Talyn
SAINT
Today I visited a LGS and saw they had a repeated SA vid playing on their video screen. Ita was different than the existing U-tube vids so it gave me more info on it. A young sales guy came over & wer looked at the screen & I said it would be nice to see one in person.
Not expecting an example that was just announced he said they had one. He retrieved it from the lowest level in the counter (I would have never noticed it) safety checked it/opened the slide & handed it to me. It was the base 4.5" EC9459B-U model. So here's my observations.
1) the grip shape is very similar to the CZ-P10C which is very comfortable.
2) the U-sights are great,
3) the trigger pull was fine,
4) the slide release was small but easily accessible & positive to drop the slide.
5) the mag release was positive & easy to drop the mag.
We took it apart & it looked very solid inside & like other striker-fired pistols.
It felt very good in the hand (like a CZ P-10C) & the pointability made it easy to get a nice sight picture.
The slide serrations (front & back) were very nice, and like the vids contributed to easy press checks & slide charging.
The top (follower end) of the magazines have a different configuration than the XDm mag, and while XDm mags could be inserted they would not lock in.
The LGS wanted $629 for it, but I could have got it for ~$590 based on a VIP program.
I came away very impressed with the Echelon. If I wasn't very invested in my XDm 5.25 and P-10C 9mm's I would have bought it right there.
My .02
As I said yesterday in another thread SA needs to be more proactive about getting their products more visibility in LGS, at least in my area since they're always on the lowest counter level and hard to see. SA needs to push for more LGS visibility with their distributor/dealer network.
Not expecting an example that was just announced he said they had one. He retrieved it from the lowest level in the counter (I would have never noticed it) safety checked it/opened the slide & handed it to me. It was the base 4.5" EC9459B-U model. So here's my observations.
1) the grip shape is very similar to the CZ-P10C which is very comfortable.
2) the U-sights are great,
3) the trigger pull was fine,
4) the slide release was small but easily accessible & positive to drop the slide.
5) the mag release was positive & easy to drop the mag.
We took it apart & it looked very solid inside & like other striker-fired pistols.
It felt very good in the hand (like a CZ P-10C) & the pointability made it easy to get a nice sight picture.
The slide serrations (front & back) were very nice, and like the vids contributed to easy press checks & slide charging.
The top (follower end) of the magazines have a different configuration than the XDm mag, and while XDm mags could be inserted they would not lock in.
The LGS wanted $629 for it, but I could have got it for ~$590 based on a VIP program.
I came away very impressed with the Echelon. If I wasn't very invested in my XDm 5.25 and P-10C 9mm's I would have bought it right there.
My .02
As I said yesterday in another thread SA needs to be more proactive about getting their products more visibility in LGS, at least in my area since they're always on the lowest counter level and hard to see. SA needs to push for more LGS visibility with their distributor/dealer network.
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