Tony’s Log

Springfield XD-9 Subcompact Review

Decisions, decisions.

I had narrowed down my next firearm purchase to either a Glock 26 or Springfield XD-9 Subcompact. Both are roughly the same size, the same caliber, and the general consensus is that you can’t go wrong with either weapon. I read a lot of reviews and forum posts on the web and whenever the debate came up as to which firearm was superior, it was almost always split right down the middle.

Springfield XD-9 Subcompact vs. Glock 26

As I have previously alluded to, both weapons are great at what they’re intended for. But, there are actually a number of reasons for the choice I made. For one, and surely most importantly, I liked the way the XD-9 Subcompact felt in my hand as opposed to the Glock 26. I wasn’t surprised as most people who prefer the XD-9 Subcompact tend to note the same reason when justifying their choice. Secondly, I liked the fact that the XD-9 Subcompact, as small as it is, still came with an accessory rail making it one of the smallest handguns with such a feature. This means if I wanted to, I could mount accessories, such as the Insight X2L laser/flashlight combo, onto the firearm making it an excellent companion to take along when investigating those bumps in the night. Admittedly, such accessories are fairly expensive and while I do not have any plans to purchase any in the near future, it’s nice to have that option available to me.

Then there are safety issues. The Glocks have a single safety which is located on the trigger.  The XD’s come with a similar trigger safety in addition to a grip safety, just like you’d find on a 1911, that only allows the weapon to fire when properly gripped. I’m not making the argument that Glocks are less safe than any other pistol, especially since all handguns should be carried in some sort if holster (which would prevent the trigger from being accidentally pulled), but having a second safety mechanism is at the very least psychologically reassuring.

Furthermore, the XD’s also have a “loaded chamber indicator” which is a little button that pops up behind the ejection port to let you know that there is a round in the chamber. This would be a great feature if you were to find yourself in the dark and unable to visually inspect the chamber. You could quickly and easily rub your hand across the top of the firearm and know right away if there is a round in the chamber or not which would be much less cumbersome than pulling the slide back and using your finger to feel around. Now might also be a good time to note the “striker status indicator” which is a little pin that purturdes slightly out the back of the weapon when it’s ready to fire that you can also feel with your fingers. But don’t worry, because of an internal safety, the weapon will not go off even if it were dropped directly onto this pin.

The last two reasons I chose the XD-9 Subcompact over the Glock 26 are purely superficial. For example, I just like the way the XD series of pistol look compared to the Glock lineup. It also seems that just about everyone has a Glock but that XD’s are a little less common which, in my opinion, makes them more fun to have.

Field stripping & cleaning

While I have yet to completely disassemble my XD-9 Subcompact, field stripping an XD is extremely quick and easy and requires no tools other than your fingers. In a matter of seconds, you have the frame, slide, recoil spring, and barrel all separated and ready for cleaning. Once you’re done cleaning, the XD goes right back together just as easy as it came apart. One complaint some people might have is that the process of field stripping an XD requires that the trigger is pulled. However, not only is such the case with many other handguns, but if you follow basic safety procedures it should be a non-issue.

Included accessories

In addition to the handgun itself, the XD-9 Subcompact also comes with 2 magazines, a plastic hard case, a barrel brush, a magazine “speed loader”, a weapon holster, a magazine holster, and a gun lock. One of the magazines is equipped with a grip extension making the weapon more comfortable to hold and shoot, while the other magazine is almost flush with the grip making it ideal for concealed carry. The barrel brush looks like it might get the job done, but feels very flimsy and I will most likely never bother using it. I also have no use for the speed loader as I am able to load the magazine to full capacity with my fingers just fine.

The holster is molded out of plastic and made for outside-the-waistband carry while attached to a belt. What I don’t like about the holster is that there is no strap or anything similar to keep the weapon in the holster. What this means is that the holster itself needs to have a firm grip on the weapon to keep it from falling out. Consequently, the weapon sort of “snaps into” the holster. My main gripe with this design is how hard of a yank is required to free the weapon from the holster. While it looks like you can loosen the grip of the holster by adjusting a screw, this would only make it very easy for the weapon to unintentionally slip out of the holster. I can’t imagine anyone actually using this holster for day-to-day carry. Even though I only carry a handgun while camping or hiking in the forest, I will still most likely invest in a quality leather holster. The magazine holster is a similar design and can hold 2 magazines. The magazines easily slide in and out of the holster making it pretty easy for them to just fall out while you’re moving around.

Not much to say about the gun lock since I have no use for one but it looks like a decent lock and it saves you from having to purchase one when picking up your new XD from the gun shop if your state laws require such.

Overall, I think the included accessories were a nice attempt by Springfield to “sweeten the deal”, but aside from the case itself and the extra magazine they won’t be getting much if any use by me. But, it wouldn’t be fair to take points away from the XD series because of the quality of the accessories because when compared to other handguns out there, the XD’s would still be priced nicely even if it didn’t include any accessories at all.

Range experience

The first time at the range, I only put maybe 150 or so rounds through it. I thoroughly cleaned and lubed it beforehand and looked forward to having a good time. The recoil really wasn’t that bad. Even though it had been months since my last range trip and I was feeling rusty, I found the recoil very manageable when I got used to it after the first 30 rounds or so.

For its intended purpose, the XD-9 is more than accurate enough. That quality, paired with the manageable recoil, make the weapon a great self-defense choice in my opinion. I consider my aim to be fairly average but I was able to pop off consecutive shots about a second apart with good accuracy. The factory-equipped night sights also helped make my target acquisition quick and precise.

I do have to say though, that I did experience one failure to feed malfunction. This was very much unexpected given the reliability reputation these weapons have. Some weapons do require a “break in period” where they are not expected to function at full reliability until a certain amount of rounds have gone through it. That could be the case here since we’re talking about a fresh handgun, but as far as I know XD’s do not require a “break in period” and should be reliable right out of the box. In that case, I am leaning towards a problem with the ammo. I still have about 1,000 rounds of the same ammo to go through. If I experience anymore malfuntions, I’ll try new ammo to see if that was the problem. Otherwise we’ll just have to chock it up as a fluke.