Photos by Kenda Lenseigne

The Echelon is Springfield’s answer to everyone else’s plastic-framed 9mm, having supplanted the XD series in their lineup. It benefits from almost 40 years of market feedback and product improvement, if you consider that the first commercially successful version of what everyone thinks of as “9mm handgun” debuted in 1985. 

In this version, the Glock 19-sized Echelon 4.0, Springfield caters to the crowd who loves the idea of a compact, high-capacity carry gun, but also finds the P365 and Hellcat to be more difficult to shoot than they’d like. There’s a reason the G19 was America’s best-selling handgun for years, and its balance of firepower and shootability still resonates with a lot of users.

SPECS: SPRINGFIELD ARMORY ECHELON 4.0

  • Caliber: 9mm Luger
  • Capacity: 15 rounds
  • Barrel Length: 4 inches
  • Overall Length: 7.25 inches
  • Weight: 25 ounces
  • MSRP: $680

PROS:

  • Reliable
  • Compact version sized for carry
  • Full ambi controls

CONS:

  • Full-size Echelon magazines aren’t 100% reliable in the Compact Echelon

Since launching in July of 2023, the Springfield Echelon has been remarkably drama-free. No recalls, no reports of guns going off in holsters, and no negative press — other than a few yammering slapdick YouTube reviewers who couldn’t figure out how to install their base pads correctly. Seriously guys, stick to your day jobs, and if you’d like help figuring out the right way to sit on a toilet, it’s probably in the manual. 

The compact Echelon has the same feature set as its bigger sibling, based as it is around a modular chassis system or, as Springfield terms it, a “Central Operating Group” or COG. Like the SIG P320, this allows the end user to swap out grip frames to match their hand size, and further customization is possible through the use of different sized backstraps. 

Disassembly is exactly how you’d expect, except you don’t have to pull a trigger.

Springfield’s default setting for the 4.0 pistol is the smallest of the three frames, so if you have large hands, you may want to place a custom order with your FFL. 

With the biggest backstrap installed, it feels more petite than most of its competitors, and in these hands at least, tended to point higher than the full-sized version. With the 15-round, flush-fit magazine installed, the pistol provides enough frame length to get a full grip on the gun — with nothing to spare. 

The Echelon has a full suite of ambi controls — including magazine release and slide lock — placed where they’re both easy to access but difficult to activate unintentionally. We’ve grown to appreciate the grip texture over the course of the past year. It’s a Goldilocks version of stippling, which isn’t so aggressive it’ll remove a layer of skin if you’re carrying IWB, but still gives plenty of traction to a sweaty palm. The trigger is decent. It’s not astounding like a Canik or Walther, but for a stock polymer-framed pistol, it’s a perfectly serviceable duty trigger, which can be lightened through the addition of an aftermarket spring kit. 

The Echelon 4.0 doesn’t really bring anything new to the table in terms of its architecture, but rather takes the best bits of other guns and puts them together with a Croatian accent. Captive, flat wire recoil spring? Check. SIG/Petter barrel lockup? Check. Toolless takedown that doesn’t require the trigger to be pulled? Check. 


The sights are satisfactory, the stippling just right, and the serrations aren’t too crazy.

The pistol does just about everything well, but one area that shines is its optics mounting system. The slide is milled to accommodate all common RDS footprints, but rather than just relying on a couple of screws to handle the shear forces generated during recoil, it ships with a selection of recoil lugs. 

These drop into holes in the slide and mate to corresponding recesses in the sights’ underside. Best of all, as the mounting screws are tightened, the lugs cam outward slightly, locking the sight into position. 

Glock 19 owners are used to the idea of carrying a G17 magazine as a spare, giving an extra couple of rounds — more if you add an extended base pad. The Echelon 4.0 arrives with a spare mag equipped with a base pad, but if you’re tempted to use a mag from a full-sized Echelon, beware. 

While the option of 21 additional rounds is tempting, if you slam the magazine home, it has a tendency to over-insert, holding the slide to the rear and locking up the pistol when you need it most. 

ON THE RANGE

In the course of almost 500 rounds, we experienced exactly zero stoppages of any kind, apart from the mag over-insertion issue. Add those to the over 2,000 we’ve run through the larger model pistol without incident and the Echelon is starting to look like a pretty reliable platform that’ll hang with the best of them — so long as you use the right mags in the right gun.


Reliable, easy to shoot, and tight groups — just beware of over-inserting extended mags.

HS Precision’s hammer-forged barrel is one of the best in the industry, and the COG allows for a tight lockup with minimal slop, the combination of which produces some very tight groups. We took the opportunity to shoot the pistol at a training course in front of students and it was no trouble to shoot perfect scores on the qualification course with it. 

Rested off of bags, it could be counted on to produce 2-inch groups at 20 yards with Federal’s Syntech 130-grain load, but other ammo results weren’t too shabby, either. 

If you liked the full-sized Echelon but were holding out for something more carry-friendly, the 4.0 is the answer to your prayers. And if you’re looking for something with a small grip that’s a bit easier to shoot well than a micro-compact, this one’s definitely worth handling at the gun store and, hopefully, shooting.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION:

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