Springfield Armory 911 9 mm
On the heels of the award-winning debut of its 911 .380 ACP micro carry pistol, Springfield Armory returned in 2019 with a 911 in 9 mm. Reportedly five variants will be in production, including a couple bearing Viridian grip lasers. A true single-stack subcompact, the newcomer specs-out like this: length 5.9 inches; height (with flush mag) 3.8 inches; grip width 1 inch; weight empty 15.3 ounces. And so while certainly teensy, Springfield product developers put much thought in how to mitigate the recoil. Chiefly, the pistol holds low in the shooter’s hand under a prominent beavertail, and the grips, either highly textured G10 or tacky rubber, optimize a secure hold. The recoil is still fairly snappy, but not unmanageable for experienced shooters, and better than many in this class. And for a 9 mm, the concealability is as good as it gets.
It comes complete with a 6-round flush-fit magazine and a 7-round extended magazine, which adds about a half-inch to the height. Other features adopted from the .380 original include: ambidextrous safeties, Ameriglo tritium night sights and custom G10 or Hogue rubber grips. A stylish two-toned, stainless-slide model is offered as well. The suggested pricing runs from $639 to $849. To obtain additional info: springfield-armory.com.
Winchester’s Straight-Wall Brainstorm
Winchester 350 Legend
The Winchester 350 Legend, a straight-wall cartridge reinvented for today’s shooters, is the biggest ammunition news emerging from the show. Purposely, this new cartridge was developed for versatility, and along with that, we’re impressed with just how user-friendly it is in terms of low recoil and affordable pricing.
Straight-wall rounds were originally made for shooting big game with sharpshooting rifles, and they’ve seen a resurgence from manufacturers adapting the concept to the AR platform. The Legend is promising on both counts. Winchester says its new brainstorm is the fastest straight-wall in existence at 2350 fps, and that it packs 1800 ft.-lbs. of muzzle energy (with hunting loads), making it more powerful than .223 Rem., .300 BLK and .30-30 Win. The effective range for deer hunting will be about 250 yards. Even so, shooters will absorb less recoil than with the mild .243 Win., less than .30-30 and less than the big .450 Bushmaster favored by AR hunters. Bullet diameter is .357 inch, and early loadings in both hunting hollow-points and “white-box” FMJ ammo are using 145/150-gr. projectiles. According to Winchester, the Legend will be compliant in states with special deer-hunting opportunities for straight-wall cartridges. In-store cost will range from $10 to $20/box. For the full story, log onto winchester.com.
Winchester XPR Bolt Rifles and CMMG Carbines
Two high-profile firearm companies have stepped up to chamber the new caliber, and we hear more will jump on board shortly. Naturally Winchester Repeating Arms is in the fold and contributed to the development process. Available soon will be several variants of the XPR bolt-action rifle, wearing black or camo synthetic stocks. XPRs feature the firm’s highly regarded M.O.A. Trigger System to go along with button-rifled, free-floated barrels. Prices vary depending on finish, but are expected to start at $549 MSRP. winchesterguns.com.
AR enthusiasts can look to innovative maker CMMG, which announced that its Resolute-series carbines will offer 350 Legend chambering. Because of the Legend’s case configuration, the bolt-carrier group will be the same as CMMG’s 5.56 NATO guns. At the outset, only 5- and 10-round magazines will be available, though we expect to see larger capacity in the future. Operating on direct-impingement gas systems, the CMMG offerings will be equipped with 16-inch/1:16-twist barrels. MSRPs are expected to be in line with the company’s current pricing structure, and while details are sketchy for now, there is a listing at cmmginc.com.
