thejoe

Bought my XD-40 used with a good 2000 rounds through it. No telling if the guy selling lied to me, but as far as I was told no breakages or major issues. I have fired it once since I bought it a month ago and had to tune the mags but I really do love the gun. When I tested it I was really happy with its consistency and the feel of it. I'll let you know if a have any problems after the next 2k. joe

A while ago... I'd have to say about a year, maybe two. Can't remember when. Just remember a clean bill of eye health.

I noticed last time I went to the range that I was having trouble focusing on the front sight. I've been practicing shooting with both eyes open and seeing only what the dominant eye sees and this has improved loads in the past year. But lately I noted that my shots were going everywhere because I couldn't focus on the front sight. Every time I tried to focus my vision on the front sight the left eye would assume dominance and I wouldn't be able to see any sight picture. Then I would force myself to see what my right eye was looking at and couldn't get the front sight in focus and so couldn't shoot for crap. Well, it wasn't horrible but wasn't nearly as good as I have been doing. Has this happened to anyone else? What can I do to train my right (dominant) eye to get the front sight in focus without letting the left eye take over? joe PS-- I've done the eye dominance test (focus on a spot on the wall, form a triangle around it with your hands and move your hands toward your face--whichever eye they cover is dominant) and my dominant eye is the right.

I'd go with the M&P over the XD. I have a S&W Sigma which (to me) feels a lot like the M&P and I love it! I have medium to large hands and the XD is a little bit of a stretch for me. I need a mag release extension to make it really nice whereas the Sigma is perfect as is. Just my 2 cents. cheers, joe

I've been noting more and more as I dry fire my weapons that I tend to take up the slack a little in the trigger before I see the sight picture I want. I'm wondering if this is a bad thing. Here's the drill: Stand fifteen feet from target (in this case a lightswitch cover), draw and fire one round as quickly as possible. I noted yesterday that just after the draw I put my finger on the trigger and began to take up the slack (before I even had the pistol to shoulder level). I have DAO guns only and noted it with both of them (my XD less so than my Sigma). I know that this isn't exactly a good habit to be in but I am wondering at what point the slack should be taken out of the trigger. If you begin to take the slack out of the trigger while getting the sight picture (in other words, at least wait until the gun is pointed in the general direction of the target), then you can fire as soon as the picture you want is acquired. This seems the fastest way to do it. Am I right? Also, what rules are concerned with this topic? Thanks joe

Now, here's the question I have: (I'm gonna' try to reason it out as I type, so bear with me.) Why would a guy want to put a 22+# recoil spring in his XD? My thinking is that it returns the gun to battery following each shot more quickly therefore reducing split times and preventing jams that result when the following round in the magazine slides forward as the one on top of it is pulled out of the mag. I would personally think that this would increase felt recoil a bit. Thus I would guess that a weaker recoil spring would make follow up shots more accurate (since you don't have to compensate for the gyration of the pistol). In the end is it a case of time vs. accuracy? Makes sense, I guess. joe

I must say I'm thrilled. Had a few troubles with feeding at first (snap caps only) but it seems all is well. I was shooting a Sigma and will continue to do so for my initial competitions (whenever those occur) but I love the trigger pull on the XD as compared to the Sigma. The question I have is what are the first things I should consider doing as far as tinkering with this gun? Since I just bought it my gun budget is shot so it won't happen for a while but I want to know what to consider and look for. Thanks, guys. joe

I have the opportunity to buy an XD-40 used with 3 mags and holster for $400. The barrell is good. Finish on the chamber shows wear, but not excessive. Overall, 95% + condition. In my area, this seems like a good deal. I've been lookin' at 'em forever and will buy one someday at least. Now seems like the time but I have a really hard time making decisions like this on my own. I often suffer from buyer's remorse like no other. All input (esp. quickly) will be much appreciated. Thanks, guys and gals. joe

Ok, now I've done my research and I find that my stance is a Weaver stance. I'd say I feel more comfortable in the Modified Weaver, though, as it is aggressive but retains the comfortabe aspects that I like. I grew up shooting rifles, mostly, so it kinda' makes sense to me that I'd prefer the Weaver. It also makes sense that the Modified Weaver would be better for USPSA/IPSC or pistol shooting in general. The ISO doesn't yet feel comfortable at all. If I need to adjust to this to be competitive I'll do it, but I think the mod. Weaver will work. joe

As I go through my dryfire practice I find that I am keenly aware of my trigger finger placement as it affects the quality of my trigger pull. By that I mean that, I am most comfortable with the pad of my trigger finger having pretty much complete contact with the trigger. I feel that, as my stance becomes more agressive my finger placement changes such that the first knuckle is in contact with the trigger and I don't feel I can make the pull as cleanly as when it's just the pad. As I mentioned, I feel that placement of the trigger finger on the trigger is affected by my stance. My natural stance is one of caution. By that I mean left foot and shoulder slightly forward, left arm bent to ninety degrees, right arm around thirty degrees with my right eye directly behind the sights. When I get more aggressive my shoulders become more square to my target, both arms bent equally, pistol barely on the right side of my body from the centerline. In the latter position my trigger finger naturally curls around the trigger up to the first knuckle. I don't feel this is as comfortable or efficient for consistent pressure, no flinch trigger pulls. I guess the quandry is that if I feel more comfortable, I should shoot that way but my speed will be sacrificed due to the "cautious" stance. What are the feelings of the group on this? Do I need to be concerned about speed since the "cautious" stance is more comfortable? Should I adapt my shooting style to the more aggressive stance? Sorry for the long post... It's kinda' hard to describe. joe

But... but... it's my baby! Ok... Not really. joe

I have to be careful with my post here... I've never actually fired an M&P but the internals and trigger are almost identical to that of a S&W Sigma which I have used extensively and love. The trigger pull on the Sigma is a little long and heavy at first but after about 2k rounds it smooths out a lot. A little dry fire practice and the M&P will feel just like your favorite pair of boots. I have read much about them, handled several and I love the way they feel and what I have heard about them. Also, it's a S&W which speaks volumes (IMO). I don't think you will regret buying one. One thing to keep in mind, as always, is what you'll use the firearm for. If you'll be using it for competition you may find the long, technically DAO, trigger pull to be a bit annoying. This can be overcome by dryfire practice (I'm living proof) but it is, nonetheless, something to be aware of. I love the ambi safety on the M&P as well as the ambi slide release. If it's a CCW, then the M&P, again IMO, is a wonderful choice. And now available in .45 ACP. joe PS-- no, I'm not an S&W rep.

Haven't had a lot of luck with my local dealers... They aren't really keen on ordering what I want. I've asked. joe

I will be getting a reloading setup as a gift relatively shortly (so I'm not forking out $$ that I could spend on the gun/ammo). I understand what you're saying, though. And I don't want to sound too much like a moron about the whole thing, but I am what I am. No, seriously... The biggest problem with acquiring a Spartan is that I have no idea where to get one. The local dealers don't carry them and I don't know anyone with an FFL through which I can order one. But the Springfield and Rock Islands are plentiful. FWIW joe Jim: how interchangeable are parts between the PT1911 and other manufacturers? Specifically, I know the PT1911 uses the 8 shot mag. Will it take the more plentiful 7 shot mags that I find every-freakin'-where?

Matt, I must say that I, too, am impressed with the work on that slide. Even sans blueing it looks good. You have a gift, my friend. Keep up that artwork. Sidenote: I think that's one of the things I love about the 1911 model. It's a beautiful gun. My wife says I'm weird. Maybe so. joe

I've looked at the Spartan. MSRP is $660. I can find a Rock Island 1911 for around $400 (generally less). The Taurus PT 1911 is around $500 new, as is the Springfield GI. Since the Taurus and Springfield GI are $160 less than the Spartan I'm inclined more to look at them (in other words the $160 makes the difference between getting a 1911 and something else). So, should I still look at the Rock Island 1911 and the others or should I just hold out another 6 mos. to a year and get the Spartan? I'm torn because I want to shoot but don't want to regret my purchase. joe

I've been looking at a new pistol for a while now (as you might have read before... sorry for the plethora of posts) but now I'm thinking a 1911 style may be right for me. I've looked at Springfield's GI which is a bare-bones version that I can upgrade at my leisure. The price tag is a little steep, but do-able. I've noted the Rock Island 1911 for a lot less and I'm wondering if it would be any good for me to get. I also just looked into the Taurus PT 1911 and it looks really nice for the same price as the Springfield GI. I have read over and over that STI makes the best competition pistols and there are a lot of guys out there who make nice custom 1911's but I simply can't afford anything really nice. I have to start small here. Do you guys think I'm on the right track with the Springfield, Rock Island, or Taurus? I guess the question is will I be able to make the gun I really want out of one of these? joe

In short the question is: aside from not hitting the mag well with the mag when reloading is there any other way to protect the mag well from getting beat to @*$# when practicing my reload? I have a S&W Sigma for which I doubt there are any aftermarket mag wells that will hold up better. Any ideas from the experienced guys? Thanks in advance. joe

Fellas, I'm a Certified Athletic Trainer and have seen many injuries like this before. What you are describing is not tennis elbow as it is properly considered which is usually on the outside of the elbow. Rather this is inflammation of the biceps tendon as it inserts on the inside of the forearm. The best way to take care of this is ice, combined with a bit of rest (ie shorten your practices and try to do things that don't hurt as much) but also a lot of stretching. To stretch this muscle you'll need to hold onto a door frame (palm facing forward) at shoulder height, relax your entire shoulder and rotate your upper body gently away from the hand holding the door frame. The kind of ice therapy that works best is to take an ice cube and rub it on the affected area until it's too small to hold and then do it again. This should be about 10 minutes of ice treatment all together. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. This is what I do for a living. joe ps- I negelected to mention that stretching gently four to five times daily is ideal for the best benefit whereas one long stretching session in which you are stretching as hard as you can might actually make the arm feel worse.

ihatepickles, Thanks for that run down. I, as a newbie, hadn't heard that yet (probably haven't read enough). I have a question about the definition of SAO. My understanding is that SAO means that the cycling of the action cocks the pistol. If you dryfire that pistol, you must then manually pull the slide back (with an internal hammer, of course) to cock the gun again. With a SAO pistol having an exposed hammer, you must manually pull the hammer back. Is this a correct understanding? joe PS to respond to the initial post I would go with .40 as it is a little more versatile than the 9mm. In other words, if you want to use the pistol for something besides competition you can get a wider variety of bullet weights to reload .40 S&W with (all the way from sub 100 gr. to over 200 gr. whereas with 9mm I have only seen between 85 and 150 gr. bullets). Take it with a grain of salt since I'll be the first to admit I'm not extremely experienced with this.

Granted that guns wear universally. On the CZ, though, I'm concerned about exposed metal as it is more susceptible to rust. I don't mind the wear it's just the stuff that's underneath that I'm worried about. Does that make sense? joe

While I recognize that CZ has a good rep here which means a lot I feel they're kinda' cheaply made. The frames look like painted pot metal. Which brings to mind a question: how has the finish held up on the CZ (esp. those of you who use them on a daily basis)? joe

I know I've been throwing out a lot of questions about weaponry buuut... I found an Olympic AR15 for sub $600 and was blown away to find an AR15 for that price. Is Olympic any good? (sidenote: they also make their own version of the 1911) I am interested in this deal since I've always wanted one but I know I won't go 3 gun for a while so it may not be the right way to spend my $$. Anyway... if you have an opinion I'd like to hear it. joe

Now, I'm a little naive here, but the fact that it's made totally by Springfield is a good thing, correct? Makes it more of a sure thing, I'd guess. Since you've done some searching, perhaps you've found out about availability of parts. I've searched, too, and parts (such as mag well and grips) seem to be harder to find. joe

Merlin-- I don't follow you... made by BUL? I haven't been around long enough or read enough yet... cheers joe