When I first picked up the XD-S from my FFL, I felt like some sort of British spy getting kit issue from ”Q”. It came in a huge composite case, foam lined with cutouts. The package contained a holster, magazine holder, grip extender, alternate backstrap, two magazines, and the standard silly cable lock. Oh yeah, and a sub-compact .45 ACP Pistol.

Sub-compact. With a 4“ barrel. In .45 ACP. I know that ”sub-compact” refers to the grip and profile, but I had a good chuckle anyway.

Construction

It is a single stack pistol with the option of a 5 round magazine or a 7 round magazine with their “X-Tension” grip extender. Being single stack, it was super thin. It was 75% the width of the Taurus Millennium G2 that I recently reviewed and was basically the same width as my Kel-Tec PF9. For that matter the height was a mere tenth of inch higher than the PF9. So, as crazy as it is, the XD-S is basically the same size as my Kel-tec (with the exception of having a total length roughly an inch longer). Clearly there is some violation of the laws of physics.

The grip looks a lot more uncomfortable than it is. While I have grown quite fond of the stippling on my Glock–17, I found the XD-S to be comfortable and functional.

There are three main safety devices installed on the XD-S: the trigger safety, the grip safety, and the striker block safety. The trigger safety is a lever pretty much just like the one you find on Glocks. The trigger can only be pulled when depressed simultaneous with the safety lever. The grip safety is similar to what you would find on a 1911, though not nearly as wide. You have to have a solid and positive grip on the frame, depressing the safety to allow the gun to fire. Both the trigger safety and the grip safety, when disengaged, allow the third safety, the striker block to disengage. It also has a loaded round indicator…

Disassembly is a lot easier than, say, with a Glock. The XD-S has a disassembly lever (rather than that obnoxious little tabbed slide lock as on the Glock). You rotate it to 12 o’clock (of course after verifying clear and safe, with the magazine removed), after locking the slide back. After engaging the disassembly lever, you gently release the slide stop until tension is off of the spring and while holding the slide gently, pull the trigger. This completes the unlocking of the slide from the frame and you can slide the entire assembly forward. To reassemble, you slide the upper back onto the frame until you can engage the slide lock. After that you disengage the disassembly lever and you can drop the slide.

Regarding the accessories it came with… The holster is “meh”. Pretty much a simple form fit polymer holster. The dual magazine holder is similar. It is nice that it comes with it, but like anyone that carries, I have holsters that I prefer based on the activity I’ll be performing with the pistol, or the environment I will be in.

Yes, there was a safety recall of the previous XD-S (regarding the action) that was initiated last fall for the 3.3″ versions. Basic problem had to do with the position of the sear and the engagement of the grip safety, and resulted in a double fire or unintended discharge. I’m not going to rehash the numerous discussions here; feel free to Google for them. The biggest complaint from the masses was that a number of people did not like the way it was handled by Springfield. Springfield issued the safety recall before they had a upgrade/fix solution in place and some people experienced a significant delay in return of their firearm. Understandable complaint, but you probably shouldn’t be shooting it anyway with that kind of a defect, so sending it in or keeping it in the safe should have the same net effect.

This model does not appear to suffer from that issue. The trigger is crisp and drops the hammer as expected. I attempted to “create” the problem as outlined in a post on XDTalk, but was unable to do so. I did not actually do a full disassembly and inspect for the placement of the “correction” pin which was the apparent fix (I just performed a field strip).

Shooting

My first time out with it I just played around, getting a feel for it. My initial impression was favorable with the exception of the grip. It was really, really small (though the grip extender helped). I was disappointed by the feel of the weapon with the 5 round magazine. I felt like I did not have a good grip–it was just a tad too short for me with the forward weight (it is nearly twice the overall weight of the Kel-tec). With the 7 round magazine and extender, it felt a lot more stable (though I would not recommend shooting a 7 round magazine WITHOUT the extender–it feels awkward).

The front fiber optic sight was great. It was very bright and easy to pick up, and the contrast between it and the rear dots made alignment quick. The additional length on the slide also makes it more mechanically accurate due to the sight radius geometry.

I ran my El Presidente drills with the XD-S the second time I took it out. The problem was that I had two different magazines, that both interfaced with my hand in two different ways. I used the 7 round as the primary magazine (fully loaded), and modified the drill by firing all 7, then switching to the 5 round magazine (rather than the traditional 6 and 6). The first couple of sets were a bit strange since the third target got 3 rounds before switching magazines, and the 5 round magazine just feels different (as well as being shorter). Ultimately, I was able to put my 12 rounds on target, and it actually made the drill a little more interesting since I wasn’t able to game it by counting rounds.

Overall my times were not much different than with the Taurus G2. I had an average of 11.28; not quite as fast as with my Glock 17, but decent enough. And with the added benefit of .45 ACP, opposed to 9mm. I had a spread of about a second between my fastest and slowest times–which I feel was a pretty consistent measure. Being able to put well placed rounds on target at an average of one per second, including a magazine change, is pretty decent in my opinion.

I found the pistol to be accurate–shots went where I asked them to go. And, really, these days, guns are well enough manufactured that I would expect nothing less.

Reliability

I ran less than 200 rounds through it so I can’t give you a true reliability measure. I did not have any failures and I did run the crappiest ammo I had.

Conclusion

I’ve always been a 1911 fan in the .45 ACP category. A full-size Colt Commander was the very first gun I bought when I was able to do so, and I’ll always have a love for her. But, I have to say, this XD-S was a fun shoot. It fired well, and placed the rounds where I wanted. The ability to carry a .45 in the same basic space as my Kel-tec is a very intriguing. Giving up two rounds in trade for the upsize in caliber is a fair exchange in my opinion (i.e. I don’t anticipate the Battle of Fallujah in my daily life). After the initial unboxing, the accessory kit turned out to be not as cool as I hoped–it is a nice touch for Springfield to throw it in, but not really necessary in my opinion. I’d rather see the package offered with choice in magazines of the same capacity.

If you like .45 ACP and want a small concealable package, the XD-S is not a bad choice–just get same-same magazines and ones that fit your primary grip hand the best.

Pros

.45 ACP
Tiny Form Factor
Great sights
Comes with a nice accessory kit

Cons

Gun feels front heavy with 5 round magazine
Gun comes with a 5 round and 7 round magazine

MANUFACTURER SPECIFICATIONS
Model Number: XD-S94045B
Action Type: Ultra Safety Assurance (USA) Action Trigger System
Caliber: .45 ACP
Capacity: 5 Rounds (7 Rounds, With Mag X-Tension)
Length: 7”
Barrel Length: 4.0“ Steel, Melonite®, Hammer Forged
Height: 4.4” / 5.4″ With X-Tension
Width: .9”
Weight: 23.5 ozs. / 24.5 ozs. With X-Tension
Trigger Pull: 5.5 – 7.7 lbs
Sights: Fiber Optic Front & Dovetail Rear (Steel)
Price: Street ~$550

Just before this review was scheduled to go live on the blog, Springfield let us know about a promotion this month in which they are giving away $100,000 worth of prizes, including Springfield XD-S pistols.

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