The XD-E is dead. Long live the XD-E.

[BreechFace]

If you had taken a look at the XD-E, and didn’t buy it, what were your reasons?

I was really interested when I heard about the XD-E (this was before I banned Springfield from my pocket book). I was looking for a DA/SA gun for carry in a small package. Upon getting to handle one it had as much ergonomics as a pork chop , and the trigger was not good . There's something about the look of the gun from the side it has such a wide profile from top of slide to bottom of dust cover, very bulky and blocky. Don't know maybe it was just me but it didn't do anything for me. And I don't mind plain jane, Glock's are my preference.

After looking it over and knowing it was not the gun for me, I quickly moved onto the CZ PCR and what a night and day difference.

And if they were to discount the remaining inventory, how low would the price have to go for you to buy one.

Don't think I would buy one for any amount, unless I knew I could flip it for some cash. I don't need another pistol taking up space just to say I have it. And my bullets would be better sent, spinning down one of my other pistol's barrels.

 

[JR24]

Don't think I would buy one for any amount, unless I knew I could flip it for some cash. I don't need another pistol taking up space just to say I have it. And my bullets would be better sent, spinning down one of my other pistol's barrels.

I agree, there’s always something I’d want more than a random gun I don’t need or want. Ultimately, for me, it was just too big and heavy for the capacity. Also the safety seemed unnecessary.

 

[gc70]

Let’s not forget that we’re talking about Springfield dropping the XD-E from their lineup. Going to far off topic will most likely get the topic locked.
Let’s look at in a different direction.
If you had taken a look at the XD-E, and didn’t buy it, what were your reasons? And if they were to discount the remaining inventory, how low would the price have to go for you to buy one.

Many people seem to take a cursory look at a gun and form an immutable opinion from that first impression. A lot of people complain about the XD-E looking like a Hi-Point, which I believe is an unfortunate result of Springfield's poor choice of official photos.

Springfield's photos often show the XDE from an angle that shows both the side and top of the slide; that perspective both makes the slide look taller and the grip look shorter. Below is an angled official photo on the left and a profile photo on the right.



After the Hi-Point first impression is formed, most people don't bother to do actual comparisons. Below are photos (to scale) comparing an XD-E and Sig P239. The slides of both guns are essentially the same height. The XD-E's dust cover is taller than the P239's, but only by the extra height of the XD-E's rail. The XD-E grip is clearly deeper front-to-back than the P239, but the XD-E is bigger to accommodate its longer .45 ACP chambering. For specific dimensions, the P239 is 0.15" shorter in length, 0.1" taller, 0.18" wider, and 0.2 oz. heavier than the XD-E.



BTW, I was in the looks-like-a-Hi-Point camp until I happened to find an XD-E beside a P239 at my LGS. Hmmm ... the two guns were not too different and I had happily carried a P239 for years..

 

[somethingbenign]

If there was a way to make it decocker only I probably would have gotten one when they were packing extra mags and shirts in the range bag. I have been keeping an eye out for a P239 since I started buying handguns and it is funny how much smaller and handier of a gun it is vs a XDE.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

If you had taken a look at the XD-E, and didn’t buy it, what were your reasons? And if they were to discount the remaining inventory, how low would the price have to go for you to buy one.

Thanks for the redirect. I've already established than I'm a fan of the XD-E, so I'll answer the 2nd half of your question. As I wrote earlier, Sportsman's currently has them at $400, which is what I paid for mine, at the time they were dong the "Gear Up" promotion, so I also got a range bag and a few extra mags. (normal price is $500) I have already been looking for one new at that price again, or for a used one. At this point, if they hit anywhere south of $350 new or south of $250 used (I've never seen a used one for sale locally) I'll buy another. Not sure why I need another of the same thing, but, whatever.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

If there was a way to make it decocker only I probably would have gotten one...

Why was this an issue. The safety/decocker defaults to "fire" when you decock. You have to take an additional step of raising the lever up to put the gun on safety; why not decock, leave the gun on fire and there's your "decock only."

 

[JR24]

Why was this an issue. The safety/decocker defaults to "fire" when you decock. You have to take an additional step of raising the lever up to put the gun on safety; why not decock, leave the gun on fire and there's your "decock only."

Because, for me, there’s always the chance it gets accidentally flipped to “on” and therefore I’d need to always train to hit it off when shooting and I found the safety in a bad place to do that.

It’s why I converted my HK45c to decocker only pretty much first thing.

I’ve had safeties switch from on to off too many times in the holster to ever trust one to stay on or off without being prepared for it.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

if they were to discount the remaining inventory, how low would the price have to go for you to buy one.

Here is a variation on the theme of Gunny's question:

Springfield had just recently introduced a 4" barreled version, but it was on the same single stack frame. If they had made the XDE with a double-stack (15 rd) frame and 4-5" barrel-essentially a full size gun, all else being the same as the XD-E, would that have changed your mind?

 

[JR24]

Here is a variation on the theme of Gunny's question:

Springfield had just recently introduced a 4" barreled version, but it was on the same single stack frame. If they had made the XDE with a double-stack (15 rd) frame and 4-5" barrel-essentially a full size gun, all else being the same as the XD-E, would that have changed your mind?

Take the safety off and put the height at around 5” with a double stack mag (I.e Hk p2000 size) and keep the price in that $500 range and I’d consider it.

 

[somethingbenign]

Why was this an issue. The safety/decocker defaults to "fire" when you decock. You have to take an additional step of raising the lever up to put the gun on safety; why not decock, leave the gun on fire and there's your "decock only."

If it was like my RAMI and locked the safety off while the hammer was down I could live with it. As it sits with a safety that can engage while the hammer is down I just can't feel comfortable with the safety placement. If the lever extended quite a bit further it might change but at the current location I found it too difficult to flip the safety off with my thumb. I used to not care as much about this but after shooting more action pistol matches I have had a safety accidentally engage for one reason or another too many times for me to not practice turning off the safety after drawing and after reloads. If this was offered in a 22lr that I could use as a small game hunting pistol I would actually pick one up at the current price. For a hunting I don't mind the extra checking of a safety.

 

[TTv2]

I think a major problem with the XDe was it was sized for the .45 ACP, which I don't think is a popular caliber for such a pistol as more and more seem to prefer the capacity and cheap ammo of 9mm. If the XDe had been built only for 9mm and was smaller it could have been more popular.

IDK what the future is for the DA/SA pistols, the 92 will be around forever, but over the past few decades everything is moving to strikers, especially for slim CCW pistols. I still love the action, I've yet to find one DA/SA that had a bad or underwhelming SA trigger.

 

[Pistolpositive]

I had to tell the local gun shop the XDe was discontinued and the sales guy still didn't believe me. However, it matched what I was looking for in a possible replacement for my Walther PPS M1, which I have carried for about 10 years.
1 inch thick;
hammer fired;
external safety;
decocker was a bonus;
DA/SA;
close dimensions to my PPS;
like the ambi mag release.
The negative was being about 3-4 ounces heavier than my PPS.
The PPS and a S&W M&P 22c are my only striker fired guns. 1911s and CZs, along with several revolvers make up the remainder of handguns.
Will it replace my PPS as my standard carry piece. Don't know yet. Only range time will tell. I have a leather holster from Muddy River coming. But the comp-tac kydex holster I have for my PPS is super comfortable and easy to holster/draw.

 

[ExtremeSquared]

One reason there is an age correlation between hammer and striker fire is that all industries optimize towards profit, and striker-fired guns are generally cheaper to manufacture than a similar quality da/sa. Companies are pushing firearms that minimize machining cost beyond a proportional reduction in MSRP. They'd be silly not to.

So if you take a snapshot of hammer/striker usage on a given year, it will reflect a snapshot of cumulative sales, and this integral obviously has morphed over time with the market.

 

[ozarkhillbilly]

While just my opinion, I have both the XDE and a sig P239 and the XDE sucks compared to the P239. I maybe put a couple of mags through the XDE and decided I really didn’t like it. I am one of those people who really like da/sa guns but almost always carry a striker fired gun.

 

[Nature Boy]

Ether it had too much Grip Zone or not enough.

Bottom line: It’s all about the Grip Zone

 

[Styx]

That’s what happens when you’re late to the market with a gun type that is pretty much out dated.
The DA/SA guns had their hay day back when police departments were transitioning from revolvers to auto, which was back in the 80’s and 90’s.
Now days your older gun guys are the ones that still like the DA/SA pistols. Most new shooters go the way of the striker fire pistols.
And there’s the fact that it had a single stack, low count, magazine. Now days just about everyone wants a gun with a higher mag count. Just think about the flack that Glock got by only making a 10 round mag for the 43x and the 48.
And then there’s the fact that Springfield Armory doesn’t even make the gun. They just put their label on most everything they sale.

There is a huge market for DA/SA firearms. This might be a surprise to the striker fired fanboys, but a decent sized demographic actually prefers DA/SA over striker fired guns.

The XDE would have failed even if it was striker fired. It was ugly, too big, the capacity was too low, and the trigger was crap. If the gun was attractive, smaller, had better capacity, and a better DA/SA trigger, it would have sold well.

I believe Springfield designs and engineers the gun, but no one really cares if whether they brought out the factory that makes it or if they just import it from them. It would be the same difference. What matters is whether the gun has a good design, is reliable, and is priced right.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

There is a huge market for DA/SA firearms. This might be a surprise to the striker fired fanboys, but a decent sized demographic actually prefers DA/SA over striker fired guns.

The XDE would have failed even if it was striker fired. It was ugly, too big, the capacity was too low, and the trigger was crap. If the gun was attractive, smaller, had better capacity, and a better DA/SA trigger, it would have sold well.

I believe Springfield designs and engineers the gun, but no one really cares if whether they brought out the factory that makes it or if they just import it from them. It would be the same difference. What matters is whether the gun has a good design, is reliable, and is priced right.

Looking at the offerings available for purchase, I disagree that there is a "huge market' for da/sa handguns. If there were, there would be a lot more to choose from. Retailers don't carry what doesn't sell.

You may be right about the XDE's destiny to fail. When I bought mine, it was glaringly obvious that it was as heavy empty as the M&P 2.0 was loaded. I disagree with your assessment of the trigger. Comparing it to other da/sa guns, I'd say it was on par. It was never going to compete with a sa or striker gun. I think that's just the nature of the da/sa design.

 

[Styx]

Looking at the offerings available for purchase, I disagree that there is a "huge market' for da/sa handguns. If there were, there would be a lot more to choose from. Retailers don't carry what doesn't sell.

You may be right about the XDE's destiny to fail. When I bought mine, it was glaringly obvious that it was as heavy empty as the M&P 2.0 was loaded. I disagree with your assessment of the trigger. Comparing it to other da/sa guns, I'd say it was on par. It was never going to compete with a sa or striker gun. I think that's just the nature of the da/sa design.

There actually is a huge DA/SA following. CZ, Beretta, HK, Sigs, FN, Springfield, Ruger, Taurus, S&W, Bersa, and a plethora of Turkey imports and imports from other countries have DA/SA offerings. Are they as popular as striker fired handguns? No, but there is a huge following still. I see it on other forums and in real life more so than on this particular forum.

While many gun owners may own and purchase more striker fired pistols, they still like and own DA/SA handguns too. It's not an either or thing. I also have more striker fired polymer handguns, but I still love and buy 1911, revolvers, and DA/SA handguns. Just like striker fired handguns sell much more than revolvers and there aren't many companies who manufacturer revolvers; however, revolvers are still very popular millions are sold each year in the U.S. I'd say there are more offerings of DA/SA handguns from various manufacturers vs revolvers and 1911s.

I've seen multiple threads several pages long on Glocktalk, ARFcom, DefendiveCarry, AKFiles, and several other popular gun forums where the members were also very found of DA/SA handguns. In these threads, there is usually always one or two members who are critical of DA/SA handguns, and would ask why would anyone choose those over Glocks and the like. They always get overwhelming pushback from just about all other members.

As far as the the trigger being on par with some of the other DA/SA handguns on the market, I agree. With that said, most of the other handguns on the market have built up a following, have excellent aftermarket support, and they have been in the DA/SA game for a long while. There is aftermarket support to enhance the triggers. SA execution of the XDe is the only reason why it failed. The main complaints I seen and heard from those who actually purchased one was it was a huge gun for what it was, it was very unattractive, the trigger was bad, the capacity was too low, and/or they still have a stick up their behinds over SA past political dealings. If those issues didn't exist, there is no doubt in my mind that the XDE would sell well. If Glock, S&W, Beretta, CZ, Sig, HK, etc would have made that same gun with the same features but without any of the cons, the gun would have had sold very well. If Walther, HK, or Sig made one that had the capacity of a hybrid 9mm, I'd buy one in a heartbeat as would many others.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

excellent aftermarket support

This was, indeed, a problem. It's pretty difficult to find even a holster for an XDE. They're not the same as an XD, although there may be some crossover. (XD mags don't work either.) I had a local kydex guy make me a holster, using an XD form, thinking they were identical, nope. I had to bring him my XDE, he wrapped it in foil, and used my gun to make my holster.

But again, no one wants to make stuff for a gun that isn't selling. I doubt there will ever be aftermarket mags, either.

 

[Elkins45]

As a big DA/SA fan I really wanted one…until I held one. After trying the trigger I wanted one even less. I found a Sig P239 DAK in 40 for under $300 on GunBroker because I apparently was the only person who wanted it, and found several mags for $15.

The P239 made the XD-E sorta irrelevant, but apparently neither of them were relevant enough to survive in the market.

 

[Styx]

As a big DA/SA fan I really wanted one…until I held one. After trying the trigger I wanted one even less. I found a Sig P239 DAK in 40 for under $300 on GunBroker because I apparently was the only person who wanted it, and found several mags for $15.

The P239 made the XD-E sorta irrelevant, but apparently neither of them were relevant enough to survive in the market.

I have a P239 in 40s&w with a 9mm and 357 sig barrels. It's one of my favorites. It is extremely accurate. The only issue is that it too is too big, heavy, and holds too few rounds for todays market. I will never get rid of mine, but I will never carry or use it as a self defense option unless I had no other choice.