Springfield

If you’re thinking about a sub-compact, and you’re a 1911 fan, Springfield’s 911 9mm deserves your consideration.

Springfield has brought several compact self-defense purposed weapons to SHOT 2020. Among them, the Saint Edge PDW is maybe the most balanced personal defense weapon (PDW) among size, firepower and deployment speed. This 5.5″ barreled, 5.56 NATO chambered AR15 is a sweet little package.

Springfield Armory is offering two new, great handguns. One is the Ronin Operator, and the other is the Hellcat. Both are completely different in terms of use and design, but they each have their place. For the purpose of this article, I’ll be focusing on the Ronin Operator; check out the video to hear more about the Hellcat!

Springfield Armory is expanding on their popular line of 1911 pistols with the new Ronin Operator. The full-size Ronin Operator will be offered in .45 ACP as well as 9mm Luger.

These new XDm Elites are everything that they suggest in the name. I was able to get my hands on all four new additions in order to test them and develop an opinion on them that I can now share. Here’s your first look into the XDm Elites: The trigger is superb, they proved extremely reliable, the grip safety is redesigned and consequently more comfortable and reliably activated, and the magazine capacity is bigger than it has ever been, and so on.

The Elite series brings improvements to the already updated XD-M line that should appeal to the practical-tactical crowd and pistol shooters everywhere.

Successful firearm sequels balance “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” with real, value-adding improvements. If a manufacturer re-engineers a popular design like the XD-S, they risk losing those features that made the firearm successful in the first place. But if they don’t improve enough components, “new-and-improved” starts to look suspiciously like “the-same-and-more-expensive.” Those were my thoughts heading into this review, but I think Springfield balanced these two extremes well.

Size matters, but when it comes to combat-ready firearms, smaller is often better. Compact weapons allow for easy maneuvering in tight spaces, which is an especially useful attribute in a home-defense firearm. Now, thanks to a favorable ruling from the ATF, Springfield has introduced two pistol-length versions of their popular Saint AR-15: the .556 and, more recently, a 300 Blackout model.

These are tiny guns with sub-3-inch barrels and short, flat grips. Springfield’s 911 pistols weigh less than 13 ounces unloaded, with the magazines — no small feat for an all-metal .380 build.