Springfield XD-E: Harbinger of DA/SA revival

The AFD is like a rural art house movie theater in Podunk. We gets the films, but a little late in the day when they’re already old news for everyone else but for our local viewership, that’s just fine. We don’t do range tests recording every FTE, FTF and WTF, we’re more on the ethos and philosophy side, espousing the merits of weapons we like and why. And primarily American weapons at that. As for functionality, every weapon can be fixed, so life-depending performance is an eventual given for virtually every modern firearm if we can deal with waiting and don’t mind a little extra cash out of pocket: as annoying as it is, find the gun the like and if it doesn’t run like a clock then badger the bejesus out of it’s maker until it’s perfect every shot, that’s their legal warranty. 

With Americana in mind there’s few more homegrown than Springfield Armory which dates back continuously to 1777 (barring a brief hiatus from 1968-1974) and in the last few years they’ve really maintained a position at the tip of the spear in firearm innovation with their XD line. Therefore it’s no surprise to me they’ve brought R&D full circle back to the connoisseur’s choice of DA/SA with manual safety-decocker. This is the preferred setup of pro’s worldwide and a system that’s been almost entirely lost to modern American firearm manufacturers over the past few years with the somewhat irritating fad for plastic striker fired pistols without any worthwhile safety features: though well-suited to combat situations where safeties are just another second between shooter and survival, the civilian world needs another layer or two of safety (please send hate mail here: link.) There are a number of great assets featured in the new XD-E: 1) As much as I dislike polymer it is a big weight saver and the latest composites are incredible. 2) It’s ultra-slim, thusly lending itself to every day carry and easy concealment. 3) Ambidextrous safety-decocker and mag release. 4) Very pleasing slide serrations. 5) Small but nonetheless present picatinny rail. 6) More comfortable grip texturing than the XDS. 7) Low profile sights. 8) Low-effort slide. 

I think the XD-E is a harbinger of new trends in handgun formatting, or rather, a revival of what was in my opinion the apex sidearm configuration grandfathered by the likes of the Browning High Power, the Beretta 92, The CZ 75, the Bersa Thunder Pro and the Sig 226. Now that a whole generation of new gun owners have acquired skills on point & squeeze plastic pistols, I’m anticipating (and clearly Springfield is too) that they’ll be looking for weapons that take a little more expertise and offer greater safety and versatility. A return to safer more professional-use firearms will separate the men from the boys and perhaps stave off the liberals’ push for smart gun technology a little longer. I’m already looking forward to future XD-E caliber (45ACP allegedly on the way) and barrel-length variations of the XD-E and of course to owning ALL of them myself! GOM