The Very Able SA XD-S .45 ACP 4”

sda

The letters and numbers, ably explained: The gun is Springfield Armory’s XD-S, chambered in .45 ACP and sporting a 4” barrel. With an MSRP of $549, the gun weighs only 23.5 oz. and stands only 4.4” tall (with the short mag you see here). And at less than an inch thick, it is eminently concealable. In addition to accurate, reliable, durable, and capable. And maybe more -able words as well.

Initially I griped about the short mag only carrying five rounds. Well, 5+1 if you want to get technical. The vast majority of .45 ACP pistols out there carry at least 6+1. Moreover, five rounds was always the domain of the snub-nosed revolver, which more than made up for the lack of capacity by its being easily hide-able. And reliable.

But the XD-S won me over, mainly due to one factor — the less than 1” thick slide width. What I’ve discovered (again) is how conceal-ability and carry-ability increases as the slide width decreases. Most 1911 owners know this quite well. In fact, it doesn’t matter how long the barrel is because it is easily hidden. Really the hard part to conceal is the stocks. But the XD-S eases that with the short mag. All that to say: Thin is still in because thin is easy, easy, easy to carry concealed.

Favorite holsters for this gun include the Crossbreed Supertuk and a simple Galco IWB meant for another gun. The holsters don’t add much to the SA’s width. Better: They play well with it and make carrying concealed very comfortable.

Shooting this XD-S is very manageable, too. The fiber optic front sight shows up well, the aggressive texturing on the stocks increases purchase, and even with the short mag, there’s plenty to hang on to.