The Springfield XD

[EricW]

I am the proud owner of a new XD. It's kind of a shame that the XD isn't IPSC Production legal as the silly thing is so good that it totally solves the "I need to customize my Production Gun issue." There's simply nothing to fix.

- The trigger is all metal and does not drag on the frame. The trigger serrations are also gentle, so there's no need to buy a smooth trigger on the gray-market like with the Glock.

- Gaston Glock *dreams* that his mags would drop so freely. These puppies ROCKET out of the bottom of the gun.

- The mag release button is simply a joy.

- The front sight is dovetailed. No more monkeying around with teeny screws and loctite.

- The base gun comes with METAL sights.

- The takedown lever is easily manipulated.

- The sides of the grip are 75% thicker than on the Glock. This solves a lot of problems that people have with mags dropping. (The thicker sidewalls prevent much of the "semi-crystalline plastic box effect" warpage that plagues the Glock grip. For Lim10 - this also means that machining a magwell to fit is now a science instead of an art.) The downside is that the XD has less capacity (two less in 9mm). For USPSA Production this issue is fortunately totally irrelevant. Personally, if I have to choose between mags that drop 100% of the time and a couple extra rounds, I'll take the former every time.

- The slide stop is metal and NOT stamped sheet metal.

- The guide rod is metal.

- Beautiful, metal magazines. While not cheap, they are fairly priced and can be had for under $25 a piece.

- The guts of the gun are of vastly higher quality than the Glock. The ejector is solid metal, not stamped.

- Like Glock, Springfield has made the commitment to standard-cap magazines and my gun came with two. No coupons, no rebates, no trade-ins, no nonsense. There they were. Thank you, Springfield Armory.

The only downsides:

- The finish. While cosmetically pleasing, the thin parkerizing/whatever-the-heck-it-is will not hold up for heavy carry use. Even the demo guns in the store showed abnormally heavy wear. Thus, like the USP I had and loathed many years ago, it will soon rust. For USPSA purposes, that is totally irrelevant. But, if you're buying an XD for actual "eXtreme Duty" - be prepared to cough up to get it coated/parkerized/treated right from the get-go.

- The use of driven pins to hold the top end together. Forget about doing a total stripdown and clean without a hammer and a punch.

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The XD is THE answer for a competitor who wants a Production-ready gun out of the box. In fact, the gun is so good, I think it could be very competitive in Lim-10. It's simply astounds me that one can buy such a finely-tuned gun from the local gunstore for well under $500.

If you're thinking about shooting production, have average-sized hands, and don't want to fix anything, look no further. You will be happy.

[Jon Merricks]

Eric, I'm glad you like yours. I won one and traded it away quickly. The trigger was really bad. This was last year so I'm not sure if they changed that any.

[blackdragon]

EricW,

Got one just like it! I am really happy with mine! Had it for about a year now. I use it for production class just not out side the US tho-

Ivan

[EricW]

Jon,

Sorry to hear that. The problem is, I honestly don't care for the crisp, "glass rod" trigger, so I'm pretty easy to please. I don't think the XD trigger is vastly better than the Glock, but I can certainly live with it. All I ask is that it be relatively light and grit free. And this one is. I've dry-fired a couple others and had similar results. The gun is rock steady at release, so I don't believe that the trigger mechanism will affect my accuracy at all inside of 30 to 40 yards or so.

From previous experiences with SA, I do believe that if I had a problem that I could send the gun it and they'd fix it to my satisfaction.

[bountyhunter]

Anybody know when SA is going to actually build the version of the XD I saw in their catalog which had the ADJ sights and the lightened trigger? I called SA a couple of months back and it was a "I dunno" answer. The lady said the custome shop keeps saying they will build them and just keep moving the date out every six months.

I would like one of those guns.

[Scooter]

If you send your gun to Bruce Gray, he can do a trigger job on the XD that rivals 1911 triggers.

[rhino]

The thing I like about the XD is that I can actually reach the trigger. If I didn't have a Smith & Wesson 5904 and a Browning BDM already, I'd definitely get an XD. That you can get standard capacity mags now is a good bonus.

Of those I have dry fired, I have liked the trigger a lot more than any Glock (both stock and "custom"). I have not handled enough to judge the length of the reset, though.

It sure looks like a whole lot of gun for not much money.

[Kimberkid]

I just shot an XD in .40 last week for the first time. I gave serious consideration to an XD in 9mm before I bought my Glock, and now I sorta wish I had gone with the XD. I love my glock, but that XD is quite sweet. I had heard that in 9mm the slide is heavy enough that you need to run about a 140 or more power factor to make the slide feel snappy. I dont know if that is true or not, just what I hear. With the prices being as they are, I may end up with an XD also and try em both for production and eventually sell withever one I shoot less.

[blackdragon]

I changed out the factory recoil spring to a 16.5# It doesn't jump as much! It takes 1911 springs in the 5" Tactical Model.

Ivan

[EricW]

I changed out the factory recoil spring to a 16.5# It doesn't jump as much! It takes 1911 springs in the 5" Tactical Model.

Ivan

I knew it! Thanks for confirming that.

That spring looked so close to the 1911 I even asked them when I called them if it was a 1911 spring. Of course, Springfield told me "absolutely not."

I'm beginning to wonder if anyone at Springfield actually has used and shot the XD or all they do is box kick the things from the the shipping container to the distributor.

[TriggerT]

I really like the XD as well. RIIID has one that he did the trigger on, and all I can say is that it is as good, or better than, most of the triggers I have felt on competition 1911 guns. YUP, it really is that good.

If I ever really get into production, it will be with an XD after Rich spends a little time with it.

[EricW]

Put about 100+ rounds through the XD today. A Glock, the XD ain't - MUCH different personality. It definitely takes a concerted grip in order to pop the sight down out of recoil. It'd be interesting to see what cutting the spring rate and/or major 9 ammo would do. My 145 PF ammo (out of my G19) seemed too light for the massive slide.

If I ever bought another XD, I think I'd definitely go with a 40. It seems like it takes some major poop to make the gun "work".

Personally, the trigger reset didn't bother me at all.

[Bob Hostetter]

Actually the gun on the cover of S/A's catalog can be bilt and several have, just not by S/A.

We replace the barrel with a Bar Sto, install BoMar sights, stipple the grip, do a nice trigger job, and install an extended mag release button. They turn out very nice.

[statichead2k]

What's that run bob? The whole shebang. I have a duo tone, black and stainless 9mm 4 inch. I like it tons. The stainless isn't stainless and has gets minor rust If I let it go and I am thinking of hard chroming the slide. The trigger is acceptable but I think it could be better. I don't really like the point of aim with the fixed sights either.