In less than 10 years, Springfield Armory's XD has gone from being a nearly unknown European semi-automatic pistol to a strong contender in the American pistol market. That can't happen unless the basic gun has something going for it. It does—a combination of the most desired features by today's police, military and civilian users. The pistol business has been competitive in the last 20 years, and even the most casual observer is aware that the features that sell pistols are polymer construction, high-capacity magazines, simplified trigger systems and advanced ergonomics. The XD has all of these and is offered in a variety of calibers and sizes.

It did not begin that way. The basic XD design came from Croatia, where it was developed as the HS 2000, a 9 mm service pistol for that nation' s military. Shortly thereafter, some of the guns made their way to America and were sold by a company called HS America. I remember seeing the new gun in an obscure corner of the SHOT Show before it became well known. Its best feature was a highly ergonomic shape. Before very many of the HS 2000s were in circulation, the gun-savvy marketing people at Springfield Armory quickly negotiated for the rights to import and sell the gun in this country.
Now marked with the Springfield logo and called the XD (for X-Treme Duty), the innovative pistol went forward with the complete service and distribution network of a major American maker. In just a few years, it was challenging the leaders in the field. With an ongoing string of evolving enhancements and new options, this is the state of the XD in the first decade of the 21st century—thriving in both its original and enhanced XD(M) guises and selling well for Springfield.

Much about the XD is characteristic of the modern pistol. A recoil-operated semi-automatic, the XD feeds from a double-column magazine in the butt. Measuring 5.76" high by 7.2" long and weighing about 23 ozs. empty, the basic XD falls into the broad category of full-size service handguns. The first of the XD samples were 9 mms, but Springfield has broadened the line to include .40 S&Ws, .357 SIGs, .45 ACPs and a few .45 GAPs. The company has also introduced so many size and control options that referencing the XD as an individual gun is not exactly accurate. It is more like a family of guns, all with the same basic operating system. All members of the XD family use molded polymer receivers, a system that has many advantages. It is also possible to get a slimmer and more graceful shape to the butt with polymer because no additional grip plates are required. Stippled or checkered grasping surfaces are molded right in.

Polymer also facilitates the use of high-capacity magazines, but the thicker the magazine, the wider the butt and the harder the gun is to handle. Polymer permits thin side walls on the grip/magazine housing and an overall thinner gun. And in today's handgunning world, a new pistol without a high-capacity magazine (unless it's a little-bitty hideout) won't sell. 

Modern pistols also have simplified trigger systems, and the XD is no exception. Called the USA system, the XD trigger works with the same trigger action for every shot. This simplicity of action is a major sales point because it is easy to teach and simple to use in a crisis. Finally, the XD excels in ergonomics. This is a pistol that feels at home in the hands of most handgunners.

Originally, the XD was made only as a 9 mm pistol with 4" barrel and slide (March 2002, p. 56). Other popular calibers—.40 S&W and .357 SIG—followed very quickly. All three of these calibers could be fitted into the same receiver and magazine well. A 9 mm slide was different from a .40/.357 because the smaller cartridge required a different breech face, and magazines for the 9 mms had differently shaped feed lips. The beauty of the system was that the same basic receiver could be used to build a gun in any one of the three calibers. When the .45 GAP cartridge was introduced in 2003, Springfield quickly had yet another version of the basic XD available for this short cartridge with .45 ACP power. The round is approximately the same overall length as the 9 mm, .40 S&W and .357 SIG. This was an interesting gun/cartridge combination, but many shooters who liked the XD system had been badgering Springfield to bring out the gun in a full-blown .45 ACP.

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