Choosing the right Trijicon HD's for your Springfield Armory XDS

By James Nicholas

This article was originally published March 31, 2013. Since this article Trijicon has released an XDS specific version of the HD night sights. The XDS specific series is SP102. These are basically the exact same sights as the Sig Sauer versions. You can order either one, I would recommend what ever version you can find cheaper go with that version.

**************Original article is as follows**********
Since the XDS comes from the factory with the same height sights "G" as most all of the other XD & XDm`s there is already aftermarket sights that fit this new pistol. Springfield was wrong when the first reported that the dovetail were different on the XDS pistol. After getting my first XDS in hand and installing aftermarket sights on it I was correct on my assumption that the dovetail was not different from the other XD pistols.

My copy of the XDS came equipped with the "G" marked rear sight. The "G" marked factory sights come on almost 99% of all XD series pistols no matter the barrel length or calibre.

The Trijicon HD XD specific Model # SP101O/SP101Y Orange/Yellow version does not look right on the small XDS slide. The rear sight sticks out off the back of the slide and the gap underneath is kind of wide.

The proper Trijicon HD sight set for the XDS pistol is the version that also works on Sig Sauer pistols. The Trijicon model# SG101O/SG101Y Orange/Yellow. Since the rear sight in this sight set is slightly smaller from front to back it fits nicely on the smaller slide of the XDS. 

When using the Trijicon HD`s on the XDS you should use a combat sight picture. Put the front dot center in the cut out of the rear sight.....this will line up all three dots. Put the center of the front dot on what you want to hit. To make a head shot put the front dot covering the nose to hit the nose. With a combat sight picture your front sight will cover the center of the target and you should try to keep both eyes open. Let the front sight dot float in space in front of you. This is very similar and you should use the same technique when shooting a red dot on a rifle. 

This target represents the XDS being shot with factory sights and Winchester white box 230gr RN. My pistol shot to the left constantly at 10 ft, this is not an error on the shooters part since the shot grouping was always tight and always to the left. After adjusting the rear sight slightly to the left, the impacts were centered. Using a 6' Oclock sight picture I was shooting low. When using a combat sight picture I was on target. 

You can buy sights directly from us on our shopping cart: www.xdman.com  

If you purchase the sights from us we will also install them for free for you. Just order the sights you need and when you check out use the special instructions and let me know you would like to take advantage of the free install.