after 30-something years. It was a good service pistol for its time.
 
Madcap_Magician said:
This was one issue SA supposedly addressed by recontouring the beavertail and the hammer.
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The issue now is that the Beavertail edges aren’t smoothed out. This makes longer range session’s annoying, as it irritates the web area between your thumb and forefinger. Other than that it’s not bad, especially considering it’s price.
 
About the only way the SA-35 will bite is if you have big hands and try to ride the safety.I can't get a comfortable grip with my thumb on the safety anyway,so I can say I've never been bit yet.I had high hopes that the trigger would mellow out after some shooting,but it's about the same as it was when new.Not horrible,but for sure not a 1911.I think they have a more lively feel than the 1911,and seem to handle a little faster and lighter.Trigger being what it is,I can shoot it pretty good,sometimes better than any of the other nines I have.Oftentimes it comes down to a tight race between the 35 and my P210.The Sig is better for bullseye shooting,but it only holds 8 rounds in the mag,so the 35 is a little better for those times when I might need to shoot more.
 
Second range day with the new SA-35, 41 rounds total in 4 drills. Shot it side by side with my M&P 2.0C with RDS.
At 3, 5, and 7 yards I shot the two at just about the same level. Even nailed an untimed 10 round Dot Assessment at 3 yards with the SA-35. At 25 yards I performed notably better with the RDS M&P than the iron sighted SA-35.
No problems, no failures to eject.
I remain quite pleased with the new acquisition.
 
Regarding "hammer bite", though I don't own one yet, I've been able to shoot a friend's WWII vintage SA-35 and I did not get bitten (my hands aren't Trump huge but they are XL or so). For those afflicted with hammer bite, wearing a very thin shooter's glove might be an option.
 
I just wish they would have been clear on where the parts came from at the start. Is it entirely US made and sourced or imported? Nothing against it if is a Turkish gun, they can make great stuff, but don't sell me a Turkish pistol/parts as the "oldest name in US arms", or whatever is their slogan now.

SA over the years has not always been clear and it is one of the many reasons I stay away from them.
 
All of the advertising I've seen says that the pistol is made in the U.S.A. Whether that means the parts are made here, who knows? I DO know the pistol has a lifetime warranty from Springfield, and that says something. As I said previously, I did smooth the trigger pull in mine with some very fine Arkansas stones. A shooting buddy of mine did a little more aggressive job on his and decreased the trigger travel and pull weight. After close work on the sear and hammer, he maintains that those parts are MIM parts, which makes no difference to me. They function as designed and they're warranted. I'm quite happy with my SA-35 after nearly 400 rounds. No hammer bite for me, but I've never been bitten by any hammer on any pistol. I think Springfield has done a great job. There will always be disagreement on the finer points of a design, but I think they got this one on the money.
 
I had a FEG Hi Power a few years ago that I sold and regretted it almost instantly. That hammer bite tore my hand up but after tweaking my grip a bit it was a non issue. One of the smoothest shooting guns I've owned and made me a pretty firm fan of the BHP. I found an SA-35 new for a little under retail locally and considering that to replace mine.

I was unaware they might be Turkish guns, if that's the case I would never buy one. Had two guns made in Turkey and that's enough for me.

I might call Springfield and double check before I spend the money.
 
I bought a Regent BR9 - Tisas Turkey a few (2 or 3) years ago. The only thing I changed was the grips and that was just for looks. I have put about 500 rounds through it so far, the trigger is awesome and the gun is very accurate. I'm guessing this was the predecessor to the SA 35.
 
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Range Day 3, another side-by-side with my M&P 2.0 with RDS. I ran each through several course qualifier drills:
NRA Pistol Instructor (10 rounds, 8" blank circle, 15 yds, twice),
USCCA Instructor (50 rounds total, 9" blank circle, 4, 7, 10, & 15 yds),
NRA PPITH Instructor Pre-Qual (20 rounds in 2 shot/2 sec timed sets, 8" blank circle, 7 yds), and
NRA CCW Course (50 rounds total, IDPA target, 3, 5, 7, and 15 yds).
I passed all four quals with both guns, and was shooting the new iron sight SA-35 just as well as the RDS M&P, which I have been training with for almost two years.
More and more I am really liking the SA-35. I do need a lot of practice in flicking the safety off and back on during each presentation.
 
I have a Browning HiPower that I purchased in 1990. I'm interested in the SA-35 and at some point will buy one to compare with my Browning.

I'm a big fan of 1911 pistols and the HiPower is the evolution of that design.
 
Not an SA-35 but I'm liking my new Girsan MC P35 Match Ops. They're nice. No mag disconnect safety, flat trigger, undercut trigger guard, rail, fiber optic front sight. Wish it had the slide cut for red dots. Price was reasonable. Now to find Girsan's new DI Hi Power model and an SA-35.
 

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An LGS called me, he has three SA-35s in stock. Gunbroker has a bunch too. Production must have restarted. In the interim I bought a 1989 vintage BHP. Very mediocre overall experience for me. I'm not adding a second version to my collection. I'd rather have a Sig P210.
 
HPJeep said:
Not an SA-35 but I'm liking my new Girsan MC P35 Match Ops. They're nice. No mag disconnect safety, flat trigger, undercut trigger guard, rail, fiber optic front sight. Wish it had the slide cut for red dots. Price was reasonable. Now to find Girsan's new DI Hi Power model and an SA-35.
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This to me is an interesting gun due to the rail and the option for the optic (and of course the HP connection). If you don't mind.... How is the trigger? What other 9mm semi-automatics do you have to compare it to?
 
I put up another post so I wouldn’t hijack this thread about my impressions of the SA-35. It has been 20 years since I last held or fired a Hi Power, I must admit that I am very impressed with my new pistol. Picked it up at the FFL on Friday, oiled the rails and shot it an hour later alongside a few other 9mm’s; CZ 75BD, SIG 228, SA Ronin 4.25” 1911 and a pair of Glocks in a 17 and 43X.

007915AC-5754-4752-9B7F-4D26C42A276C.jpeg

Fresh from the box I shot it as well as, or a bit better than, the others. I waited over eight months to get one, while the wait time was ridiculous the gun is a great shooter in my hands.

Stay safe.
 
I got mine lightly used (less than 300 rounds) and after ~500 rounds from me (all 124gr bulk ammo) without any failures, I opted for a B H Spring solutions enhancement, money well spent IMHO.

My SA-35.02.JPG SA-35.01.JPG SA-35.02.JPG

This is my first Hi-Power, and I'm pleased with it after the B H Spring Solutions smithing with a new and different safety which incorporates a decocker. My other semi's, a Beretta 96 and a CZ 75 D Compact, also have decockers, I like the concept and function.
 
I have a few 45 ACP 5" 1911's and revolvers in .38, .357 and .44 mag. but until today I owned nothing chambered in 9mm.....I picked up a new SA-35 for $649.99+ tax at a LGS.

I've read that the earlier guns start to have extraction problems at around 500+ rounds but then I've read posts where fellas said that they've had zero problems with theirs......just have to wait and see how mine does.

Not sure of the actual mfg date but my gun serial number is a little over 10,000 so hopefully if SA did determine that they had a problem it was fixed in the later number guns.

I like the way the gun feels in my hand and points and I'm anxious to get it to the range to see if it does as well on the 25 yd. plates as my 1911's do.
 
Wow, bunch of SA-35 threads lately. Have a sub 5000 serial number; one of two my local (rather successful) shop has had to date.
Mine had a good, but occasionally creepy trigger; after a trip to the mother ship for the extraction issue, it came back with a slightly heavier, but crisper, trigger. Frankly, best HiPo trigger I've seen. The extraction issue was resolved as well.
Nothing to fault for fit and finish, inside and out.
These are reputedly Turk in some fashion, and the finish reminds me of a Tisas 1911. We cheerfully bought ChiCom 1911s, so I've no issue with a Turk.
Moon
 
Today (2/27/223) I took delivery on a new Springfield SA-35. I like it. We will see how it compares to my 1990 purchase, a new in 1990 of a Browning/FN Hi Power (MK III, I think).

I'll try a Springfield P-35, looks it well made. We'll will see how it does long term.
 
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