Bedside Pistol - Springfield XDM Elite OSP????

[The Annoyed Man]

Just a thought on the noise issue. When I took some training classes from a retired Houston PD SWAT Team Lead (23 years in SWAT), I asked about the noise from shooting. He said audio exclusion will protect my ears. I was not sure what to make of that until I watched a video series by Lt. Col. Grossman and he talked about numerous cases that he and others investigated where audio exclusion protected the shooters hearing. I have no personal experience, just going by what others have told me that do have a lot of experience. I will try to get ear pro on but shooting comes first. My first choice will be an AR and if it fails or I go through 4 magazines and that doesn't do the trick, I will go to a M&P 45 full size with 4 mags. Both have lights on them.

Which is why I said that the light may be the most important gewgaw added to my Glock. The can is nice, the light is absolutely necessary.

[oljames3]

I have tinnitus that I usually don't notice. According to the VA, I've lost a little high frequency hearing but not more than is usual for a man my age.

I spent 34 years in the US Army Field Artillery. Mostly with the M109 155mm self propelled howitzer, but also with the Pershing missile. When we were firing the M109, all we used were triple flange ear plugs.


I wore the plugs when inside the cab of the gun or while on the gun line. My Fire Direction Center (FDC) was 50 yards behind the guns. Inside the FDC, we did not wear the plugs so we could hear the radios better over the noise of the M577 Command Post Carrier and the generators that provided power for the radios and the computers.

I have fired my pistol inside a small, closed room and did not experience any noticeable hearing deprivation. I was able to communicate easily with my team. My home defense is my M&P 17+1 and my Streamlight PolyTac X USB.

Here is John Lovell, Warrior Poet Society and former Army Range, talking about suppressors in home defenes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJCg9CCAJyI

And for those who have not seen the M109, here she is. The are 6 to 8 of these in a battery.

[surferdaddy]

I have tinnitus that I usually don't notice. According to the VA, I've lost a little high frequency hearing but not more than is usual for a man my age.

I spent 34 years in the US Army Field Artillery. Mostly with the M109 155mm self propelled howitzer, but also with the Pershing missile. When we were firing the M109, all we used were triple flange ear plugs.


I wore the plugs when inside the cab of the gun or while on the gun line. My Fire Direction Center (FDC) was 50 yards behind the guns. Inside the FDC, we did not wear the plugs so we could hear the radios better over the noise of the M577 Command Post Carrier and the generators that provided power for the radios and the computers.

I have fired my pistol inside a small, closed room and did not experience any noticeable hearing deprivation. I was able to communicate easily with my team. My home defense is my M&P 17+1 and my Streamlight PolyTac X USB.

Here is John Lovell, Warrior Poet Society and former Army Range, talking about suppressors in home defenes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJCg9CCAJyI

And for those who have not seen the M109, here she is. The are 6 to 8 of these in a battery.

I am in the same boat. I was the only certified master helmsman on my destroyer for a long time (plankowner crew). Whenever we did a gun-ex I was on the wheel in the pilot house. The missiles were loud but the darn 5 inch was ridiculous. I had to hear the conn’s commands so I asked boats what to do and he said “pick an ear to leave exposed, don’t switch ears or you’ll go deaf.” Well, I chose my left ear to leave out of the Headset and it definitely is worse than my right ear today. It’s not all bad...when my wife snores I just roll to my right side and bury my “good ear” into the pillow. Problem solved.

[bagman45]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys! I have several Glocks - dating all the way back to the Gen1's with tupperware cases. The newer ones have rails, and I've got TLR-1's on a couple of them. Being "old school", it took me a while to come around to the need to hang a light off of a handgun, but a low-light training class made me a convert. Now, ANYTHING that might be used for HD is going to wear a light. Still in the process of buying and mounting them. I don't own a G17, but have been considering a G19x, which would probably serve the same purpose. Right now the bedside is a G23 or G19 with a light. My wife can run the 19, but doesn't like the 23 as much.

TAM, I appreciate your perspective, and will have to see about doing another low light class with and without a pistol optic. The light is a HUGE upgrade, so may not need the optic, but I bought a Hellcat OSP recently to check out the red dot capability, and gotta say I'm really liking the red dot with my old eyes....

As to Cans, I don't have any yet; been thinking about it for some years, but haven't bought yet - now is the time. I'll be doing a post on here shortly looking for advice as soon as I'm able to educate myself enough to even know what questions to ask. That said, I grew up hunting with shotguns and .22s, which won't deafen you with a couple of shots, so didn't focus much on hearing protection. Then, a long while back, I was reloading in a concrete walled basement, and had a primer on a .380 case not seat correctly. So instead of my usual approach of just spraying some WD-40 into the case to kill the primer, I figured I'd just slip the unloaded round into the gun and move things along. Any idea how loud just a PRIMER is??? Woooo. My ears were ringing for about a day. So I can't imagine touching off .223 or centerfire round inside the house. The concussion would certainly leave you nearly deaf, with likely permanent hearing damage. Still better that than being overrun by evil, but something I'd rather avoid, so my in-the-house POU will include supression. I'm not planning to wander around clearing the house in the middle of the night; we'll be bunkered in with the PD on the phone. Likewise, If roaming evil hordes visited, I'd move upstairs for better engagement positions, and would expect there to be time to don electronic muffs. Besides, I played electric guitar in a lot of bands back in the day, so already have a pretty good amount of low-level hearing loss and don't need to go deaf any sooner than necessary.....

That said, your comments are very valuable in helping me work out my "better late than never" POU, so please keep them coming! Cheers to all, and stay safe out there in these crazy times.....

[NordicTexan]

I just picked up the gun during a promotion from PSA. I love the way it shoots. It is an improvement on my XDM 4.5, and that is one of my favorite guns.

One issue though, but not necessarily for home defense. I put it in my holster(comptac IWB) for the xdm and I heard a click, which I had never heard before. I wasn't able to draw the gun. The suppressor height sights have a tall flat blade in the front that caught the end of the kydex. I have ordered a holster specific for OSP with the suppressor height sights that should be in on Monday from Cross breed.

I am also trying the mini comp from griffin armaments. it definite look good as a replacement for the thread protectors until i can get a can.

[bagman45]

oljames3 and surferdaddy, THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!

[surferdaddy]

oljames3 and surferdaddy, THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!

It was my honor.

[oljames3]

oljames3 and surferdaddy, THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!

Welcome. I was paid for 34 years to lead soldiers and blow things up. Good times.

[bagman45]

OK guys, still mulling this purchase and am struggling between absolute "platform standardization", and a few variants for specific uses. I've been leaning to just standardizing on the Glock platform, as I'm already heavily invested in mags, etc. BUT, their MOS platform is pretty dang expensive. Ran across a gen 4 G19 MOS with threaded barrel, but NOT suppressor height sights for $799. It's attractive, as if I go the Glock way, it'b be a second G19, and could run what I have while just adding sights. Research shows that that's not a bad price for what I'd get, as just adding a new RMR cut slide is at least $150, and a decent threaded barrel is about the same. That said, I can buy the Springer for $599 and be ready to go after adding some more 22 round mags. If the Glock was a C-note cheaper, it'd be a no-brainer. Decisions, decisions.......