This is the 4" with 13 round magazines. It comes with all the XD gear. I have used the magazine holder and it is a very solid piece which I do like. The holster? Well, not so much. The belt loop it has is tall enough for my belt, but too narrow for it to be real stable on the belt. So if anyone from Springfield Armory reads this, you need a wider and more stable belt attachment on your holsters. The secret is, the same type of holster came with my 1911 and I never use it. It's just too damn floppy on the belt. The one thing that has never made sense to me is why Springfield only sends you 2 magazines, but they send you a magazine holder that holds 2 magazines. Oh, I know it just makes you buy another magazine, but if they want to bill this as a complete package, they should just send 3 off the bat.
The grip angle is exactly the same as my 1911. The trigger is A LOT nicer than the Glock 17. I like the sights quite a bit. Easy to pick up. This fits my hand pretty well and was pretty fun to shoot too. Overall...WIN.
What I'm getting used to: Well, this thing has a 4" barrel and I was taken by surprise by how sharp the recoil is for only 1" less barrel than the 1911. I also have a sneaking suspicion that my 1911 is a tad heavier and eats the recoil better. I was also pretty shocked at how stiff the recoil spring is in this. It takes a little beef to rack the slide. I haven't looked it up to be certain but I'm guessing it's a 20 or 22 lb recoil spring vs. the 18.5 in my 1911. This has a double captive spring system. I think it's a bit harder to clean, but not quite as much chance you lose it and it shoots across the room. Internally, it sets up almost exactly like a Glock. Externally, the grip safety makes it much safer in my opinion and it also has a take down lever instead of Glock's little girly button.
So...how does it shoot? Take a peek:
At 15 feet and I'm more than a little stale. Yes, I know I pulled a bunch to the left. Oddly, I do that with my 1911 too, so it's me, not the gun. The stuff that got scattered around were from a couple strings of rapid fire I did just to see the recoil. Overall, that's a pretty dead critter. Well, if you're paying attention to the holes...dead and nutless, kinda like your average liberal, LOL.
Here's the deal...if you like the 1911, you should like the XD .45 provided you can work with it enough to get past the fact that the grip is a little fatter and the barrel is shorter resulting in a sharper recoil and muzzle rise. Once you get past that, I think you'll fall in love with it. It won't replace my 1911, which remains my daily carry gun, but once I've got a few hundred more rounds through it, it will be one I will have confidence in and not be afraid to carry whenever or wherever.
As a special note, this is all my opinion and was done strictly on my own. I am not affiliated in any way with Springfield Armory nor do they even know I exist. I just love their products.
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