Description
Springfield has been building the XD since 2002, and the fourth generation is the version that finally treats a red dot as standard equipment rather than an afterthought. The Springfield XD Mod 4 OSP 16 Round is a full size striker fired 9mm with a factory milled optic cut, a fiber optic front sight and sixteen rounds in the magazine, at a price that undercuts almost everything else offering the same combination.
What The Fourth Generation Changed
The headline change is the slide. Earlier XD pistols required a gunsmith to mill a slide for an optic, and the aftermarket work usually cost a substantial fraction of the pistol price. The distributor spec lists the slide cut as RMR/SRO standard, so a Trijicon RMR or SRO and the many optics built to that pattern bolt straight on. The slide ships with a cover plate installed so the pistol works immediately whether or not you own a sight.
Sights are better than most factory sets in this bracket. A red fiber optic front sight sits ahead of a white dot rear, and both are steel rather than polymer. Fiber optic front sights are exceptional in daylight because they gather ambient light and glow, though they do go dark at night, so a shooter who carries after sunset should plan on a tritium replacement eventually.
Ergonomics received the usual generational attention and it shows. The trigger guard is undercut so the hand sits higher on the bore, the beavertail is extended, the frame texture is more aggressive than earlier XDs, and the slide serrations run fore and aft. The trigger is a flat face design, which changes the leverage and makes the break feel lighter than the measured weight suggests.
Safeties, Size And Everyday Use
The XD line has always used a passive grip safety, and it remains here. A blade in the backstrap must be depressed by a firing grip before the trigger will function, which is a genuine additional layer for anyone worried about a snagged trigger during holstering. Some shooters dislike grip safeties on principle; others consider them the reason to buy an XD. Either way it is passive, so it requires nothing of you beyond holding the pistol normally.
Two visual indicators supplement it. A loaded chamber indicator sits on top of the slide and a striker status indicator at the rear, so the condition of the pistol can be confirmed by sight or by touch without racking the slide. That is useful in the dark and useful for anyone handling a firearm in a home with other people in it.
Dimensionally this is a service pistol rather than a carry gun. Overall length is 7.3 inches, height 5.5 inches, grip width 1.2 inches and weight twenty seven ounces unloaded. The four inch hammer forged barrel with a 1:10 twist stabilizes everything from 115 grain practice loads to 147 grain defensive ammunition, and a Picatinny rail on the dust cover takes a weapon light.
Springfield XD Mod 4 OSP 16 Round Specifications
- Caliber: 9mm Luger
- Model number: XDDG9101B-M4
- UPC: 706397003531
- Barrel: 4 inch hammer forged steel, Melonite finish, 1:10 twist
- Slide: forged steel, Melonite finish, factory milled for optics
- Frame: black polymer with Picatinny rail
- Front sight: red fiber optic, steel
- Rear sight: white dot, steel
- Trigger: flat face
- Safeties: passive grip safety, loaded chamber indicator, striker status indicator
- Weight: 27 ounces
- Overall length: 7.3 inches
- Height: 5.5 inches
- Grip width: 1.2 inches
- Capacity: 16 rounds, one stainless steel magazine included
Two notes on our own data. Some distributor sheets list this UPC under the older Mod.2 name; the pistol shipping under this number is the current fourth generation of the Springfield XD Mod 4 OSP 16 Round, and the specifications above come from the manufacturer. Second, only one magazine ships in the Springfield XD Mod 4 OSP 16 Round box, so budget for at least two spares before your first class or serious range session.
Why Buyers Choose The Springfield XD Mod 4 OSP 16 Round
Price is the first and most obvious argument. Very few pistols offer a factory milled optic cut, steel fiber optic sights, a flat face trigger and sixteen round capacity anywhere near this figure. Competitors typically ask you to give up the optic cut or the sights to reach it.
The second argument is that it is a known quantity. The XD platform has been in production for more than two decades with a long service record behind it, so parts, holsters and magazines are everywhere and the design quirks are thoroughly documented. Buying into a new platform always carries some risk; this one does not.
The third argument is the grip safety, at least for some buyers. Appendix carry has made a lot of shooters think harder about what happens during reholstering, and a passive blade that must be depressed by a firing grip is a meaningful additional layer. It costs nothing in speed and requires no conscious action.
Who Should Buy The Springfield XD Mod 4 OSP 16 Round
This suits a shooter buying a first serious handgun, someone equipping a home defense pistol on a budget, or anyone who wants an optics ready service gun without paying flagship money. It is a good range and training pistol. It is large for daily concealed carry, and shooters who dislike grip safeties or need a tritium front sight in the box should look elsewhere.
Before You Order A Springfield XD Mod 4 OSP 16 Round
Distributor restrictions on this SKU: no direct shipment to Rhode Island or Washington, and no sale to Illinois under PICA, California, Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands. Tell us the destination when you order and we will check before we take your money.
The one thing to buy alongside the Springfield XD Mod 4 OSP 16 Round is the dot, because the cover plate is not why you bought an optics-ready gun. The Holosun HE507C X2 green dot is the sensible starting point. For ammunition, Federal American Eagle 115gr FMJ is the practice load and Hornady Critical Defense the defensive one.
If you are cross-shopping, the Springfield Echelon Alpha is the newer full-size platform with a far more flexible optic mounting system, and the Hellcat Pro is the carry-size answer if the Springfield XD Mod 4 OSP 16 Round is too much gun for a waistband.
Chamber and pressure standards for 9mm Luger come from the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute; the factory page is at Springfield Armory.
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