Springfield Armory XD-M Elite 9mm Concealed Carry Pistol

The XD-M Elite is Springfield’s advanced striker-fired handgun offering. The XD M Elite is an impressive handgun that comes with a suppressor height iron sight with an ambidextrous sliding stop, and enhanced serrations. The gun comes with a tiny package.

The XD M Elite also comes outfitted with an interchangeable system of backstraps that comes in three types of inserts. The pistol is easily adjusted to various hand dimensions.

Eyes with Optical Lenses

Springfield Armory has upgraded their line of popular polymer frames SpringfieldStore, striker-fired guns, to their XD Elite. This XD-M Elite pistol has the features that competition shooters want and is designed to carrying. It comes with a match-grade barrel, improved slide serrations and the company’s Match Enhanced Trigger Assembly (META).

This barrel is hammer-forged using the Melonite match-grade finish. The frame grip is compact, which makes it easy to conceal for everyday carry. This combo of capability and high performance make this the perfect EDC alternative.

The XD Elite includes an red dot scope to choose. The dust cover is angled and has the Picatinny Rail that can be utilized to attach light sources such as lasers or tactical ones. This lets you use the pistol for backup even in dim lighting and when it’s tough to be able to see the sights.

The XD Elite model is equipped with all of the standard XD Elite functions, which include slide locks that are ambidextrous and a magazine release that is suitable for southpaws. It also has improved serrations for the slide to give you traction. It’s also equipped with an extended magwell that enables you to put 22+1 rounds in the magazine.

Much like the other members of the XD M Elite family, this one is also compatible with ammunition made by +P. High temperatures can damage important components quicker than normal pressure ammunition.

One of the most appealing characteristics of this pistol is its ambidextrous front as well as the rear sight. This allows left-handed shooters to easily operate it, and makes it easy for anyone to quickly reach for the pistol to begin shooting.

Alongside the two magazines that come with it with the set, you’ll also get a nylon black carrying case along with a flat bottompad to replace the fingershooks. The front sight will have replacement fiber optics, which are able to be swapped out with green ones, if you’d like to. The new fiber optic rods have to be set up by you as they are not supplied with any instructions or tools.

Trigger Pull

For a while, if you wanted a full-size polymer striker fired pistol that was made in the United States, your choices were only that of the Big Three — Glock, Smith & Wesson M&P as well as the Springfield Armory XD. It has changed now that new manufacturers are making these guns. But, the XD is still the top model in the XD series.

The Elite offers a variety of innovative features that distinguish it from the earlier XD and XD-M models such as the hammer-forged barrel as well as a chamber indicator that is loaded on the back of the slide, which is both a visual and a tactile sign of gun’s condition. The extended magwell can be reversed with an adjustable rear sight as well as red front sighting with fiber optics round out the package. The Elite comes with a larger barrel and slide with metal finish. It’s made to deliver long life and greater accuracy.

This pistol is not an instance. Both the XD and XD are renowned for their crisp trigger pulls. The trigger is even more crisp than the XD-M pistols that are available at Springfield. It’s a great thing especially if you’re shooting lots of targets, or competing on bowling events. Springfield offers an XDM extreme trigger kit the gun that will decrease the overtravel, take-up and reset.

On my tests with a Caldwell Matrix rest, the Elite’s three initial shots clipped the 1.1″ the aiming point from 25 meters. After that, two of the shots were into a 4-inch circle and finally the third shot was not able to clear the target. This is pretty impressive in a firearm this caliber, especially given the age and eyes of the old man. Federal 180 grams. Trophy Bonded. It’s a hard point load with a jacket that has a velocity of 1,275 FPS and 700 ft.-lbs. of force at the muzzle.

The slide stop is the bi-lateral lever. This feature may be beneficial for people who are left-handed, however it’s not the same as other pistols that I have test. Furthermore, there’s a greater amount of force needed to open the right-hand side lever than for the left. As time passes, the lever will probably become more smooth.

Accuracy

Springfield’s XD series firearms with striker firing have evolved through the years. The current XD-M Elite Series was introduced. The gun comes with features like interchangeable backstraps, and an effective trigger. The platform can also utilize optics. In the same way, the XD(M) Elite OPS is not a different model, offering several key enhancements which make it a great option to shoot IDPA or USPSA shooters competing in competitions.

Match Enhanced Trigger Assembly, also known as META or short for “match-enhancing trigger assembly,” is among the modifications that can be built. It is the finest polymer pistol trigger on the market. Its flat-faced trigger, with a built-in blade safety feature and an integral overtravel stopper improves the quality of triggers, speed up the time of trigger cycles and provide better control over the break.

META can result in smaller intervals between trigger resets as well as improved precision. In my tests of the XD(M) Elite Ops, my five shot groups with Federal Syntech 124gn target load averaged 4.3 inches. When you consider that this was shot offhand using a steel bench rest, and using standard handgun magazines. It’s a remarkable achievement.

Another key improvement is the slide release as well as the magazine release which is multi-directional. This makes this XD(M) Elite OPS very accessible for both lefties and righties. You won’t require breaking your grip only to drop magazines. The angled serrations on the slide permit SpringfieldStore for effortless manipulation of the weapon, even if your hands are wet or cold. They also help to stop the weapon from sliding off its target during recoil.

The XD(M) Elite OPS comes fitted with a threaded muzzle that can be used with 1/2×28 pitch suppression. Thread protectors are factory installed and can be easily removed for installation of the wide variety of sound suppressors.

In the introduction, the XD(M) Elite can be equipped with many red dots sights. Springfield has four mounting plates that are identified by numbers for easy identification. These plates are designed to fit directly on your firearm, which allows you to switch easily between red-dot sights without needing to pull the slides off.

Its XD(M) Elite OPS has an standard 4.2-inch barrel, which extends to the front of the slide. However, you could replace it by a shorter model if desired. The front of the muzzle is threaded with 1/2×28. It is possible to mount suppressors even when not participating in competition.

Bottom Line

Manufacturers of guns are working to shrink the size and weight of concealed carry weapons but still retaining their firing power. Springfield Armory’s XD Elite 9mm is a good example of this. The XD-M Elite 9mm from Springfield Armory comes with all the features you’d expect in a carry gun, like the ability to swap backstraps (3 for the model) easy controls, and a trigger which works perfectly.

It is also equipped with a magwell funnel. XD-M Elite also comes with the “standard” magwell funnel, which is designed to help channel your magazine when reloading under stress. It is important to remember that when you are under stress, like you are at risk of self-defense. This gadget keeps the magazine aligned with the frame which allows it to be placed effortlessly and firing.

Another advantage of this XD-M Elite that I really love is the slide stop that is ambidextrous and magazine release. This makes it a lot more accessible for people with left hand to use this gun, especially if you’re wearing gloves. Springfield was also certain that the grip safety on the pistol is as simple to use as is possible. It has finger-friendly depressions located both side of the grip. It reduces the risk of slide engagement accidentally when grabbing the pistol to fire.

The XD M Elite has an Enhanced META Trigger, which is specifically designed for shooters looking to get the maximum benefit from their handguns equipped with striker firing. META’s internal stops for overtravel stop that the trigger travels too long which helps you remain in control while competing.

In terms of accuracy in terms of precision, the XD-M Elite did very well during my tests. The XD-M Elite shot four shots using Federal Syntech 124gn ammo into under 30mm of distance, which was impressive. The only negative I could find was that the pistol may be a little too large to be comfortable for the concealed carry position and it’s slightly heavy for certain users.

The XD-M Elite is an extremely powerful striker-fired pistol that those who is looking to buy a concealed carry or range gun must think about. The XD-M Elite is striker-fired handgun with various features essential for gun enthusiasts who wants to carry. The gun is available in two sizes. There’s also a specialized variant for tactical use that has a barrel threaded with an optics-ready slide.