Thanks to MTICop for reviewing a pistol I'd wanted since Springfield released it. In fact, I bought a bi-tone job as soon as I found one.
Another Forum member asked me about mine, and I responded privately before Hurricane Ike dissed our neighborhood. Hoping it might of use, adding to MTICop's review, here were my comments:
I wish I'd known you were interested. I would have brought mine to PSC yesterday and let you have at it while I was in class.
Before my comments, the caveat is that I've had the opportunity to put only a little over 100 rounds down 'er. I'd hoped to get out and shoot it some more today--with a benchrest in tow--but didn't have time. I'll also add that I have the same, stock XD9 Tactical as you (only a 49-yard trigger reset, though) and an XD9 Tactical that was worked over by Canyon Creek Custom. Night and day difference in the trigger, especially. You need to shoot that one, too.
As you well know, the standard XD has a slightly less mushy trigger than a stock Glock (non-34 or -35), but the reset is darned near the entire length of the original trigger pull, and it isn't a very crisp reset...by that I mean the tactile sensation that tells you when the reset is complete.
The XD(M) is better, but not great. To me, it's clear that Springfield went with .40 S&W first in order to try to take a bite out of Glock's market share of the LEO business. (BTW, I think they'll be introducing a 9mm version in the next week or two.) The trigger is in keeping with this, I think, which also makes it a good daily carry trigger. Mine breaks consistently somewhere between 5.9 and 6.2 pounds.
What I like about it is the uptake: it's definite and clear. There is a small amount of overtravel, and then you can clearly feel when the trigger engages. Break is nowhere near a decent 1911, but it's relatively crisp. Not too bad. The reset is better than a stock Springfield, but nothing to write home about. The trigger job on my Canyon Creek 9mm clearly shows that the XD can have a competition-level trigger, but the XD(M) has a pretty solid trigger for duty/carry purposes.
The grip sizes are great. With the smallest backstrap in place, the grip is slightly smaller, overall, than my stock XD9. This isn't taking into account that ergonomics of the M make for a fractionally smaller tang-to-trigger distance even without modified backstraps. I'm using the medium backstrap.
Which leads to the next big plus: capacity. A payload of 16+1 .40 S&W in a grip that can be made to feel smaller than the XD9 ain't nothin' to sneeze at. The full boat negates the gun's relatively light weight, of course, but the gun starts out at 32oz. so the result isn't bad at all.
The gun is 1 3/8" wide overall; not bad, but it seems even narrower, maybe because of the tapered slide that makes for more visual appeal than the typical, blocky, external-locking plastic gun.
At 4.5" the barrel length is a nice compromise. I can't speak for the claims about the hype of it being a new-generation, high-tech, best-possible production barrel.
Mine has the stock, steel, fixed white-dot sites. A feature that I've not seen advertised is that these have a longer relative sight radius than the stock XD sights. If you look at pictures of the XD(M) you'll see the combat-capable rear sights are mounted so that the white dots are essentially flush with the rear of the slide: no offset. So I figure I pick up about .25" sight radius, bringing it closer to what a 5" barrel would give me.
The 100+ plus rounds down with WWB were without surprises. About 40 of those were rapid fire in strings of two and three. No hiccups.
Downsides: XD(M) mags are wider than regular XDs of the same caliber. That's how they squeezed in the extra capacity and kept the grip feeling small. No downside for me right now because I own only 9mm and .45 regular XDs. When an M comes out in 9mm, if I choose to buy one I'll have six mags that won't fit.
The biggest disappointment for me is that the lil' guy is shooting low. Over 3" low at about 20 yards. I went into it wanting fiber optics, at least on the front, but settled for the white-dots when I got a good, in-stock deal. So I'm not terribly disappointed because I may end up replacing the factory sights anyway. But I'd like another couple hundred down the pipe, followed by some with a bench rest. The good news is that the freehand groups are pretty tight, so I believe the barrel and slide are solid. I haven't researched yet whether the M uses readily available, after market sights, or whether I'd have to send it back to Springfield for fiber optics.
All that said, I ordered an IWB MTAC, a straight-drop belt holster, and dual mag carriers for it from our friends at Comp-Tac. I won't be testin' my carry gun like G.C. Montgomery with umpteen thousand rounds, but if I get good sights to POA and the gun behaves like it has been for another 500 or 1,000 rounds, I'd like to elevate it to a carry gun. I'd wanted to use in my fourth Farnam course in October, but I don't know if the sight situation will allow that.
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