BillGarlandJr Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 About a month ago I bought an SA XD9. I've been a GLOCK shooter for some time but I was curious about the XD's potential as a Production division pistol, and as a duty / concealed carry pistol so I picked one up. Like a lot of other people I was really pleased wtih the way the XD handled, and its ergonomics. I dry fired it some at the house and was looking forward to getting it on the range and putting some rounds through it. Well, I finally had a chance to shoot it today. I set up a couple of bullseye targets (one at 25 yards, and one at 40 yards) and tried shooting some groups. I very disappointed to find the XD was not up to standards in the accuracy department. At 25 yards my groups were 6 to 8 inches, and at 40 yards they opened up to 12 to 14 inches. I was shooting Winchester 115gr white box ammo, which shoots great out of my Glocks. I'm curious as to what kind of accuracy other XD9 owners have been getting out of their pistols. Are these things normally capable of better accuracy out of the box, or did I possibly get a lemon? I really had high hopes for this pistol when I bought it and based on how it handles and points I kind of like it. But, being kind of a stickler for accuracy, I need to get better results than I was in the accuracy department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 It might take some getting used to. Those groups are a LOT bigger than what I see when sighting in guns after fixing them up. 15 yards is what I generally sight in at, and they are usually a 2" or less so offhand if I don't throw an operated induced flyer. I shoot 5-15 different XD's a week lately, and they are pretty accurate overall. Some people aren't used to the trigger so they get that fixed and generally are real happy about it. 2-3" groups are what people commonly report back and most of these folks aren't super competition folks either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R/T Performance Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 I rarley shoot any groups but I know all my 40 cal .I have owned 5 or so been way less than that. Sounds like maybe you have an issue have you rested it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshF Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 (edited) I'm extremely pleased with mine. It's been on a steady diet of 115gr WWB (aka Fun Packs) and I get about 2-3" at 15yds and 4-5" at 25yrds all offhand. I will say mine has one of the nicest stock triggers I've ever felt on an XD. If it was a bullseye gun, yeah I might be upset but for USPSA shooting it's perfect for me. Edited October 25, 2006 by KSmoker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougCarden Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 (edited) Please take this FWIW..... The biggest problem with the XD with the stock trigger is conscious firing. If you are trying to "make" the gun go off your groups will open up in no time. I noticed this while shooting indoors after making nice groups with the same ammo in a 1911 with a good trigger and then couldnt hit the broadside of a barn with the XD. I ended up benching it, getting the pretravel out of the trigger, and then focusing on the front sight and letting it go off when it wanted to. Nice cloverleafs. I immediately sent it off for a 2lb trigger job and now it is easy to shoot nice groups. Mine will do 2in at 25yds if I do my part with my reloads. I routinely shoot the Bianchi plates out to 35 yds with mine and it will do its part everytime. I have shot 4 XDs....9x19 and .40s....all will shoot very well, with rounds going into the same hole. It takes some time to get used to the trigger, but once you do you will like the gun. Good luck, DougC Edited October 25, 2006 by DougC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38stupid Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 I have tested a bunch of XDs in all sizes and calibers at work. We found that 5 inchers are the most consistent out of the bunch for accuracy(and staying that way). We shoot our groups at 20 yards most of the time but I took some out to 40 yards. All shooting done off a rest. I bought an early SN 5" 9mm and it shoots fantastic. I have about 8000 rounds thru it without any issues. (some of the XDs drop off accuracy wise at the 3k-5k mark) I have tried everything from reloads to cheap factory (relative term) and they all shoot well. Of all the people that I know that bought the 5 inchers none have complained about the accuracy. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-man Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 On a different note, I had two XD's (Tactical 9mm) with a good deal of custom work on each and I found both to be a bit lacking in accuracy. That isn't to say they weren't capable for competition, but when it came to head shots at 15 or standards at 50 my confidence in the guns was usually low. While they certainly weren't meant to be tack-drivers, in my own experience I've found Glocks or CZ's to be better in terms of accuracy. That may just be because of the two particular guns that I had, so take it for what its worth. I've also heard from several people that TGO has barrel work done on his XD's to improve their accuracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 (edited) That is odd. I shoot a 4" as my Production gun (I like the balance better) and have no problems keeping them in the A zone with headshots at 15 yards (I shot them this morning) or even USP poppers at 50 yards. When I miss it is me, not the gun. ps. The stock sights are awful IMO Dawson are much better. Edited October 25, 2006 by Loves2Shoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R/T Performance Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Please take this FWIW..... The biggest problem with the XD with the stock trigger is conscious firing. If you are trying to "make" the gun go off your groups will open up in no time. I noticed this while shooting indoors after making nice groups with the same ammo in a 1911 with a good trigger and then couldnt hit the broadside of a barn with the XD. I ended up benching it, getting the pretravel out of the trigger, and then focusing on the front sight and letting it go off when it wanted to. Nice cloverleafs. I immediately sent it off for a 2lb trigger job and now it is easy to shoot nice groups. Mine will do 2in at 25yds if I do my part with my reloads. I routinely shoot the Bianchi plates out to 35 yds with mine and it will do its part everytime. I have shot 4 XDs....9x19 and .40s....all will shoot very well, with rounds going into the same hole. It takes some time to get used to the trigger, but once you do you will like the gun. Good luck, DougC I have herd slide tightening drastically improves this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-man Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 (edited) Perhaps my experience may just be an anomaly, but for a long time I thought that the problem was in fact me. Shooting classifers at 50 yards left me really dissapointed. So I started to test the gun against others. I could shoot 1" groups at 25 with other guns but couldn't seem to get the XD to do anything near 4" even with a 2lb. trigger and Heinie sights. When I'd bench the guns at 50 I could hardly keep the hits on paper. That may just be that I am unable to shoot the XD well, but having compared it side by side with other production guns I realized that my XD's just couldn't keep up. That isn't to say that ALL XD's are innacurate because it may be that the two I owned were lemons or it might be that the gun itself is not good "fit" for me. Edited October 25, 2006 by Z-man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshF Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 (edited) might be that the gun itself is not good "fit" for me. Me and Glocks have a similar "arrangement". Always been horribly inaccurate in my hands but everyone else seems to do fine with them Edited October 25, 2006 by KSmoker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillGarlandJr Posted October 25, 2006 Author Share Posted October 25, 2006 Thank you all for your feedback on this matter. Just some additional info....when I was shooting my XD9 for groups it was off of sandbags at both of the distances I named. Thinking I might have been the reason for the poor results, I asked my dad to shoot some groups with it as well. Being an active IPSC shooter, and PPC grandmaster he is a guy who knows a thing or two about shooting a pistol for accuracy. Unfortunately he got similar results. So, I am inclined to think this may be a pistol problem and not a shooter problem. Seems to me, based on everyone's repsonses, accuracy results vary with the XD9. Some people are very happy and others not so much. My personal standard for a production / duty pistol is that it shoots at least 3 inches at 25 yards with whatever decent ammo I feed it. If I can get it, I like them to group tighter than that but 3 inches is the standard. Over the years I have had the good fortune to own several GLOCKS and all of them have met that standard without fail. That's out of the box! I have to say that kind of consistent quality has made me a believer. So, all that being said, I think the XD9 experiment is over. Which isn't entirely bad....I hear Smith & Wesson has a new production / duty pistol out that deserves some looking at! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougCarden Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 From what you told us, I would send it back to the factory and let them know the accuracy is not acceptable. It might be as simple as changing out the locking block to the barrel fit as well. It will be under warrantee so what the hell! Good luck, and yes the M&P looks really good! DougC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoofy Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Winchester white box 25 yds - 4 in group with Dawson sights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R/T Performance Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 From what you told us, I would send it back to the factory and let them know the accuracy is not acceptable. It might be as simple as changing out the locking block to the barrel fit as well. It will be under warrantee so what the hell! Good luck, and yes the M&P looks really good! DougC Give Megan a call or Drop an email I am sure she will take good care of you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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