After much deliberation, testing, and some training..

The wife is has FINALLY got her concealed carry gun. Back in november I started to chronical the efforts to find the perfect concealed carry gun for the wife. I promised to get her anything she wanted so long as it wasn’t a snubbie or a minor caliber pocket pistol. We started off by getting her familiar with all the different pistols that are out there. This was accomplished by dragging her to every gun store we could find so that she could wrap her hands around them to get an idea of grip size, trigger reach, action types etc. After handling about 40 different pistols (whithout shooting any of them), the front runner was the Kimber Ultra Carry in 9mm. Then I enrolled her into a womens shooting course at a local indoor range. After a few hours of classroom instruction, the class had the opportunity to shoot about 15 different handguns. Most of them were 9mm autos (S&W M&P, Beretta, Glock, Kahr, Springfiled XD’s, Walther PPS and p99 to name a few), but there were also a few .38 specials and a kel-tec .380. The only major style of handgun they didn’t get to shoot was the 1911 (I think that had to do with the instructors bias agains the 1911). After the class, it was between the 4″ S&W M&P in 9mm and the XD Sub Compact in 9mm. We spent the next three weeks going back to the range shooting both pistols (rentals) head to head. She shot the S&W M&P a little better than the XD, but in the end, the concealability of the XD Sub Compact won out. She decided to get the XD Sub Compact for her concealed carry rig, but still wants the 4″ M&P “just because”.

The Springfield XD Sub Compact is very similar to the standard XD, but has 3″ bbl and a shortened grip. Like glocks, it is a striker fired pistol, and has a similar trigger safety. Unlike the glock, it has a 1911 style grip safety, and it is a single action. The striker on a XD is fully charged when cocked, where as a glock is only partially charged. Glocks are technically classified as a double action because when you pull the trigger, it draws the striker back before it releasing it. It comes with two magazines (10 round and 16 round with a grip extension), belt slide holster, double mag pouch, magazine loader and a cable style security lock.

Here you see the included belt slide hoster. The pistol is held securely in place by friction which is adjustable by turning the allen head screw just in front of the trigger guard on the holster.

The grip extension sleve that comes on the 16 round magazine brings the grip to the same size as the standard 4″ XD.

The shortened grip with the 10 round magazine makes the pistol very concealable without making it hard to handle.

Here you see the loaded chamber indicator.

The loaded chamber indicator provides a visual feedback that you can verify by feel if necessary. It’s a pretty handy way to tell if if a round is in the chamber. However, a loaded chamber indicator is not a reliable substitute for performing a press check to verify the pistols ready condition.

Magazine loader, holster, and dual mag pouch.

Cable lock

Dual mag pouch with 10 round and 16 round magazines. Notice the 1913 type rails on the front and back of the mag pouch. This could be handy to carry a weapon mountable tac lite or the included mag loader (see below).

The 16 round magazine is a standard XD magazine that uses a slip on grip extension sleeve.

While I don’t use magazine loaders for my pistols (too slow for me), the provided loader is very well built, and even has the ability to attach to a standard 1913 rail (like the ones on the included holster and mag pouch).

The mag loader in action.

As far as carry ammo, pending function testing with a couple hundered rounds, she will be carring XD loaded with 124 grain +P Remington Golden Sabers. All in all, she is extremely happy with her new Christmas present, and can’t wait to get to the range to break it in. Needless to say, there will be a few more concealed carry classes in her near future.

-Thomas