The Springfield Armory XD series, opinions?

[Jeff]

So I am in the market for a modern polymer pistol. I want something that is small enough to be a carry gun but nothing so small I can barely shoot it without a magazine extension. I will mostly be using it for target and marksmanship training but I also plan to get a CCP so I want to have something smaller then my bigass .45 (1911) to use.

I have taken a strong liking to Springfield Armory's XD series pistols. I have a thing for bi-tone which is available on most of the models (stainless top, polymer bottom) Also, they are available in a wide range of sizes and calibers and are all double stacked. Hell, even the .45 holds 14rnds (13 in the clip and one in the hole)!! The 9mm holds 16+1.

So, anyone shot one? What size/cal?

I'm thinking on the 4in service model. They have it as small as 3in in the sub-compact but my pinky hangs over the bottom of the handle without the extended mag in, and the capacity is down to 10rnds in 9mm. Its hard call between service 4in or compact 4in. The compact offers the best of both worlds, but I think the mag extension looks stupid.

Sub Compact- 3in barrel 9mm/.40 10rnd


Compact- 4in barrel .45ACP ONLY 10rnd/13rnd extended mag


Service- 4in barrel 9mm/.40/.45 up to 17rnds



Also, what do you guys think is the best caliber for my use? My 1911 A1 is of course .45. So the new XD .45 might be a good choice because I can split rounds between them and buy in bulk. The problem is the round is older and clunkier and the recoil is quite a bit. .40 would be a good all around choice but when I go target shooting it gets expensive quick! 9mm is cheap, but I'm worried about if I ever do pull down on somebody will it get the job done. I know a good hollow point would help that out.

So, in the end what are your thoughts? Anyone want to suggest another gun that would fit the same bill? They are $560 new and I have seen them in mint condition for $400 used.

[Jeff]

Just so you get an idea. This is my 1911 A1. Its HUGE. For all its size it only holds 7 rnds or .45 in a single stacked mag. I can't hit a man sized target with it from 25 yrds half the time. I know its the gun though, give me a 357sig Glock and I'll put a hurtin on it.

[JohnC]

My dad has an XD, and he loves it. I *think* its the full-size .45 model.

[Jeff]

John, See if it is 4in or 5in. I'm 99% sure I want a 4in...but the 5in tactical does look cool.

[NTIman]

i have several friends who have XD45s. they love them. I havent heard a bad thing yet.

[HAULN-SS]

My friend has the 9mm for sale. 350$ with extra holster, light attachment, maybe some other crap if you're interested

[JohnC]

John, See if it is 4in or 5in. I'm 99% sure I want a 4in...but the 5in tactical does look cool.

Its the 4".

[Kaan]

if you want plastic... why not go with the original

I sleep with a Glock Model 19 with an assortment of different magazines every night

[Jeff]

if you want plastic... why not go with the original

I sleep with a Glock Model 19 with an assortment of different magazines every night

I'm not a big Glock fan. I have a friend who has two and I have shot them both. One is a model 22 and one is a 17....Are those number right? I'm not 100% sure. One is .40SW and the other is 357sig. I don't like that they are single stacked (at the range I don't like to reload mags anymore then I have to) and I don't like how wide they are for being a single stack gun.

What do you like about them over others Kaan?

Also, has anyone tried a S&W M&P40 or M&P9?

[HAULN-SS]

negative, but I have tried an H&K USP tactical and it was the sweetest .45 i've shot.

[Kaan]

Glocks arent the most accurate in a vise... thats their draw back... and the mags are single stacked because... well they can only really sell 10 rounders... or could only sell 10 rounders for a long time thanks to slick willy. my 15 rounders are double stacks and they fit in the same hole even my 33 rounder is double stacked and goes right in.

They are easy to maintain... it breaks down into 4 parts... cleaning is EASY... when you have to clean them... I never cleaned my gun in college because i lived on campus and the gun stayed at the police station... SO... i might have fired a years worth of rounds through it and cleaned it every summer. still worked beautifully.

It fits my hand VERY well... suprising but its more comfortable to me than the Sigs are. But thats all personal prefrance.

Its also a true single/single... where most semi auto hand guns are double/single in their "action." Its a pull and fire weapon... the first shot doesnt differ from any of the others... unlike the USP line from H&K and the Sigs...etc.

There were ALOT of "mods" that could be done to make the glock much more user friendly. I bought the gun for about $460 new... and put another $2500 in it... because at the time i was competeing in speed shooting competitions with it... I was the only 9mm in the unlimited class... the only one that didnt have a "scope" or lazer... it still fired faster with ZERO jams.

now lets talk about jams. Glocks arent ment for 1st time gun owners. They dont have a real safety... the triggers arent double action... AND your first 500 rounds are going to be annoying. Glocks have break in periods... they work great one shot at a time out of the box... but you cant double tap etc without some wear on the gun... its just of those things. From talking to my uncle (Glocksmith/Gunsmith) its more common in the compact models than the full size and the sub compact... and we arent sure why.

These guns are over engineered. They take the COLD (we would go out Rt. 33 and fire when it was lower than 30.... sometimes colder)... I cant over heat it... and i have enough mags to put 500 rounds through at a time! All the mags are over sprung from glock... so the +2 extensions work fine... they can also sit with rounds in them for a LONG time and not get spring fatigue.

Mine currently runs a 3 pound trigger, recoil rod, titanium internals, stock barrel, extended mag release, butt plug, grip, tighter recoil spring, etc.... still as good as gold... it feels really well balanced when its fully loaded and when its empty (expect with the 33 round mag).

ps- if this is just a "fun gun" i'd go with 9mm because the rounds are cheaper... plus if you fire a mag of the 1911 and then switch to the 9mm you are going to get crazy accurate with the 9mm

[Jeff]

Thanks Kaan, that tells me a lot about Glocks. I really need to take Mike's 40 and 357sig back out and blast caps for awhile and get a feel for them. They just seem like they are to wide in my hand. Maybe if I spent more time on them I could learn to love it. I guess part of that two is the ridiculously thin 1911. I agree that going from a clunky old .45 made in the 20's to a 9mm poly gun built two years ago alone will improve my accuracy considerably. I guess having your hand not sore after 100rnds will be an added bonus.

[Jeff]

So, I went to the gun store to pick up my 9mm XD. Sadly it was already sold (it was used at $400). So...I decided to get this instead...



random huh? Its getting as bad as my car habit. Its a Colt King Cobra 357mag. 4in barrel. Its almost match grade...I LOVE IT. I never thought I would be a revolver man, but its much-mo-betta at the range.

Oh, and it puts big ole' holes in shit.

[Kaan]

how is the ballance with that gun? the only revolver i've shot in the last 5 years was one of those Taurus Titanium revolvers. needless to say... it was built really well... but in .357 it kicked like a mule because the damn gun weights next to nothing... and the draw and shoot was awful because of how light it was...

[Jeff]

I got turned on to revolvers by a former professor of mine. He had me shooting his Ruger Black Hawk (.44mag) and that was a bit much. It had an 8in barrel and weighed a ton and still kicked my arms off. So I figured if I would get one I would grab a .357 because I could shoot .38 special in it at the range an load up with some +P's or Hydrashocks for protection in .357. Anyway, one of his friends (who goes to the range with us all the time) had a Taurus .38 snub. It is the titanium series, so I know how light they are. It was hard to keep a close group even at like 20ft. At least with any speed. I'm sure the 3in barrel had something to do with that. Anyway, I really like this one. Its got some weight to it. Its stainless steel, and is the classic colt V-frame brought over from the Python line. Its basically an economy Python in a shorter length. Everywhere I have read claims they are nearly match grade right out of the box. If you can come down for MM gun day I would love for you to shoot it and give me an opinion. I don't have a holster for it so I can't comment on draw to shoot.

[Kaan]

get one organized for the spring. Its best to go to the rifle range off 33. I know they built a pistol range there but its not all the great plus there is more room to shoot at things like kegs and car doors!

I have about 500 target rounds for my 9mm. Anyone can shoot it. Its been a while since i've been shooting but i can teach you guys the propper mechanics... no matter how rusty i am.

[Jeff]

Kaan, the MM Skeet Shooting outing is evolving into a cap blasting day of all kinds. Maybe you could make it out for that when we decide on a date.

[Ryan T]

We need one of these for target shooting: .577 T-Rex

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQJSZs-euZU&eurl=">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQJSZs-euZU&eurl=</a><!-- m -->

"The following data was developed in an A-SQUARE Hannibal model rifle. The rifle weighed 13.6 pounds. No effort was made to shoot it for group accuracy, as the whole purpose of this rifle is as a last resort stopper for animals that are intent on changing the make up of your anatomy! Suffice to say that all groups with all powder charges, at various velocities, went into a group of approximately 8 inches, at 100 yards, with the majority of the higher velocity loads grouping in less than 3 inches! This is fantastic accuracy for a rifle of this power, with open sights.

We could not approach the published velocities in the excellent A-SQUARE reloading manual, with their listed powders. As an example, they listed 177.5 grains of Reloader 19 for a velocity of 2473 fps. We used 178 grains of our lot of Reloader 19 and only managed to get 2283 fps. That is almost 200 fps less! Their data was apparently developed in a barrel of 26 inches, while ours measured only 23 inches. Still, this is no criticism of A-SQUARE, it just shows the differences you might get by using different rifles and different lots of powder. In the velocity department, we were able to increase the velocity to over 100 fps more than the maximum published by A-SQUARE, by using a powder they did not use. There was no sign of excessive pressure at all, in fact, we think that 2600 fps is quite feasible in this rifle without too much trouble ÔÇô except recoil! We only stopped because we ran out of bullets!

And talking of recoil, this rifle has is it in spades! Admittedly, it is fitted with the A-SQUARE Coil-Check stock, which has three mercury reducers and the pad area is significantly larger than a normal stock. Both of these modifications to the stock will help reduce recoil. Still, any cartridge that produces over 11,000 foot pounds of energy is going to give you a good whalop. And I guarantee you, you are not going to be disappointed!

Credit must be given to A-SQUARE for designing and bringing out a number of very high velocity cartridges in their caliber, like the 300 PEGASUS and the 338 EXCALIBUR. Also they produce factory ammo for many wildcats and old cartridges. We have one of their HANNIBAL rifles in 300 PEGASUS here for load development. As soon as our testing is complete, we will put it up on the site.

I have a Ruger #1 rechambered for the 460 Weatherby magnum, and a Dakota 76 custom rifle chambered for a wildcat cartridge based on the 416 Rigby case necked up to 475. The recoil of the 577 Tyrannosaur at velocities of 2150 fps and below is comparable to the above mentioned rifles. Once the velocity gets to 2400 fps, then the recoil is very severe. And at our maximum of 2581 fps, it is plain painful!

Personally, I would take my chances with a charging elephant or buffalo armed with a 460 Weatherby magnum, or even a lesser cartridge like the 375 H&H magnum, rather than the 577 Tyrannosaur. I know I would be scared of the recoil! Also, please bare in mind that WHERE you place the bullet is more important than the SIZE of the bullet! I have shot a number of elephants, and dozens of cape buffalo. Most of them with a 375 caliber wildcat based on the 404 Jeffery. The majority of them are one shot kills, and according to my professional hunter, with over 30 years of guiding, they do not seem to go any further than when shot with larger caliber rifles.

We have a HEYM bolt action rifle chambered for the 600 Nitro Express cartridge. We are still waiting for our supply of bullets, and as soon as we get them, we will try to develop some loads for it. It would be interesting to see this cartridge performs in a bolt action rifle.

We used the Federal 215 primer, and the Barnes monolithic solid 750 grain bullet, and the overall cartridge length was 3.710 inches."

[BLINGMW]

heh that was funny

[CaptainHenreh]

That last guy was pretty cool, but I always wonder about any rifle cartridge bigger than .50BMG.

Seriously. I mean, they claim the TRex, Nyati, .577 Nitro, etc can be fired from the shoulder but it's pretty clear from that video that's not what they're intended to be.

Frankly, I'd *much* rather have a .30-378 Weatherby than some enormous .50+ caliber gun. My friend's dad hunts bighorn sheep with a .30 weatherby mag, and that thing *is* a cannon. But I can't even imagine a TRex, Nyati, or the like.

I would like to try a .338 Lapua though. I think that would be kind of cool.