Charley
Member
I've been looking to buy a gun actively since April, and I've spent the time saving my money and doing my homework on various types of pistols. At first, I considered buying a Glock 19, then a Steyr M-Series on a tangent, but I eventually was persuaded away from these, either by trying them out or from hearing what other people thought of them. A few people I talked to a while back mentioned getting a Springfield XD...which I hadn't heard of at the time. I'm still somewhat of a gun novice (as in, I have some knowledge of guns and how to use them, etc, but I'm not a Tackleberry yet), so I really am trying to learn the ropes on every little detail. I knew that I wanted something with manageable size and weight, a polymer semi-automatic design, chambered in either 9mm, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, or 10mm. I'd considered a .45, but to be honest, I'd rather ante up for a 1911 if I'm gonna get one of those, because I want something with full capacity, and with the right kind of weight to be able to handle the more powerful .45, and from past experience, I've enjoyed firing the 1911.
So with that tangent aside, I knew the characteristics of what I wanted, so it narrowed the playing field. I was shopping around, and I was able to find a .40 Springfield XD Service model at one of my local gun stores, and being offered for $400. I sprung for it, seeing that it was over 100 less than what I'd seen for a new Glock 19, and a full 85 less than other XD's I'd seen on the Springfield Armory site, and even 50 less than other XD's I'd seen in other gun shops around town.
Took the lion's share of my last paycheck, but I brought the thing home. So far, I absolutely love it. It's a bit heavier than the Glock 19, and noticably heavier than my friend's .40 S&W Sigma, which is a good thing, because the Sigma bucks a bit much on recoil in the .40 It fits in the hand almost identically to a 1911 grip, which is comfortable. The only complaints I have are that the ambidextrous mag release on it is a little stiff, as is the slide catch, although the SIG-style takedown mechanism it has is excellent, far and above the Glock's system IMO. The trigger pull is a bit lengthy, but manageable, and all of the gun's safety features are really impressive (trigger safety, grip safety, firing pin indicator, chamber load indicator, etc).
I took it out for a brief test drive yesterday, and at 15 meters, it was consistently grouping at a 1.5 inch radius, with very mild recoil. Field-stripping and cleaning was a snap, and all in all, I have to say I'm very satisfied with my purchase.
Does anyone else own an XD, or have any time on one? What are your thoughts on it, for better or worse, and if I can ask...can you give me any advice or tips on using such a gun, maintaing it, or maybe a preference on ammunition and/or accessories.
So with that tangent aside, I knew the characteristics of what I wanted, so it narrowed the playing field. I was shopping around, and I was able to find a .40 Springfield XD Service model at one of my local gun stores, and being offered for $400. I sprung for it, seeing that it was over 100 less than what I'd seen for a new Glock 19, and a full 85 less than other XD's I'd seen on the Springfield Armory site, and even 50 less than other XD's I'd seen in other gun shops around town.
Took the lion's share of my last paycheck, but I brought the thing home. So far, I absolutely love it. It's a bit heavier than the Glock 19, and noticably heavier than my friend's .40 S&W Sigma, which is a good thing, because the Sigma bucks a bit much on recoil in the .40 It fits in the hand almost identically to a 1911 grip, which is comfortable. The only complaints I have are that the ambidextrous mag release on it is a little stiff, as is the slide catch, although the SIG-style takedown mechanism it has is excellent, far and above the Glock's system IMO. The trigger pull is a bit lengthy, but manageable, and all of the gun's safety features are really impressive (trigger safety, grip safety, firing pin indicator, chamber load indicator, etc).
I took it out for a brief test drive yesterday, and at 15 meters, it was consistently grouping at a 1.5 inch radius, with very mild recoil. Field-stripping and cleaning was a snap, and all in all, I have to say I'm very satisfied with my purchase.
Does anyone else own an XD, or have any time on one? What are your thoughts on it, for better or worse, and if I can ask...can you give me any advice or tips on using such a gun, maintaing it, or maybe a preference on ammunition and/or accessories.
Managed to clear it only to have it lock up so tight on the next round that I had to have it removed by a gunsmith (who put a dowel down the barrel and tapped it until the round was out of the chamber). 
I finished the lot through a Glock 19 and S&W 5946 without a hitch. Seems the chambers are much tighter on XDs than other guns in my collection. A veteran XD shooter at the range told me to get one of those Lee factory crimp dies and that will make the problem go away. Anyway, I'm not shooting reloads anymore unless I assemble them my self and check each round prior to use. Other than this one instance, my XD has been exceptional. I'd really like to put night sights on this gun, but if you go over to XDtalk, you'll find that this isn't easy to do and it's just not worth it to me to send the slide back to Springfield. Overall impression is that they are pretty good quality guns, but I still shoot my G19 better. A bonified problem that I heard from a bunch of shooters: the finish seems to wear pretty easily. A good number of people have solved this one by having the slide chromed or applied a similar hard finish.