It’s been over a couple of decades now since Springfield Armory introduced the XD line of pistols. During that time, there has been a steady evolution of features and enhancements to the original series, along with the introduction of three other branches of the XD family, including the XD-M, XD-E (external hammer) and the XD-M Elite. The XD-M and the XD-M Elite lineups brought along even further refinements, including modular back straps, augmented trigger designs, match-grade barrels and improved ergonomics. All of the models in the XD family have been offered in a variety of calibers, including 9mm, .45 ACP, .357 SIG, and .40 S&W. Later models were also offered in 10mm Auto as well. Now the Springfield XD Mod.3 OSP brings the latest generation of XD refinement.

Springfield XD Mod.3 OSP

Even with the development of the XD-M and XD-M Elite lines that offered improved features and materials, Springfield hung on to the original XD line sort of as a baseline option for budget shoppers. I was an early adopter of the original XD, and though it might seem like a baseline, budget option these days, I was extremely satisfied with the pistol that I bought back in 2003. In fact, during the last two decades, I’ve owned eight different XD family pistols, including original XD models, an XD-E in .45 ACP, XD-M variants and a couple of XD-M Elites. In that time, I have never had an issue with a single pistol and have never experienced a single malfunction with any of them—at least not one that was attributed to the pistol.

That’s why I was really interested when I heard the news that Springfield Armory was introducing the new XD Mod.3 version of their basic lineup. I was even more intrigued when I heard that the MSRP for the new pistol was going to be just $325. To put that into perspective, until just recently, a basic 9mm XD with a 4-inch barrel had an MSRP of $440. Not only was Springfield coming out with a new version of its XD pistols with a few improvements, it was going to roll out that new pistol with a price reduction of around 26%. Yeah, they got my attention, but more about why that got my attention later.

Nuts and Bolts

Like its baseline predecessors, the new XD Mod.3 OSP variant comprises a polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol. The first iteration is chambered in 9mm, though it’s possible more calibers will be available since the Mod.2 line had other calibers like .45 ACP and .40 S&W. The pistol I received for review is what Springfield calls its service model. It has a 4-inch barrel and the capacity of 16+1 rounds, and like previous XD-series pistols, each ships with one magazine to keep costs low.

There are a few significant changes to the XD Mod.3 series of pistols. First, the re-contoured slide close resembles Springfield’s Echelon lineup. The slide includes more ample serrations at the front and rear, with an increase in the number of serrations to facilitate easier manipulation of the slide. Up front, the slide includes nice beveling, facilitating easier re-holstering after shooting.

The rear of the Melonite-treated slide flares out, resembling “cocking ears” that you see on pistols from other manufacturers. This flared portion provides the user with a better grasp of the slide to sling-shot it into action. Finally, the XD Mod.3’s slide includes an optics cut that was not available on previous XD pistols. This will allow the user to mount their favorite of many popular pistol optics on the market.

Redesigned Frame

Springfield re-shaped the polymer frame, improving the XD’s ergonomics. The grip area offers more curves, proving less boxy, and the revamped texturing to the front and backstrap offers a feel similar to Springfield’s Adaptive Grip Texturing found on the Echelon and Hellcat. However, the flats of the grip box remain untreated, making the slides a little slick. I’m sure this is a cost-cutting measure, and we’ll have to wait a bit to see if it impacts our ability to control the pistol during recoil. While I wouldn’t quite call them finger grooves, the frontstrap does feature slight indentations that offer at least a more pleasing visual appeal. Buyers, take note that there are no markings for the “Grip Zone,” so you’ll have to muddle through that quandary for yourself. 

There are a few less noticeable changes, but they do facilitate better ease of use. The trigger, tweaked to showcase a flat face, delivers improved trigger geometry. The magazine release includes new texturing for easier engagement. And finally, the grip safety includes a memory bump to ensure positive activation. I know there are those that say the grip safety is an ingress point for dust to collect and cause the grip safety to hang up. I’m not one of them. The 1911 has been around for over 110 years and I have never met anyone that complained about dust causing the grip safety to jam. I personally like a grip safety on a pistol that has a relatively light trigger pull but no manual thumb safety.

Feature-Rich Platform

The XD Mod.3 offers a few other sweet amenities, including a Picatinny accessory rail, an ambidextrous magazine that works quite well on either side, and a fiber-optic front sight. Rear sight serrations mitigate glare; it includes two white dots for solid contrast with the front sight. Below the rear sight, there is a cocked-striker indicator to warn the user of the pistol’s charged status, though that doesn’t necessarily mean there is a round in the chamber. The cold-hammer-forged barrel lacks the match-grade status like those found in the XD-M Elite series. Finally, the recoil system is a two-piece, captive, dual-spring arrangement that is common in most striker-fired pistols today.

The only other observation I can make before getting the XD Mod.3 out to the range is about the quality feel that it has along with the very clean lines and professional finish. I take that back. I also really like how easy the XD Mod.3 disassembled for cleaning. The user simply drops the magazine, locks the slide back and then flips up the disassembly lever on the left side. After that, you simply unlock the slide and gently ease it forward while pulling the trigger to allow the slide to slip off the frame. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

1,000-Round Challenge

The first thing that crossed my mind when I heard about the XD Mod.3’s MSRP of just $325 was that the street price was probably going to be under $300. That’s not a guarantee, but just an educated guess. In the year 2024, just about any pistol is going to be accurate enough for self-defense use, especially within distances of 25 yards or less. However, when you start flirting with that $300 price line, a lot of people—including myself—are a little dubious about a pistol’s reliability. Let’s face it; with good enough accuracy for close-quarters, defensive use, reliability is going to be the most critical factor.

That’s why I decided to run 1,000 rounds of various ammo types through the new Springfield XD Mod.3 OSP. I already knew about the exemplary service I got from my previous XD and XD-M series pistols, but I wanted to know that level of performance would still be offered by Springfield’s latest XD iteration. This a was a particular concern since the company was apparently doing something different to reduce the price by over 25% in comparison to the XD Mod.2.  

Torture Time!

After reaching out to the folks at Springfield for a few extra magazines, and after scrounging around for a good amount of ammunition, I put the new XD Mod.3 OSP to work straight out of the box on three different occasions at the range. For the testing, I shot equal amounts of different weights from 115 grains to 150 grains. I shot FMJs and TMJs from Remington, Federal Premium, and SIG Sauer, and I shot a slew of Federal’s Syntech clad bullets. Around 20% of the 1,000 rounds were premium loads used for running drills and accuracy testing. These included Federal’s 147-grain +P HST load, Remington’s 147-grain Bonded Golden Saber load, and Hornady’s 115-grain and 135-grain Critical Defense and Critical Duty loads, respectively.

After those three outings with the XD Mod.3, I finally had my answer with regard to reliability. The XD Mod.3 OSP did not suffer a single malfunction whatsoever. Zip. Zero. Zilch. On one hand, I was kind of expecting that, but with that new lower price, there was still a sliver of apprehension on my part. That apprehension turned out to be completely unfounded—at least with the pistol that I tried. The pistol chewed through everything flawlessly. 

Lots of Rounds Downrange

On top of that, the magazines were easy to work with. Some of Springfield’s magazines are a little stiff, particularly with the last few rounds. That wasn’t the case with the four magazines I had on hand for the XD Mod.3 OSP. I was able to easily load all of the magazines to the brim with just my thumb. Though, as easy as they were to load, I still got a little fatigued after a few hundred rounds, so I switched off to the Maglula Uplula speed loader after a while.

When it came to the accuracy testing, I didn’t have much to complain about there, either. No, the XD Mod.3 isn’t what you would call an absolute tack driver. We test pistols with barrels of around 4 inches at 15 yards from the bench, and the group sizes for all the loads tried averaged approximately 1.72 inches. That’s not a phenomenal result at 15 yards, but it’s not too bad either, especially for a pistol with an MSRP of $325. Minute-of-Bad-Guy accuracy is all you need anyway for close-range defensive encounters. 

Accuracy Potential

That said, the XD Mod.3 did have a couple of moments of brilliance with Federal Premium’s 147-grain +P HST load. It shot an average group size of 1.23 inches and a single best group size of 1.12 inches. I’ll have to do more testing to see if the XD does that consistently with that load or not. If it does, then I’ve found my preferred load for this pistol since I use it with several other pistols I own. Every pistol is different, and who knows? Maybe I’ll find yet another load that will shoot even better.

As far as the handling and shootability goes, the XD Mod.3 OSP was very satisfying to work with at the range. The ergos are solid, resulting in a comfortable grip that was easy to control during recoil. I didn’t have any issues with control during my testing despite the texturing not being very aggressive, though I was shooting in fairly ideal circumstances. 

While the texturing looks similar to the company’s Adaptive Grip Texturing, it didn’t quite feel the same. Personally, I’d want the texturing to be a bit more aggressive and to cover more surface area on the grip that what’s offered on the XD Mod.3. But that’s just a consequence of cost shavings for that low MSRP. When I buy the XD Mod.3 and it’s officially mine, I’ll either try to figure out some additional stippling or maybe pick up a wrap-around grip from Talon Grips for it.

All-Around Shooter

As far as shooting the XD Mod.3 goes, it felt like pretty much any other standard striker-fired, polymer-framed pistol with a 4-inch barrel. The polymer frame did a good job of soaking up felt recoil even with the +P loads I tried. The pistol gets a little bouncy if you don’t have a solid lock on your wrist, but it never felt like it was getting out of hand, and there wasn’t any discomfort even after hundreds of rounds at a time.

I’ve always liked the controls on Springfield’s pistols, and the XD Mod.3 doesn’t disappoint. The slide stop is that Goldilocks size that’s easy to reach and engage, but still small enough to keep out of the way. The downside, though, is that the slide stop is not ambidextrous. That’s another cost-saving measure and lefties will just have to adapt. The magazine release, however, is ambidextrous and works beautifully. Springfield positioned it in just the right spot so that when I’m pushing with my thumb, the opposite side doesn’t push out against my other fingers too much. This made changing out mags on the fly pretty much effortless.

One of the best features about the XD Mod.3 is the trigger, and I’m not sure why it doesn’t get more press. No, it’s not the lightest striker-fired trigger going. Canik and Walther have pretty much won that prize for production pistols, but having the lightest trigger possible is not always the best choice when it comes to a defensive pistol. It’s great for a competition gun but can get you into trouble during defensive use when the adrenalin hits you like a runaway train.

Defensive Trigger

The trigger on the XD Mod.3 is shaped more like the one on the XD-M Elite and has a flatter face than the previous model. There’s about a quarter-inch of very smooth and clean take-up before the wall. Then there’s a few millimeters of grit-free creep before a very satisfying and authoritative break that actually feels rather crispy for a striker-fired pistol. The trigger on the review pistol I had averaged a 5.33-pound pull before the break. To me, that’s just about perfect for a defensive pistol, especially when the travel is clean and the pull doesn’t feel spongy.

The only thing I could gripe about with the trigger is that the reset is a good bit longer than some of my other pistols. I guess you could be disadvantaged if you shoot the fastest splits in the world, but for most folks, it’s not going to be an issue. I had no problem putting as many rounds downrange as quickly as I wanted. It’s just not going to make a big difference once you get used to the pistol’s cadence.

Impressive Frame Details

The trigger guard on the XD Mod.3 is roomy enough to allow use with gloved hands. It’s not quite as big as a CZ P10 or a Walther PDP, but definitely more space than what’s available with a Glock. I liked the sights well enough, too. They’re pretty nice considering the price point. However, if you plan on running an optic, you’ll need to invest in a set of suppressor-height sights since the factory sights won’t co-witness with the optic.

The one thing that impressed me more than I thought it would is the re-contoured slide with the extra machining for more aggressive serrations over more surface area and the flared portion at the rear. The slide serrations are just about perfect for providing a secure grasp without being too obnoxious and in your face. And you could miss the flared portion at the rear of the slide if you weren’t looking too closely, but it does make a world of difference in providing a secure purchase on the back to cycle the pistol into action.

The Rationale

So, why was I so intrigued when I heard about the XD Mod.3 being released? After all, I have ready access to the best firearms on the market, and I’ve already got a bunch of them sitting in my two gun safes. Well, while I’m just about always armed, even inside my home, I like to leave a few pistols strategically hidden around the house. I like to have at least one, if not two of them, in each room. I don’t want to do that with my high-dollar pistols or even my mid-range pistols in case someone breaks in and happens to find any of them. I’d like to invest as little money as possible into the pistols I sprinkle around the house, garage, barn and even in the truck when I’m packing one in a fishing kit or backpack.

For me, that’s where the XD Mod.3 comes into the picture. Just because I want a good value and don’t want to worry about the price of admission, that doesn’t mean I’m willing to sacrifice performance and reliability. The XD Mod.3 is comfortable to shoot, packs a good capacity, and has a tough finish to handle knocks and bangs and rough handling. It’s also very accurate with its preferred load, has a pretty great trigger, and is dead-nuts reliable. On top of that, I can buy three of them and a few spare magazines to boot for right around a thousand dollars. I like my high-end guns, but I’m a real sucker for strong value, and the value proposition for the XD Mod.3 OSP is as about as good as it gets.

Solid Upgrade

For the next person that’s not into decorating their house with striker-fired pistols, the XD Mod.3 is a great entry point for someone to try their hand at shooting and self-defense without investing a lot of money. Or, with the way things are with inflation and rising costs, even the most experienced gun enthusiast could be on a budget and need a break when picking out their next home defense or carry pistol. And even with that price, whoever buys an XD Mod.3 still gets Springfield’s lifetime warranty.

While it might not be the sexiest pistol on the market, the XD Mod.3 has a lot to offer. Even without the $325 MSRP, it’s still a very competent package that holds its own against any other pistol under $750. But, when you throw in that extra-low price point, it’s really just too good a value to pass up. If you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, then I would definitely give the Springfield XD Mod.3 OSP a try!

For more information, visit springfield-armory.com.

Springfield XD Mod.3 OSP Specs

• Caliber: 9mm
• Barrel: 4 inches
• OA Length: 7.3 inches
• Height: 5.5 inches
• Width: 1.3 inches
• Weight:  27.76 ounces w/Crimson Trace
• Grips: Polymer
• Sights: Fiber-Optic Front, Two-Dot Rear
• Action: Striker-Fired
• Finish: Melonite
• Magazine Capacity: 16+1
• MSRP: $325

Performance

Load	Velocity	Average Group	Best Group
Federal 147-grain +P HST	1,033	1.23	1.12
Hornady 115-grain FTX Critical Defense	1,161	2.02	1.56
Hornady 135-grain +P Critical Dut	1,098	2.02	1.56
Remington 147-grain Golden Saber Bonded	995	2.22	1.54