  There is nothing as comforting as firepower in a concealed carry weapon. Is the XDM .45ACP Compact that much less comfortable than the new single stack Springfield XDS? We are at talking a cool gun with the XDS of course, but for a gun that can double as a full sized duty weapon and a 9 + 1 concealed carry gun, the Compact wins hands down.
 This picture and the one above it is almost a morph sequence. What makes the XDM Compact unique is that it doubles as a full size duty weapon when you use the included 13 round extended magazine. The sleeves that come with the magazine match the grip panels that can adjust the overall thickness of the XDM grip. This makes for the most versatile pistol on the market, especially when you only have the budget for one gun.
 The XDS is coming out in stores soon, and it is a nifty gun because it is so small, but most of the size difference is in thickness, not length or width.
 If you can handle the extra thickness of the grip and you don’t plan to carry the XDS as a pocket pistol, the extra 4 rounds in the Compact is a no brainer. This picture was from Media Day before SHOT 2012 with the gun side by side.
 For a female hand, the extra .15 inches tall of the Compact grip in the big .45ACP may mean the ability to get a third finger on there. The weight is only 6 ounces more on the Compact, so carrying about a half pound more for greater stability may be worth it.
 The Compact has the same grip profile as the standard XDM, so it fits our Ransom Rest accuracy testing fixture.
 The Ransom Rest proved out what we had already learned shooting this gun several times over the course of several weeks with half a dozen different shooters. If you are on, the XDM .45 Compact is on. It is tough to get the Ransom Rest to line up correctly at even 10 yards because you have to use c-clamps to hold the plank down, but the gun does shoot to point of aim, not two inches right, out of the box.
 This is the holster that comes with the XDM Compact. It is for outside the pants carry. Just about every duty holster company also makes holsters for this gun.
 I ordered this Stealth Armor holster from Double Tap Holsters for inside the pants. For fifty bucks you just can’t go wrong and I wear it every day.
 I think some of the other gun companies should be embarrassed at this point at how much case candy Springfield gives you with your gun. Polymers have brought manufacturing costs down, but rather than just pocket the difference Springfield gives you a bunch more stuff.
 The XDS is going to be a nifty little bugger when it eventually gets here, but if you only have the budget for one concealed carry gun, take a good look at the XDM .45 Compact before you get an XDS. It is a lot more gun for its size and weight, and you will probably shoot it better and more comfortably. There may be more buzz on the XDS, but there are a heck of a lot more bullets in the Compact. And you can actually go buy one today.
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https://www.the-m-factor.com/XDMCompact45
Springfield Armory XDS .45 ACP
https://www.xdspistol.com/
Back before SHOT Show this year we got a chance to take a look at the Springfield Armory XD(M) .45 Compact 3.8, but we never got to do a real test for a range report. So as we eagerly await the coming of the single stack XDS, before you decide that you must have it, let’s take a look at the Compact XDM .45 alongside the XDS first.
To start, 9 + 1 of .45ACP in the XDM Compact is certainly a lot better than 5 + 1 in the XDS. If the doublestack fits you as well or better than the XDS, you may prefer it for concealed carry. And as we noted in the original article on this gun, the Compact is really two guns in one. With the extended 13 round mag and its sleeve, the Compact turns into a full sized XDM. In its small configuration, with the flush mag, the Compact is only 6 oz. heavier than the XDS empty (plus the weight of the extra 4 rounds). That difference in volume of fire may give the XDM Compact an edge for concealed carry, especially for off duty law enforcement and those in hi-risk positions.
The overall length of the XDM Compact .45ACP is 7 inches, versus 6.3 for the.45 ACP XDS. On a belt holster, the gun isn’t going to stick up or down that much more. The height is similar, about 4.55 for the Compact versus 4.4inches for the XDS, so the grip length should be about the same, but that small difference could be enough to not fit the third finger on the grip for female shooters who can get three fingers on the Compact. We show this gun here with the medium grip panel, but you can swap it out for smaller or larger, and the panels come with the gun.
One of the side benefits that has come out of a flood of compact guns for concealed carry is that female shooters finally have guns that actually fit them. With many of these small guns that are clearly a two finger grip for male shooters, female shooters can fit three fingers, and even snappy 9mm and 45acp compacts can be comfortable and controllable because of the extra leverage. The XDM .45 Compact is thicker than the XDS, but it is of course a doublestack, and holds four more rounds. Regardless of your size, it is worth a trip to a range with rentals to shoot the Compact before deciding on the XDS, or if you can’t shoot it, at least to a gunshop to hold it. You may not ever need those extra four rounds, but you never know.
The thickness of the XDM Compact .45 is the same as a regular XD, so we were able to test this gun in the Ransom Rest for accuracy. With the course sights and short sight radius of any concealed carry pistol it is tough to measure the true accuracy of the gun, even with this semi-professional fixture, but the Compact shot really well. The group you see in the picture, slightly under an inch, was about the average at ten yards with both Winchester SXZ45 and Hornady Critical Defense 180 grain FTX ammo. That is about as good as I have be able to measure with a pistol, and all of the XDM guns seem to best of class in this regard.
The long magazine on the XDM Compact holds 13 rounds, so it is truly a full sized service pistol, yet it fits in the same holster. If you remember, Springfield originally released this 3.8 slide length with a full sized grip and it was awkward looking, but it nonetheless became a big hit among law enforcement and security guards. This is in part because when you sit down, the 3.8 slide sticks down less, so sticks into you less, and with the Compact,” two guns in one” concept, you can carry the 13 round mag on the gun as your duty weapon in a belt holster, and use the same gun as your concealed carry with the flush 9 round magazine.
As with all the guns in the XDM line, the .45 Compact comes with a lockable hard case that includes two extra different sizes of grip panels for different sized hands, a belt holster for the gun, a magazine holster, and this gun comes with both the flush 9 round and extended 13 round mags. Extra mags are available in the Springfield website store. It also has a lock and sleeves for the long mag that match the grip panels in thickness.
Soup to nuts, there is no more complete .45ACP package in the concealed carry handgun market than the XDM Compact, and though he XDS is probably the second most exciting gun I’ve seen this year (the first being that 12 gauge AR shotgun they still have not sent me one of), I think that if your budget only allows one concealed carry handgun this year, you should probably get to a gunshop and check out the Compact before you decide to buy the XDS. I did love the XDS at SHOT, but I’m carrying the Compact, and I don’t think I’ll switch when the XDS finally gets here.
Looking for xdm 45. Acp pistol compact 3.8
Looking for axdm 45. Acp pistol compact 3.8
Excellent weapon. I also have the xds-9 simply because I wanted one. It is als9 excellent.
The correct term is cartridges, not bullets!
Thanks for contributing John!
Everyone else thank you for your feedback. I found the comments more informative than the article itself.
Just bought one and I love it. It doesn’t muzzle flip like other XD’s even though the bore still sits a little high. It is unbelieveably accurate for a short pistol as is the baby Glocks. The shortness must help with the harmonics. It has a very quick trigger reset and isn’t bad out of the box. I understand they even get better after 500-700 rounds. I would like to see a much longer mag for range work and home defense offered although the mag release tension is plenty stiff as it is with fully loaded 5 or 7 rounders seated. I wish it accepted 1911 mags. I do appreciate the mag release being ambedextrious. The High vis sight is bright and seems OK but I would prefer either a gold dot or night sight for the front. This is not based on any negative experience, only an unsubstantiated fea of front sight failure, afterall, this is a defensive weapon. I will eventually have Novaks installed. It will replace my less concealable baby Glock 357/.40 for pocket/iwb or backup carry especially since it has a squeeze grip safety and my Keltec 3AT for 1st thing out of bed carry..it’s that comfortable and comforting. For primary, out side the pants carry, I will continue with Novak sighted H&K USP compacts with added spur hammers. Buy one before you know who starts calling it a Saturday Night Special! Mark my words. If the Feds succeed in getting rid of semiauto, mag fed rifles, all small concealable pistols will be next. They will be termed “Saturday Night Specials” regardless of qualtiy.
XDS, I have fired hundreds of rounds of 230 grain and have had no issues. Very very accurate and easy to shoot and control.
The XDM 45 is my first compact and seems to have some great reviews. I bought it because the newspaper headlines keep getting scarier all the time. I’m one of the new shooters mentioned above and really appreciate everyones advice.
“quit making excuses ! That’s what’s wrong with this country today , excuses like yours and the sheep that except them.”
LOL, sometimes stuff just stacks up on ya doesn’t it>>>.
I always carry as much gun as I can. Fact is, there are times when I can only carry my Ruger LCP. Other times, I can carry my Kahr CM9 (I’m thinking the XDS might replace my CM9 and give me bigger bullets). Preferably, I can carry my Springfield XD45 Compact. I’ve found that a small difference in size can make a big difference in carriability.
As for round capacity, I’ve NEVER heard of a private citizen (i.e., non-cop or non-soldier) not having enough ammo for an armed confrontation. As I said, bigger and more is better, but having something in my pocket that’ll reliably shoot 6 rounds of .45ACP seems a very reasonable and desirable configuration to me.
I have the xdm 45 compact for 1 week, 75 rounds always a bang. Compact carry 9 rds and 1 in chamber or 13 rds plus 1 in chamber, accuracy, try 15 feet 5 shots in a quarter Not benched. I am a Sig man but am really impressed. My pocket carry is Sig 238 w/gold dots. The xdm compact and Sig Tac Ops 1911 I use Golden Sabers. My fun pistol
is 5.56 40 round Keltec. Ear plugs in conjunction with Howard Leight ear muffs recommended!
I’d love to have the XDS as a back-up to my XD45 tactical compact.
I’ve been shooting the XDM 9mm 4.5″ for a couple months now and just got back from taking my XDs to the range for the first time. I got the XDs because my XDM is way too big to carry concealed for someone as skinny as I am in a very hot climate. While I find my XDM very pleasant to shoot, the XDs will sting your hand if you don’t hold it firmly enough (you also only get 2 fingers on the grip, so you will have a classy pinky when you shoot). It’s definitely not a recreational shooting gun in my opinion, but from 3 yards, I could rapid fire 5 shots hitting 3 bulls eyes, 1 solar plexus, and 1 throat shot (and I’m not that great of a shot). If you want a small and powerful EDC, you can’t go wrong with the XDs in my opinion.
I think it is very nice of Springfield to offer the the XD-s as an alternitive for folks that respect the 45acp round and would like to have a reliable yet concealable package that they can carry. To defend themselves, their family ,neabors, and even strangers from an hostle threat. That is what they designed it for. It is not intened as an assault weapon which would require extended magaizine capacity. , . The XD has a large following,and the 45 acp even bigger. From what i have seen on you tube, the XD-s is plenty accurate if you take the time to practice your shooting skills. That holds true too any firearm. The bigger the gun the harder it is to conceal. That too holds true to any fire arm. I think Springfrield did a fine job on this one.
Love the new XDS, very smooth shooting gun with very little snap for a 45. My first shot with it I was waiting for the thing to give me a little jolt and to my surprise it was very smooth .Springfield did a very nice job with this gun and I believe will def be a great carry gun. A pinky extension added to this gun will make it feel that much better ,cant wait for someone to come out with that and the price I paid was $529 ,have seen them advertisted for much higher so I think it was a great buy
here’s the gunsamerica.com XDs range report some of you guys are looking for:
http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/springfield-armory-xds/
I would love to be able to purchase the .45 XDS, but was told they will not be available in CA anytime in the near future. I prefer my H-K USP .45 Compact to any other .45 for a conceal carry, but it is difficult to conceal sometimes, especially in the summer. That being said, I can’t wait to get a .45 XDS. Come on Springfield, don’t forget about all the gun-rogers on the west coast. We’re not all liberal quests out here.
That should be “gun-toters” and “liberal queers”. Sorry for the typos.
My XDs has “not legal in california” right on the box. Must be because it’s too small?
Seems ironic that with so much demand for concealable weapons, we can’t put more of our own laid off machinists and potential machinists to work producing them here.
In regard to the article, I too found the title misleading, and expected a range comparison. What I read was someone apparently attempting to convince us that there really is no need for a single stack .45.
Btw, Springfield’s XDs is longer and heavier than Kahr’s PM45, yet holds the same number of rounds – I’m waiting for objective comparisons of these two before buying.
You mean a review before or after you put the 200 “break in” rounds required for the Kahr?
If we are talking ‘carry ready’ and should the Kahr need it, I would say after the brake in period. Actually, I usually fire several hundred rounds, anyway. The weapon may not require it, but if there are any factory defects, this will usually expose them.
The additional weight of the Springfield could be viewed as a plus in such a small package. Just as the additional thickness of the Compact could actually be a negative factor for the female shooter, if it is not comfortable in her hand.
I have the XD(m) in .45ACP compact and love it,,,carry it everyday all day,,,I have had it since Dec. and the first time I fired it was not grouping very well but it was me.Just a couple more range day’s to start grouping well,,,now???I never miss,,,it is fun to shoot,,,easy to load the mags with the loader that comes with,,,,no problems filling the mags with what they hold,,,,I love it!!
I’m still waiting for my XDS and believe its worth the wait. At least they give you accessories as opposed to the Glock.
I have two Glock Model 36’s, both are “tuned up” and one has a Crimson Trace Laser on it. I LOVE them both, and they fit my hand correctly, as a double stack is too big for a proper fit. I know, an off hand fit at 3 feet to 3 yards won’t make much difference, but I still prefer the fit. I would like to see the side by side comparison of the Glock Model 36 and the new XDS Compact. I like the Glock. No whistles and bells, and I subscribe to the K.I.S.S. principle; Keep It Short (and) Simple. Glocks are like shooting a semi-auto double action revolver without the hammer, work every time, unless you limp wrist the .45, and the Model 36 has a surprisingly less felt recoil than the average .40 Caliber. I’d like to get my hands on an XDS Compact to compare the two.
I have owned the earliest versions of the Glock 36. the XD Compact tac 5 In. and now only the four inch compact tac in desert tan…it looks particularly nice with a Crimson Trace grips. The XDs both produce one hole groups off of a rest at fifty feet with many loads, shoot to point of aim with the best factory sights in the business. They are both much heavier and harder to conceal than the 36 and the recoil is about the same. Glock is very accurate also considering the sight radius. I may get another one and put on better sights and a smooth trigger. XDS is on order. I like them all…no need to argue.
Hello Russ,
I would be interested in your report.
I saw the tile of this article and thought I was going to read about the new XDs. Alas I was misled, the story is about the compact.
We did an article on it at SHOT Show and we hope to do a range report when they come out. The original article is here:
http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/springfield-armory-xds/
You are missing the gentleman’s point, sir. The correct title should have been something like Springfield Compact trumps the new xds .45. And while you hope to do a range report, the title leads us to believe this is a range report on BOTH guns, not simply the compact.
I waited and bought the XDM 3.8 in .45 acp soon as it came out. It is everything that i had hoped for. Extremely accurate, a joy to carry concealed, can switch from concealed carry to full size just by changing mags. Not real happy with the mags proposed loading: It is hard to get 8 rounds in the “9” round mag and the same goes for the 13 round mag….maybe the springs will finally stretch and allow the mags to contain their advertised amount.
I can tell you from experience that the more time you spend at the range the looser the springs in the mags get. After putting over 500 rounds down range with my service model XD, it took no effort at all for me to load the mags. I’ve not put well over 1,500 rounds down range and it’s cake getting my mags loaded.
I just use the included mag loader. Makes it really easy to get that 9th round in there.
You guys want an XDs with 15 rounds? How about buying two more magazines?
Agreed! Although I shoot quite often, I rarely see people practicing mag swapping in a rapid manner. No matter what the capacity, this is a skill everyone should be proficient at.
I have had an XDS on order since I shot one at a trade show in January. Very controlable, accurate, and comfortable in the hand. My only complaint would be that Springfield like eveyone else can’t deliver a product in a timely fashion.
That’s not true at all. Guns always come to market later than they expect it is very common. The KSG took almost a year.
quit making excuses ! That’s what’s wrong with this country today , excuses like yours and the sheep that except them.
Yeah, you’r right, why can’t they just make them instantly like in the Star Trek replicator!
/ sarcasm off…
I bop down to my local gun store and what do I see? A bi-tone XDs and out it comes into my hand. I don’t ever want to let go of this baby, I’m in love. My common sense prevails and I go home and start doing a little research. Sure enough good as SA is, they are still suffering from the new gun problems.
Some people get good trouble free ones and some people have had to send them back 2 or more times and are still having issues even then, and are getting arguments from SA such as “you are not shooting it right”, you are “limp wristing it” etc.
Not buying one impulse style was a smart move, even thought it was a crazy good price. I will wait until next year and all the revisions necessary to make this gun as reliable as it should be as a real SA XD pistol.
Buy one now, you may get a good one and you may not, do some research (read the xdtalk forum) and find out what other people are going through with these guns before you just jump on it. let all the other beta testers help SA get it right then when the time is right grab one.
One thing that I really do hope SA comes to their senses on is the silly red (bling?) front site and no factory night site option.
The negative reviews are plants from competing manufacturers. There are no bad XD-S guns at all.
just because it is common does not mean that we should accept the lowered expections and below-par standards as okay. I agree with the other response, not keeping your word is what is “wrong” in today’s world!
Really? All ya’ll can do is gripe about longer wait times? Does anybody realize that 2009 was the biggest year EVER for firearm sales? 2011 was even BIGGER, and so far 2012 is on track to be the BIGGEST year ever for firearms!! Every gun/ammo/gear maker in the world is scrambling just to keep up with demand! The last 4 years has seen all sorts of non-gun people start buying and shooting guns. The demand is absolutely insane! Cap that with the fact that firearms require SKILLED workers, especially 1911’s and such. You can’t just grab 1,000 people off the street and expect them to start cranking out guns.
I AGREE VERY WELL PUT SIR
maybe if they wern’t coming from Croatia!
I agree that a .45 is a better choice than most of the “smaller” pistols but I also know that short barreled .45s are not very pleasant to shoot. I’ve owned and carried everything from a .44 mag model 29 to on of the first Colt Officers model .45. I now carry either a Sig P220 or a Sig 1911, all in .45 of course. Unless I’m going to put the pistol in my pocket, imo a full size semi auto is jsut as easy to conceal that a “compact” and a lot more pleasant to shoot. That is the answer to carrying and being proficient with your carry weapon.
I had an XD45, and now have an XD40, and want to get the XD(M)40 13 rounds of .40 S&W, in Hornady’s Critical Defense ammo, beats any .380 all hollowAll Springfield XD series guns come in the lockable case with all the goodies, not just the XD(M)s. A little tidbit I found out, all XD andd XD(M) pistols uitilize the same holsters, so you don’t have to buy new clothes for your pistol when you change. I carry mine in a Blackhawk Serpa holster.
I own XD40 and XDM40, the XDM is the most combat ready pistol I believe that is out there.
Per the trusted guys in my crew, they do agree w/you Steven. I’m an avowed revolver guy (a dozen+), so I’m sort of outta my element here. However, all my pals are competitive Glock/1911/Kimber users. With my limited funds and knowledge of semis, they all pointed me to the XDM if I were to have only 1 semi auto. I chose 40 cal, based on the ballistic tables I saw comparing it to the 9mm & .45 To say that I’m thrilled w/my XDM would be an understatement. It seems to like any ammo I throw in it. All I did was add “Night Sights”, as I commonly do. I didn’t have to send it back or have my local shop do ANY work at all to it. Trigger/ejection port etc… all fine.
The complete package was fine right out of the big box of stuff Springfield gives you.
i really do love both guns, but don’t see any benefit from the difference in size. Especially with such a tiny difference. When shit hits the fan, everybody wants 10 rounds in their gun. I’m tired of the round placement argument. 10 is better than 6. Bottom line. Even the best shot would agree. Does single or double stack make any difference in regards to the frequency of jamming or spent shells getting stuck?
While I agree that 10 is better than 6, I also firmly believe that a gun is better than no gun. If you could only afford one firearm, than I would purchase the one that is easier to conceal in any fashion (including pocket carry). Unfortunately, there are times when wearing iwb is not acceptable. This is why single stack micro pistols are popular.
If you have several 9mm’s on hand and to carry on you then the XDS is what I have in mind next. It’s all about cool, compact, and deadly. A few rounds of 45’s on my hip in such a dramatic configuration is worth waiting for. My biggest beef is that they broadcasted a March delivery…now ‘gonna be May (so they say).
I haven’t been able to get my hands on one yet but am eagerly awaiting one. This article missed the whole point of the XDS. Give me a shotgun loaded with buck shot, perfect self defense weapon. Carrying it concealed is another story. In the summer months I carry a SIG SAUER P232 simply because it is a slim compact gun that can easily be carried under a tee shirt. In the cooler weather I carry an XD 40 Compact. When I saw the advertisement for the XDS and the dimensions were the same as the SIG I was very excited. I’ll take 6 rounds of .45 over 7 rounds of .380 any day. Carrying concealed is always a compromise. One has to weigh conceal ability, comfort and weight into the equation. Although the XDS may be a compromise on size and capacity, having a weapon you don’t dread carrying day in a day out is a good compromise for me.
The writer seems to miss the point of the XDS. It’s a .45 cal alternative to the 9mm PF-9/LC9 and a slightly larger alternative to the underpowered .32’s and .380’s. It isn’t meant to be your daily carry piece on your belt like a fullsize pistol. It’s a POCKET pistol. If you can carry something the size of a compact XD or a Glock compact then DO SO!
This is like comparing a J frame in .357 to a L or N frame snub .357 revolver and saying because the bigger gun is only a little bigger and only a little heavier than the smaller gun then there’s no point in the J frame.
That was my take. When comparing this firearm, it was with my XD Sub compact 40 I already own, and the LC9 which really I dread to carry because, well I think when under attack I don’t like to be on common ground or underpowered. Besides that this has an extended mag 7 rounds so really blowing one of his points away anyhow.
Steve i also have a XD sub compact w/9rds plus a 12 rd mag. carrys very good.
Nailed it!!!
(well put AJMBLAZER)