OregonJohnny
Member
I picked up a brand new Springfield XDM Bi-Tone (Stainless Slide) this weekend. It's the first time I've bought a gun without handling it a few times at gun shops/gun shows and doing copious amounts of research. I fell for Springfield's slick marketing on their website and just had the urge to go get it.
I have had my XD-40 subcompact for about 3 years now. Thousands of rounds through it, no problems, fantastic gun. I'm not sure why I thought I needed another XD chambered in .40 S&W, but I think the 16+1 capacity had a lot to do with it.
First impressions after much fondling: It feels very familiar, if not a bit too long in the grip (I'm used to the stubby grip of my subcompact), but that is what you get if you want this much magazine capacity. It still keeps the same grip thickness, which feels great in the hand. It points very naturally, and as with my XDsc, it has excellent fit and finish, no rough edges, tool marks, burrs, etc.
It breaks down even easier than the older XD models, and does not require a pull of the trigger. I can completely field strip it into 4 pieces in about 6 or 7 seconds. About the magazines: The 2 mags it came with seem to be ever so slightly different. One loads up 16 rounds very tightly, the other loads up 16 rounds a little bit easier, and then rattles when shaken back and forth. I can see through the tiny indicator hole that the 16th round sits maybe 1/16th of an inch higher up than in the other mag. When I push down hard on the top round, the rattling stops, but returns when I release. None of this effected function, I just thought it was weird.
Also, I read on the xd talk forums about the nearly impossible function of the magazine release button when you try to drop out a fully loaded mag. I gave it a try and it is VERY stiff. Taking out 1 or 2 rounds makes it much easier, but it takes a ton of thumb pressure to get out a mag loaded with 16 rounds. This is not a problem with any other semi-auto I own.
I headed out to State Forest land and took along 3 boxes of Remington 165-grain FMJ and some of my Hornady TAP 155-grain HP self-defense ammo that I use for carry. I set up a plywood back with paper targets against an old stump and paced out to about 12-15 yards. Keep in mind I purposefully did not clean and lube the gun before firing, as my inspection upon field stripping it revealed no problems, and I wanted to see how it functioned out of the box. I had 1 failure to feed in the middle of the first magazine. The round was stuck about half way into the chamber. After that one issue, the rest of the 160 rounds went flawlessly.
Accuracy was great at first, but I was going through magazines very quickly and as the barrel heated up and I started to fatigue, my groups got bigger. Still the gun itself is very accurate and will do it's job if you do yours. I was mainly shooting for function testing, not accuracy, so it would be pointless and embarrassing to post pictures of my targets.
The XDM balances well, functions well, can be extremely accurate, and as far as I know, at this point in time, it has no equal when it comes to .40 S&W magazine capacity.
If you do not already own a Springfield XD, and you want one chambered in .40 S&W, the XDM is a great choice since it does offer a few small improvements. But if you already own an XD-40 and are happy with it, I don't think there is enough different on this new gun to rush out and buy one.
There is my brief and very basic report. Hope it helps anyone who is curious about this new offering from Springfield.
I have had my XD-40 subcompact for about 3 years now. Thousands of rounds through it, no problems, fantastic gun. I'm not sure why I thought I needed another XD chambered in .40 S&W, but I think the 16+1 capacity had a lot to do with it.
First impressions after much fondling: It feels very familiar, if not a bit too long in the grip (I'm used to the stubby grip of my subcompact), but that is what you get if you want this much magazine capacity. It still keeps the same grip thickness, which feels great in the hand. It points very naturally, and as with my XDsc, it has excellent fit and finish, no rough edges, tool marks, burrs, etc.
It breaks down even easier than the older XD models, and does not require a pull of the trigger. I can completely field strip it into 4 pieces in about 6 or 7 seconds. About the magazines: The 2 mags it came with seem to be ever so slightly different. One loads up 16 rounds very tightly, the other loads up 16 rounds a little bit easier, and then rattles when shaken back and forth. I can see through the tiny indicator hole that the 16th round sits maybe 1/16th of an inch higher up than in the other mag. When I push down hard on the top round, the rattling stops, but returns when I release. None of this effected function, I just thought it was weird.
Also, I read on the xd talk forums about the nearly impossible function of the magazine release button when you try to drop out a fully loaded mag. I gave it a try and it is VERY stiff. Taking out 1 or 2 rounds makes it much easier, but it takes a ton of thumb pressure to get out a mag loaded with 16 rounds. This is not a problem with any other semi-auto I own.
I headed out to State Forest land and took along 3 boxes of Remington 165-grain FMJ and some of my Hornady TAP 155-grain HP self-defense ammo that I use for carry. I set up a plywood back with paper targets against an old stump and paced out to about 12-15 yards. Keep in mind I purposefully did not clean and lube the gun before firing, as my inspection upon field stripping it revealed no problems, and I wanted to see how it functioned out of the box. I had 1 failure to feed in the middle of the first magazine. The round was stuck about half way into the chamber. After that one issue, the rest of the 160 rounds went flawlessly.
Accuracy was great at first, but I was going through magazines very quickly and as the barrel heated up and I started to fatigue, my groups got bigger. Still the gun itself is very accurate and will do it's job if you do yours. I was mainly shooting for function testing, not accuracy, so it would be pointless and embarrassing to post pictures of my targets.
The XDM balances well, functions well, can be extremely accurate, and as far as I know, at this point in time, it has no equal when it comes to .40 S&W magazine capacity.
If you do not already own a Springfield XD, and you want one chambered in .40 S&W, the XDM is a great choice since it does offer a few small improvements. But if you already own an XD-40 and are happy with it, I don't think there is enough different on this new gun to rush out and buy one.
There is my brief and very basic report. Hope it helps anyone who is curious about this new offering from Springfield.
