The Springfield XD line is a fairly popular one and the single-stack XD-S is a favorite because it is highly concealable. The XD-S has a 3.3-inch barrel, a length of 6.3 inches, and a height of 4.4 inches with the flush magazine. It’s chambered in 9mm and has a 7 +1 capacity.

So instead of talking about this specific model and such, let’s take a detour. One of the reasons many people say they won’t carry a 1911 or a revolver is capacity. Cool story, but countless concealed carry guns like this XD-S don’t have an edge for capacity at all.

So for those people who specifically gripe about capacity, is it about capacity or is it really about the platform?

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37 COMMENTS

  1. I carry a Glock 19, no spare mag on me.

    If I carried a 1911 then yes, I am going to have extra mag on me.

    Capacity…..and I like pretty much like Glocks.

  2. I still think you have a capacity issue with a revolver at least. My G43 can easily be reloaded with a 8 rd backup. My sp 101 takes a moment and that’s with a speed loader. That being said it’s an individuals responsibility to be prepared as best as possible for as much as possible, so I don’t look down or up to someone that carries more or less then I.

    • Thanks. I sure hope we beat this thing. Does it mean we can’t even shoot one we own or does it only ban the new sale? I despise these liberal anti-American haters of freedom.

      • Here we go again. Cuss words do not suffice and my limited vocabulary is not extensive enough to express my feelings.. In the most ferocious possum growl I can muster,” I WILL NOT COMPLY !!!”

    • 60 votes are required to close off debate in the Senate. Never going to happen since cool your jets.

  4. It is somewhat my opinion that arguments about capacity for carry guns are obviously for larger people who can successfully “conceal” carry guns with 17 round or so magazines.

    For those of us who don’t have this option, a small single stack is the only way to really go if one is going for a true conceal.

    that said, I just VERY happily traded in my XD compact for a P320XCarry and couldn’t be happier…

      • @little

        LOL, it’s all relative! Plug, socket, etc. Everything has its match…I’ve always kinda envied my big guy friends who can stuff a full size into their pants, drop their barbecue belly over it and voila you’d never know…Not sure it works the same for the ladies

      • (Insert bad joke here about Uzi and Springfield grip safeties, which I could probably come up with if it wasn’t 12:02 am.) I hate grip safeties but it’s good joke fodder for the topic at hand…

  6. Last I looked an auto with 8 is still 33% more capacity than a revolver 6 🙂 I suspect 6 is enough for most people if you reliably hit the target…..

  7. That’s why I choose to carry a CZ Rami 14+1, size of a Glock 26. I shoot DA/SA and have learned / like the platform, with a decocker instead of a safety. I’m not a big guy, but can conceal this very well. I do carry an extra mag as well. I have a G43. Great handgun and like it a lot. But the light trigger I have on it, and mag capacity keep it as a backup gun stuffed in the seat in case I were car jacked. XD’s are very good handguns, but for me.. its capacity mainly.

  10. Ummmm wait.

    What the author meant to write was : “This one is chambered in 9mm and the XD-S is also available in .40S&W and .45ACP without any increase in size or weight.”

    The dimensions and barrel length for all three calibers is identical.

    With micro-9/40/45 concealed carry guns such as the XDS and PPS and many others- it’s the WEIGHT and WIDTH that counts as much or more than the height and length.

    Bonus: The XD-S 40 and 45 are slightly lighter than the 9. Why? Less steel and more air in the bigger bores I assume?

    • Carry the same knife but with xdm 9mm compact….muy simpatico…good guns are good guns…politics won’t save u in a gunfight…so spare me the standard Springfield venom if you dont mind…just sayin

      • Huh?

        What venom?

        I suspect the XD-S is the best carry piece in it’s class (MICRO) after the PPS M1.

        • I agree…love my Springfields…plural…but the mere mention of Springfield Armory around here usually brings out the haters…personally I’m a big xds fan

    • The only thing worse than calibers wars is capacity wars, especially when comparing apples to oranges, or full size duty guns to MICRO-concealed carry pieces.

      Well, since we’re going to war, let me just say I carry a 5+1 flush mag PPS-40 M1 and I could and would absolutely mop the floor with all you 10+1, 14+1, and 17+1 full size guys. Wanna fight? This is war after all.

    • “Less steel and more air in the bigger bores…”

      That is precisely the reason the bigger calibers in this platform are – negligibly – lighter.

  11. The XDS 3.3 comes in calibers other than 9mm. One of my wife’s carry guns is the .45ACP version.

    I know why she carries it when she’s not carrying her G21, G27 or something else: because she doesn’t want to put up with snowflakes at her university freaking out.

    Personally I find 5+1 a bit lacking but at the same time the gun is light, small, shoots well and reloads more quickly that a revolver. The issue with a 1911, IMHO, isn’t “the capacity” it’s the capacity combined with the weight and size. If you’re going to carry the weight of a 1911 and the size of a full frame then you might as well get more ammo for that weight.

    • I carry the .45 version now and then. I am very conscious of the 5+1 when I do. Keeping my eye out for a good 9mm replacement that is no bigger. XDs, P365 and P938 are options I continue to consider. G26 is too thick for my tastes, as much as I want it to work.

  13. I don’t carry revolvers because they are a nightmare to reload under stress and they are anemic when it comes to capacity.

    I don’t carry a 1911 because this isn’t 1911. There are much better options with the plethora of striker-fired guns available these days.

    I would not regularly carry a gun that holds less than 10+1. For a special occasion where my normal concealment rig is “too much” then sure… a smaller alternative is appropriate.

    There are just too many great compact pistols available that feature enough capacity to effectively handle a multiple attacker scenario, for example, to consider super-small subcompacts for anything but an NPE gun or as a backup IMO.

  14. For me,.. its about comfort and convenience. The XDS is easy to carry. …. and i didn’t have to wait years to get that single stack compact perfect carrying 9mm I always wanted.

    …. *glares at Gaston a moment through squinted eyes.**

  15. Weight. In the old days (pre-M16) GIs would dump ammo on the trail so they aren’t weighed down. A C-rat can, small section of 7.62 belt and a hand grenade. Instant hurt. For me it’s all abought the weight, now. A double stack .22WMR? Perfect!

  16. XDs-9 is my carry choice, too. Many small revolvers only carry 5 rounds. The XDs-9 carries 8 with the small mag (7+1), and 9 (8+1) with the extension. 8 is 60% more than 5. 9 is 80% more than 5. I can carry an XDs with 8 in the gun and 8 in my pocket that I can change in a second or two. 16 rounds. It’s not 32, but a heck of a lot more than a revolver.

    • I say, “show the holster.” So much to learn about how others carry by seeing the holster, its material type, you can tell where it is carried on the body, the can’t angle, retention type, waistband ride height. We all have a box of old holsters in the closet. It’d be nice to see what people are figuring out what holster works best and why.

      • I ended up taking a BladeTech (kydex) “scabbard” and custom-molding my own belt loops to achieve the proper cant and ride. Whatever allows you to draw faster, do it.

  18. Scary. I have that pistol, that knife and even that watch. I hope I didn’t post this then forget it. By the way, that is my least favorite pistol, I blew the spring out on that knife and I never wear a watch. I’m confused.

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