Springfield Xd 45 Acp Service Model Shooting Review Videos

Westhile countless shooters spend their time looking for the next new thing to be released, I appreciate stepping back and taking time to examine the weapons that are more than a potential flash in the pan. With this in mind, I'm reviewing the Springfield Armory 5" XD Tactical Model in .45 ACP.

The author gave the XD Tactical Model .45 a full workout with a wide range of loads. The gun ran perfectly.

Why review a gun that's been available for about ii decades? Because it's thrived in the firearms marketplacefor most two decades. That says a lot about its popularity and reliability. I wanted to scrutinize it for myself.

Overview

Coil dorsum through American history and yous will notice more cops conveying handguns with 5" and 6" barrels than you do today. Somewhere forth the line, law enforcement officers and armed citizens settled on 4" barrels every bit being the "standard" length for a full-size handgun. Even though the classic 1911 typically had a v" barrel, the 4-ish" standard connected through the great semi-automatic migration in the 80s and 90s.

The Springfield XD Tactical .45 retains the classic styling of its brothers while calculation an additional inch for increased velocity and aiming precision.

Consequently, at that place are relatively few modern pistols with a 5" barrel outside of those based on John Moses Browning'southward most famous creation. I think that'due south unfortunate.

A longer pistol barrel offers several benefits, including less muzzle rise when shooting, potentially greater bullet velocity and improved accuracy from the longer sight radius. I consider all these characteristics to exist welcome improvements regardless of the kind of shooting y'all anticipate doing.

The Springfield XD 5" Tactical Model chambered in .45 ACP is a perfect example of how the benefits of a longer barrel combine to make something actually special. Before I tell you lot how it shoots – spoiler: really, actually well – let me go over some of the gun's features.

Features

The XD Tactical .45 is part of the Springfield line of classic XD pistols. Introduced almost twenty years ago, the XD line has an extensive rails record of success in terms of reliability and service in the hands of moms, dads, cops and others for both defensive and recreational shooting.

While the gun looks larger due to the additional barrel length, it fits in the hand exactly the aforementioned as the iv″ model.

My introduction to the XD line came about xv years ago when I met a friend at the range and took my get-go shots with the XD forty Service Model. I'd been shooting for years and carried a unlike make of pistol on the job, so I wasn't sure how I'd like the XD. It turns out I took to it immediately.

The shape of the polymer frame felt fantabulous in my hands; information technology was shaped in just the right way to give me an ideal finger placement on the trigger. And speaking of the trigger, the pull was far superior to the duty handgun I was issued at that time. Combined with the flawless reliability, I was impressed by that XD.

This Tactical version of the XD has many of the same features common to the line including the polymer frame, striker firing organisation and smooth trigger. It also retains the grip safety that many people love. Farther, the gun's design includes an ambidextrous magazine release, steel three-dot sights, an ample trigger guard to arrange gloves and an accessory rail for the add-on of a light or supplemental aiming laser.

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Of course, i of the main things that sets this gun apart is its 5" barrel. Hammer forged steel, the barrel has a Melonite finish for wear and corrosion resistance. While the gun is noticeably longer, the balance still feels slap-up when pointing the pistol. In an IWB holster, the extra length doesn't add anything that would be visible to the full general public.

Something that surprised me was the width of the gun. Even though this XD Tactical is chambered in .45, information technology is the aforementioned width as the other XD pistols chambered in 9mm and .40. Some companies have to enlarge the frame to unwieldy thicknesses to accommodate the mighty .45 – but not Springfield Armory. My manus fits the XD line well and that includes the .45 caliber versions of the gun.

I was eager to get the gun on the range and encounter how it shot.

California Dreamin'

While the Second Subpoena guarantees the accented right to ownership and carrying of arms by individual citizens, a glance effectually the nation reveals that right has been eroded over the years. Consequently, some states have magazine capacity limits and arbitrary lists of firearms that the government deems acceptable for you to own.

While it is bachelor anywhere in the United states of america, the XD Tactical .45 is sold in a configuration that as well makes it available to any California resident who can own a pistol. That means the gun is on the state'southward Roster of Certified Handguns – something for which many new firearms don't qualify.

Part of the author's testing process included chronograph and accuracy testing of the pistol. Measurements were made at an indoor range to minimize environmental variables.

Fortunately, the inclusion on the California handgun list doesn't mean the pistol has any alterations that would affect function. Nor are there any "smart" or tracing technologies congenital into it. It's a straight XD pistol like whatsoever other in the line – just likewise bachelor to our friends in California.

Of course, the California autocrats continue their death concur on arbitrary limits on mag capacity. Consequently, the XD Tactical .45 ships with low-capacity, 10-round magazines. However, for those living in other states, full 13-round capacity magazines are available from the Springfield Armory shop at a reasonable price.

As a Florida resident, I've picked up several of the normal cap magazines and keep the ten-rounders equally spares. While I would similar to see the gun send with standard capacity mags, I notice the inconvenience small and like the idea that Springfield continues to support the lawfully armed men and women who remain in California.

Specifications

Here are the mill specs on the Springfield XD Tactical .45 ACP pistol:

Chambering	.45 ACP
Butt	v.0"
Weight	30.0 oz
Overall Length	8.3"
Sights	Dovetailed 3-dot
Grips	Integral polymer
Activeness	Striker-fired
Finish	Blackness; Melonite slide, polymer frame
Capacity	10+1 (13-round magazines available)
MSRP	$603

Range Testing

In that location are a lot of semi-clever means to say information technology, but I'll state it plainly: a gun's worth is adamant by its performance. Outside of historical pieces, only reliable guns are interesting to me. If a gun won't perform on the range, I've got a pretty good idea it will neglect in a defensive run into.

At this betoken in my life, I've shot a lot of XD pistols and reliability never seems to be an upshot regardless of the size or caliber. This five" XD 45 proved to be as reliable every bit the rest.

I ran more than 10 different loads through this pistol. Ii were FMJ or ball rounds. Remaining loads were all defensive rounds with bullet weights ranging from 78 grains to 230 grains. Almost were standard pressure while several were marked +P. Every single circular went bang without a single failure.

Although the author shot a little low and left, the gun'south precision was very practiced equally these 5-shot groups on Shoot-Due north-C Targets show.

Recoil and muzzle rise were very mild in the XD Tactical .45. The classic .45 ACP circular is a powerful cartridge, simply one that tends to take balmy recoil due to its modest pressure level limits. In a 4" pistol, the cartridge is like shooting fish in a barrel to manage. In the 5" XD Tactical, the .45 ACP round was very soft recoiling. Muzzle ascent was also less than what I expect from a shorter barreled pistol.

The Hornady Custom load pushed a 230-grain XTP hollow point hard – at +P pressures – to attain more 900 fps. While felt recoil was a bit more than some of the other loads, I observed little muzzle flash – a attestation to high-quality powder and load evolution.

Taking a dissimilar arroyo to defensive power was the Civil Defence force load from Liberty Armament. This load used a very lite-for-caliber 78-grain hollowpoint driven to incredible velocities. For a v-shot average, I measured nearly 2,000 fps! No, that's not a typo. While very fast, lightweight bullets can sometimes cause reliability problems in choosy guns, the XD Tactical showed no problems whatsoever.

From a shooting perspective, the only drawback to the Civil Defense ammo is the muzzle nail. This ammo is loud – especially in an indoor range. Without measuring the noise levels, the report from the Liberty ammo out of a 5" butt sounded similar to a full-power .357 Magnum load through a snubnose revolver. However, the muzzle rise was virtually non-real. Although the noise might make a new shooter flinch, there was very picayune muzzle rising or impact in the manus when shooting. It's a remarkable dichotomy between what y'all expect because of the noise and what you actually feel.

Ammunition Functioning

Hither's a look at how several of the defensive loads performed in the Springfield XD Tactical .45:

Ammunition	Velocity	Energy	Accuracy
Fiocchi 200 JHP	904 fps	363 ft-lbs	one.25"
Hornady Custom 230 gr XTP +P	910 fps	423 ft-lbs	1.32"
Liberty Ammunition Civil Defense force 78 gr JHP +P	1,980 fps	679 ft-lbs	1.38"

Accuracy measured from edge to edge of five shots at 7 yards. All shots fired unsupported from a ii-handed grip. The reported velocity is an boilerplate of five shots measured by a Competition Electronics ProChrono ready ten' from the gun muzzle.

Equally y'all tin come across, all of the loads turned in skillful accuracy. Bluntly, from a residue or more steady hands you could encounter those accuracy numbers compress even more than. This gun is accurate plenty to get the job washed in a lethal forcefulness encounter.

Final Thoughts

The XD 5" Tactical Model .45 ACP is 1 of my favorite Springfield pistols. It is 100% reliable, simple to run and chambered in a respected cartridge. With the 5" barrel, I become great accurateness and limited muzzle rise for quick follow up shots. Information technology may not exist platonic for concealed carry, only it can be used as such with a suitable holster. I prefer to use mine as a dual-purpose woods and home defense pistol.

If you lot take a hankering for a quality .45 quotient pistol that won't intermission the banking concern, I recommend taking a look at this gun. Information technology'southward a solid option for a lot of people that want a proven track record more than than a flashy design with an unknown level of reliability.

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