Springfield Armory XD(s) Review

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I would be doing a review of my new Springfield Armory XD(s). Someone finally reminded me that I hadn't done my review yet, so here ya go, campers.

The Springfield Armory XD(s) is a subcompact .45 ACP semi-automatic handgun. As soon as you take it out of the box, you can tell the XD(s) is clearly intended to be used as a concealed carry gun. At it's widest point, it's only one inch thick, and it fits very nicely into the palm of your hand, and it's fairly light. When you wear it on your hip and throw on a jacket, it simply disappears.

However, all of this compactness and conceal-ability requires you to make some compromises. In a similarly sized Glock 19 (ok, maybe the Glock 19 is a little bigger) you get a 15 round magazine. However, you're getting 15 rounds of 9mm in the Glock, whereas the XD(s) is giving you .45 ACP. Unfortunately, you're only going to get a magazine capacity of 5 rounds of the .45 ACP in the standard mags. Springfield does make a 7 round magazine for the Xd(s), but good luck actually finding one. I'm not sure if you've heard, but there's a little bit of a run on magazines and ammo these days.

In any event, the point is that you're going to be sacrificing magazine capacity for conceal-ability. But that's why God created spare magazines, and he said "let them be plentiful".

As for function, the little XD(s) is great. The first 50 rounds that I put through it were made in Hungary under the label "RWS". Yeah, I bought some Hungarian-made ammo. It's really hard to find ammo these days. Anyway, here's what I bought:

So, I go out to the range and put a box of this Hungarian ammo through the little XD(s). There were seven of what I would call "light-strikes". That means I pulled the trigger, and the gun went click. That's bad, because it's supposed to go BANG! 

I ejected the round (after waiting the safe time) and looked at it. The bottom of the round (where the striker hits the cartridge to ignite the primer) had a small dimple in it, like it's supposed to. However, it didn't go off. Strange, right? I put the same round back in the chamber and then fired it again. Every time the round fired on the second attempt. Very strange.

At first, I chalked it up to the Hungarian ammo. I mean, what do they know about making ammo in Hungary, right? However, I did a little research and it turns out that Springfield ships the XD(s) in a condition where they are not really ready-to-go out of the box. They put a bunch of grease and stuff down in the channel where the striker is, and it kind of gums up the works. So, I did a detail strip of the gun, pulled the striker out and examined it. There was more gunk and grease on there than I would have expected, so I cleaned it off real well, cleaned the whole gun, and lubricated all the rails and other areas that needed to be lubed.

After that, I've put about 250 rounds through it of various types of ammo, and it's been 100%. I haven't had any failures of any kind whatsoever. All I can tell you is that if you're thinking about getting an XD(s), don't  be scared of the stories you hear about the "light strikes". The gun just needs to have a little cleaning before you take it shooting. It also likes to be well lubricated because all the parts fit together so tightly. (That's what she said.)

Overall, it's a great gun. I'm not as accurate with it as I am with a full-size 1911, but that's not totally unexpected. The overall length is only 6.3", so you're not dealing with much. (That's what she said.)

However, probably my biggest flaw in my shooting technique is my tendency to pull the trigger too hard. This causes my shots to go low and left about five inches at 10 yards. With the XD(s) being such a small gun, this error shows up very clearly. With a larger, heavier 1911, my same problem is lessened by the fact that the 1911 is heavier and bigger, so I'm not moving the gun as much. I still have the same flaw, but it's more obvious with the XD(s). However, in a critical self-defense situation at 10 yards being off by five inches isn't going to make me miss center mass. Having said that, I'm going to work on my shooting technique.

Other Features: There's no thumb-safety on the XD(s). However, there is a grip-safety, in the same style of the 1911. You can see the grip safety in the picture above. It's that little tab on the back of the grip. To me, the XD(s) seems like the folks at Springfield Armory tried to make their version of the Glock. It has that same safe-trigger deal like a Glock, and it's simple - like a Glock. Take down is actually easier (to me) than with a Glock. The sight picture is nice, and Springfield even gives you options for changing out the front sight if you don't like the red bead.

Overall, theXD(s) is a great carry gun if you want something chambered in .45 ACP. If you're looking for a range gun to just do precision paper shooting, this isn't your gun. This gun is intended to be carried all the time, and to pack a punch when you need it to. Although I'm a fan of 9mm, you really can't go wrong with .45 ACP.

 

Take care of lubricating and cleaning this little gun, and it will take care of you. Permanent Press officially endorses the Springfield Armory XD(s).