We live in a golden age of quality firearms which, when adjusted for inflation, require proportionally less of our income to purchase than their predecessor models cost our parents and grandparents.  Offered as evidence: the Springfield Armory’s new Defender 9mm pistol.

Debuting about the time of the NRA show, upon which we have recently reported, this is the Sub-Compact version of their XD series pistols, designed to compete with the Glock.  Originally designed in Croatia as the HS-2000 just before the turn of the 21st Century, they were quickly seized upon by Springfield Armory in Geneseo, Illinois and imported as Springfield’s XD (eXtreme Duty).  The pistol in question has a short butt, and a double stack magazine holding thirteen torpedoes in the magazine with one more in the launch tube. 

It comes in a cardboard box instead of a plastic carrying case, and has only one magazine supplied.  This allows them to tag it with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of only $339, down from its normal $524 MSRP.

I’ve seen gun snobs turn their noses up at the XD, but I have to stand up for these neat little guns.  They have good ergonomics: an easy trigger reach, ambidextrous magazine release, and enough accuracy that they’ve won national championships in IDPA and at the Bianchi Cup.  In my circle, we’ve been shooting them for many years.  My friend John Strayer has won many matches with his, and he estimates that he has 30,000 rounds through just one of his competition XDs, with no malfunctions except when using handloads so light they wouldn’t cycle any other autoloading pistol either.  I’ve trusted various XDs as carry guns and home defense pistols.

Funny story: at one of my last times shooting the IDPA National Championships (in Tulsa that year, if memory serves) another shooter came up to me and asked if it was true that I’d said XD pistols were junk.  I just smiled and said, “I think you’re thinking of some other gun writer,” and pulled back my Armadillo concealment vest to reveal the Springfield Armory Custom Shop XDM 5.25 9mm in its Comp-Tac holster, the pistol I was competing with.

If you’re in the market for a good shooting, reliable 9mm carry gun at an amazingly good price, check out the Springfield Defender XD9 subcompact. 

From left: Tommy Nelson, the Evil Princess, and Mas after each shooting perfect scores on qualification demonstration, MAG-40 class in Utah, 2013. Gail and Mas were both shooting 9mm Springfield XDM pistols.

20 COMMENTS

  1. There are a lot of good things to say about the XD series. I’ve been told by an instructor I respect that he cannot recommend them for concealed carry or duty use, as it can be very difficult to clear a stoppage one-handed. This is due to the grip safety preventing the slide from moving to the rear when not depressed. I’d love to know your thoughts on this.

    • All my one hand only manipulations are done with a firing grip, and that seems to obviate the issue with the XD. (For those not familiar with the gun, the XD series grip safety prevents the slide from moving if not being held in firing-type grasp.)

  2. Also been hearing some very good things about that really inexpensive Taurus.

    Cheap prices are all well and good, but I’m waiting for the day when I can online order a pistol and an AR from Amazon, put it on a credit card, having it shipped free via prime to my door.

    I can dream…

    • Definitely get the G2C. Only issues I’ve had to fix is alignment of sights and the mags that are stiff as hell but fixed it with a speed loader. 1,000+ rounds and only real signs it’s been shot is cheap gunpowder residue burned on the slide from steel case ammo. I got it and a box of ammo for $205.64 out the door after tax and have been extremely happy with it.

    • Reasonably priced, well made pistols like this are true Constitutional pistols, that allow citizens to arm themselves inexpensively. The more armed citizens we have, the more people will motivated to defend gun rights.

  4. Ohhhhhhhhhhh Mas,you’ve got a way of making me want to part with Ben Franklins….but then there’s my lovely wife aka Mommy! I hope they come out with a service sized version of this one if it goes over well 😉

    • Paul: The original XD (or the updated XD Mod 2) is a double-stack, service-sized pistol. 4″ barrel, 15+1 capacity in 9mm. They don’t need to “scale up” the Defender, when the Defender is a scaled-down-to-subcompact version of the XD.

      (Actually, to me it looks like they re-branded the XD 3″ Subcompact they already made; they just added the word “Defender” and repackaged it in cardboard with a single flush-fitting mag — instead of in a plastic hard-sided case with one flush-fit mag, one “extended” mag with a full-size grip, and all the other “XD Gear”.)

      FWIW, the original XD is my preferred carry gun. 🙂

  6. We live in a remarkable time where modern machining techniques and favorable exchange rates allow us a wide variety of excellent choices in firearms.

  7. Dear Professor Ayoob,

    I’ve become a serious student of your work and I know of your past, at least, aversion to Glock. For my first gun, I’ve been sold on getting a G43X and have been training daily with a blue gun to keep my finger outside the trigger guard. Still, I trust your judgment. The price is sure right on this gun. Is the trigger any safer? And are there are any other reason why you’d prefer it to a G43X? Thank you for your time.

  8. Yeah…but even in this day of ugly-ish pistols, that XD is like my sainted daddy used to say..
    “uglier than a mud fence.”

  9. I still despise the stench of their politics to ever buy from them. Their apology amounted to we’re sorry we got caught.

  10. Being of a certain age, it’s very hard for me to consider owning firearms that are largely made of black plastic. However, many people enjoy them and see no problem with their orcish looks–but they’re not for me.

    One good outcome, I suppose, from plastic guns is they seem to have increased the values of those older pieces constructed of steel and walnut. That trend may continue in the foreseeable future.

  11. Springfield and Daniel defense can both go drown for their politics. Oh we don’t believe in standard mags just 7rnd mags and we’ll make the guns cheap but rip off everyone who over pays for them. Their for gun control and red flag laws that aren’t to protect gun owners.

  12. Thank You What 9mm pistol would you recommend for competition shooting? springfield, walther,sig?

    • All good. Depends on the game and shooter preference. Having owned all 3, I found the XDM 5.25 just shot a bit better for me.

  13. I’ve been a big fan of their XDs series for quite a while. The 9mm XDs is a very “shootable” small pistol. Mine has been 100% reliable and surprisingly accurate. The 9-round mag is inserted when I’m home, and the 7-round is the size I use for concealed carry. Great pistol, at least for me!

    BTW, if you hate a company’s politics, just purchase a pre-owned pistol.

Comments are closed.