One good Springfield Armory pistol review deserves another. And another. And then another still. In the spirit of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, you might as well call this Springfield Armory Saturation Week here at 19FortyFive. Better than another Beretta, Glock, or Ruger fanboy article by Yours Truly, right?
Other Springfield gun reviews this week have covered .45 caliber, so I thought I would pivot to one of Springfield’s 9mm autopistols. Let’s talk about the Springfield Armory XD9 9mm semiauto pistol.
Springfield Armory XD9 History and Specifications
The XD (“eXtreme Duty”) first arrived in 2002, chambered for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. It was based on the polymer-frame, striker-fired Hrvatski Samokres 2000 (HS2000) 9mm pistol manufactured in Croatia.
The version I test-fired for this article is officially designated the XD 4″ Service Model 9MM Handgun, Low Capacity.
As the manufacturer’s official info page explains: “This is where the storied XD saga first began. Featuring a brilliantly executed grip safety, an automatic striker status indicator, and an optimized grip-to-frame angle, the XD Service Model 9mm Low Capacity also comes with a 10-round magazine for areas with magazine restrictions. The grip texturing is the chemical formula for perfection, and the action is extremely safe.”
Additional specifications for this version include an overall length of 7.3 inches, a height of 5.5 inches, a grip width of 1.2 inches, and an empty weight of 28 ounces. Slide and barrel are made of hammer-forged steel with a Melonite finish, while the frame is black polymer. Sights are of the dovetailed 3-dot front & rear variety.
Personal Shooting Impressions
This latest opportunity to evaluate and get reacquainted with the big-bore XD comes courtesy of my old friend and former USC School of International Relations classmate Lee King, whom I caught up with this weekend in California. Lee couldn’t join me at the range, but he was nice enough to let me borrow the 4-inch bbl. XD9 he bought in 2020. He gave me these sentiments on the piece: “I feel it has a decent weight to it that allows for a smoother trigger pull and less recoil. If that makes sense. For me, the structure and design allow for better accuracy.”
With that in mind, I was off to Smokin Barrel Gun Store and Shooting Range in Simi Valley. I conducted the live-fire evaluation with Aguila 115-grain full metal jacket “hardball” and Smokin Barrel’s scaled-down in-house version of the ICE-QT paper target.
Course of fire was divvied into 15 rounds of head shots at 7 yards and 10 rounds of center-torso shots at 25 yards, delivered from the classic Weaver stance. Ergonomics, trigger pull quality, sight picture, and ease of manipulating the controls were all in line with the other models of XD that I’ve fired, which is to say top-notch.
As for accuracy, at 7 yards my rounds blew away the center of the paper bad guy’s forehead, with two out of the fifteen rounds straying slightly high-left but still within the perfect 5-zone of the head. However, at 25 yards, for whatever reason, my performance was rather “meh,” which is something I had not experienced with an XD before, regardless of frame size or caliber. I had one total whiff to the right of the bad guy, two rounds in the 2-zone (left shoulder and elbow), and one 4-zone (left gut). Three went way high into the face (sure, the 5-zone of the face, but that was not my intended target), and a mere four landed in the perfect 5-zone of the torso (with one in the tiebreaking 5x-zone).
Go figure. Just one of those quirks, I guess, as all of the other pistols I fired on that same day shot like a dream.
The Lady Friend’s Shooting Impressions
Though Lee was unable to participate in this “pew-pew” session, my wonderful girlfriend Lisa Moore was able to join me, and here’s what she had to say:
“It’s nice to say the quality of Springfield XDs, from the new to the older generation, and from Lee’s 9mm to my .45, has been consistent. The XD9 is very easy to shoot, with pleasant recoil, smooth action, and a crisp trigger.”
Want Your Own?
Springfield Armory lists an official MSRP of $540. According to True Gun Value, “A SPRINGFIELD ARMORY XD MOD 2 .45 ACP pistol is currently worth an average price of $384.92 new and $340.94 used . The 12-month average price is $384.92 new and $340.94 used.” Guns.Com is currently listing one at $458.99.
Christian D. Orr has 33 years of shooting experience, starting at the tender age of 14. His marksmanship accomplishments include: the Air Force Small Arms Ribbon w/one device (for M16A2 rifle and M9 pistol); Pistol Expert Ratings from U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP); multiple medals and trophies via the Glock Sport Shooting Foundation (GSSF) and the Nevada Police & Fires Games (NPAF). Chris has been an NRA Certified Basic Pistol Instructor since 2011.
From the Vault
