Sizing Down, Powering Up

Springfield's newest XD puts .45 ACP punch into a compact, shootable package.

By Payton Miller

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
--From "THE GRADUATE," 1968

Now, nearly 40 years after that wry little cinematic exchange, space-age plastics are a manufacturing byword--no more so than in the world of auto pistols. Ever since the introduction of the Glock 17 back in 1985, polymer (a sexier term than "plastic") framed autos have comprised the fastest-growing segment of the pistol market. Every manufacturer, it seems, makes them--Kimber, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Springfield Armory, Glock, CZ, H&K etc. And practically every serious shooter's got at least one.

Springfield Armory introduced the XD (Extreme Duty) pistol amid considerable fanfare back in 2002. To be sure, the polymer-framed, Croatian-made auto had been in existence in this country prior to Springfield's involvement. Initially, the pistol was called the HS2000 (brought in in 2000 by HS America of Knoxville, Tennessee).

What sold a lot of shooters on the HS/Springfield pistol was the fact that, although slightly heavier than the Glock, it had a grip configuration that was patterned somewhat on the CZ 75 and was friendlier to a lot of American shooters--who have a tendency to shoot high when they are in a hurry because of the Glock's more acutely swept grip angle.

Under the Springfield banner, the XD platform was initially cut for the 9mm, .40 S&W and .357 SIG. Variants included the Service model (four inch) and Tactical model (five inch). These were followed by a Sub-Compact (three inch) a year later.

Then came the .45 GAP version, which followed a similar progression of variants. You'd have thought that would've satisfied those who felt undergunned with anything less than a .45-caliber pistol, but many of those big-bore aficionados had to have a full-length .45 ACP, not the truncated (although practically ballistically identical) GAP number.

Like all members of the XD lineup, the Compact .45 ACP features a loaded-chamber indicator. (Center) The Compact XD's grip is slightly more than a half-inch shorter than that of the standard model. (Right) For maximum compactness, the supplied short magazine is ideal. The longer mag with the extended toe is more comfortable when you're doing a lot of shooting.

But when dealing with the design requirements necessitated by the longer .45 ACP cartridge, it was easier to come up with a Compact rather than a Sub-Compact platform.

And that's the route Springfield took. "The recoil-spring system on the .45 ACP takes up more space and there's a slide-travel issue," says the company's Bill Dermody. "To come up with a sub-compact is a tricker job, one that we can't pull off overnight. We mean to keep trying, but it may or may not happen."

The XD Compact package includes a synthetic holster and magazine carrier packed inside the hard carrying case. There's also a magazine cartridge-loading tool within. (Right) Despite its propensity to print low at 25 yards, our test gun shot to point of aim at half that distance and grouped very well.

The resulting Compact pistol is essentially a Service model with a shortened grip. But as far as I can see, this engineering difficulty is probably a blessing in disguise. When you're talking about concealed carry, the benefits of a three-inch-barreled gun as opposed to a four-inch-barreled gun are mostly illusory. There's a fine line between optimum concealability and adequate shootability.

A three-inch gun is considerably less forgiving of minor sighting errors than a four-inch gun. And while any errors may be inconsequential at the powder-burn ranges at which defensive shooting is most liable to take place, it seems short-sighted to deal oneself out of the game if longer distances are called for--even as statistically unlikely as they may be.

By the same token, the 0.7-inch shorter grip on the Compact isn't just an affectation. The benefits for concealed carry are real indeed; it makes the gun less prone to "printing," a major concealed fashion faux pas in which the gun's outline shows through clothing.

Like all XDs, the .45 ACP Compact features a unique trigger, which, strictly speaking, wouldn't be classified as double action only. Springfield refers to the action as the Ultra Safety Assurance system. The internal striker is loaded when the slide cycles. The result is a trigger with a relatively short arc; the break is remarkably consistent and measures (usually) around eight pounds or so.

It certainly isn't as crisp as a single action, but it is consistent, which solves the usual problem with conventional double-action/ single-action autos--namely having to navigate a heavy, spongy pull and a light, spongy one.

Our range session with the XD was fairly extensive and included a good assortment of .45 ACP ammo: 230-grain Winchester/ USA full metal jacket, 230-grain Hornady TAP hollowpoints, Speer 230-grain Short Barrel Gold Dot hollowpoints, Federal Premium 165-grain Expanding full metal jackets, Magtech First Defense 165-grain hollowpoints and Magtech 185-grain Guardian Gold hollowpoints.

The trigger pull on our test gun broke at just under nine pounds. The Ultra Safety Assurance trigger really can't compare with the glass-rod break on a tuned single-action 1911, but once you get the hang of it, you can achieve a satisfactory level of precision.

The problem we did have was in accuracy testing the gun at 25 yards. At that distance, everything impacted between 10 and 12 inches low, and the group sizes ranged from three to seven inches from a sandbag rest. Figuring that 10 yards would be closer to the real-world applications of a large-bore concealed carry compact, we brought the targets in and began grouping the gun again.

Handguns staffer Richard Venola quickly discovered that the gun had to be placed at the same contact point, barrelwise, on the sandbag or vertical stringing would result. With a six o'clock hold, everything we put through the gun hit point of aim, five-shot groups running between 1.0 and 1.8 inches.

Richard then deliberately put the pistol through what he refers to as his malfunction drill. This entailed limp-wristing it in rapid-fire, as well as shooting "gangsta-style" sideways, with the ejection port facing down, then up. Through five 10-round magazines, the gun ran like a top.

My final exercise with the XD consisted of firing a fully loaded 10-round magazine into a standard silhouette target as fast as I could to get a read on the gun's controlability. I was pleasantly surprised to find the results satisfactory--all 10 rounds in the eight-inch center-mass circle.

I'm by no means a speed-shooting phenomenon, but the pistol--despite its .45 ACP chambering and 29-ounce weight--is very quick to haul back down on target. It does bump a bit, but there's nothing recoil-wise that an experienced big-bore handgunner can't handle. Of the two 10-round magazines that came with the gun (we're in California, remember), I wound up shooting the extension one with a "toe" more often; it's a bit more comfortable for me than the ultra-cropped shorty mag.

Even though they're more than a half-inch shorter than the standard model, the beefy, stippled grips of the Compact XD are very easy to hang on to. The "CZ-ish" grip angle is about perfect for me; anything more backswept would have forced me to consciously fight down the front sight every shot.

My only gripe with the pistol was its apparently short-range zero. With the current front-sight height, it simply shot too low for me at 25 yards. If it were mine, I'd want a shorter front sight. But we were able to stay inside a tangerine at 30 feet with a variety of loads and weights, and that's pretty much what a concealed carry gun is all about.

As far as malfunctions go, we had one failure to go into battery in well over 300 rounds--not bad, considering we never made even the most cursory attempt to clean the gun.

The XD has several safety features for such an uncluttered design: a trigger safety, grip safety, loaded-chamber indicator and cocking indicator.

Disassembly for maintenance or cleaning chores is simple. Remove the magazine. Make sure the chamber is unloaded. Pull the slide rearward (while depressing the grip safety) and lock it using the slide stop. Rotate the takedown lever so it is in the vertical position. Pull the slide back just a bit and pull the trigger, then pull the slide forward off the frame. Once that's done, remove recoil spring/guide and barrel for cleaning.

The continuing evolution of the XD platform has been an interesting one in terms of calibers (9mm to .40 to .357 SIG to .45 GAP to .45 ACP) and in variants (Service, Tactical, Compact, Sub-Compact).

It would seem that--except for cosmetics, sights, added features and future calibers--the XD platform has gone about as far as it can go. But not according to the people at Springfield. "I can't give you any details, but we've got plenty more up our sleeve with the XD," Bill Dermody told me.

Frankly, I'm having a tough time imagining exactly what. But stay tuned.

Gun services provided by Turner's Outdoorsman, www.turners.com.