Springfield Armory's XD 4″ 357 SIG Part I

Texas, not Massachusetts lineage I believe…

The current Springfield Armory, like Henry firearms, is company that suggests a business lineage that does not really exist. It is a good marketing ploy, but one seemingly without material substance. The Springfield, Massachusetts based Springfield Depot/Armory was in operation in one form or another from late 1777 until 1968 when it was decommissioned out of existence and mostly allowed to return to the soil or fall to developers save a site museum maintained by the National Parks Services. End of story 1). I cannot find any direct association between this historical Springfield Armory and the current Springfield Armory business entity other than what is inferred by the type of firearms produced. If these were classic car reproductions they would be classified as clone or tribute products.

It is my understanding that after the U.S. government closed its armory in Springfield, MA, Elmer C. Ballance trademarked the name “Springfield Armory” for use in association with a private company, LH Manufacturing of Devine, Texas. Smart move on Elmer’s part. That company produced a quality semiauto version of the M14 under the “Springfield Armory” name, which Mr. Ballance designated the Model M1A. There was never a military firearm with this designation. In 1974, the Reese family purchased in some form the right to market firearms under the Springfield Armory name from Ballance and began producing the M1A rifle, an M1 Garand and a 1911-A1 2) at their facility in Geneseo, IL. In 2001, the current company extended their product lines to include modern design autoloaders like the subject XD pistol, which is manufactured in Croatia. None of the preceding is a condemnation of any party, just clarification.

Personally, I am glad Springfield Armory is producing quality reproduction firearm and keeping at least the spirit of a historical facility and near 250 years of accomplishments before the public. It’s just that the current company began in 1974, not 250 years ago and it shares no history with the U.S. Government’s Springfield Armory. Is there is some hardcopy document that suggests otherwise, I would be glad to revisit my assessments.

The Springfield XD 4″ Full Size Model .357SIG

The subject Springfield Armory XD 4″ Full Size 357 SIG was purchased for in-house factory and handloaded ammunition assessment. It is not a test and evaluation loaner or a press demo. It was purchased because it met several criteria: chambered for the 357 SIG, full size frame, single action, moderate price, not a Glock. My first preference was a unique SIG 1911 in 357 mag that met all but the very important fourth criterion.

The XD is a pistol that would be hard not to like, beginning with the single action function and striker component. Unlike most preset striker actions where the striker is partially cocked by slide movement and then fully cocked by the gun’s trigger prior to release, the XD is fully cocked by slide movement. The single action trigger only depresses the striker safety in a non clinical fashion and pulls the sear down to release the striker. It plays no role in cocking the striker. Subsequently, the XD has a clean and somewhat crisp trigger pull, rather than the classic striker feel of breaking off a piece of plastic and stretching and a heavy elastic band.

The pistol feels like a 1911 type in the hand, which I would attribute to the 1911 grip angle and narrow single stack grip. The shape of the backstrap is hand fitting and filling, the grip safety is automatically depressed in a proper hold. The drop safety is released by depressing the small lever centrally located in the trigger; depressed with a simple trigger squeeze. An accessory rail under the dust cover is ready to accept necessary accessories; laser pointing device, TAC light, bayonet, cup holder. The front of the trigger guard is sculptured to accept a curled bracing finger in a two hand hold. The magazine release is prominent without be intrusive. The thumb safety is exceptionally easy to operate as there is none.

The Springfield Armory XD is easy to field strip; remove the magazine, check chamber for empty and lock the slide back. Rotate the disassembly lever straight up, pull back to release the slide and ease it forward. At full travel, pull the trigger and ease the slide off of the frame. The recoil springs are captive, so there is nothing to fly through the air to add permanent character to someone’s face or to magically disappear like the sock that goes missing in a clothes dryer.

On trigger pull “A” the striker safety lever depresses “B” the striker safety. When the slide is cycled, the striker “C” rides over the sear “D” and drives it down overcoming the sear spring’s resistance. As the slide moves forward to battery, the striker catches on the back side of the sear and is retained. The slide moving fully into battery with the striker held by the sear fully cocks the action.

The accessory rail is a Picatinny standard. The cocked indicator is unobtrusive, but it is a useful visual and tactile cue. The sights are dovetailed to permit windage adjustment and to facilitate R&R.

The XD has a highly polished feed ramp, which probably was key to the pistol’s ability to consume any factory ammo type it was fed.  The loaded chamber indicator… well, we know what that does. All and all, a nicely detailed, yet cost effective pistol.

Shooting personality…

The center and one outside target from the set that was shot at 50 feet from a rest. The 1 3/8″ group  was shot with Winchester 125 grain white box TFMJ factory ammunition. The 7/8″ group was shot with 125 grain Speer bullet handloads that will be covered in part II. The accuracy was very good in comparison to a good number of other autoloaders shot recently and the XD is very controllable. Shooting went without incident; no jams, no failures to cycle or fire. I was surprised by the pull reading as it felt much lighter.

The 357 SIG is not a minor cartridge and often takes a bit more concentration to shoot well in comparison to a lesser round. This was not at all the case with the full size frame Springfield XD. The recoil absorbing grip is comfortable and supports all fingers of the hand. The trigger guard makes for a solid two hand hold and the simple three dot sight system is easy to keep aligned over a target. After extensive shooting, there was no hand or wrist discomfort. We’ll be back with part II and expanded live fire performance. I am looking forward to putting in more range time later in the week. A very nicely done firearm.