JWard79

I recommend knocking out some dry fire in preparation for the classifier. A lot can be figured out in dry fire, and a lot of time can be gained through transitions. Take a look at Ben Stoeger's classifier run on YouTube, and you'll have an idea of what speed and fluid motion can look like. Once you're on the line let your vision dictate the pace, you can only shoot as fast as you can see. Good luck, call your shots, and transition hard.

Grip tape and epoxy will allow you to make non-permanent adjustments, or you could forego that route find a good smith and have him checker the front strap to your liking. I would recommend handling a few of your buddy's 1911s to see what feels good in the hand and go from there. You may find that you prefer checkering over tape or vice a versa. You could also attempt to get the specs on the single stack super squads guns through internet search or by watching liveshots.net if you need further insight into which route to choose.

I am a fan of making your own from skateboard tape as well. It may take a few attempts to get the template the way you like it, but it allows you to pick the level of material and personalize the fit. I went down to the local mall, found the skate shop, and sampled all of the available deck tape before picking out one light texture (Jessup) and one heavy (Mob). Once I have the tape installed on the frame, I use whatever spare pocket change I may have to contour the tape to the grip profile. I have used the precut panels before and was happy with the results, but if you change/wear them out with any frequency it can become expensive to go that route. I generally change out tape once a month and keep a few spares to pass out on the range, all for about $12 a year.

I would recommend picking up the spring calibration pack from PRP and a couple 14 & 16 lb recoil springs to allow you to set the XDM up to your preference. I normally run a 16lb recoil spring with 124g and the 14lb on 147 loads. I can't remember if the PRP trigger kit comes with the blue striker spring or not, but I only run that spring if I'm shooting federal primers. Winchester primers occasionally experience lite strikes with the blue spring, and I believe there is a post in Enos that TGO explains this in greater detail.

Not speaking to accuracy, but I prefer 147g at 130pf with 14lb recoil spring or 124g at 138pf with 16lb recoil spring. Regardless of the desired bullet weight, the recoil spring setup should compliment the load to return the sights to the point of ignition.

Both are great guns with a little trigger work, sights, and a load tuned to your preference. The two advantages I see with the XDM are it's trigger & grip angle, but not for reason listed above. The grip angle is similar to other manufacturers making it is easier to switch between platforms if you shoot multiple divisions with different guns, and when dry firing you are not left with a dead trigger after the initial pull.

I modified the sights on my ATP with a little file work and some spare fiber optic. The main channel for the fiber optic and sight width can modified with a needle file to the desired size. I used a safety pin heated by a blow torch to create the openings for the fiber on the front and rear of the front sight. Insert the fiber, black out the rear sights with permanent marker, and you should be close to the sight picture you are trying to replicate.

Looking to close the gap on the sight picture with a .100" front in order to gain precision on far tagets. Is the .125" rear sight the only width available for the 5.25, from either Springfield or aftermarket?

Just wanted to give everyone that is interested an update on were I am currently (originally started this post almost a year ago). In the past year I only used my X-5 in one competition, the NTPS steel challenge/king of the hill shoot in TN. I let a buddy borrow a G-19 for this competition, and when it came down to the shoot-off he was able to shoot faster than I could shoot and cycle the slide to remove the malfunctions. This may not seem like a big difference, but on average my times are about half of what he put in that day and I had more malfunctions than I could have imagined during the final shoot-off. In the end he beat me (and for that he was the better man that day / regardless of malfunctions or excuses he posted a better time), and since that time the X-5 has been a safe queen. In all honesty I haven't had the time to work with the gun to correct the issue since then ( have been moved twice in the last year), and focused my attention on the IPSC nationals. I have not given up on the X-5, & hope to get it running again for the upcoming season. I appreciate the attention this subject has raised since the inial post, and plan to incorporate the suggested modifications this winter. It appears as though SIG owners are a proud bunch ( and rightfully so), I just hope that the issues that I and other SIG owners have endured will be fixed and that in the future reliability will be the main talking point for this company.

I appreciate everyones comments. The intent wasn't to start a debate over professional gunsmith work vs the parts kit, just looking for advice. The main reason I am looking for a parts kit is to be able to swap the parts back to stock when necessary (ie. USPSA vs IPSC production rules). I assume I could do the same if the pistol was worked on professionally, but I would be less inclined to do so. I also enjoy being able to do simple work on my own pistols. As far as the XDM goes I would like to have a little better trigger feel, & I don't think a professional trigger job would improve my shooting or enjoyment of the sport. For that I would need unlimited ammo and a quality range complex in my backyard, along with a hall pass from the little lady. Scott - Thanks for the reply, will be looking to get a Springer kit in the future.

Was wondering if anyone had any experience with the trigger kits from power river precision & springer precision. I have placed a PRP kit into my XD40SC, & am looking to do some work on my XDM9 but have no experience with the springer kit. From what I can tell from the vendor websites the trigger kits both look sound, but use different approaches to achieve reduced trigger weight and reset. The PRP uses a plastic insert for an overtravel stop & I assume the same is addressed with the springer trigger bar. Both kits come with sear and trigger springs, and was wondering if they were the same rate or if they are made to each manufacturors specs. But what I would really like to know is what trigger feels better. I have had work done or have installed parts from either company & have no real basis to chose one over the other. Both companies have proven to be reliable sources of aftermarket equipment & I am looking for some firsthand experience before I make my next purchase.

Planning on using my XDM9 in the US IPSC nationals & wondered if anyone has a prefered power factor (124/147) that works well with stock components. IPSC production rule allow for very little modifications, springs being one. Have only fired about 400 rounds through this pistol & have not had time to develop a load yet. IPSC production minimum power factor is the same as USPSA (125), but would like to know if anyone has found a load that minimizes recoil on stock components without making the gun run slow.

I will try adjusting the overtravel to correct the issue. Hopefully the problem is as simple as that. When the problem occurs though, it seams as if the stricker is not reseting after the shot. The failure results in a round in the chamber with the trigger to the rear. Will more than likely back off on the pre & overtravel, and work them back in while checking reliability.

Sorry didn't mean to confuse anyone reading this post, but the issues that I have is that the spent case is not ejected from the pistol. When a failure occurs it is either a stovepipe or double feed. During a match I just deal with it, but at the flat range today I was able to take my time and observe the slide. Whenever a failure occured I observed the top of the pistol prior to retracting the slide and took a mental note of the failure. In addition to receiving a new extrator from SIG, I was sent a new ejector. The original ejector did not appear to have any defects, but I did notice that the replacement part had a different cant on the forward end (forward vs. rearward). Not sure if this is something that would contribute to the issues that I'm having or not, so I did not replace that part. All of this being said; I have over 13 years of military service, 3 combat tour, multiple combat shooting courses, & have been shooting competitively for almost a year. I do not believe that the grip has anything to do with the malfunction.

I have been thinking about making the move to the open class as well. If money was not a factor and I did not intend on shooting the gun in a match, I would either build the gun myself or find a gunsmith to build one to my liking. That being said I would like to be competitive and do not have the time or experience required to build a pistol that would be worth the effort. I ask a lot of questions at my local club when the GMs are around concerning model, make, and gunsmith; and the normal answer is to go with what you know or what your preference is. The bottom line is that you are looking to find the pistol that fits you or fills the void in your safe. If that is an SVI, STI, or some other double stack custom made to your preference and you are happy with your purchase then that is all that matters. If you want to be competitive then you not only need to be satisfied with the pistol, but be willing to put in the time required to tune to gun, and more often than not that means developing a load for your gun.

I have seen a few postings on this forum & the SIG forum concerning internal extractor issues, but I would like to know if anyone has any info that would allow me to correct the issue without sending it to a gunsmith. The pistol in question is an X-Five competition 9mm that has less than 5,000 rounds through it. The first year that I owned the gun I had no issues at all regardless of the ammo. After I returned from a holiday in the middle east I started having stovepipes & other malfunctions. At first I thought it was either a magazine problem or just a result of the neglect of being stateside without an operator for so long. I ended up having a friend who is a SIG certified armorer adjusting the tension on the extractor and loading 124gr to at least a 132 PF, which solved the problem for about four months. When the issue came up again I put the gun in the safe until I could get a new extractor from SIG, swapped it out, and tried again. My gun ran without incident through the first magazine, but on the second had failure to fires almost every other round. Is this an extractor issue (in which case an estimate of the proper tension would suffice), or could it be something else? I would like to think that if I am smart enough to have been a helicopter mechanic that I can figure this one out, but I am having problems seeing the forrest through the trees on this one.

Not sure if anyone has any experience with the Glockworx trigger group, but I've been having issues with the trigger reseting. I placed the trigger group into my Glock and it ran with no issues initially. I later acquired a skeletonozied striker from the same company, and have since had failure to fires. What I believe is happening is the trigger bar is not reseting on the striker, and when this occurs the primer shows a light strike on the primer without the normal Glock signature. I swapped the skeletonized pin back to factory and still have the same issue. My only guess now is that the pre & over-travel screws may be causing the issue. Love how the trigger feels, but the failure to fires result in frustration & poor stage times. If anyone can provide any insight I'd appreciate it.