In todays Springfield XD Tactical .40 review, I examine one of the hidden gems in the companys catalog.
It offers a lot of potential for an affordable price and is accessible to our friends in California.
General Information
Springfield Armory is well known for its rifles and pistols.
Fast forward to today and the company is still offering a full range of original XD pistols.
Frankly, if it aint broke theres no need to fix it.
I think that is why the XD line successfully continues into a third decade of sales.
And why mess with success?
As the name suggests, it is chambered for the.40 caliber cartridge.
The Tactical designation lets you know this is a gun with a 5 barrel.
Why .40?
There are a lot of good reasons to prefer the .40-caliber cartridge.
For competition, the .40 can be loaded to hotter or milder levels to meet your needs.
The round is also very effective at stopping attackers.
Newcomers to the line might be surprised at the high-quality features baked into these reasonably priced pistols.
At the top of my favorite aspects of this pistol is the ergonomics.
To start with, the grip fills my hand without feeling too large.
Speaking of the trigger, it is light and crisp.
It has a fair amount of take-up and virtually no overtravel.
An ambidextrous magazine release is standard on this pistol.
Let me be clear it is ambidextrous, not reversible.
Springfield equips the XD Tactical .40 with metal sights for long-term durability.
The gun is also equipped with a non-proprietary accessory rail that will accept practically any light or laser unit.
Springfield Armory, however, did not abandon the residents of California.
Instead, the company seems to have taken the opposite approach.
So, the company offers theCalifornia compliant gunwith a pair of low-capacity magazines (10-rounds each.)
The Springfield XD Tactical .40 is available for sale throughout the United States.
Additionally, it is one of the relatively few handguns that is also for sale in California.
Standard capacity (12 round) magazines are available from Springfield Armory.
I probably dont need to say it, but I really like my job.
Heres a look of how the gun performed.
Ammo Performance
I ran five different loads through the XD Tactical .40 pistol.
Two were FMJ-style while three were suitable for self-defense.
All of the ammunition functioned perfectly in the Springfield Armory pistol.
None of the ammo presented any challenge whatsoever.
This data is recorded in the table below:
Additionally, I measured the accuracy of the loads.
The accuracy of most modern firearms is far better than what many of us can shoot.
Nevertheless, the ergonomics of a pistol can greatly impact how well we shoot.
For me, the XD Tactical .40 shot very accurately.
The XD Tactical .40 is an excellent example of those ergonomic features.
Consequently, I am able to shoot the pistol well.
Does an Extra Inch Matter?
You might be wondering if a little extra length makes any performance difference.
Generally speaking, yes adding an inch or two will often develop more projectile velocity while reducing felt recoil.
Final Thoughts
The Springfield Armory XD Tactical .40 is an amazingly versatile and useful handgun.
It fits several use categories including:
There are a lot of things going for this pistol.
First off, the gun is affordably priced and should fit within most budgets.
Lastly, the gun is very reliable something that everyone likely wants in a pistol.
