But the SpringfieldвЂ™s go switch is as smooth as 12-year-0ld Scotch. TheВ approximatelyВ six-pound pull doesnвЂ™t offer the вЂњon-offвЂќ clean break of a Glock. Once a target is in the XD-MвЂ™s sights, you stand an excellent chance of hitting it. Downside: the XD-M 3.8вЂ™s shorter barrelвЂ™s shorter sight radius, combined with not-my-friend standard issue white dot sights, makes it harder to acquire a target.

And the gun is marginally easier to conceal than the longer barreled version. The 3.8вЂі barrel on the XD-M tested is another conundrum.В Upside: shorter вЂњdwell time.вЂќ The faster the bullet exits the barrel, the less time you have to screw up your shot. On the other hand, when youвЂ™re wearing the Springfield-provided paddle holster,В the XD-MвЂ™s gigantic grip prints like the New York Times.В If youвЂ™re looking for an easily-concealed 9mm carry gun, this ainвЂ™t it. On one hand, who doesnвЂ™t want more bullets? And when theyвЂ™re stuffed into SpringfieldвЂ™s beautifully built magazines, the bullet-fest is even more of a no-brainer (perhaps for the perp as well). The magazineвЂ™s capacity is a new record, a huge selling point for the sensibly paranoid and a double-edged sword. As you might expect from a weapon holding 19 9mm bullets. But thereвЂ™s still no beating those squishy aftermarket no-slip rubber grips.ДЄnd thereвЂ™s no getting around the fact that the XD-M has one big honking handle. It might have squidged around more with a regular XDвЂ™s plain Jane checkering or a GlockвЂ™s relatively featureless handle. Training with the rabbi in July, my sweaty hand started slip sliding away. Rugged though the grip may be, the XD-MвЂ™s still a plastic gun. Why no one thought of this before is a mystery rivaling the thinking behind the obstinate pin holding theВ interchangeable вЂњMould-TruвЂќВ back-straps. ThereвЂ™s a separate line of XXXL texturing where your fingertips wrap around the grip. The scope of the texturing is the clever bit. The larger checkering supposedly channels off schmutz more efficiently than smaller patterns, and provides better purchase for pistolerosвЂ™ palms. ThatвЂ™s a fancy way of saying someone got busy with a CAD-CAM computer and created big-ass plastic nubs for the front and back of the XD-MвЂ™s grip. ItвЂ™s the same sort of subtle intelligence that informs many-though not every-aspect of the XD-M.ДЇor example, the XD-MвЂ™s handle boasts something called Mega-Lock Grip Texture. To quote Wallace of Wallace andВ Gromit fame, that IS clever. it forms a straight line from the gun all the way up your shoulder).В At a stroke, the XD-MвЂ™s design eliminates a fundamental physiological error afflicting the majority of the amateur shootingВ population. With the thumb in situ, the XD-M forces you to line up the weapon with the axis of your shooting arm (i.e. But once I seated my thumb properly, my shooting improved dramatically. The readjusted XD-M felt a bit odd in my hands. Д®qually important, as a Glock refugee, I discovered that I also had to adjust my grip downwards. And so the Springfield avoided entry onto my liste du merde and resumed its rightful place at the top of the charts. Once Adam adjusted his grip, lowering his right thumb into the scalloped plastic hollow provided for the purpose, the XD-M performed flawlessly. His right thumb rested on top of the slide release, exerting just enough downwards pressure to stop the SpringfieldвЂ™s slide from locking back. Turns out Adam held the XD-M like a Glock, with his thumbs lined up at the bottom of theВ CroatianВ gunвЂ™s slide. Once again, Wayne untied the Gordian knot with a simple tug. I trusted the XD-M with my life.ДЄdam had no idea why the XD-MвЂ™s slide failed to engage at the end of his string. WeвЂ™d formed the same sort of bond IвЂ™d established with my Carrera 4 after blasting through the Swiss Alps at Warp Factor 10. what? Had I bonded so deeply with the XD-M that the gun didnвЂ™t want to perform for another master?ДЄs crazy as that sounds-and it sounds plenty damn crazy-my affection for the XD-M ran deep. Just like the magazine, trigger and every other moving part. Again, no problem (save financial damage).В Every time I shot the XD-M, the handgunвЂ™s slide did its job. Just lots of good clean ballistic fun.Дuring one session, I loaded and fired four magazinesвЂ“19 bullets apiece-at Mr. I didnвЂ™t experience a single failureВ to feed or fire. Between the time I opened the XD-MвЂ™s practical, pride-inducing gun case to the moment I handed the XD-M to Adam to test fire, IвЂ™d put more than a thousand rounds through SpringfieldвЂ™s 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

Xdm 3.8 compact 9mm