2022 Handgun Of The Year: Springfield SA-35

American Rifleman is pleased to announce the 2022 Handgun Of The Year Award goes to Springfield Armory.

by
posted on June 6, 2022
Springfield SA-35

Now in their 20th year, the Golden Bullseye Awards are chosen annually to recognize the firearm industry’s best new offerings. Here is this year’s winner as selected by the editors of “The World’s Oldest And Largest Firearm Authority.”

Springfield Armory SA-35 High Power pistol layout text magazine centerfold spread art gun pistol

Field Editor Justin Dyal’s experience with the iconic High Power pistol stretches back several decades, so when he made the bold claim in our cover story, “Classic, Modern, American: Springfield’s SA-35 High Power,” that the SA-35 “sets a new standard for being ready to go straight out of the box,” it got our attention. As beloved and venerated as John M. Browning’s pistol remains today, the design does not come without its own set of gripes, and Dyal said Springfield appears to have taken these shortcomings to heart in designing its rendition of the High Power.

“Custom High Powers tend to feature enhanced sights, eliminate the magazine-disconnect safety, replace or re-contour the hammer to eliminate hammer bite, change the shape of the thumb safety, improve the trigger pull, replace the stocks and bevel the magazine well,” Dyal explained. “From my perspective, the SA-35 easily has the best sights, thumb safety, trigger pull, stocks and magazine well of any factory offering in the design’s 85-plus-year history.” Between his lofty praise and our excitement at finally seeing a domestically produced High Power on the market, the Springfield SA-35 was an easy choice for Handgun Of The Year. springfield-armory.com


About the Golden Bullseye Award:
The Golden Bullseye Awards were created two decades ago to recognize quality, innovation and value within the firearm industry, with the editors of the NRA Publications Division convening annually to nominate and select the standout performers from the previous year’s crop of new products. The discussions can get animated at times—as each year there are always more new guns, ammunition, optics and accessories worthy of accolade than we could possibly call out—but consensus eventually results in winners being selected, with the passionate back and forth serving as evidence of the firearm industry’s health and innovative spirit.

Latest

Last Day To Bid
Last Day To Bid

NRA Foundation "Firing Into Fall" Auction Ends Monday

The NRA Foundation’s online “Firing into Fall” Auction ends Monday, giving potential bidders only the weekend to get their bids in.

Gun Of The Week: Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol

On this Gun Of The Week episode, the American Rifleman staff has an American-made, 12-ga. tactical shotgun from Beretta. Meet the A300 Ultima Patrol.

The Armed Citizen® Sept. 29, 2023

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Review: Bond Arms .45-70 Gov't Cyclops

This one-eyed pistol, the single-barrel Cyclops from Bond Arms, packs a punch with a venerable straight-walled rifle cartridge.

Springfield Armory Offers Gear Up Promotion

Receive three magazines and a Springfield Armory dual pistol bag featuring the company's crossed-cannon logo in this latest special promotion. Read on for full details:

Rifleman Review: Colt Gold Cup National Match

When Colt's Paul Spitale arrived at the company, his mission was to develop a refined version of the Colt Gold Cup National Match M1911. The pistol here is exactly what he came up with, and it harkens back to the glory days of Colt's classic guns.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.