Springfield Launches the XD(s) Website, Expecting the Pistols Very Soon

We had the chance to shoot a few magazines through one of Springfield’s early test samples of their latest single-stack polymer-framed .45, the XD(s), at SHOT Show this year.  Suffice it to say we can’t wait to get that chance again.  The XD(s) is a very slender and lightweight .45 with good sights and ergonomics.

Shooting the XD(s) is easy, and staying on target is a pinch.  The gun recoils straight back into your hand and there isn’t a lot of muzzle flip with it at all.  It’s fast for such a small pistol.

Part of that is because of the factory fiber optic sights.  Although unusual for a concealed-carry handgun, the fiber-optic front sight is a very bright visual reference that makes punching holes in paper a breeze.

About the only thing we though could have used some improvement was the grip.  One way to do this would be to use the interchangeable back straps, which we didn’t have the option of using at the show.  The texture is aggressive but anything short of that would make the XD(s) jump out of your hands a little too easily.  No, what the gun really needs is a pinky extension, but that is our preference.

Springfield starting an XD(s)-specific website isn’t too surprising since they also created a website just for the XD(m).  It also is a clear reference for the guns specifications, which are…

• Caliber: .45 ACP
• Capacity: 5 + 1, two magazines included
• Weight 21.5 ounces
• Barrel: 3.3 inches, Melonite finish, fully-supported ramp
• Construction: Forged steel slide, black polymer frame
• Height: with Magazine 4.4 inches
• Length: 6.3 inches
• Width: 1 inch

This neatly reinforces the weight at just over 21 ounces.  Early specifications sometimes mistakenly listed the XD(s) as weighing 28 ounces or more unloaded, which wasn’t at all reasonable for a gun like this (in fact, hard to imagine being possible given the dimensions and materials of the XD(s)).

What the website doesn’t contain is a firm release date, pricing, that stuff.  It’s got plenty of photos of the all-black .45, nothing two-tone, nothing in .40 or 9.  Still, it’s a good reminder that the XD(s) is coming, hopefully just in time for warm-weather carry rotation.  For what it’s worth, a few dealers are saying this month, March, with a sticker of about $550.