*Review of the Springfield Armory XD 40*
This is my experience with the Springfield XD in the 40 caliber. First let’s establish the fact that I am not a professional gun writer, just another blue collar worker that scares the hell out of the liberal left. I was looking for a handgun for concealed carry. I did not know what I wanted as my only experience with handguns was with a Taurus 92F and I did not want one. I find that their grips are too fat for my hands. I spent some time looking through a buddies back issues of Gun Test Magazine and saw a review of the H&K USP. I thought I was on the right track until I saw the price tag. I cannot justify spending $700 plus for a handgun that most likely will be confiscated if I am involved in a self defense shooting. I was still looking when my brother told me to look at the XD line from Springfield Armory. I went looking and liked what I saw. Currently Springfield Armory is offering the XD in a 3" subcompact, a 4" Service Model and a 5" Tactical. This is a Polymer Handgun with your choice of either Black, Green or Tan frames. The XD is offered in the 9mm, the .40 caliber, .45 GAP and most recently the venerable .45 AUTO. There is also a factory ported 4" but I have only seen it once. I did my research and since I was looking for a handgun that I could conceal and also wear in a drop leg rig at the deer lease I purchased the 4" Service Model with a black frame as the green frame was only offered in the 3" subcompact. The asking price was $479.00 with 2-12 round extended magazines. I finalized the deal for $439.00. The XD comes in a hard plastic carrying case that has is emblazoned with Springfield Armory on the side. It could pass as a cordless drill case but Springfield ruined any chances for an untactical carry.
The case closes tight and is latched with 2 plastic fold over latches. I do not believe that the latches will hold up for repeated long term opening and closings but I believe that they will last for a pretty good while. Inside, the case is foam lined with cut outs in the top for the supplied XD GEAR holster, Magazine loader, and the Double Magazine Pouch. On the bottom side there is a cutout for the Mandatory gun tax in the form of a trigger lock and there is also a cleaning brush. Under that is a cutout for the Handgun itself and on the right is a cutout for the magazine storage along with an Allen wrench to set the tension on the belt holster.
Next, the handgun itself is laid out and we will look at the ergonomics of the handle and the slide. Looking at the side view of the XD you will notice that the handle appears to be modeled from the .45 auto and grafted to the slide of a Glock. Note the prominent rear sight. This sight does not stick up very high but it is just high enough that you could snag it on you belt and rack the slide if you were in a situation where you only had one hand available. On the right side you can see a backstrap safety from the .45 and a trigger safety and there is a guide rod safety. The XD also has a front accessory mount molded into the frame under the barrel in the front. This mount will hold any XD gear lights as well as 90 % of the tactical handgun lights out on the market today. The sights from the factory are set for a 6 o’clock hold and this handgun is extremely accurate right out of the box. These sights can also be interchanged with the sights from a SIG.
The XD breaks down extremely fast into 4 separate components. In order to break the pistol down you must follow these steps.
To reassemble you just reverse the steps. I carry my XD in the supplied XD Gear holster and in a FOBUS Paddle holster. I like the XD gear holster but your belt must be extremely tight if you are in a concealed mode. The paddle holster from FOBUS is the best way to go if you like a quick way to mount you weapon when you are exiting your residence or vehicle. The supplied magazine pouch is ok for daily wear but I recommend purchasing a new one if funds are available.
The next picture is of the XD in the paddle holster ready for wear. The next after that is the XD in the supplied XD Gear belt holster.
As I mentioned before, the XD is extremely accurate out of the box. I used mine on a standard concealed class target at 25 feet and this is the results.
Before you move on take a close look at the 9 ring on the left. No I did not mean to do that, my eyes are not that good. I am placing it here just because it looks cool. Here is a close up of the target.
As you can see, if you do your part the Springfield Armory XD40 will do its part. All these shots were taken at 25 feet using standard ball ammo. I have carried this handgun daily and although it is slightly on the large size it does conceal fairly well but would be loads better in an IWB configuration. To date I have put around 400 rounds downrange using everything from hardball ammo that I got from the gun show to 180grn Hydroshocks and I have had ZERO fail to fires, ZERO fail to feeds, or ZERO failure to ejects. This Handgun fits me like a glove and is extremely comfortable to shoot. I recommend that anyone in the market for a handgun give the Springfield Armory XD 40 a close look. I don’t feel that you will be disappointed.
Auflister_Geliebte
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