Springfield XD-45 (COMPACT)
Springfield XD-45 (COMPACT)
Springfield XD-45 (COMPACT)
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100% Independent, No-Fluff, No-B.S., NON-SPONSORED Gun & Gear Reviews...<br />
<strong>Springfield</strong> <strong>XD</strong>-<strong>45</strong> (<strong>COMPACT</strong>)<br />
Pre-Review Comments:<br />
Before this gun showed up, I was really excited to get it.<br />
In my mind, I envisioned the <strong>Springfield</strong> <strong>XD</strong>-<strong>45</strong> Compact to<br />
be just like a Glock but only better.<br />
Now that I’ve had a chance to check it out “up close and<br />
personal”, I’m not quite as excited as I used to be. There<br />
ARE some cool features on this gun (like the ambidextrous<br />
mag release), but there are also some features that I don’t<br />
like... at all!<br />
Oh well, here we go. Let’s get down to business!<br />
Nitty-Gritty Specs:<br />
Caliber<br />
Gun Type<br />
.<strong>45</strong> ACP<br />
Capactiy 10+1<br />
Height<br />
Length<br />
Thickness<br />
Weight (Unloaded)<br />
Weight (Loaded)<br />
Double Action Only<br />
5.00 in.<br />
7.30 in.<br />
1.295 in.<br />
1.792 lbs.<br />
2.298 lbs.<br />
Concealability Factor 4.939<br />
Barrel Length<br />
Sight Radius<br />
Sight Type<br />
1st Trigger Pull<br />
2nd Trigger Pull<br />
4.04 in.<br />
6.048 in.<br />
3 dot<br />
6.50 lbs<br />
n/a<br />
MSRP $ 588<br />
Street Price (New) $ 520<br />
Used Price $ 485<br />
Quality, Fit & Finish:<br />
Overall the fit and finish is exactly what you’d expect<br />
from a gun that costs between $500 and $600. The injection<br />
molded frame and grip and very comfortable. Even though<br />
I don’t like the trigger design at all (It’s a total copy of the<br />
Glock trigger and I think we all know what I think of the<br />
Glock trigger!) the actual trigger itself feels pretty good.<br />
My biggest beefs with this gun have to more to do with<br />
design than quality. The manufacturing execution of the gun<br />
is very good. The problem is that the gun itself is a hodgepodge<br />
of design ideas that do not work well together.<br />
Accessory rail is<br />
always nice!<br />
This grip safety sure<br />
seems redundant.<br />
This slide lock catch is<br />
pretty lame. They should<br />
copy the design from the<br />
Taurus PT 7<strong>45</strong>!<br />
The traditional 3-dot combat sight<br />
found on this stock <strong>XD</strong>-<strong>45</strong> works<br />
just fine. Nothing fancy, it just<br />
works!<br />
Traditional 3-dot sight.<br />
Not fancy, but it works!<br />
The standard 3-dot sight<br />
is more than adequate.<br />
Bravo on a welldesigned,<br />
ambidextrous<br />
magazine release!<br />
Nice copy of the Glock<br />
trigger. I still don’t like it.<br />
This grip is way more<br />
comfortable than my Glock 21.<br />
Let’s start with the grip safety. Really? Why on earth does
a DAO gun need a grip safety? You’ve got a 6 to 7 pound<br />
trigger with an integral safety doo-dad that needs to get<br />
actuated before this gun will fire. I just can’t imagine why<br />
you’d want to add a grip safety to this gun.<br />
I’m also not a big fan of the “Glock-Style” safe trigger.<br />
But at least <strong>Springfield</strong> Armory did a better job with the<br />
trigger than Glock did.<br />
Hey look, a super cheesy,<br />
injection molded holster. Why<br />
on earth does SA do this?<br />
You have GOT to be<br />
kidding me. This is a<br />
rail mounted loading<br />
tool? REALLY?<br />
Hmmm... I wonder what<br />
I’ll do with this?<br />
On the positive side, the 3-dot combat sights are not bad<br />
and the accessory rail on the front of the frame is a nice<br />
touch.<br />
Ergonomics & Shootability:<br />
As far as shootability goes, this gun does pretty well. The<br />
ambidextrous magazine release is well designed and well<br />
implemented. The mags fell free every time I tested them.<br />
The mags also fit very nicely into the mag well with the<br />
magazine base plate.<br />
I wish that <strong>Springfield</strong> Armory made the second magazine<br />
identical to the first. The standard magazine holds 10 rounds<br />
and the second mag holds 13. So now you’ve got this backup<br />
magazine with a giant plastic grip extension hanging off the<br />
bottom.<br />
Reliability & Accuracy:<br />
As you can see from my target, I was able to keep MOST<br />
of my rounds in a 2.28” diameter circle at 21 feet. I have NO<br />
idea what the heck happend to the 2 rounds below my nice<br />
tight group. Looks like a case of the yips!<br />
Concealability:<br />
The concealability rating is determined by the formula below. The lower<br />
the number the better! Cfactor = (LxWxTx(loaded weight))/(7*π)<br />
This gun gets a concealability rating of 4.939 which is<br />
kind of on the high side. Of course the magazine capacity<br />
is 10+1 which is quite a few rounds of .<strong>45</strong> ACP. The holster<br />
supplied by <strong>Springfield</strong> Armory is a complete piece of junk.<br />
Please throw it in the trash right away! The good news is<br />
that you’ll have no trouble finding a high quality holster as<br />
the <strong>XD</strong><strong>45</strong> line of guns is very popular.<br />
Conclusion & Summary:<br />
In the beginning of this review I mentioned that I was<br />
excited because I thought the <strong>XD</strong><strong>45</strong> would fix all the<br />
problems that Glocks have. Well, I was wrong. While the<br />
<strong>XD</strong><strong>45</strong> is a fine gun, it has its own fair share of design flaws.<br />
If I were choosing between this and a Glock, well... it would<br />
be a tough choice. I think it’d come down to which gun felt<br />
better in my hand. And then I’d just live with my decision.<br />
The second magazine is<br />
a 13-round mag with an<br />
extension plate.<br />
Things I LIKE:<br />
¨¨Very well-designed and comfortalbe grip.<br />
¨¨The accessory rail is a nice addition.<br />
¨¨3-dot, combat sights are good.<br />
¨¨Ten round magazine is well designed.<br />
Things I DONT Like:<br />
¨¨I don’t like the grip safety. Why is it there?<br />
¨¨I don’t like the “Glock-Copy” trigger.<br />
¨¨I don’t like the 13-round, second magazine. I wish it<br />
were identical to the first mag.
Now that’s what I call a nice<br />
tight group.<br />
I have NO idea what the heck<br />
happened here! ;-)