Springfield Armory® is honored to receive the 2017 American Rifleman Women’s Innovation Product of the Year Golden Bullseye Award for the 1911 EMP® Four-inch Lightweight Champion™ pistol.
Introduced in 2016, the EMP® Four-inch Lightweight Champion™ is a natural extension to what many customers consider the most elegant and shootable carry pistol ever, the Springfield Armory® EMP®. With a new short-action design and 17 patented internal components, the EMP® exhibits the re-engineering of the best attributes of the classic 1911 design into a compact, and utterly reliable, 9mm or .40 S&W package.
“We’re very proud of all the hard work we’ve invested in the EMP® family,” stated Dennis Reese, Springfield Armory® Chief Executive Officer. “It’s so much more than a downsized 1911. Our engineering team created a carry pistol that is not only imminently shootable but exceptionally reliable. We’re tremendously honored that the NRA’s prestigious American Rifleman magazine chose the EMP® Four-inch Lightweight Champion™ to receive the Women’s Innovation Product of the Year Golden Bullseye Award.”
The Golden Bullseye Awards will be presented at a special breakfast event on Friday, April 28, 2017, at the National Rifle Association Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Atlanta, Georgia.
“We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 Golden Bullseye Awards,” said Doug Hamlin, Executive Director of NRA Publications. “This year’s winners exemplify what NRA members want in their shooting and hunting equipment—outstanding performance, innovative design, and value. We congratulate those who have created the industry’s best new products and look forward to recognizing them in Atlanta.”
The criteria for earning a Golden Bullseye Award is rigorous, with product required to be tested by staff members or contributors to American Rifleman magazine, demonstrating reliability during field use, and showing innovation and value to the customer. Most importantly, award winning products must show overall benefit to the shooting industry and its enthusiasts. For 15 years, award winners have been selected by a seven-member committee representing more than a century of collective experience in the shooting and hunting industry.
For more information on the 1911 EMP® Four-inch Lightweight Champion™, please visit springfield-armory.com.
About Springfield Armory®
“The First Name in American Firearms,” Springfield Armory® was founded in 1777, when George Washington ordered the creation of an armory to store ammunition and gun carriages during the American Revolution. In 1794, the armory began to manufacture muskets and spent the next 150 years supplying firearms for every major American conflict. The original armory closed in 1968. In 1974, the Reese family took ownership of the Springfield Armory® name and began making the M1A™ rifle. Today, Springfield Armory® develops many products loyal to the company’s heritage, like the 1911 pistol, while ensuring its future with innovative products, including the XD®, XD® Mod.2®, XD(M)® and XD-S® polymer pistols and now the new SAINT™ AR-15 rifle.
