EAA Girsan MC P35 Pistol

EAA Girsan MC P35 Pistol

The Girsan MC P35 pays homage to one of the most frequently used military pistol designs in the world by paying careful regard to John Browning’s classic design. The Girsan MC P35 has a 15+1 capacity in a staggered column magazine and is built on a steel frame and slide. Built on a steel frame with three matte finishes to choose from. The Girsan MC P35 was originally developed as a military pistol, which needed great accuracy, and it does not disappoint.

The 9mm, 4 5/8″ barrel and slide have a minimal recoil, allowing for quick second shot resets, allowing the shooter to get on target quickly. The rear sight adjusts for windage drift, while the front sight is a dovetail sight. The conventional compact trigger is easily accessible and enables for a quick trigger reset.

The Girsan is recognizable as a straight up copy of the Browning MKII. This was a wise decision compared to a clone of the military-grade Hi-Power. The MKII features high-profile sights and an ambidextrous safety. The finish was matte blue. I don’t have an example close at hand, but the Girsan pistol appears to bear the same finish.

The P35 pistol was supplied with a single magazine. As previously noted, the magazine holds 15 rounds — an improvement over the original design’s 13-round capacity. The magazine well was generous, and the double-column magazine was tapered. Speed loads were easy enough. A high point of the pistol is the ambidextrous safety was well designed and obvious with a crisp indent.

Firing the pistol was accomplished with a variety of loads. I did not wish to confuse the issue with handloads and burner-grade loads, but on the other hand, 9mm ammunition isn’t exactly cheap and plentiful at this time. I had a number of handloads using the Oregon Trail 125-grain RNL bullet and enough Titegroup powder for 1,050 fps. I also had a mix of steel case Tula 9mm, a box of WPA 9mm, and some Sierra 124-grain JHP.

I loaded the 15-round MecGar magazine, an original Browning, and two 13-round MecGar magazines. I began the rest-firing portion of the range test at man-sized targets at 7 and 10 yards. The pistol came on target quickly and handled like a dream. The fly in the ointment was the heavy trigger.