4" XD .45

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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by surprise_i'm_armed »

Longtooth:

Sir, I believe that your XD is a .45 with the thumb safety,
but I don't know its barrel length.

Care to add a little XD love letter of your own and address
it to TAM? :-)

SIA
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M9FAN
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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by M9FAN »

The XD-45 Service model has been my primary CCW for the last 2+ years, and I love it. No FTFs, FTEs, or any other issue. Great gun! :thumbs2:
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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by wilder »

I've got the 4" compact model and it's nice to be switch between the full-size and compact grips with only a mag change. It's a great gun and I've never had a failure of any kind.
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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by Excaliber »

The Annoyed Man wrote:I came this close to buying an XD .45 with a 4" barrel at the TSRA gun show today. What I liked about it besides the shape of the grip and the empty weight of the gun was that it did not seem much bigger than my USP Compact .40 and that it had ambidextrous safety and mag release controls.

If I get one, I'll sell off my USPc (along with a bunch of ammo, holsters, and a 3rd 12 round mag). I'm trying to simplify my caliber picture. Right now, I stock pistol ammo for .22LR, .380, .38 Special, 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and .44 magnum. If I could feed my polymer framed pistol the same stuff my 1911s digest, it would make life a bit simpler for me.

I met XDgal at the show, and she said she really likes hers, but I wanted to know who else out there has an XD .45, more specifically the 4" model, what your nits and picks are, and what you really like about the gun. So far, my XD experience is limited to shooting one magazine through a friend's XD 9mm, and it seemed like a nice enough gun, but I'd really like opinions on the .45.

Thanks.
I've had the XD .45 since the original (full size) model with that designation came out. It is a very high quality gun with the same grip angle as the 1911 so I can go back and forth without having to think about it, and it is unfailingly reliable. I wish I had waited another year to get the compact model a friend picked up because of the versatility of having a "full size" gun with the large magazine and grip sleeve, and a compact gun when the smaller magazine is inserted.

Right now it serves as my house pistol with a light mounted on the slide rail, and night sights. The full size model is kinda big for summer carry, but the compact is practical for that purpose. Either is slimmer than a Glock, but thicker than a 1911 in the grip area.

This is a gun you can't go wrong with. It's a real workhorse, is extremely rugged like the Glock, and the single action trigger system puts the HK you've got to shame.

The bad news is that you missed an opportunity to pick one up at the TSRA show. The good news is that the Dallas Market Hall gun show is coming up and I'll bet you'll find it at a better price there.
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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by longtooth »

surprise_i'm_armed wrote:Longtooth:

Sir, I believe that your XD is a .45 with the thumb safety,
but I don't know its barrel length.

Care to add a little XD love letter of your own and address
it to TAM? :-)

SIA

Yes sir will do. I think we did talk about that some while at the show. Mine is the 4" also. It is accurate, & comparable w/ 1911s as in the grip erganomics & also the position of thumb safety. That is one of the things I like about it too.
I agree w/ all the good said about it above. The caliber consolidation was one of the + for me too. Only 40 I have is a K40 for Sunday carry & all the rest are 45acp or 38/357. The ladies have .380 & 9mm.
Bottom line is I think you will love it.
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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by Excaliber »

longtooth wrote:
surprise_i'm_armed wrote:Longtooth:

Sir, I believe that your XD is a .45 with the thumb safety,
but I don't know its barrel length.

Care to add a little XD love letter of your own and address
it to TAM? :-)

SIA

Yes sir will do. I think we did talk about that some while at the show. Mine is the 4" also. It is accurate, & comparable w/ 1911s as in the grip erganomics & also the position of thumb safety. That is one of the things I like about it too.
I agree w/ all the good said about it above. The caliber consolidation was one of the + for me too. Only 40 I have is a K40 for Sunday carry & all the rest are 45acp or 38/357. The ladies have .380 & 9mm.
Bottom line is I think you will love it.
LT
The XD is currently only available in a 4 inch barrel length in .45ACP caliber. The compact version has a shortened grip but the same slide length as the full size model. Details can be found at Springfield's web site.

I recommend the compact as the more versatile of the two because with the shorter grip and 10 round magazine, it is easily concealable. Inserting the 13 round magazine with grip sleeve (comes with the gun) extends the grip to the same dimensions as the full size gun. The carry strategy is: short magazine in the gun, full size magazine with grip sleeve for reloads.

It should be noted that these pistols have a true single action trigger system. The striker is fully cocked by the retraction of the slide, and the trigger simply releases the sear for every shot. This provides a short, smooth trigger pull that many find quite pleasant and easy to shoot.

I'm not a fan of thumb safeties on these guns because I see them as an unnecessary complexity. However, I know some folks aren't comfortable carrying a semiauto without one, so each to his own. Springfield is happy to accommodate everyone on this score.
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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by pdubyoo »

TAM,

I carry the XD-40 4", and have had excellent performance with it. I've put at least 4,000 rounds through it, and the only problem I had was that the feed ramp had to be polished a bit to feed better. That was at around 250 rounds, and have had no problems since.

If you're interested in endurance tests...read this article on Springfield's website:
http://springfield-armory.primediaoutdo ... tory11.php

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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by Mike from Texas »

I'll be the evil one and go against the grain here. I had one when thy first came out, bought it at Euless Gun.

I carried it everywhere and will admit it felt great and was very accurate. After a trip to the deer lease one weekend, I came home removed the gun from the holster, removed the magazine, cleared the chamber and went to pull the trigger to drop the striker. The gun would not fire. Took it to Todd and told him what was going on. Few days later they called for me to pick it up and said that dirt was migrating in through the striker indicator at the rear of the slide and they had to totally disassembled and thoroughly cleaned.

That was a bit concerting to me. What if I would have had to use it kept running through my mind.

If that weren't enough, 2 weeks later, same scenario except this time the magazine release would not work. Took it back too them and they said the same thing, dirt/lint all fouled up in the magazine release assembly. At the same time Todd said the mag release assembly was the most difficult design he has ever worked on. That was the final straw for me. I had a Glock 29 that had been subject to the exact same conditions while the XD was being worked on and it never missed a beat. I sold the XD45 and got a G21SF in it's place and have never looked back.

I'm not telling this ti convince you to get a Glock but rather my experience with the XD. All of this can be verified with Todd at Euless Guns, I know you frequent there.

They are great guns but appear to require more maintenance than their Glock counterparts.
A few Glocks, a few Kahrs, Dan Wesson CBOB 10mm, Dan Wesson CBOB 45ACP, Springer Champion Operator

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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by The Annoyed Man »

Mike from Texas wrote:I'll be the evil one and go against the grain here. I had one when thy first came out, bought it at Euless Gun.

I carried it everywhere and will admit it felt great and was very accurate. After a trip to the deer lease one weekend, I came home removed the gun from the holster, removed the magazine, cleared the chamber and went to pull the trigger to drop the striker. The gun would not fire. Took it to Todd and told him what was going on. Few days later they called for me to pick it up and said that dirt was migrating in through the striker indicator at the rear of the slide and they had to totally disassembled and thoroughly cleaned.

That was a bit concerting to me. What if I would have had to use it kept running through my mind.

If that weren't enough, 2 weeks later, same scenario except this time the magazine release would not work. Took it back too them and they said the same thing, dirt/lint all fouled up in the magazine release assembly. At the same time Todd said the mag release assembly was the most difficult design he has ever worked on. That was the final straw for me. I had a Glock 29 that had been subject to the exact same conditions while the XD was being worked on and it never missed a beat. I sold the XD45 and got a G21SF in it's place and have never looked back.

I'm not telling this ti convince you to get a Glock but rather my experience with the XD. All of this can be verified with Todd at Euless Guns, I know you frequent there.

They are great guns but appear to require more maintenance than their Glock counterparts.
Couple'a questions...

How were you carrying yours? and... What kind of work do you do? (Asking because some jobs are "dirtier" than others, and IWB might get more lint into a gun than OWB — and was wondering if either factor could have contributed to your difficulties...)
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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by Mike from Texas »

The Annoyed Man wrote:
Mike from Texas wrote:I'll be the evil one and go against the grain here. I had one when thy first came out, bought it at Euless Gun.

I carried it everywhere and will admit it felt great and was very accurate. After a trip to the deer lease one weekend, I came home removed the gun from the holster, removed the magazine, cleared the chamber and went to pull the trigger to drop the striker. The gun would not fire. Took it to Todd and told him what was going on. Few days later they called for me to pick it up and said that dirt was migrating in through the striker indicator at the rear of the slide and they had to totally disassembled and thoroughly cleaned.

That was a bit concerting to me. What if I would have had to use it kept running through my mind.

If that weren't enough, 2 weeks later, same scenario except this time the magazine release would not work. Took it back too them and they said the same thing, dirt/lint all fouled up in the magazine release assembly. At the same time Todd said the mag release assembly was the most difficult design he has ever worked on. That was the final straw for me. I had a Glock 29 that had been subject to the exact same conditions while the XD was being worked on and it never missed a beat. I sold the XD45 and got a G21SF in it's place and have never looked back.

I'm not telling this ti convince you to get a Glock but rather my experience with the XD. All of this can be verified with Todd at Euless Guns, I know you frequent there.

They are great guns but appear to require more maintenance than their Glock counterparts.
Couple'a questions...

How were you carrying yours? and... What kind of work do you do? (Asking because some jobs are "dirtier" than others, and IWB might get more lint into a gun than OWB — and was wondering if either factor could have contributed to your difficulties...)
At the lease, carry OWB. Carrying concealed IWB. I work in an office environment.
A few Glocks, a few Kahrs, Dan Wesson CBOB 10mm, Dan Wesson CBOB 45ACP, Springer Champion Operator

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Excaliber
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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by Excaliber »

The Annoyed Man wrote:
Mike from Texas wrote:I'll be the evil one and go against the grain here. I had one when thy first came out, bought it at Euless Gun.

I carried it everywhere and will admit it felt great and was very accurate. After a trip to the deer lease one weekend, I came home removed the gun from the holster, removed the magazine, cleared the chamber and went to pull the trigger to drop the striker. The gun would not fire. Took it to Todd and told him what was going on. Few days later they called for me to pick it up and said that dirt was migrating in through the striker indicator at the rear of the slide and they had to totally disassembled and thoroughly cleaned.

That was a bit concerting to me. What if I would have had to use it kept running through my mind.

If that weren't enough, 2 weeks later, same scenario except this time the magazine release would not work. Took it back too them and they said the same thing, dirt/lint all fouled up in the magazine release assembly. At the same time Todd said the mag release assembly was the most difficult design he has ever worked on. That was the final straw for me. I had a Glock 29 that had been subject to the exact same conditions while the XD was being worked on and it never missed a beat. I sold the XD45 and got a G21SF in it's place and have never looked back.

I'm not telling this ti convince you to get a Glock but rather my experience with the XD. All of this can be verified with Todd at Euless Guns, I know you frequent there.

They are great guns but appear to require more maintenance than their Glock counterparts.
Couple'a questions...

How were you carrying yours? and... What kind of work do you do? (Asking because some jobs are "dirtier" than others, and IWB might get more lint into a gun than OWB — and was wondering if either factor could have contributed to your difficulties...)
The XD design has passed some pretty extreme torture tests. The issues cited by Mike from Texas are the only significant ones I've ever heard about with this gun. There may be some unusual factors unique to his particular unit.
Excaliber

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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by Mike from Texas »

Excaliber wrote:
The Annoyed Man wrote:
Mike from Texas wrote:I'll be the evil one and go against the grain here. I had one when thy first came out, bought it at Euless Gun.

I carried it everywhere and will admit it felt great and was very accurate. After a trip to the deer lease one weekend, I came home removed the gun from the holster, removed the magazine, cleared the chamber and went to pull the trigger to drop the striker. The gun would not fire. Took it to Todd and told him what was going on. Few days later they called for me to pick it up and said that dirt was migrating in through the striker indicator at the rear of the slide and they had to totally disassembled and thoroughly cleaned.

That was a bit concerting to me. What if I would have had to use it kept running through my mind.

If that weren't enough, 2 weeks later, same scenario except this time the magazine release would not work. Took it back too them and they said the same thing, dirt/lint all fouled up in the magazine release assembly. At the same time Todd said the mag release assembly was the most difficult design he has ever worked on. That was the final straw for me. I had a Glock 29 that had been subject to the exact same conditions while the XD was being worked on and it never missed a beat. I sold the XD45 and got a G21SF in it's place and have never looked back.

I'm not telling this ti convince you to get a Glock but rather my experience with the XD. All of this can be verified with Todd at Euless Guns, I know you frequent there.

They are great guns but appear to require more maintenance than their Glock counterparts.
Couple'a questions...

How were you carrying yours? and... What kind of work do you do? (Asking because some jobs are "dirtier" than others, and IWB might get more lint into a gun than OWB — and was wondering if either factor could have contributed to your difficulties...)
The XD design has passed some pretty extreme torture tests. The issues cited by Mike from Texas are the only significant ones I've ever heard about with this gun. There may be some unusual factors unique to his particular unit.
Very well could be. But I have to have confidence that my weapon is going to work properly when I need it to. I lost all confidence in the gun when those two incidents happened.

I can see where the design of the opening in the back of the slide could put it a risk for more dirt/lint intrusion into the striker channel. I have no idea on the mag release situation, but to have my gunsmith tell e that it is one of the most difficult designs he's ever seen speaks volumes to me. Glocks are ridiculously simple and predictable but I also understand that they don't fit everyone.
A few Glocks, a few Kahrs, Dan Wesson CBOB 10mm, Dan Wesson CBOB 45ACP, Springer Champion Operator

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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by Excaliber »

Mike from Texas wrote:Very well could be. But I have to have confidence that my weapon is going to work properly when I need it to. I lost all confidence in the gun when those two incidents happened.

I can see where the design of the opening in the back of the slide could put it a risk for more dirt/lint intrusion into the striker channel. I have no idea on the mag release situation, but to have my gunsmith tell e that it is one of the most difficult designs he's ever seen speaks volumes to me. Glocks are ridiculously simple and predictable but I also understand that they don't fit everyone.
Mike, that's a reasonable response. In fact, it would be unreasonable to do otherwise.

Regardless of how well it may work for others, I wouldn't carry a gun I had bad experience with and didn't trust either.

I recently stopped buying a particular brand of ammo for that very reason, even though others are happy with it.
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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by RiverRat »

Thumbs up and up, I have a 4" service and 3 of the 4" compacts in 45, never a miss or failure from any of them with any ammo. They just work. The grip is a natural point of aim just like a 1911 for me. Very easy to clean. I mostly carry the XDc's in the summer, when I have to clean the sweat off more often. The easier break down makes it a breeze to oil and get the lent out. The service lives in the car.
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Re: 4" XD .45

Post by NTexas_V-Star »

bigolbigun wrote:I have carried my XD .45 4" compact everyday for the last two years. It is very easy to carry. Depending on my wardrobe I may change out the 13 rd. mag in favor of the 10 rd. one for concealment reasons. The one you looked at was empty, and I must tell you when it's loaded with 13+1 it is does add some weight, but not enough to deter me from carrying it everyday. I can still carry it wearing mesh gym shorts in a cheap Uncle Mikes IWB # 15 holster around the yard if I want to with no problems.

It is a great shooting gun. I am by no means a marksman, but this thing shoots great. I have several buddies that have shot it, and all of them have ended up buying one of their own. I really don't have any negative thoughts or input about this gun. I had a XDSC .9mm before this one and it was great to. Good luck and I know you will enjoy it if you decide to get it.

I couldn't have typed it better myself.

I sit in my office right now with my 4" XD .45 on my hip IWB at 3:00-3:30; I love this gun. I would say 3 out of 5 people that I let shoot mine, end up with one of their own. I've never had a problem with ammo, never once had a misfire, FTF, FTE ,etc.

One of the upsides, in my opinion, to the XD is the ease of disassembly and cleaning.

I will say that it took a bit for me to get used to carrying a weapon with no *active* safety. But, knowing the operation of the safety of this weapon put me at ease.
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