The only thing bigger than the name of this pistol is its caliber. Nine millimeter firearms are all good fun but when it comes to delivering serious power in a semiautomatic platform it’s really hard to beat a 10mm Auto. Combine this potent caliber with a polymer framed double stack carry gun and what do you get? Quite possibly more questions than answers.
Springfield Armory has been providing the “XD” family of pistols for quite some time now. There’s the base XD, the XDm, the XDs, the XDe, the XD Mod.2, the XDs Mod.2, the XDm Elite, and possibly some which I’m missing. Their newest Hellcat series shares lineage with the XD lineup as well. What seems to be less known is all of these pistols are actually made in Croatia. Take a look for yourself, it’s right there on the grip. Functionally they’re almost all the same with the XDe being the biggest outlier. They are polymer framed, mostly all striker fired, straight-forward and functional with some ambi controls. The XDs is their single stack line and the XDe is a single stack variant with an external hammer. But that’s not why you’re here. You want to know about a ten millimeter XD(m).
As far as I can tell Springfield only offers one version of 10mm at the moment which is the 3.8″ barreled XDm Elite, available either with or without their HEX Dragonfly optic pre-installed. I seem to recall having recently caught wind of a larger framed 10mm XDm which might be an exclusive variant. The Elite series changes up the standard XDm with a flared magwell, different slide serrations, and what they’re calling the “META” trigger.
Springfield calls this new trigger their “Match Enhanced Trigger Assembly” and claim it’s the best. No, really. The blurb on their website starts with “Do you demand the best and nothing less?” They also claim it’s the “finest factory trigger available in a polymer-framed pistol.” Sorry Springfield, you lost me here. HK, Walther, and Caniks all have vastly superior factory triggers in my opinion and those are just off the top of my head. It’s all polymer and you definitely feel it with the mush and creep and a difficult to predict break somewhere along the way. Reset has a sort of false positive, it clicks twice and both clicks are the exact same volume. The first click is immediately upon release but the reset click is further out at roughly half the trigger’s full length of travel. But hey, it’s a factory flat faced trigger if that gets you interested. I’ve liked the XDm series but this META claim doesn’t do it for me.
Curiosity got the better of me. I held this pistol and my .45 XDm and compared the triggers. My honest opinion is the older style curved trigger on the .45 was smoother with initial take-up but otherwise the two were 100% identical. Granted mine has had a few more miles logged than the 10’s but I’m talking hundreds of rounds, not thousands. As far as I can tell “META” is simply another word for “flat.”
Unfortunately I have to say the same to the XDm Elite’s new slide serrations. Visually they look incredible. Every time I see one of these guns behind glass I immediately know what I’m looking at. These new serrations give the pistols a boost to charisma and it sets them apart from a lot of the competition. The downside is they’re form over function. While this may be a growing trend in the industry (check out the original Beretta APX and Walther PDP for instance) these wider serrations aren’t such a great idea as they greatly limit the amount of grip you have on the slide. Another step in the wrong direction for the XDm Elite.
Worth noting is the recoil springs, themselves. This gun makes use of nested captive springs as opposed to one single spring and I am uncertain of what the pound rating is on them. Having owned and shot a handful of 10mm handguns I’ve found that most manufacturers put fairly weak springs into their guns since a lot of the range ammo you will find is downloaded closer to .40 S&W power. This XDm Elite felt pretty weak to me. My single spring XDm .45 with a 4.5″ barrel had more felt resistance.
The grip is pretty large on these guns which is expected from a double stack 10, I can’t fault basic physics. While it’s nicely contoured like the rest of the XDm line this one is also quite short due to the compact frame. It appears these pistols come standard with an enlarged magazine well but it had been removed on this example. Grip texturing is the same as other XDm’s which again is attractive but not the most functional. While the not quite flush 10 round magazines do have a baseplate big enough to get my little finger onto, the extended 15 round magazines are highly recommended for some much needed control.
Having held this exact same gun in both 10mm and .45 ACP with the magazine funnel helps me understand why it was removed on this one. With it installed the grip area becomes very cramped, it really compresses the hand on an already stubby grip. My pinkie did not enjoy this brief handling experience. The flipside is having the more pronounced lip on the bottom will likely help tame muzzle flip, something which this smaller gun could certainly benefit from.
The magazine release and slide catch are ambidextrous. Love it or hate it, the grip safety remains present. The slide has a loaded chamber indicator and a striker indicator. Sights are a red fiber optic front and a white U-notch rear which provides a quick and intuitive sight picture well suited for defensive use. Both versions, and I would imagine all of the XDm Elite series, have an optics cut on the slide.
The shooting experience is quite memorable with this gun chambered in 10 Auto. Recoil is incredibly snappy and a proper death grip is necessary if you want to keep this little beast on target. I found this gun quite punishing until trying out an extended 15 round magazine where my off-hand found some area to brace against. Combining the extra space to hold onto and holding it like I meant it helped immensely. While shooting quickly and accurately are possible you’ve gotta be prepared to commit.
I would also not recommend trying to shoot one with the ten round mag and a sore thumb joint. Ask me how I know!
Because of the grip safety every XD model I’ve yet tried all have a small gap in the beavertail for a roll pin and on every one of these guns I’ve found this area loves to rub the inside knuckle of my thumb. My .45 XDm has always been great at doing just this. If you have similar concerns then it’s worth keeping in mind with the 10, it’ll likely bite you in this same spot.
As someone who both likes XDm pistols and loves the 10mm cartridge I really wanted this to be a home-run but I have to dock it in a few key points. In addition, it leaves me with some questions. Why a compact frame? The gun’s quite large and heavy so it wouldn’t make a great carry candidate to start. Add in any kind of defensive loads and the shorter ten round magazine and you may end up finding the gun backflipping over your shoulder when you fire it. With an extended mag providing a full length grip it’s much easier to tame but then you’ve still got the 3.8″ barrel and an even bigger grip to try and conceal. So, what’s the intended purpose of this firearm? Why is the 10mm only offered in a compact size when the 9mm versions has seen long slide variants from the factory?
I’m having a tough time recommending this choice, especially when Smith & Wesson have just come out with a 10mm M&P in two barrel lengths and Sig has the new P320 X-Ten which from what I’ve heard is proving to be a total home run (and one which I hope to review soon.) I’ve only put one round through a Smith and already believe it’s a better option than this XDm Elite. If dangerous wildlife was a concern and you still needed to keep your sidearm concealed then this option would make more sense, but from a carry perspective a 10 is quite excessive on all counts and for dealing with bears I’d much rather have a full sized gun in an open carry rig. Or, you know. A rifle. Because bear. But if this class of handgun appeals to you then I would highly suggest trying to test fire one first if at all possible. I know this is easier said than done, very few ranges have tens for rent.
There must be a market segment where this class of firearms shines, however. The Model 29 Glock has been uncontested in this segment for quite a few years with other manufacturers only recently catching up. With this in mind I suppose I could recommend the XDm Elite for one reason. Compared to the Glock it has much better ergonomics and more modern features. Then again, Glock also has the Model 20 which is a full sized frame and slide and the Model 40 with an even longer slide. At least we have more choices, right? Hopefully Springfield comes out with a full sized option as part of their standard lineup down the road as I expect it would do much better overall.
