Outgunned And Outperformed. The FBI released its most recent and edifying study entitled, Violent Encounters: A Study of Felonious Assaults Against our Nation’s Law Enforcement Officers. The researchers selected 40 incidents from over 800 encounters, interviewed 50 police officer victims and almost 50 felons who committed felonious assaults against cops. Among many interesting revelations almost half the felons carried some kind of backup weapon, practiced with their firearms more often and enjoyed higher hit ratios than the cops they assaulted. This very sobering study hopefully will motivate police officers to train more with their duty weapon and carry backups.
Tactical Redundancy
One of the mantras of our beloved Navy Seals is, “One is none and two is one.” They practice tactical redundancy when it comes to personnel firepower and frequently “clicks” are quickly followed by a resounding “bang” when they subconsciously transition to their secondary. For today’s professional, there are a plethora of chopped and channeled revolvers and pistols — usually condensed versions of their full-sized siblings and Springfield Armory has added one more.
To compliment its outrageously successful, 14–round, XD .45 ACP, SA created the XD big bore compact with an appreciably reduced profile, but without a serious reduction in ammo capacity or barrel length. To completely avoid the consequences of sub–sizing and diminishment of fire sustainability, SA, in addition to the very concealable 10–round magazine also includes a full sized 13-round tube with convenient pinky rest. With this additional 14 round response capability ala its full sized siblings, SA calls the Compact, “Two Guns in One.”
Bargain Priced Quality
Springfield Armory is an aggressive company courting customers with products providing more for their money and the XD kit with padded lockable case, holster, ammunition pouch, loading device, security lock, Allen wrench and nylon bristle bore brush are included as standard. Open box, add ammo, point in safe direction and make bang — lots of them. On top of all the goodies and the factory’s excellent customer support you can also opt for four or five inch barrel lengths.
It’s Grip Length, Stupid
You see Virginia, when it comes to concealed carry, it’s the gun’s grip size and not barrel length that “prints” against the garment. The overall height of the XDC with 10-round mag is .65" shorter than the full-sized Tactical model and the overall size of its ergonomic grip is one of the smallest on the market.
While not as small as some backup pieces in .45 ACP and certainly no lightweight, the XDC could serve the larger framed officer in a support role and would nicely compliment the five-inch Tactical. It would also make an ideal stand alone, heavy hitting, and concealable sidearm for the detective or federal agent. Except for its lighter weight, smaller grip dimensions and fewer rounds with the standard magazine, the XDC is a smaller version of its slightly older and larger brethren.
Redundant Safeties
Safety at SA is of primary concern and the XD series features redundant safeties. Well known by now is the pistol’s “Ultra Safety Assurance” sear and striker system originally developed by guess who – gun genius John Browning. The trigger releases the striker, but ignition won’t occur unless the prominent grip safety is depressed by a properly established firing grip. Four other safety components join in to make this one of the safest point and shoot handguns on the market. Loaded chamber and striker status indicators visually and tactilely reveal the condition of the gun without conducting a press check. Similar to the Glock, the XD borrowed its trigger safety lever. The fully compressed striker is also blocked by an internal component not permitting its release unless the trigger is depressed and a disconnector prevents the gun from firing when out of battery. The grip safety deactivates the disconnector and must be gripped firmly to prevent shooter-induced stoppages.
Superior Ergonomics
Perhaps the XD’s most attractive attribute is its amazing ergonomics. The XD is a completely new gun and has been designed from the beginning to accommodate larger cartridges such as the 10 mm and 9x23 mm. In most cases, external dimensions would consequently increase making the gun less accommodating for smaller stature officers. However, Croation and SA engineers focused instead on excavating the frame’s interior and while internal dimensions have been increased, the only external change has been flattening its backstrap a skosh, so its grip is universally adaptable to almost all adult sized shooters.
Other parts, such as its guide rod, some slide components and slide rails are also larger and more substantial than the smaller caliber XDs including the .45 GAP. The excellent hammer forged barrel is fully supported and will handle the most advanced 11 mm loads, such as Le Mas’s 85-grain/2000+ fps armor defeating and soft tissue destroying round. This law enforcement/military only round is capable of turning many handguns into short-range rifles and out of a four-inch XDC I recorded average velocities of 2051 fps.
The XDC is good to go right out of the box, but I wanted to add at least one custom item to the mix. I affixed a set of stick on Tac-Grips. These super adhesive grips are so positive they have found homes on almost all my handguns. They positively enhance control, particularly for those not possessing good grip strength. As with many New Millennium handguns, the XD’s exhibit frame rails to accommodate white lights and or lasers.
Combat Competent.
When compared to the military style two stage trigger of a five-inch barreled Tactical XD .45 ACP I’d evaluated previously, the XDC’s 6.5 pound stages before it broke. However, in spite of its weight savings over steel the polymer pistol handles even the stoutest .45 ACP loads and provides fast repeat shots. This exceptional degree of control is also attributable to its recoil absorbing polymer construction molded into its carefully crafted frame permitting the shooter to obtain an extremely elevated grip quite close to the pistol’s bore axis. Like its big brother, the XDC is a natural pointing pistol. Ejection is very positive and I fired the XDC from every possible position, including a two fingered hold and couldn’t get the gun to quit.
Great Magazines, But …
The XDC’s stainless steel, staggered box and high capacity magazines are among the best of its genre. They’re well made of superior components, easy to load and when empty eject cleanly from the pistol. However, with the magazine fully loaded and pressing the top round snugly against the bolt’s underside, the ambidextrous magazine releases require a great deal of effort when attempting to clear the gun. When the slide is locked to the rear, pressure is released and the problem doesn’t manifest. For many, when executing the standard manual of arms of “magazine removed, slide locked & etc.” both thumbs and hands may be required to achieve this first step. A possible, but unattractive remedy would be to down load the magazine by a round or two.
As mentioned, the XDC comes with a second 13-round magazine with a rubber pinky rest. While it is more comfortable to shoot with the rest in place, be careful when you execute a speed reload. The first time I slammed one home the knife edge of my strong hand was pinched. Many of us with large or fleshy hands will be better off removing the rest and reloading the naked tube. The clean magazine tube extends approximately 2/3 if an inch from the bottom of the butt and your pinky can easily grab it.
Conclusions
The XDC would be a welcome addition to anyone’s battery of polymer pistols and is so flexible in its size and capabilities it could serve both as powerful back up as well as a primary sidearm. It’s truly a concealable compact and reliable package with a substantial amount of stored kinetic energy.
More info: www.springfield-armory.com, www.tac-grip.com, www.lemasltd.com
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