Kinda OT: What do you think of the Springfield XD 45?

I've been thinking about getting an XD 45 compact (black), they sell for $550 with the short and long mag, holster, and plastic case. Seems like a good deal to me, and I REALLY like the feel of it. I rented one and fired 50 rounds through it at an indoor range place. Lets just say I was impressed! So any negatives I should be aware of? So far it seems like a good value, and a decent gun?

I have a 4" service model and I like it. If I had it to do again I would do as you are thinking and buy the compact model. If I were you I would get on the stick and buy some 13 rd magazines NOW while you still can. I have (25) magazines for mine and wish I had more.

I had Springer Precision do the trigger on mine.

Bill

JunkyardJ, I have the XD .40 subcompact and really like it. Have not shot the .45. I think and have been told by reputable avid shooters that the XD line is good value for the money. There might be better out there, but not for the money. I like to shoot mine a lot, I only wish the .40 ammo was as cheap as the 9mm. I agree with the hi-cap mag comment, get em while you can. The election might change it all.

Yeah, I plan on getting a couple extras when I get it.

I'm planning on getting it before the election, because I think the magazine might be the LEAST of my worries. Anyways, yeah, I've been looking at the XDs for a while. I finally got to shoot the .45, shot a 9mm version a while back. To me, the difference in recoil between .45, 9mm, and .40 isn't really a concern. I know some people don't like the .45 because of recoil, but I bet if you handed me a gun, and told me to fire it without knowing the caliber, I wouldn't be able to tell you if I just shot a .40, .45 or 9mm (unless I shot them all the same day). To me they all make a loud bang, and send a hot piece of lead out the muzzle while jumping back at me. There's not enough of a difference in recoil to not just go for the biggest piece of lead available. I suppose if I were going for competition shooting where speed was a factor, a .40 might be better, but I can blast .45s out pretty quick.

My son carries one as a duty weapon and really likes it, many of the officers are giving up the Glock and going to the XD in .40 caliber.

willbird said:

I have a 4" service model and I like it. If I had it to do again I would do as you are thinking and buy the compact model. If I were you I would get on the stick and buy some 13 rd magazines NOW while you still can. I have (25) magazines for mine and wish I had more.

I had Springer Precision do the trigger on mine.

Bill

Click to expand...

What makes you think that if Obama wins and the demoncrats have veto proof majorities in both houses of congress that posession of high capacity mags will be grandfathered? Better start stocking up on 6" pvc pipe, endcaps and pvc cement before the knock on the door.

I don't plan on doing anything to mine.

MAYBE some sights, but I actually like the way the trigger feels out of the box. The sights are a little lacking, but so are most hand guns. I might get some of those fancy glowy fiber optic sights.



25 magazines, and that's not enough?!?! Ok then, to each their own! What would you consider enough?? I was thinking 5 would be good for me, along with 2 of the 10 rounders besides what comes with it. I can't really imagine walking around with that in my pockets, let alone 25! Honestly, will the gun even empty that many mags before it starts to malfunction from getting dirty! What's the point of having more mags than you can fire before you have to clean the gun?? I can understand if you want to sell them for BIG$$$ after they outlaw them, but I dunno about having that for private use. If you are planning on selling, it probably wasn't smart to post on the net about them.

FWIW, the BATF considers the XP to be a single-action pistol.
F

The XD is a single-action pistol, striker-fired.

I like my XD45S as much as any other .45 I've ever owned. It feels good in the hand, it functions as reliably as any pistol I've owned, and it is as safe to carry "Israeli" as any pistol made. I don't think I'd carry it IWB with one up the pipe, because there is no external safety switch to ease my mind, but I don't hesitate to slip it into the OWB holster, fully-charged.

It's a very reliable tool, and I ask it to do a different job than I do the tuned range-queen 1911s. It gets rough treatment, and handles it well.

adamsgt said:

What makes you think that if Obama wins and the demoncrats have veto proof majorities in both houses of congress that posession of high capacity mags will be grandfathered? Better start stocking up on 6" pvc pipe, endcaps and pvc cement before the knock on the door.

Click to expand...

I'm very cognicent of the fact that it is very possible that future laws may NOT have a grandfather clause, however magazine sales are not recorded, and it is better to have and not need than need or want and not have :-)

Bill

Fussy1 said:

FWIW, the BATF considers the XP to be a single-action pistol.
F

Click to expand...

The Glock is not a DA pistol, however some LE depts and other regulating bodies allow it to be carried where only DAO are allowed, not sure if the XD is also allowed in any of those places...but it SHOULD be as it is every bit safe in real life as the Glock is, maybe safer with the grip safety.

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25 magazines, and that's not enough?!?! Ok then, to each their own! What would you consider enough??
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(100) magazines would be enough I think, I have all of my (25) magazines fully loaded, if zombies attack I am somewhat more prepared than the guy with just (5) magazines :-).


Bill

Going to get it tomorrow or friday.

Heading down to the sherrif's department to get the purchase permit today, then heading down tomorrow, or friday to actually get it. Thought I should own a decent handgun before they decide to outlaw them. The only other pistol I own is a POS (actually it's not bad) Pheonix Arms itty bitty .22 semi auto. I got both the long and short barrel with it, and a few clips with the extension on the bottom for the pinky finger. I bought a clip without the finger grip on it. If I put it together with the short barrel and put the short clip in, it fits in a pocket nicely! It's a cute little gun, but like most rimfire semi autos, it gets dirty FAST. It's also a PITA to clean properly, and when it's dirty, it jams . It will shoot about 100 rounds before it starts to act up though.

Got my XD today!

Gotta take it to the sherrif's dept tomorrow so they can put the serial # in the computer, along with my name and address so they can TRY to take it away some day when they change the laws. I didn't end up getting the deal with the tactical light, but it was $502 + tax. They were out of the ones with the fancy rail mount flashlight. Oh well, it was $50 cheaper than anywhere else. Got the compact black model (4" barrel, short grip) that had the 10 & 13 round mag with the grip extender. That speed loader thing is pretty cool now that I figured out how to use it. The mag holder, and the plastic holster thing are kinda nifty too with the tension adjustments on them. I'll take it out and do some plinking tomorrow. Happy birthday/merry christmas all in a plastic box!

I made Mom fill out a purchase permit thing while we were there in case she saw something she liked. She got an ITTY BITTY .380 Kel Tec P-3ATPK. Neat little gun, never knew they made such a thing! I wonder what that shoots like? I understand Ruger is getting sued over the design of one of their guns like the P-3AT?

Not trying to hijack the thread... but anyone have any thoughts on the P3At reliability? I have heard both really good things about the P3AT and really bad things ie feeding problems. The Ruger that is similar to the P3AT is the LCP I believe.
Brad

I'm impressed by the P-3AT.

I actually got my mom to go out and shoot her new gun. She's usually somewhat difficult to motivate to go target practice, but she was psyched about her new gun. It's not the PK version (figured out that stood for parkerized) that was the other one she was looking at. She got the black version. I shot first in case it malfunctioned, made sure it was safe. Then she killed an empty gallon transmission fluid jug. It's so short it's hard to shoot real accurately, and the hammer not clicking into position is hard to get used to. I like the way it shoots though, and a friend of mine has the same gun. He said because of the low mass, you have to stiffen up your grip for the last couple shots in the clip. Something about the gun moving back and absorbing all the inertia of the slide. The guy at the gunshop backed up this theory. So, if you hold it limp handed, you might have feeding problems. I can't imagine holding that bitty .380 limp handed though, it might jump out at you! Anyways, it functioned flawlessly for 4 mags. Don't worry about hijacking the thread, I kinda hoped to spark a bit of discussion on the P-3AT.

Shot my XD, couldn't get mom to shoot it though. My first shot BLEW UP an iced tea jug full of water in a rather spectacular display of water spray, and plastic chunks flying all over! I wanted to see how it felt with the 10 round mag, so I shot 20 rounds. It fires perfectly, hits where I point it, and the firing pin puts a dent in the middle of the primer. Looks good to me, didn't see any strange wear marks, or any burs developing anywhere. Killed a couple more trans fluid jugs.

Took care of the rest of the permit thing. What a JOKE, safety inspection?!?! Just call it what it is, verification of the serial number, and the gun is legal. They don't check to see that the gun is safe WHAT SO EVER! She never even pulled the slide back on EITHER gun. They just want to make sure all the paperwork is in order. I dunno how the registration process came to be, but I take it they called it a safety inspection to make it sound like it wasn't so intrusive into people's privacy, and it would be easier to vote into law???

I bought an XD in 45 acp, the tactical long barrel version with the XD gear. Really like it except for the holster. I called Springfield and told them that I liked the gun and the rest of the gear except the holster because I'm left handed. Guy asked for my address and said they would send me a left handed holster free of charge and no need to return the right handed one. Now that's good customer relations.

That is pretty cool, they sent you a free holster.

Cool, it probably doesn't cost them much to make, it's a piece of plastic! They sure helped their reputation by sending out a free one though. I like companies like that, where they still appreciate their customers. I was looking on their website, and I saw mags were pretty cheap. $26 for the 10rd, and $35 for the 13 with the grip extension. Gonna have to get a couple here. Better than the companies that charge $50+ for a mag.

Where to get the black foam in gun cases?

I was wondering where somebody could obtain the black foam stuff in the gun cases? I got to thinking if I took the top of the case (where the holster, speed loader, and mag holder are) and moved that stuff around, I could fit all my magazines in there. There's a LOT of wasted space in there.

Back on topic, dry firning XD??

I was reading about the roll pin being hosed by dry fires. I've ALWAYS been taught NOT to dry fire ANY gun. Ever since I saw part of the firing pin in a shotgun my uncle owned come sliding out the barrel and land on he floor, I've CAREFULLY observed that RULE. Then I read that I MUST dry fire the XD to "field strip" it. What I've done when dry firing any gun when NECESSARY, is pull the slide/bolt back partly, and pull the trigger so that the slide/bolt absorbs the force. It seems that isn't as abusive as a straight up dryfire. I KNOW certain guns can be SEVERELY damaged by a dryfire, but most NEWER guns tolerate it rather well. Anyways, I don't plan on dry firing except for takedown. Does holding the slide/action open a bit help to absorb the abuse the impact the roll pin takes on the XD?? What about other guns?? I think most are OK if you hold the slide/bolt open a bit.

JunkyardJ said:

I was reading about the roll pin being hosed by dry fires. I've ALWAYS been taught NOT to dry fire ANY gun. Ever since I saw part of the firing pin in a shotgun my uncle owned come sliding out the barrel and land on he floor, I've CAREFULLY observed that RULE. Then I read that I MUST dry fire the XD to "field strip" it. What I've done when dry firing any gun when NECESSARY, is pull the slide/bolt back partly, and pull the trigger so that the slide/bolt absorbs the force. It seems that isn't as abusive as a straight up dryfire. I KNOW certain guns can be SEVERELY damaged by a dryfire, but most NEWER guns tolerate it rather well. Anyways, I don't plan on dry firing except for takedown. Does holding the slide/action open a bit help to absorb the abuse the impact the roll pin takes on the XD?? What about other guns?? I think most are OK if you hold the slide/bolt open a bit.

Click to expand...

A great many firearms are just fine to dry fire, in fact as far as handguns go there are only a few that should not be dry fired. All semi-auto pistols have an internal safety interlock called a "disconnecter" that prevents the gun from firing when it is not fully locked up....so if you partially retract the slide it will not fire. The people who have broken the XD roll pin by dry firing have probably dry fired their pistol thousands of times or more.

If it bothers you a great deal to dry fire the pistol to disassemble it I see no reason you could not use a snap cap, BUT actually this is not as safe IMHO because an empty chamber is safer. What I mean by that is that I know NOTHING in there is NOTHING in there, as opposed to having "something" in there that MAY be a snap cap ;-).

Most modern handguns can be dry fired 10,000 times with no more wear and tear on the firearm than firing the gun with live ammo, probably less wear and tear actually.

In a pistol like a 1911 changing the firing pin rebound spring is the only wear and tear caused by dry fire, and in fact it is prudent to change them once a year if you fire the gun much anyway because the spring is also stressed each time you fire the gun....and to a a small degree every time you chamber a round.

Much of the dry fire fear comes from shotguns which have a very heavy firing pin that CAN be damaged by dry fire without snap caps.

Bill