The fire control mechanism is similar to that of the popular Glock pistols. It is neither single nor double action. There is no hammer; instead, there is a spring-loaded striker, the spring compressed when the slide has been racked to chamber a cartridge. Pressing the trigger releases the striker to fire the cartridge.

The new XD(M) is an interesting variation of the excellent XD pistol. What I find especially interesting is what the XD(M) features suggest about Springfield Armory’s marketing plans for the pistol. This is just personal speculation, mind you. Springfield hasn’t invited me to any of its staff meetings, but I’m guessing Springfield wants to take a serious run at the large-scale police and military market.

I get the impression Springfield showed the XD to various police and military units (or maybe just discussed it among themselves) and said, “We have a good pistol here. What changes are needed in order to make it the ideal service pistol?”

Consider the biggest differences between the XD and the XD(M): Magazines: standard XD magazines are strongly made of stainless steel for heavy-duty use. XD(M) magazines seem to be built even more heavily, and hold more cartridges (16 in .40 S&W caliber compared to 13 for the standard XD). As far as I know this is the highest capacity of any polymer-framed .40 S&W pistol. There are numbered witness holes for rounds four through 16. Magazines between the two models are not interchangeable.

Interchangeable grip backstraps: the XD(M) comes with three sizes of backstrap inserts you can readily interchange. This feature is becoming increasingly popular with police agencies and military units. It lets the agency issue one pistol design (with consequent savings in armorer training, spare parts and magazines inventory, holsters/magazine carriers, and basic firearm training) while still enabling officers to have a pistol fit to their hand.

This is especially interesting: As part of the takedown process, the standard XD (as with other striker-fired designs) requires the striker spring to be released by pulling the trigger on an empty chamber. Basic firearms safety rules require the muzzle be pointed in a safe direction with a secure backstop any time the pistol is dry fired.

Those who have disassembled an XD are probably wondering why this would be an issue. The takedown procedure makes it virtually impossible for a live round to remain in the chamber during the process, without the shooter’s knowledge.

The XD slide must be locked to the rear in order to rotate the takedown lever. Retracting the slide back of course ejects any round which might be in the chamber. The shooter would have to deliberately load a cartridge back in the chamber before closing the slide and pressing the trigger to release the striker spring. As far as safety goes I consider this a non-issue. The process is safe unless the shooter deliberately sets out to circumvent it, which no design can prevent.

Whether you or I consider this an issue is beside the point. What does matter is some purchasing agencies do consider it an issue. I know of at least one major police agency which, in its evaluation process to select a new duty pistol, specifically included a requirement disassembly not require the trigger be pulled on an empty chamber.

We could point out the XD disassembly process I’ve outlined. We can argue — correctly —the process is completely safe unless the shooter deliberately sets out to make it unsafe, which can happen with any design. We can point out similar processes have been safely used for decades with millions of guns. We can argue until we’re blue in the face, but if a bureaucracy lists a requirement, it can be darn hard to convince it to change.

The designers of the XD(M) evidently decided to simply take the issue off the table. Although the takedown process of the XD(M) is otherwise identical to that of the XD, There is no need to press the trigger and release the striker spring. Simply lock the slide back, rotate the takedown lever to point up, then release the slide lock and run the slide/barrel assembly forward off the frame. Lift out the recoil spring/guide rod assembly, remove the barrel through the bottom/rear of the slide and you’ve gone as far as necessary for routine cleaning and maintenance.

In common with the XD, the XD(M) is about as well designed against unintentional discharge as a pistol can be. Start with the little tab in the trigger face. The purpose of this tab is not to act as a manual safety, since it is released by the normal action of pressing the trigger. Rather, its purpose is to keep the pistol from firing due to trigger inertia if it is dropped.

The concern was if the pistol was dropped from a great height and landed on a hard surface at just the right (or wrong?) angle, the weight of the trigger might cause it to move enough to fire the gun. The trigger tab locks it against such movement and ensures it can only move back when deliberately pulled.
The slide has a positive locking block to prevent the striker from moving forward, until the block is cleared by the final compression of the trigger. The XD/XD(M) pistols also have a grip safety which must be depressed to allow trigger function. In short, if the shooter grips the pistol correctly and presses the trigger the gun will fire. Otherwise it won’t.

Two other features help the shooter monitor the status of their pistol. When the striker is in its compressed mode, a small pin extends from the rear face of the slide. When a cartridge is chambered the extractor extends above the top surface of the slide. At a touch or glance the shooter can quickly check these two features. They don’t take away the requirement to visually check and confirm the pistol is unloaded before cleaning or storage. They do give the option of quickly and unobtrusively confirming the pistol’s status, even in low-light conditions, which can be a great comfort.

The XD(M) incorporates about every possible feature to ensure the pistol will only fire when the shooter deliberately chooses to make it fire. For all its multiplicity of safety-related features the XD(M) is a simple pistol to operate. The same simplicity of operation kept the revolver in police holsters for decades. There are no levers or switches to operate while under the enormous stress of facing a deadly threat. Loaded and with a cartridge chambered the XD(M) is as simple to operate — just point gun, pull trigger.

Turning to ergonomics, the grip angle of XD pistols feels just right to this long-term 1911 user. The interchangeable backstrap of the XD(M) is a worthwhile feature. My hands are a bit bigger than average and I get along just fine with the standard XD or the intermediate backstrap insert of the XD(M).

A police officer friend with large hands finds these a bit small, but is well suited with the largest of the three inserts provided. Swapping inserts is easy and fast, provided you have the right size punch to tap out the roll pin securing the insert.

The ambidextrous magazine release button could hardly be improved. It is located at the “1911” position, at the base of the triggerguard. It is protected against accidental release by a dished area molded in the grip, but is easily activated by either the thumb or trigger finger.
At the front of the frame is another worthwhile improvement. The standard XD accessory rail has one cross slot. The XD(M) has three slots, to permit more flexibility in positioning accessories such as white or infrared lights or laser aiming devices.

The grip frame is molded in a striking and unusual pattern to enhance the shooter’s grasp on the gun. The photographs show it better than I can describe it. I can say it works very well, keeping the gun from shifting in the hand while shooting, without causing discomfort in long shooting sessions. It works fine and looks neat. The bottom of the mag well is relieved to help ensure fast, consistent reloads.