xds

Probably the hottest segment of the handgun market is in guns that fit the concealed carry mode. The guns listed aren’t chosen for their level of usefulness for highly trained operators, but rather because they’re easy to learn to shoot well and are powerful and reliable enough to serve as excellent defensive tools.

Often when I travel, the gun I carry concealed is the only one I have. Ever had someone at your hotel room door, convinced they were at the right room? I have, and not cool. That’s why I carry a gun that I can actually shoot–The Springfield Armory XD-S.

Springfield Armory XDS 4.0 in .45 ACP The Springfield Armory XDS 4.0 in .45 ACP is shipping now.  The hard hitting compact is easy to conceal, accurate and easy to handle. The .45 ACP 4.0 is the latest in the XDS line.  There are now 9mm and .45 ACP versions available in 3.3 and 4 [...]

Springfield Armory is announcing a new variant of the XD-S for 2014. It is the logical next step in the evolution of the sensationally popular XD-S sub-compact format. No, it’s not a new caliber offering – it is a new barrel length! Springfield has stretched the 3.3” barrel just ever so much to an even 4 inches. Why is this significant? For starters – recoil. I obtained my copy of the XD-S in 2012 in the initial offering of .45 ACP. If you have ever fired that gun, you know that it has some “personality” to it. Simple physics I’m afraid. Less size and weight of the handgun means more felt recoil for the shooter. The 2013 introduction of the 9mm version was welcomed by many because of the reduced pressures of that round, but it still has some snap. A 4” offering of this same gun adds weight where it is needed most – out at the muzzle. This helps reduce felt recoil. The XDS-9 4.0 also has a longer sight radius; adding ¾” to the length of the slide allows Springfield to push the front sight further forward by that same distance. This translates to a more accurate sight picture and better shots. Small errors in aiming are more noticeable, and therefore easier to correct with a longer sight radius.

Back before SHOT Show this year we got a chance to take a look at the Springfield Armory XD(M) .45 Compact 3.8, but we never got to do a real test for a range report. So as we eagerly await the coming of the single stack XDS, before you decide that you must have it, let’s take a look at the Compact XDM .45 alongside the XDS first.