XD40 slide locks back

[Gameface]

I’ve had my XD40 for about a month and a half and I’ve fired about 1100 rounds through it so far. Everything was fine through about 800 rounds, using mostly Wal-Mart WWB value packs. Before I started having the problem I changed my grip. A guy at the range was showing my buddy a few things and suggested weaving his pinky-finger of his shooting hand between the fore-finger and middle-finger of his support hand. I tried it and liked it and I’ve been doing it since.

What has happened is that after firing round three the slide locks back. The round fired and the case ejected. All I had to do was press the slide release (or stop, or lock, whatever you’d like to call it) and back to shooting. It’s only happened twice and both times on round three. I didn’t mark the mag it happened with either time so I’m not sure if it was the same one both times or not. I played with it a lot to get a feel for how the slide release could get pushed up and stop the slide between shots. I wondered if with my new grip I was hitting the lever with my thumb and pushing the release up during recoil? I’ve tried to pay very close attention to where I’ve got my thumb and it hasn’t happened again for the last little while. I’m just wondering if anyone else with an XD has experienced this? If it’s common for a person to hit the lever because they aren’t holding the gun properly? If it could be caused by limp-wristing (which I don’t think I do)? If a round in a defective magazine might push the slide-release up?

I love the gun and up until this happened twice I would have trusted my life to it.

Gameface

 

[Walt Sherrill]

I've seen this with some other guns -- weak mag springs lets the rounds slide around and nudge the slide stop. Sometimes burrs on the frame near the slide stop cause problems, too.

(Don't have any direct experience with the XD, however, so don't know if this is a possibility with this gun.)

 

[Navy joe]

Right now I'd suspect the mag, so number them and track the problem. Different guns have different methods of keeping the stop where it belongs, so I'll mention this. I've had two Kahr .40s that would prematurely lock because they had inadequate spring tension holding the stop down. Glocks will do the same if you re-install the stop wrong. Seems it would be more random though. Grip problems would be more random though too it seems.

Now, as to that grip. You like it, that's good. Can you assume it quickly from the holster without thinking about it? Without bobbing the gun around on target while you move fingers? As fast as where you were? If not it is a range technique and pretty scary, try to do the same thing in all situations. I see folks at the range that get the careful grip, place the feet just so, move the feet, move the grip, squint, blink, adjust their hat, move their feet, shoot, repeat whole process... You got to do something that comes natural. Try to find a pic of Rob Leatham holding a pistol. *Disclaimer* No I did not say do everything Rob does, he's the greatest ever, he'd kick all our butts... I just said he might know how to hold an autopistol. Just maybe. Don't get called TGO for nothing. Heck, he's even an XD guy.

 

[mrapathy2000]

folks at www.hs2000talk.com might be able to answer your question better. forum dedicated to hs2000/SA XD

 

[Gameface]

Well I've been back to the range and the problem is worse.

I shot 200 rounds and it it happened several times with both mags. It is not my thumb. I'm more inclined to think that I AM limp wristing, but could it be this bad? It happened on my first two mags, but after that I paid a lot more attention to how firm my grip was and it didn't happen again until I shot one handed. It happened twice in ten shots when I shot one handed.

I've read here that limp-wristing can cause problems feeding the next round, but the slide locking?

I'm going to spend a little more time at the range and see if it happens when I make sure that it isn't my thumb and I'm not limp-wristing.

About the new grip. It does take a little time, so I see your point. I've been shooting better since, that's why I like it, but I've also had said problem since. Maybe I'll experiment a little more and seek a little more advice in that area.

Should a gun be this bad even if a person is limp-wristing? In a bad situation I might shoot one-handed. I'm a relaxed shoter, but I wouldn't say that I've got a week grip on the gun. I'm inclined to send the thing in and see if it's the gun and not me, just to be sure.

Gameface

 

[Majic]

You are shooting better because you are beginning to learn the psitol. As to the grip you should aquire a grip with your strong hand and then place your weak hand over the strong for support. With learning to shoot the pistol with your fingers weaved together then how are you going to be able to shoot one handed?
A .40 is a high impluse cartridge and the XD is a lightweight pistol. Try a firmer grip as you have to hold the platform solid for the action to work as it should. Limpwristing can cause a variety of problems.

 

[c_yeager]

A guy at the range was showing my buddy a few things and suggested weaving his pinky-finger of his shooting hand between the fore-finger and middle-finger of his support hand. I tried it and liked it and I’ve been doing it since.

I generally figure that what works for a person is just fine. But i can't halp but point out that its real easy to learn the (actualt "a") right way to do things but extremely hard to UNlearn the a wrong way of doing it. You may be shooting better with this grip. But, if its making your gun not work right its worthless. In fact its worse than worthless, its a bad habit that could come back to haunt you if you ever need to use a pistol for anything other than range time.

 

[Pumpkinheaver]

I've had nothing but complete reliability from my xd.

 

[Gameface]

Okay, I'm going to forget about the time consuming grip that might just be the cause of all my troubles. I'll hit the range again with a more natural grip. I was comparing what I was doing with what I started doing and I think that I was better off before. My better accuracy probably was due to getting more familure with the gun.

Thanks for the advice.

Gameface

 

[Gameface]

update

Okay, I’m not using the funny grip technique anymore. I’m back to a grip that works without me having to think about it. So even though the problem is worse, at least having to think about everything that I’m doing has convinced me to use a grip that will work in any situation. My shooting continues to improve regardless of my grip.

The slide has started to lock back a few times every hundred or so rounds. I’m not hitting the slide release and I’m not limp-wristing. I contacted Springfield and customer service says that they can’t imagine what is causing my problem. That’s funny because I researched this issue at hs2000talk and found a thread that described the same issue, where several people said they had experienced this and one person said that he contacted Springfield, who told him that they had never heard of this problem before. They recommended that short of sending the gun back I just send the mags, which they will replace. That’s what I did and now I’m waiting.

I appreciate all the help and advice. This is my first semi-auto handgun and it has increased my interest in handguns many times over. Even with the problems I love this gun.

Gameface

 

[Majic]

Take a close look at the mag and the slide stop to see if they are contacting one another. Only the follower should contact the slide stop when the mag is empty. If the mag is hitting the slide stop that could be your problem. Does the mag sits firmly seated in the mag well or does it move around a little?

 

[XD40EZO]

Don's Guide Rod / Wolff Spring

Gameface,

I'm sorry that you're experincing trouble with your XD. I've put several hundreds through mine and I have never had a glitch.

Have you tried using heavier springs (Wolff) and replacing the Guide Rod for better recoil? Also, are you using factory mags or aftermarket?

How often do you clean your XD? I clean mine every time I shoot and even if I don't. My XD40 is my all around pistol (HD, CCW & Competetion) and I absolutely love it!

For accessories: www.xd-gear.com

Peace,

 

[Brad Johnson]

I presume you are right handed. Out of curiousity, where do you place your right thumb when gripping the gun? Over the years I've seen a couple of times where the shooter's thumb wasn't anywhere near the slide lock, but the way they were placing their thumb was allowing it to activate the lever under recoil. The easiest way to see if that's the problem is to let someone else shoot the gun, or you can shoot it with your weak hand (which you should be practicing anyway).

Another possibility is that the slide lock activator is a little long and is allowing a round riding up the left side of the mag to contact it. It's not common, but it can happen. A few seconds with a fine file will fix it if that's the problem.

Brad

 

[Gameface]

XD40EZO,
I’ve only used the two factory mags the gun came with. Have you had good experiences with aftermarket mags, like Promag? I also looked at the rod and spring you mentioned. Does it really make much of a difference?

I clean after every trip to the range, so somewhere around once every 150-300 rounds.

Brad Johnson,
I am right handed. I keep my thumb firmly in the thumb-groove. I suspected this cause, especially since the problem started after I changed my grip, but I have ruled it out.

If when I get the mags back the problem isn’t solved I’ll take a closer look to see if the “activator†is getting bumped because it’s too long. At this point I’m convinced that it was getting bumped because the mag springs were weak, or it is getting bumped because it’s too long.

Gameface

 

[Navy joe]

On the inner tab of the slide stop being bumped by the bullet nose, it's possible. .40s are bad because some of the truncated cone bullet profiles do not leave much room for there. I had to adjust one of the stops on my Kahr for this. To check, strip the gun, with the slide off install the slidestop and insert a loaded mag. See if the bullet nose runs into it as the mag is seated. Try different ammo.

Have you checked spring tension on the stop yet? I don't know how the XD does it, but the stop should want to spring down into place. A broken spring, weak spring or incorrectly assembled are all possibilities.

 

[Gameface]

I thought about the spring tension. The slide was difficult to release with the lever when the gun was new (my wife could not do it), and the gun worked fine. It is not difficult to do it now and I’m having problems. The slide release snapped back when I tested it when I had the gun apart. I looked at the spring. It is held in place by a rod that is also used to pivot the trigger. I tried to push it out but it didn’t slide right out and the manual makes it look like it’s held in place by a couple “Jesus clipsâ€. I didn’t want to mess things up any worse than they already were and risk voiding the warrantee, so I decided to rule out as much as I could and let Springfield do the rest if all else failed.

I had the same worry about filing the slide stop actuator. Would that void my warrantee?

Gameface

 

[Gameface]

problem solved

A guy over on hs2000talk took a lot of time and put forth a considerable amount of effort to conclusively solve this issue, which turns out to be fairly common among XD40 owners. His results are posted at http://www.hs2000talk.com/viewtopic.php?t=12421 and I was fairly impressed by his step-by-step deliberate approach. It’s nice to know that my gun will eventually work reliably.

The problem is with the slide lock tab length. SA used the same part for the 9mm, .357 Sig and .40SW. It clears the 9mm and .357 fine, but was shown to consistently rub against the rounds that ride along the left side of the magazine. That’s why I was usually having a problem after the third round.

It was also found that the more firmly you grip the gun, particularly with the off hand, the problem becomes worse because you push the magazine up farther and make it more likely that the slide lock tab and round would come into contact. I believe that is why my problem got progressively worse after I suspected that I was limp-wristing and began holding the gun tighter.

Gameface

P.S. thanks mrapathy2000 for pointing me to hs2000talk.

 

[mrapathy2000]

no problem. glad it helped. good bunch of people over at hs2000talk. was not trying to turn you away from TheHighroad.org just point you out to people that live and talk HS2000 and SA XD.

 

[Gameface]

I thought I had a solution in sight and I wrote a detailed letter to Springfield, which accompanied my gun, describing what my problem was and what I wanted them to do to fix it. They had the gun for ten days (so I’ll give ‘em points for fast turnaround), but when I called once a few days after they had it they couldn’t tell me anything. When I called again early the next week they couldn’t tell me anything. When I called later in the week they told me that the gun should be delivered sometime that day. I asked what was done and I was told that they replaced the slide lock lever. I hoped that what she meant was that they put in a part with a shorter slide lock tab, but when I got home I discovered that was not the case. They simply took out the slide lock and put in an identical new one. They did not call me to discuss the problem or to even tell me that they couldn’t do what I asked. They simply got my gun, did a token job fixing it and sent it back. They even test fired it with really dirty ammo and sent it back without cleaning it.

My faith in Springfield is non-existent. I like my gun, but out of the box it is not reliable and they will not take ownership of the problem. I will fix it myself and never again trust them to stand behind their product.

Gameface

 

[mrapathy2000]

sorry to hear that. I am having my own trouble with Kel-tec p11 at moment.

had badly pitted barrel sent it in. get p3at barrel back which is .380acp while p11 is 9mm. totally different item p3at barrel and p11 barrel. sent that back get a p11 barrel back. with a crown so bad if you intend hitting a target you have to put your target 5 feet away and aim 8-10 inches high. you dont want to know what it does at 15 feet or further away.

just sent that back. now waiting for yet another replacement. good thing I have lifetime warranty.

kel-tec customer service was pretty nice while back though seems to have developed issues.

suprised SA did not get that right for you then again dont recall reading great stories in HS2000talk. okay service. next time you will have to try and be downright specific maybe use links to websites and pictures. maybe copies printed and included.

 

[Majic]

Problem number one: You told them how to fix it.
You should just explain to them exactly what is failing and let them determine the solution. As a retired millwright the number one hated thing to hear is someone telling you how to do your job that they can't do themselves (why did they call on you in the first place). If that is not the problem then you are somewhat obligated to do as the customer wishes and take the heat when it fixes nothing.
They manufactored the handgun. Let them inspect and determine what should be fixed and take appropiate actions. That is what the repair facilities are for.