The Springfield Armory Echelon Pistol: Best New Duty Handgun?

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Versatile, advanced, patent pending, highly adaptable, and unparalleled are the words the good folks at Springfield Armory are using to announce the company’s all-new modular 9mm striker-fired polymer-frame Echelon semiautomatic pistol. I think that terminology pretty well pegs it.

New Echelon Developments

One of the features that makes the new Echelon so exciting is the self-contained central operating group (COG in Springfield’s nomenclature) that allows different grip frame modules to be used with a single COG. Our sample Echelon came with a medium grip frame, but small and large frames will be available. 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 sample had clean take-up, crisp letoff, and short reset. Its average trigger pull measured 5.0 pounds, according to my RCBS trigger pull scale. That’s for 10 measurements. Noticeably, the trigger pull had a defined wall, which I believe enhanced the pistol’s accuracy. (More about the accuracy later.) Disassembly requires no tools and no squeezing of the trigger.

Our pistol does not have a manual safety, but it does have a trigger safety lever in the fingerpiece. And the fingerpiece is 0.36 inch wide. The COG also has a secondary sear that provides another layer of safety and exceeds SAAMI drop-test parameters. Regarding the grip module, the Echelon comes with three interchangeable backstraps, each with a different amount of arch. Springfield reports that all backstraps fit all grip frame modules. I used the medium backstrap with our medium grip module and found it to be just right. For the record, I wear medium-size gloves.

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 Springfield Armory Echelon’s grip circumference measures 5.25 inches, measured straight across just below the trigger guard. Speaking of the trigger guard, it 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 on the grip. A nice touch in my opinion is an inch-long indented area with the same texturing on the underneath side of the trigger guard. And the same texturing 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 frame has an integral accessory rail in the dustcover area. It has four cross-slots, allowing the use of a wide variety of lights and lasers. Just for the heck of it, I installed one of my favorite Crimson Trace laser/light units (the Rail Master Pro), and it fit perfectly. The pistol’s serial number shows through a window in the right side of the frame, just ahead of the slide stop. That’s right, the slide stop is ambidextrous and so is the magazine release. No reversing for southpaws is needed. The bottom of the grip frame is flared and beveled for easy insertion of the magazine. Our sample came with two 10-round magazines, but standard magazine capacities are 17 rounds and 20 rounds. Springfield says the magazines are newly 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.

Up top, the Echelon wears a Melonite-finished steel slide and a 4.5-inch barrel. The barrel is hammer forged, and since the Echelon is chambered for 9mm Luger, the twist rate is one turn in 10 inches (1:10). The muzzle is crowned, and the serial number is marked on the outside of the barrel’s chamber. Inside, the chamber appears to be polished, and so is the feedramp. A 5.28-inch threaded barrel also is offered, and that configuration comes with three-dot tritium sights. Its MSRP is $739. (The standard Echelon’s MSRP is $679.) 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.

Springfield takes pride in pointing out the four grasping areas of the Echelon’s slide. 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 0.25 inch wide each. Starting about 0.75 inch from the muzzle end are five more wide and angled grasping grooves. They measure 0.23 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 0.142-inch-thick front sight is dovetailed into the slide. The post is 0.242 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 that way for an extra $40. The slide also is machined for mounting a red-dot optic. In fact, our Echelon came with the excellent Trijicon RMR red-dot optic already installed. It mounts directly to the slide, so no adapter plate is needed, and the pistol’s sights co-witness with the red dot very nicely. Be advised that Springfield is not currently offering the Echelon to consumers with a red-dot optic installed.

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But that brings me to another innovative aspect of the Echelon—its variable interface system. Springfield refers to it as VIS. This 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. The Echelon weighs 23.9 ounces, measures 8.0 inches long and 5.5 inches tall (not including the RMR optic), and is 1.3 inches wide at the widest point, which is outside the ambidextrous slide stop. Our sample came with the three interchangeable backstraps, the two magazines, a magazine loader, a filler plate for the optic-cut slide, a padlock-style gun lock, and a double-zippered soft case.

For anyone wondering about holsters for the Echelon, Safariland appears to be the first out of the gate to offer holsters specifically for the new pistol. According to Safariland, it partnered with Springfield to develop a compatible line of 6000 series holsters, including the 6378RDS, 6360RDS, 6390RDS, and 6390RDSO. They are designed for pistols with red-dot optics and incorporate Safariland’s Automatic Locking System. MSRPs range from $145.75 to $259.50, and they are currently available for pre-order at safariland.com.

Echelon Range Accuracy Results

As per my usual shooting protocol, I fired the new Echelon for accuracy from a sandbag benchrest at a distance of 25 yards. I rounded up six 9mm Luger factory loads with bullet weights ranging from 115 grains to 150 grains and bullet styles ranging from solid FMJs through synthetic-coated FNs and polymer-tipped FlexLocks to a variety of hollowpoints. All loads functioned reliably, and I didn’t experience a single malfunction. All bullet styles fed, fired, extracted, and ejected. In most cases, the empties were flung about four feet to the right. I won’t go into all the details, but as you can see from the accompanying chart, the Echelon averaged between 2.85 and 4.15 inches with the factory loads. Five, five-shot groups with each load were fired and averaged. Overall average accuracy was 3.48 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 Hornady Critical Duty 135-grain FlexLock +P loading. It averaged 2.85 inches. The load producing the highest velocity was the Winchester Active Duty 115-grain FN FMJ. It averaged 1,308 fps for five rounds measured 12 feet from the muzzle with a Competition Electronics Pro Digital Chronograph and indoor light setup. To simulate some self-defense scenarios, I fired the Echelon at seven yards in a modified El Presidente Drill, during which I performed a double tap on three separate targets, then fired a single round on each target, and then put the last of the 10 rounds into the middle target.

At five yards I conducted an FBI Drill in which I fired two body shots and then one headshot on three silhouette targets and then fired the 10th round on the first target. I repeated that drill again with a freshly loaded magazine. At three yards I fired the pistol one-handed on a single target as fast as I could squeeze the trigger until I emptied the magazine. And in a separate drill, I fired a fully loaded magazine with the pistol right side up, left side up, and upside down. During all the shooting, including from the bench for accuracy and all the action drills, the new Echelon performed perfectly, without a single hiccup. Springfield has given a lot of attention to the ergonomics of the Echelon, and in my opinion the company has succeeded. It’s a very comfortable-shooting pistol. With the innovative central operating group, the company has maximized the adaptability and versatility of the new pistol as well as providing a very good trigger pull. And the variable interface system for installing red-dot optics further advances the pistol’s adaptability and user-friendliness. Accurate. Ergonomic. Adaptable. These are the words I use to describe the new Springfield Armory Echelon.

Springfield Armory Echelon Specs

• Type: Striker-fired, recoil-operated autoloader
• Caliber: 9mm Luger 
• Capacity: 10, 17, 20 rds. 
• Barrel: 4.5 in. 
• Overall Length: 8 in. 
• Width: 1.3 in. 
• Height: 5.5 in. 
• Weight: 23.9 oz. 
• Grips: Intefral to polymer frame
• Finish: Matte Black Melonite
• Sights: Tactical Rack U-dot rear, tritium/luminescent front
• Trigger: 5 lbs. (tested)
• Safety: Trigger safety lever
• MSRP: $679
• Manufacturer: Springfield Armory