Mr. James
Member
Just a tale of deliverance from near-folly!
I have recently been giving serious consideration to buying a Springfield Armory XD-45. Or, at least I was, until our own rellascout enticed me away with a purdy little CZ75B Compact and, like a sailor on liberty, I went slinking after it! (Great gun from a true gentleman, by the way.)
But regarding the sub-standard XD line, the scales really fell from my eyes this weekend when I was visiting a local gun shop. I was just nosing about, kicking tires, seeing as rellascout had recently relieved me of my spending money.
So, a fellow next to me asks to see the XD-9 in the case and asks the salesman about it. Not unreasonably, the salesman inquires after the intended uses of the weapon - range gun? personal protection? home defense? I didn't quite catch the customer's response, but did hear this thumbnail summary offered in reply:
"Great gun, shoots great, accurate, but I wouldn't trust my life to it."
"Well, why not," asks the customer.
Noticing me eavesdropping, he embraces me into the conversation with a knowing smile and says, "Oh, it's a fun gun - buy it, shoot the hell out of it, but I wouldn't use it for concealed carry - it isn't an HK, Sig or Glock." The customer lowers the slide gently, hefts the pistol, and raises it, aiming at the side wall. "You know," continues our salesman, "it isn't even built by Springfield. Y'know where they make these?"
"It's built in Croatia," I offer.
"That's right. Best little tack-driver eight-year-old Croatians can build."
At that, the customer, obviously horrified at the prospect of subsidizing human rights abuses by purchasing the fruits of exploitative child labor, passes the XD back to the salesman, who eases it back into battery and returns it to the display case. With his "Amnesty International" bona fides intact, our customer moves on to look at the Glocks in the next case.
Okay, XD owners - child sweatshop factor aside, would you trust your (or your loved ones') lives to these cheeesy little Croatian pretenders?
I have recently been giving serious consideration to buying a Springfield Armory XD-45. Or, at least I was, until our own rellascout enticed me away with a purdy little CZ75B Compact and, like a sailor on liberty, I went slinking after it! (Great gun from a true gentleman, by the way.)
But regarding the sub-standard XD line, the scales really fell from my eyes this weekend when I was visiting a local gun shop. I was just nosing about, kicking tires, seeing as rellascout had recently relieved me of my spending money.
So, a fellow next to me asks to see the XD-9 in the case and asks the salesman about it. Not unreasonably, the salesman inquires after the intended uses of the weapon - range gun? personal protection? home defense? I didn't quite catch the customer's response, but did hear this thumbnail summary offered in reply:
"Great gun, shoots great, accurate, but I wouldn't trust my life to it."
"Well, why not," asks the customer.
Noticing me eavesdropping, he embraces me into the conversation with a knowing smile and says, "Oh, it's a fun gun - buy it, shoot the hell out of it, but I wouldn't use it for concealed carry - it isn't an HK, Sig or Glock." The customer lowers the slide gently, hefts the pistol, and raises it, aiming at the side wall. "You know," continues our salesman, "it isn't even built by Springfield. Y'know where they make these?"
"It's built in Croatia," I offer.
"That's right. Best little tack-driver eight-year-old Croatians can build."
At that, the customer, obviously horrified at the prospect of subsidizing human rights abuses by purchasing the fruits of exploitative child labor, passes the XD back to the salesman, who eases it back into battery and returns it to the display case. With his "Amnesty International" bona fides intact, our customer moves on to look at the Glocks in the next case.
Okay, XD owners - child sweatshop factor aside, would you trust your (or your loved ones') lives to these cheeesy little Croatian pretenders?
