Whats so great about the XD?

[Redneck with a 40]

As an XD-40 owner I can think of a few reasons:

1) Ergonomics
2) Grip frame size/grip angle
3) reliability - mine has not choked once in the course of 2000 rounds
3) points naturally
4) very accurate
5) SA's customer service reputation and lifetime warranty
6) Very simple take down procedure
7) Smooth consistent trigger, IMO
8) Loaded chamber indicator/cocking indicator
9) I just flat out love'em.

 

[squinty]

I like my XD, though the grip angle on Glocks doesn't bother me. The grip safety engages automatically just like a 1911 grip safety, no extra motion it's just "on" when you release the gun, "off" when you take a firing grip. How useful that is is a matter of some debate, bt I like it.

The XD .45 ACP is really impressively small for a 14 round .45, much more manageable than a Glock 21 for instance.

My has had a problem with magazines. Recoil drives the back of the top round into the upper lip of the magazine, eventually causing the lip to bend outward and allowing rounds to sit improperly at the top of the mag, causing feed problems. New mags clear up the problem, but eventually the little outward bulge reappears. Thi sdoesn't hapen to everybody, maybe I just let the gun fly back a little too much when it recoils. SA has been just terrific about warranty work and swapping out the damaged magazines, no fuss no muss and they reimbursed me for shipping. The Glock magazines are metal wrapped in polymer, and they are sturdier, but bulkier and it's a B***h to load the last cou[ple rounds into them.
As for grip angle, the XD is a bit more like a 1911 than a glock, which a lot of 1911 and Sig fans like. It works for me, but so does the Glock's Luger-like grip angle, I don't see why people dislike it. It's similar to the grip angle of a Ruger Mark 2 or Mark 3 .22 lr, and nobody complains about the swept back grip angle on those.

The XD has a somewhat better stock trigger than the Glock. I don't know if Glocks really kBoom the way people say they do, but the fully ramped and supported chamber makes me feel better.

If I were to buy a Glock to fill a similar niche to my XD, it would be the Glock 30, not the full size Glock, and SA now has a compact XD .45 that can take sort 10 round mags or 13 rounders.

 

[Fusedscrach]

Xd40

I just came back from the playground with my XD40, new may I add. I just like this gun alot. The grip was a big turn on for me, especially for my hands. I put 100 thru it. Hit 23 dead center, out of a hundred. Not bad, for removing the rust of my skills, after almost 10 years. But like I said before, you need to try them out.

 

[Surefire]

If you have small or medium sized hands, pick up a Glock 21, and then an XD 45. You'll see the difference IMO.

I love my Glock 21, but when compared to an XD, the grip size feels like a brick.

 

[crebralfix]

The XD 45 Compact is the 45 I've been waiting for!

It's a 10+1 capacity gun with the height and length of a Glock 19. It is a bit wider, but I can cope with that. These dimensions make it an excellent carry gun: big enough to fill the hand and have a good sight length, yet not "service" or "mini" sized.

 

[fedlaw]

Finally shot my buddy ChuckB's 9mm Service XD. Excellent gun, great ergo's and very accurate.
Steve

 

[dstorm1911]

45-NUT done covered everything, plus ya can do a total dissasembly with one 1/8" flat faced punch easily so I don't know where the comment about needing special tools above would be comming from particularily as in comparison to a Glock which does need a couple specialized tools to do a total dissasembly, I don't even use a real pin punch half the time just anything I can push out the pins with........

Oh yea and aside from the fully supported chamber already mentioned above by several the hammer forged barrel is already standard as shipped a match grade spec barrel....... When we got bored one day and was sittin around the shop logging 350 Glock 22s into the bound book (law enforcement trade ins) I went ahead and started lockin a few in our shooting machine just outa curiosity to see what bone stock accuracy was compared to the XD .40 Tactical I was carryin........ with zero human intervention beside pushing a remote mounted air plunger to fire the guns.......... the heavily used XD consiatantly outshot 20 of the G22s easily but sure ya can add an aftermarket barrel to the G22 and alot more other accesaries but with the XD ya simply don't need to add anything accept maybe a $130 trigger job if ya want to make it shoot just like a 1911........

great guns period

 

[Kingslayer]

--Reliability.
--Ergonomics-natural pointability.
--Slim grip--especially for 14 rds of 45. No fat backstrap and fits my hand nicely.
--Not blocky like my Glock 21 especially on the slide which is a factor for me since I carry IWB.
--Fully supported chamber and rifled barrel so I can shoot lead, reloads, whatever and not worry about kB!.
--Mag catch doesn't poke me when toted IWB like on the 21.
--Grip safety to avoid unintentional discharge if clothing gets hung in trigger guard or similar (I personally like this feature).
--Melonite.
--Beefier slide rails than my 21.
--Metal mags.
--Metal guide rod.
--Recoils very similarly to a Sig P220 due to its bore axis. It's smooooth.
--Trigger is much better IN MY OPINION than my Glock 21.
--Lifetime warranty from SA.
--It was awarded the 2006 handgun of the year.
--The price is nice.

I agree with everything here.

I'll add accuracy. I don't know if I got lucky or if the .45GAP is inherantly accurate, or it's simply because it fits me so well, but the my XD is the one of the few pistols I have ever held that has the potential to be more accurate than me.

 

[Scorpiusdeus]

I've shot both, but only recently purchased an XD which I haven't taken possession of yet.

Try as I might, I can't make the Glock work for me.

My issues are that I don;t shoot well with the Glock, it doesn't feel natural in my hand, and it seems cheap and lose. Great for a Saturday night date, bad for a gun. As I held the Glock it rattled. I've heard of More Glock "Kabooms" than any other type weapon I know of. I suspect that has to do with the chamber not being fully supported.

With all that in mind, I've seen some competent shooters work wonders on the course during a match with a Glock. I've also seen Newer Glock shooters driven to distraction as I did last Saturday when the shooter kept inadvertently ejecting the magazine during a course of fire.

You really need to shoot them both and see which one YOU do best with.

 

[scurtis_34471]

I went with the XD over the Glock because I just don't like Glocks. I don't think they are bad guns, I just don't like the way they feel in my hand or the way they feel when they shoot. I also went with the XD over the S&W M&P, but only by the slightest of margins. I really liked the M&P, but the XD's service record and availability of holsters tipped the scale in its favor. To be honest, I don't think I could have made a bad decision between those two guns.

I like my XD-40 Service so well that I plan on buying an XD-40 Subcompact to go with it and possibly an XD-45 Compact.

 

[ccmdfd]

How does the XD handle the recoil of the stouter calibers compared to Glock and other polymer pistols? (Stouter being .357SIG, .40 S&W).

Thanks
cc

 

[ZeSpectre]

Aim, pull trigger, BANG, hole pretty much where I want it.
Wash/Rinse/Repeat (for 1,000 trouble free rounds).
Don't have much else to say about it.

How does the XD handle the recoil of the stouter calibers

XD recoil is pretty straight back. If you are in the habit of locking your elbows it will start punishing you after a while starting with your wrists, then elbows, then shoulders if you haven't learned by then.

 

[DomMega]

Oh, I got my XD back from SPringfield and its like a new gun. I got the melanite finish which I wanted as soon as I saw the new ones and everything has been cured up. I have my reliable pistol back, no more jamming, no more slide stops 2 rounds into a mag, its just back to being the gun I fell in love with. Springfield just made me a very happy customer and I have no problem ever buying any of their products in the future. Lifetime warranties are fantastic and the XD40 as well as the others are all amazing weapons.