Optimized for Concealed Carry: Springfield Armory's New Echelon 4.0C

Springifled Armory is expanding the Echelon family of striker-fired semiautomatic pistols with a brand-new compact version.

April 15, 2025 By Joel J. Hutchcroft

Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We earn from qualifying purchases.

Our friends at Springfield Armory tell us that one of their most significant introductions for 2025 is the new Echelon 4.0C 9mm, modular, striker-fired, polymer-frame, semiautomatic pistol. With this version, the company has firmly cemented the Echelon as not just one pistol but as an expanding platform. Here’s a look at the newest addition to the growing family.

A Highly Adaptable & Advanced Design

As we mentioned in our first review of the standard-size Echelon in the November 2023 issue of Shooting Times, the heart of the platform is the self-contained central operating group (COG). It allows the use of different grip frame modules with a single COG, and Springfield offers them in small, medium, and large sizes (our sample Echelon 4.0C came with the small-size grip module, which I believe is fitting because of the pistol’s compact theme).

Ejection port view of Echelon — The slide stop and magazine release are ambidextrous. Note the pistol’s shortened frame. (Photo Provided by Author)

The COG is essentially a serialized, stainless-steel chassis with the trigger mechanism incorporated into it. Entirely encased in the COG, the internal trigger components are machined from tool steel and are highly polished. Our Echelon 4.0C pistol does not have a manual safety, but it does have a trigger safety lever in the fingerpiece, and the COG also has a secondary sear that provides another layer of safety and exceeds SAAMI drop-test parameters.

The Echelon 4.0C has a Melonite-finished, 4.0-inch barrel and a shortened, Melonite-finished steel slide. The barrel is hammer forged, and the muzzle is crowned. The pistol’s serial number is marked on the outside of the barrel’s chamber on the right-hand side. The slide’s ejection port is wide and beveled for clean ejection. The external extractor is short but very robust, and its end serves as a loaded-chamber indicator. When a cartridge is in the chamber, the extractor’s end protrudes out, and a red mark on the surface is visible.

The slide has four grasping areas. At the far rear, the slide is flared for easy and positive purchase. Ahead of that, three wide and angled grasping grooves are located on each side. They measure 0.24 inch wide each, according to my old Hornady electronic digital calipers. Starting about 0.70 inch from the muzzle end are four more wide and angled grasping grooves. They also measure 0.24 inch wide each and extend back toward the chamber for 1.75 inches. That part of the slide is contoured, and it has what Springfield calls a trench cut that is a natural location for press checks.

The top of the slide is flat and smooth, except for the Springfield logo just ahead of the ejection port, and the 0.141-inch-thick front sight is dovetailed into the slide. The post is 0.249 inch tall, and it has a tritium dot surrounded by a luminescent ring. The rear sight is Springfield’s excellent Tactical Rack U-Dot. It’s dovetailed into the slide and is drift adjustable for windage. If you prefer three-dot tritium sights, you can get the Echelon 4.0C that way for an extra $40. (Note: The MSRP of the regular 4.0C is $679.) You can also get the 4.0C with a 4.28-inch, threaded barrel and the three-dot tritium sights for an MSRP of $739.

Echelon 4.0C Support side view — The Echelon 4.0C is a compact version, with a 4.0-inch barrel. The slide has four gripping areas: flared rear, rear grasping grooves, forward grasping grooves, and trench cut ahead of the chamber area. (Photo Provided by Author)

The slide is machined for mounting a red-dot optic, and we used a Vortex Defender-ST micro red-dot sight mounted directly to the slide. No adapter plate is needed due to Springfield’s variable interface system (VIS). The VIS system employs patent-pending, self-locking pins that can be positioned to fit the footprints of 30+ popular optics directly to the pistol’s slide. As the mounting screws are torqued to spec, the pins exert lateral pressure on the optic’s interior mounting surface to eliminate left/right movement, ensuring consistent point of aim/point of impact.

Vortex is one of Springfield’s “launch partners” with the new Echelon 4.0C. Another launch partner is Safariland, and we were issued a brand-new INCOG X inside-the-waistband (IWB) holster for our report, which you can see in the introductory photo to this article. The INCOG X holster is red-dot-sight-compatible. The design is a collaboration between Haley Strategic Partners and Safariland, and it is described as a “mission-adaptable, RDS-compatible, multipositional, deep concealment IWB hybrid thermofolded holster.”

It enables secure concealed carry from various carry positions while allowing for a full firing grip prior to drawing. It features a microfiber suede-wrapped Boltaron body, passive retention, and adjustable tension functionality, and it utilizes a series of clips that open outward and slide down with the holster, naturally locking in place over the belt. An actuated finger tab flexes to open, allowing quick installation and removal from the belt. Three sizes of customized concealment shims can be easily installed and removed without any tools. A lot of innovative thought went into the design.

Vortex calls the 1X Defender-ST the “do-it-all” micro red dot. They recommend it for handguns, shotguns, and offset on carbines, stating, “Whether running drills at the range or holding the line during rigorous duty use, the all-purpose Defender-ST delivers toughness, accuracy, and adaptability.” It has a 3-MOA dot, unlimited eye relief, a large hard-coated aspherical lens, a top-mount battery (CR2032), 10 daylight brightness settings, and fits the DeltaPoint Pro footprint. It features motion activation with 10-minute auto-shutoff, Vortex’s ShockShield polymer insert to the 7075 aluminum body, Fast-Rack texturing on the face of the optic, and a low-glare matte black finish. It is parallax free, waterproof, fogproof, and shockproof, and it’s night-vision compatible. It weighs just 1.48 ounces and, in my opinion, makes an ideal electronic sight for the new Echelon 4.0C.

The grip texturing is a stippling type, and it wraps entirely around the grip, including the interchangeable backstrap. Springfield calls it Adaptive Grip Texture. The Echelon’s grip circumference measures 5.0 inches, straight across and just below the trigger guard. The trigger guard is elongated (for use with gloved hands), undercut where it meets the grip, and squared off in the front. The front surface has the same stippling-style texture as the grip, and there is an inch-long indented area with the same texturing on the underneath side of the trigger guard. The same texturing also is applied to the upper grip area above the contoured thumbrests on both sides, to the takedown lever on the left side of the frame, to forward areas ahead of the takedown lever on both sides of the frame, to the end of the recoil spring guide rod, and to the rear of the slide on the striker locking plate.

The barrel/slide assembly isn’t the only component of the Echelon 4.0C that’s been shortened to make concealed carry easier. The frame has been shortened too. It has an integral accessory rail in the dustcover area that has three cross-slots. The frame has a window on the right-hand side just ahead of the ambidextrous slide stop that reveals the pistol’s serial number. The bottom of the grip frame is flared and beveled for easy insertion of the magazine.

Because the Shooting Times headquarters are located in Illinois, our sample came with two 15-round magazines, but for states without magazine capacity restrictions, the pistol comes with one 15-rounder and one 18-rounder. There also is a “low-capacity” version that comes with two 10-round magazines. According to Springfield, the magazines were developed for rugged durability and hard use, and they have an all-new scratch-resistant and wear-resistant black coating. Interestingly, the sides of the baseplates are treated with that same stippling pattern found elsewhere on the pistol. The backs of the magazine bodies have numbered witness holes, and the followers are a black synthetic material.

Echelon 4.0C with mags — Standard magazine capacities for the compact Echelon are 15 rounds and 18 rounds. Our sample came with two 15-round magazines, and it’s also offered with two 10- rounders for states with capacity restrictions. (Photo Provided by Author)

The Echelon features an ambidextrous magazine release located just to the rear of the trigger guard. And as I stated earlier, the pistol’s slide stop also is ambidextrous. Our 4.0C pistol’s trigger pull averaged 5 pounds, 5.6 ounces, according to five measurements with my RCBS trigger pull gauge. Letoff was crisp and clean.

The Echelon 4.0C weighs 24 ounces, measures 7.25 inches long and 5.125 inches tall (not including an RDS), and is 1.3 inches wide at the widest point, which is outside the ambidextrous magazine release. Our sample came with the three interchangeable backstraps, the two magazines, a magazine loader, a filler plate for the optic-cut slide, a cable/padlock-style gun lock, and a double-zippered soft case.

Utterly Reliable & Nicely Accurate

To find out how the new Echelon 4.0C shoots, I fired it for accuracy from a sandbag benchrest at a distance of 25 yards with six 9mm Luger factory loads. Before I did that, though, I measured the amount of force needed to rack the slide by carefully positioning an RCBS High-Range Trigger Tension Scale against the base of the Vortex Defender-ST optic and pulling until the slide latched back. (I made certain the chamber and magazine were empty.) I did that three times, and the average was 18.6 pounds.

Back to the ammo I used for the shootout. The bullet weights ranged from 115 grains through 124 grains to 147 grains, and the bullet styles included FMJs, polymer-tipped FTXs, and JHPs. All loads functioned dependably, with zero malfunctions. All bullet styles fed, fired, extracted, and ejected. All of the empties were flung well clear of the firing line.

Disassembled Echelon 4.0C — The Echelon 4.0C is easy to disassemble. The task requires no tools, and squeezing the trigger is not required. (Photo Provided by Author)

I won’t go into all the details, but as you can see from the accompanying chart, in my hands, the Echelon 4.0C averaged between 2.75 and 4.00 inches with the factory loads. Three, five-shot groups with each load were fired and averaged. Overall average accuracy was 3.25 inches. That’s more than adequate for self-defense and, in fact, is quite good compared to other striker-fired pistols that I’ve tested.

The accuracy champ during my firing session was the SIG SAUER 147-grain FMJ load. It averaged 2.75 inches. The load producing the highest velocity was the Hornady Critical Defense 115-grain FTX. It averaged 1,116 fps for five rounds measured 12 feet from the muzzle with a Competition Electronics Pro Digital Chronograph and indoor light setup.

With shooting from the bench completed, just for fun, I fired the Echelon 4.0C offhand at seven yards in a modified self-defense drill, during which I performed two double taps, then fired a single round, then fired two more double taps plus a single shot, and then fired another pair of double taps and the last round as a single shot—all done in as rapid succession as I could safely manage. I did that routine with all six factory loads, and at that short distance, all shots with all loads went into the same general point of impact on the target. They basically chewed one big, ragged hole in the “bad guy” target. More importantly, during all the shooting (both from the bench and offhand), the Echelon 4.0C did not have a single malfunction.

Accuracy data from the Echelon — (Data Provided by Author)

Like the previous standard-size Echelon, the new Echelon 4.0C is very comfortable to shoot. Like the standard-size Echelon, the Echelon 4.0C has an excellent trigger pull. Like the standard-size Echelon, the Echelon 4.0C is set up with a very innovative optic-mounting system. And like the standard-size Echelon, the new Echelon 4.0C has a central operating group that maximizes the adaptability and versatility of the pistol platform. The new Echelon 4.0C is versatile, advanced, highly adaptable, and optimized for concealed carry.