Springfield XD Mod. 2

I have to be honest, when the XD Mod. 2 came on the market I violated my own rule of not criticizing any pistol before I handled it.  Not that I have any qualms against the Springfield XD series but the "GRIP ZONE" embossing on the grips seemed a little patronizing to me.  Were people confusing the slide with the grip by grasping the slide and trying to fire bullets out of the magazine well?  Was Springfield trying to eliminate customer confusion?  While I was having fun at Springfield's expense I failed to recognize the well thought out modifications that they had made on this pistol.  

Let's start with the specifications and what is included in the case.  This XD Mod. 2 has a capacity of 16 rounds of 9mm, a four-inch barrel, is 7.3 inches in length, 5.5 inches high, weighs 27.5 ounces and is 1.2 inches wide at the grip.

The package includes 2 magazines, cleaning brush, cable lock, thermo-plastic molded holster, dual mag pouch and loading tool.  

Interestingly, the thermo-plastic items are imported from Israel.

Back in 2002 when Springfield brought this Croatian made pistol into the United States Glock did not have much competition.  The helped XD change that.  The XD line-up evolved with the advent of the XDM and the fantastic single stack iteration of the XDs.  Frankly, until someone asked for one I didn't realize that Springfield was still making the original XD pistol.  I couldn't imagine why anyone would want one after the XDM hit the market.  But they do still make them and they have just seen a major upgrade with the Mod. 2.  Let's review the changes:

The lines on the slide and the slide itself have been re-contoured and wider cocking serrations have been cut.  The slide is a tad slimmer than the original.  The trigger guard has been rounded and greatly under cut with the undercut widened and rounded into the subtle finger grooves on the grip.

The stippling on the grip is applied using two slight variations of the pattern.  The most aggressive pattern is on the front and back straps.  On the front sides of the grip where your finger tips will rest the pattern is a little less aggressive.  The re-contoured grip really worked well for me.  They were comfortable and the widened undercut on the trigger fit my middle finger well and allowed me to get a higher hold on the pistol which helped control muzzle flip.

The rear sight is a low profile 2-white dot wedge and the front sight contains my favorite red fiber optic pipe.

The red pipe really helps my 59 year old eyes find the front sight quickly and holds my focus.  It provides a great contrast with the rear sight to offer me a superior sight picture.

Although I did not measure the trigger pull it is good for a self-defense pistol and I would image that it is slightly under 5 pounds.  So...I like the feel, the sights and the trigger so...how did it shoot.

Let's look at the targets.  All shooting was conducted with a two hand hold using Mag Tech 115 grain FMJ ammunition fired at 5.5 inch Birchwood Casey "Shoot-N-C" targets.

This target was fired at 75 feet with 30 rounds.  I am not a long distance pistol shot by any means but, as this is a 5.5 inch target, a humanoid assailant would have been continuously hit.

This target was fired at 30 feet with 20 rounds.  The pistol grouped well.  If this was my pistol I would would tap the rear sight a little to the right.

I think this target really speaks to the accuracy of the pistol.  This was the first five rounds out of the box at 21 feet.

One of the criticisms I have often heard about the XD line-up is that there are few available after-market accessories.  That might be true but the trigger pull is fine, I would not need to send the grip frame out to be thinned down or have the under-cut enlarged, and the sights are exactly the ones I want on my guns.  Unlike other manufacturer's polymer-framed pistols, there is nothing I would change on the XD Mod. 2.