RainDodger
Member
I picked up a brand new XDs 45 last weekend. Yesterday was its first range day.
I put 120 rounds of my standard 230 grain FMJs, over 5.6 grains of W231. Absolutely no malfunctions whatsoever. No problems - not one. I was quite impressed and consider that to be pretty uncommon for any new pistol, especially a sub-compact with a 3.3" barrel. I will start trying some other cartridges now, to see how it handles different bullet shapes.... but I'll stick to something like a Gold Dot with the same basic profile. Reliability is everything.
The trigger is not great - long pull and not light, but at least it is relatively smooth. I was able to hold a fairly decent group - softball-sized - at 30 feet, offhand with a Weaver stance. I think this is going to be a good carry pistol.
Another criticism I have is the sights... although the front one is one of those fiber optic things, it obviously needs light to work. In a fairly dark indoor range there isn't enough light to help. The sights may as well be black. If I really wanted to make the pistol better, I'd put some tritium sights on it or some white dots, but I don't think it's really worth doing. If I have to use the pistol its probably not going to be at any great distance. I will probably leave it totally stock as it came from the factory.
I was also surprised at the plastic/kydex(?) holster that comes in the box with it. It actually works pretty well! I'll probably drop the pistol in a coat pocket rather than using that paddle holster, but if I do elect to use it, it will work just fine.
So, the bottom line here is, spend the time to get your XDs working correctly if it's not. Once you do, you'll find it pretty easy to handle. It's not nearly as brutal with the recoil as I thought it was going to be. Totally manageable, even with the short 5-round magazines and your pinkie hanging off the bottom.
Good luck, guys.
I put 120 rounds of my standard 230 grain FMJs, over 5.6 grains of W231. Absolutely no malfunctions whatsoever. No problems - not one. I was quite impressed and consider that to be pretty uncommon for any new pistol, especially a sub-compact with a 3.3" barrel. I will start trying some other cartridges now, to see how it handles different bullet shapes.... but I'll stick to something like a Gold Dot with the same basic profile. Reliability is everything.
The trigger is not great - long pull and not light, but at least it is relatively smooth. I was able to hold a fairly decent group - softball-sized - at 30 feet, offhand with a Weaver stance. I think this is going to be a good carry pistol.
Another criticism I have is the sights... although the front one is one of those fiber optic things, it obviously needs light to work. In a fairly dark indoor range there isn't enough light to help. The sights may as well be black. If I really wanted to make the pistol better, I'd put some tritium sights on it or some white dots, but I don't think it's really worth doing. If I have to use the pistol its probably not going to be at any great distance. I will probably leave it totally stock as it came from the factory.
I was also surprised at the plastic/kydex(?) holster that comes in the box with it. It actually works pretty well! I'll probably drop the pistol in a coat pocket rather than using that paddle holster, but if I do elect to use it, it will work just fine.
So, the bottom line here is, spend the time to get your XDs working correctly if it's not. Once you do, you'll find it pretty easy to handle. It's not nearly as brutal with the recoil as I thought it was going to be. Totally manageable, even with the short 5-round magazines and your pinkie hanging off the bottom.
Good luck, guys.
