Zone Defense

Accuracy, Ergonomics And The .45 ACP Are All In Play With Springfield's Sub-Compact XD Mod.2.
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The Springfield Armory XD series has come a long way since it began as the re-branded Croatian HS2000. We’ve seen the superb XD(M), a refinement springing largely from the brain of master pistolsmith Dave Williams, who heads Springfield’s Custom Shop in Geneseo, Ill., and the very cool little slim-line XD-S.  Now comes the Model 2 XD Sub-Compact, reshaped and stippled with a treatment the company calls “GripZone.”

The “Mod.2” comes with fixed sights, including a red fiber-optic insert up front, and two magazines. Ours was two-toned, silvery stainless on top of a dark gray polymer frame. Familiar XD features include a loaded-chamber indicator atop the slide at the rear of the ejection port, which rises when there’s a torpedo in the launch tube and is easy to feel in the dark. Ambidextrous magazine release buttons sit behind the trigger on both sides.

Always an ergonomic pistol—the XD seems to “point” about like the classic 1911 for most shooters. But this new variation has had some tweaks in this regard. The backstrap under the Mod.2’s grip tang is subtly reshaped to allow the web of your hand to ride higher, lowering the bore axis and giving the muzzle less leverage for upward flip during recoil.

The rear of the triggerguard is scalloped upward proportionally to allow your middle finger to ride a little higher, too. Springfield has been able to reduce the width of the slide at the top a little as well, which improves concealability.

Each pistol comes with one short magazine for concealed carry, and a long one with grip sleeve for when round-count matters more than compactness. In 9mm, the short mag holds 13 rounds and the long one, 16. In the .40 S&W the count is 9 and 12. In the .45 ACP model tested here the numbers are 9 and 13. (XD .45 mags are longer than their .40 counterparts). If you have a larger XD in the same caliber, those magazines will work in the Sub-compact Mod.2, but as we’ll see shortly, you really want one of those grip sleeves in place.

The Mod.2 features a broad sighting plane with a combat-style rear sight and fiber optic front (Above).
The integral light rail for the 3.3-inch barrel calls for a small laser unit, such as this LaserMax (Below).

Springfield is so proud of their triple stipple the term “GripZone” is impressed in conspicuous all caps on both sides of the grip. The term actually describe three such zones. Zone One is found at the frontstrap and the spine of the backstrap of the frame, and according to Springfield Armory, “features a firm anti-slip surface texture. This enables positive hand-to-pistol engagement with the corresponding, more sensitive parts of the hand.”

Zone One is flanked by the next level, which Springfield describes like this: “Zone Two is more aggressively textured, yet still comfortable to the touch. This Zone is intended to make contact with your hand where maximum friction is needed. It works in combination with Zone One and does the most to keep the pistol in place and under control during recoil. Despite its impressive performance, Zone Two remains amazingly comfortable.”

Finally, the rest of the frame is Zone Three, which Springfield calls a “moderately textured surface.” I would describe it as, “Well, it ain’t slippery or nothin’.”

It has amazed me for years Springfield Armory does not advertise a huge advantage built into their XD pistols in both Service and Compact size: stand-off capability. In some of the most desperate self-defense circumstances it may become necessary to fire with the gun at muzzle contact with the human or animal trying to kill you. Press contact will push most semi-auto pistols out of battery, preventing the shot from being fired.

This is not the case with this little XD. Because its prognathous recoil-spring guide rod presses where the muzzle presses, it prevents the slide from coming out of battery, thus giving you stand-off capability.

To demonstrate this I put an old book on the ground, shoved the muzzle of my test Mod.2 firmly against it, and pulled the trigger. A 230-grain bullet obligingly blasted through the book and into the ground beneath.

A hammer-forged barrel, full-length guide rod and dual recoil springs are all features of the XD Mod. 2.

The backstrap under the grip tang has been reshaped to allow the web of your hand to ride higher, lowering the bore axis.

Getting in the Zone

Though it’s defined mechanically as a single-action pistol, the XD has a little bit of “roll” in its trigger, sort of like a double-action trigger stroke in microcosm. I, for one, find it conducive to good hits. I weighed the pull with a Lyman digital trigger gauge from Brownell’s (a device every shooter would benefit from owning). Our test .45 averaged 6.4 pounds pull weight, measuring from the center of the trigger where the finger would normally lie. The pull was very smooth, with no creep and little perceptible backlash.

The GripZone concept lived up to its promise. Our test team ranged from 5-foot female to 6-foot male. All experienced no “grip slippage,” even in flat-out rapid fire with full-power .45 ACP loads. We did notice, however, the strong recoil-spring system required a firm hand when racking the slide.

This fixed-sight pistol came out of the box shooting spot-on. A pistol factory adjusted to shoot point of aim/point of impact is “a good thing.” We put it on the concrete bench with a Matrix rest at 25 yards to shoot groups.

Atlanta Arms remanufactured 230-grain Total Copper Jacket hardball had soft recoil, being geared to IDPA and IPSC competition standards. The total 5-shot group measured exactly 4 inches, generally seen as the accuracy standard at this distance for a full-size service pistol. However, four of those shots were in 2.65 inches, so I have to allow for the possibility of unnoticed human error. With this factor in mind, I always measure the best three shots in the group, which the years have taught me gives a good approximation of what the same gun/load will do for all five from a machine rest. With the Atlanta Arms ball, the measurement was a much more impressive 1.35 inches.

Remington 185-grain JHP’s have been making bad guys cease hostility since the 1970’s. All the way back to Jeff Cooper’s heyday, virtually every tester has found this load surprisingly accurate. The XD Mod.2 Sub-Compact put five in 1-1/2 inches on the nose from 25 yards, three forming a cloverleaf in the approximately 0.80-inch paster I was using as my point of aim. That best 3-shot cluster measured 0.45-inch center-to-center (I measure to the nearest 0.05 inch). That means if the gun had been aimed at a nose-on .45 slug from 75 feet, each of those three bullets would have hit it.

Winchester Ranger-T 230-grain JHP is what I usually load in my personal .45 ACP carry guns. It generally expands to 0.90-plus caliber, with optimum penetration depth. This street-proven load gave us the best 5-shot group of the test—1.35 inches, with the best three in 0.65. When your sub-compact pistol with 3.3-inch barrel puts all five in 1-1/2 inches or better at 25 yards with “carry loads,” you really can’t grade its accuracy at anything less than “A+.”

As noted earlier, this pistol comes with a short mag for concealment, and a long one with a sleeve giving it the same “long handle” as a full-size XD45. These guns will also take the full-length standard magazines of standard XD models in the same caliber. We shot with all three types of magazines. Hundreds of rounds went through this gun with no malfunctions, except for one peculiar situation. On the Matrix rest—with the long standard XD mag (without sleeve) in place—there were 6 o’clock misfeeds with almost every shot. We soon figured out why. Upward pressure on the magazine was pushing it up against the slide and ejector. I talked with Dave Williams, head of the Springfield Armory Custom Shop, about this. He explained why. It turns out if you want 13 rounds in your Sub-Compact XD, you want the magazine sleeve on—it doesn’t just give you a better grip, it keeps the magazine in place and prevents the upward pressure from jamming the gun. Shooting 1-handed or 2, without upward pressure applied, even the standard full-size XD mag ran 100 percent. Lesson learned: My fault, not the pistol’s.

There’s discernible muzzle flash as retired police supervisor Steve Denney fires the Mod.2.
The GripZone treatment—which Mas describes as “triple stipple” (below) helps with control,
despite short-barreled .45 ACP flame and fury. Photos: Gail Pepin

Carry and Comfort

I carried the Mod. 2 for three days in a Leather Arsenal IWB holster, incuding one day against bare skin beneath an un-tucked polo shirt. The draw was clean and comfortable, and just fine with the shirt tucked in. Against bare skin, the only abrasion I felt from the GripZone’s rough texture was when I pulled my pants up and caught skin against the back of the grip frame, and even this was only a minor inconvenience. And the short barrel does clear leather quicker, too.

A

B

C

Mas’ “Best Three” 25-yard cluster came with Remington 185-grain JHP (A) and measured 0.45 of an inch, center to center. His best 5-shot group was with Winchester Ranger-T 230-grain JHP at 1.35 inches (B). Atlanta Arms remanufactured 230-grain hardball punched a “Best Three” in 1.35 inches (C). Photos: Gail Pepin

The Bottom Line

I loved the accuracy of the XD Mod.2. I think its stand-off capability can be a huge tactical advantage. It has the same high reliability as all my other XD’s. The trigger reach is ideal for my hand which, of course, is subjective. And it has an excellent “street trigger pull.”

The pistol wants a firm hand running the slide, which is why it may not be the ideal gun to give to your grandmother. No carry gun is perfect for all users, but I’d give this controllable, accurate little .45 a definite “thumbs up.”
By Massad Ayoob
Photos: Robbie Barrkman

Atlanta Arms and Ammo
721 Vine Circle
Social Circle, GA 30025
(770) 464-2203
www.atlantaarms.com

Remington Arms
870 Remington Drive
P.O. Box 700
Madison, NC 27025
(800) 243-9700
www.remington.com

LaserMax
3435 Winton Place, Bldg. B
Rochester, NY 14623
(800) 527-3703
www.lasermax.com

Winchester Ammunition
600 Powder Mill Road
East Alton, IL 62024
(618) 258-2000
www.winchester.com

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