Back To Reviews

The Definitive Introduction To The Springfield XD-45ACP

A product Review by "roboman" of www.ar15.com

In the spirit of Old_Painless' helpful posts to the forum, I'd like to post a photo introduction to the Springfield XD (Xtreme Duty) handgun chambered in the lovely .45ACP round.

As some of you may or may not know, the XD is imported and distributed by Springfield Armory, the same folks who churn out M1As, M6s, and the 1911s we've come to know and love. The gun itself is manufactured in Croatia and was originally called the HS2000 (I believe).

The XD is available in 9MM, .40S&W, .357SIG, and most recently .45ACP. The .45 model which I am demonstrating won the Guns And Ammo (or was it American Rifleman? I honestly can't remember which) handgun of the year award for its ability to carry 13+1 rounds of .45 in a very nice package.

I recently purchased this handgun and am absolutely in love with it. To be honest, when I first saw the XD line, I brushed it off as a cheesy Glock imitation. Some of you may feel the same way, but I've been converted.

Without further adieu, let's begin.

The handgun itself comes in a very nice, durable case. Springfield has slapped their logo on the top and overall the case is very good. Solid snapping shut and handy to tote around.



Once you get into the box, you're met with a variety of brochures and safety manuals. All are easy to read and you even get an XD poster of sorts. As you may see, there's a bunch of accessories in the foam padding of the top side of the case (more on these later).

Once you remove the layer of foam, you're met by the handgun itself.



You also get a groovy gun lock as well



Before delving into the gun itself, let's check out the accessories that come with it. From left to right, they are as follows: Holster, Magazine Holder, and Magazine Loader. The Holster and Magazine Holder have adjustable tension for your tastes.



Here's a picture of the magazine holder in action:



As well as the magazine loader:



And also the holster:



All these accessories are included in the gun package itself, which is an awesome bonus!

The gun also comes with two full-capacity magazines, which hold 13 rounds of .45ACP each.



Now, enough of the accessories. Let's look at the gun itself!

As you can see, it shares similarities to a Glock.



The best analogy I've heard is that the XD has a Glock "lower", a SIG "upper" (as you can see from the front takedown lever) and a 1911-grip safety.



There are many handy and unintrusive safety features on the XD. First is the 1911-style grip safety. The gun will not fire unless you have a firm grip on it.



The trigger has the same second lever as a Glock. The magazine release buttons are on both sides, making the gun nicely ambidexterous.



There is also an accessory rail:



As for other safety features, there is a cocked indicator on the back of the gun (also note how slender the grip is for a double-stacked .45ACP handgun.

In this shot the cocked indicator is off.



In this shot it is on. You can also see the rear sight:



Lastly, there is a loaded chamber indicator. If there is a round in the pipe, it slightly sticks out. It is not sticking out in this shot. The indicator itself is right behind the ejection port on the top of the handgun slide. You can also see the front sight in this shot.



The sights are standard 3-dots and are very easy to acquire.

There you have it. Hope y'all enjoyed this brief tour of a fine handgun. I've shot it multiple times with no problems of any kind and am sold on the XD concept.

ETA: I completely forgot to add some pictures of my most recent range trip with it. Here ya go.

First, an action shot. Note the brass flying all about:



Here's an uber-high-speed low-drag mag change :



And a thumbs up :



Hell, I'll also throw in a shot of shooting the AR-15. This is AR15.com after all!