(Ed. note: Make sure you scroll all the way down to see all of the photos and videos of the Springfield XD-S)
Media Day 2012 brought a lot of familiar faces along with several newcomers. One of the regulars was Springfield, a firearms company with a long history of fine craftsmanship and innovative designs. This year I got the chance to handle and shoot the new Springfield XD-S, a compact single-stack .45 ACP pistol.
In the latest and hottest trend to hit the handgun industry, Springfield presents a compact and sleek handgun, delivering a powerful man-stopping punch, with all the same features as its bigger brothers in the XD series.
At a casual glance, the XD-S appears to be a “mini” XD pistol. One significant difference however is the single stack magazine that allows this handgun to truly fit into tight spaces.
Rob Leatham describes the new Springfield XD-S.
THE SLIDE AND BARREL
Like all XD versions the XD-S has a forged steel slide. The is coated with a Melonite finish, which involves being bathed in a salt bath nitriding process. The barrel has a fully supported ramp and also has the Melonite finish. This process does way more than provide good looks, as it “leaves a deep, penetrating finish that protects against corrosion”.
Slide length is a mere 6.3” in length with the barrel being only 3.3” long. The overall width of the XD-S is only 1” (which includes the slide lock lever), with the barrel being only 0.9”. Overall height from sights to the end of the magazine is 4.4”.
Like other XD models, the XD-S has a loaded chamber indicator on the top of the slide. When there is a cartridge in the chamber the indicator (about a 1” long and 1/8” wide metal strip) extends slightly upward making it easy for the shooter to confirm the firearm’s loaded status through look or touch.
At the rear of the slide the XD-S has (6) slightly rounded serrations that allow for a sure grip while reducing the chance for the serrations to snag on gear or clothing.
THE RECEIVER
The XD-S has polymer frame that has the same look and feel as the bigger guns in the XD series. There is a single position Picatinny rail system under the barrel at the front of the frame, allowing shooters to accessorize with lights or lasers.
The XD-S has a similarly modified contour of the XD(M) series which should allow most shooters the ability to reach the magazine release without making gross adjustments of the gun. The grip has an aggressive “all-terrain” texture to provide the shooter with confidence when shooting, however it may be a bit rough for some.
The XD-S also comes with “Mould-Tru” interchangeable back straps, allowing shooters to form fit the grip to their liking. This could definitely come in handy for a handgun firing .45 ACP.
The Springfield XD-S weighs a scant 29 oz. unloaded.
THE SAFETIES
Springfield XD series handguns have two safeties – the Ultra Assurance (USA) Trigger System, a Grip Safety. The XD-S has these same features, but also includes a “Fail-Safe Disassembly” safety. With this new safety, the disassembly lever cannot be manipulated with a magazine still inserted into the pistol. Also, a magazine cannot be inserted into the pistol when the disassembly lever is in the up position.
The USA Trigger System locks the trigger in place and prevents accidental discharge from dropping or bumping the firearm. This trigger safety is similar to the Glock trigger safety, in that it appears to be a second trigger extending out in front of the actual trigger. To disengage the safety the shooter must depress the safety, which then unlocks the trigger for firing.
The Grip Safety is similar to the Model 1911 safety system. With this safety, the XD series pistols will not fire unless the shooter has a firm grip on the pistol. These safeties actually work with and for the shooter during the firing process to ensure that the handgun is safe until shooting is desired. It’s nice to see Springfield keep these features on their compact pistol, when trimming size sometimes means limiting features.
THE TRIGGER
The XD-S is a double-action only pistol with a very smooth trigger pull. I was unable to get the exact pound measurement for the trigger pull, but I would guess it to be between 5-6 lbs. I can say that the XD-S trigger is smooth and consistent, and includes a short reset for follow-up shots. The reset is audible and tactile, so the shooter knows when the trigger is reset and ready to fire again. Shooters who train themselves in proper trigger reset shooting (maintaining the finger on the trigger at all times) will be able to easily make accurate follow-up shots with the XD-S.
At Media Day I made a rapid double tap (trigger reset) shot on steel from about 15 yards with no problems.
THE SIGHTS
The XD-S has a 3-dot sight system, but is unique in several ways. First, the front sight is a red fiber optic sight housed in a steel frame. The rear sight is a Dovetail designwithtwowhitedots. Bothsightsarelow-profiletoreducethepotentialforthe sights to snag on gear or clothing.
SHOOTING THE XD-S
I’ll admit that when I saw the size of the XD-S I braced myself for a punishing test fire session. I own a full-size .45 ACP handgun and have shot several .45 handguns. They are all impressive with the power of their shot, and the resulting recoil. Being confined to such a small frame, the XD-S appeared to have the makings of a wrist breaker!
In reality, the XD-S was incredibly comfortable to shoot. I never felt like the small compact frame was in danger of dislodging from my grip. In fact, I felt so comfortable with the recoil and trigger reset that I successfully shot a rapid fire double tap on steel at 15 yards. The XD-S was very fun to shoot, and accurate to boot.
The only real negative during shooting was that the aggressive texture of the grip let me know that it was there. Despite this one drawback, Springfield has a real winner
in the compact pistol arena. With a “pocket” pistol that can deliver 5+1 rounds of .45 ACP, it looks like shooters can have their cake and eat it too!
Needless to say I was very impressed with the XD-S and hope to add one to my collections soon.
XD-S DETAILS
Caliber – .45 ACP Capacity – 5+1 Weight – 29 oz. (unloaded) Barrel – Melonite, fully supported ramp Sights – Fiber Optic Front, Dovetail (Steel) Rear Slide – Forged Steel with Melonite finish Frame – Black Polymer Magazines – (2) Stainless Steel
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Other articles that will amaze you:
- Now Shipping: Springfield XD Service Pistol in .45 ACP with a Thumb Safety
- Springfield XD Service Pistol in .45 ACP with a Thumb Safety
- Springfield XD (M) in .45 ACP
- Hornady Selected as Official Ammo Supplier at 2009 National Springfield and Garand Matches
- Smith and Wesson M&P Pistols with Thumb Safety
Under the Details section it should read “Dovetail (Steel) Rear Sight, not Slide (sorry, not getting much sleep here). Also, I forgot to mention that Springfield deliberately designed the trigger guard to curve up near the grip. This provides a nice finger groove for your pointer finger, allowing the shooter to grasp more of the grip. It may not seem like much, but I was very surprised with how much hand I could get on this compact .45!
I checked back with Springfield and found a couple of more interesting facts:
MSRP has not been established yet, but should be posted in a couple of weeks
Will ship in March, 2012
Has a 5.5-7.7 lb. trigger pull
29oz is not a “skant “weight. However that being said I am looking forward to firing this weapon.
MikeN you’re right – 29 oz. isn’t exactly “scant” and it isn’t exactly right either. I’ve done some further research and it appears that Springfield may have inadvertently put the weight of the XD-45 compact in some of the XD-S material. Either that or the 29 oz. is the loaded weight.
I should have caught that when I typed it, because the XD-S is going to probably come in at around half that weight when unloaded!
I’ll do some digging and hopefully have the right weight soon.
I am hoping this is the loaded weight of this or its as heavy as my .40 subcompact loaded with Hydra-shocks. I have ben tallking to people on wwwm4carbine.net about it and they say thats alot of weight for the unloaded handgun. I like the looks but the grip looks real agressive. I guess some sandpaper can take care of that. I do plan on renting one of these and seeing if this handgun is for me. Thanks for your review I appreciate it.
Cecil I think there must have been a misprint in the Springfield literature, because holding the XD-S in my hand it sure felt light. I did do some research and found other Springfield references that show the weight of the XD-S at 29 oz., so I’m thinking that must be the weight when fully loaded. Still searching for an accurate unloaded weight.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
Well I’ve finally found a link to Springfield’s XD-S information. They’re still posting the 29 oz. weight as correct, but it doesn’t clearly state whether its the loaded or unloaded weight. Like I said above, the 29 oz. seems a little high for the unloaded weight, but may be right for fully loaded.
Here’s the link:
http://xdspistol.com/specs.php
Scroll to the bottom to see the specs listed out.
Sorry for all the confusion. Hopefully I can recontact a rep and get the final answer.
Regardless of the weight discrepancy I still really like this gun!
Well it appears the 29 oz. weight is correct. It sure didn’t seem to be that much at Media Day. In Rob’s video above he states the 29 oz. weight, and everything else I’ve found uses that weight. Hard to believe for such a small weapon, but it is chambered in .45 ACP which probably requires a little more backbone to handle the heavier cartridge.
I would again recommend readers to check out this compact .45 pistol. It shoots very nicely, is nice and compact, with the only real complaint being the aggressive grips.