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what are the issues with the xd?

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  • 556.45.12

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    Haters... plain and simple. The tacti-cool crowd is all hung up on Glocks. The Glock is made in Austria, arguably a more "mechanically-inclined" and not so arguably a richer country, whereas the XDs are made in Croatia, a country that most Americans think is third-world. The XD uses the much maligned grip safeties that people who have no idea how to properly hold a handgun constantly complain about. The XD hasn't been around as long as the Glock.... yadda yadda...

    I was a fairly early adopter of the XD, buying the XD-45C as soon as it was released. I've had it for 7-8 years now and have put so many rounds through it that I can't even begin to remember. I shot it a lot more back when you could buy a box of 50 new JHP .45 ACP for $13 (Quik-Shoks, still have a ton of them, they're great). I'm pretty bad about cleaning my guns, usually doing a monthly checkup instead of a direct-from-the-range scrubbing. I've never experienced a single feed or ejection failure, never had a part break on me, never had a light primer strike... It just goes bang when I pull the trigger... and quite accurately at that. When I do break my weapons down for inspection, I go over them with a fine-toothed comb - I have not noticed any unusual wear or failing parts. I believe it to be one of the finest striker-fired polymer frame handguns in the world.
    I wouldn't worry about the Glock-Fanboy detractors. They don't want to admit that a gun that fills the same niche and costs about the same as their beloved kaboom-machines could possibly be better. I've shot quite a few brand new, out of the box Glocks side by side with their XD counterparts, and none of them feel right or are as accurate. Besides the grip angle that everyone goes on about, the weight distribution just seems better. Glocks have always seemed too barrel heavy to me and their grips feel flimsy.

    Just my two cents...

    Edited for excluded word.
     
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    Rangel

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    ive never had a problem with an XD or XDm that Ive owned. Ive owned 7-8 of them from the xds up to the XDm 5.25 and they all have preformed flawlessly. I carried an xdm 45 compact, shot IDPA with my 5.25 9mm. played with the rest. my buddy did have one problem with his 5.25, the rear sights had to be cranked all the way to one direction to be accurate. He sent it back and they replaced the barrel and it was fine. thats the only problem ive personally seen in the XD/XDm line, aside some the XDS fiasco.

    I carry a glock 19 though, so my opinion may not be worth anything lol
     

    Younggun

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    Got an XDm 4.5 .40 S&W. had no problems out of it at all.

    I also picked up a 9mm barrel for it. Last time I shot it , it didn't care for light 9mm loads, but I think I may have mixed up the 9mm and .40 springs, lol.
     

    itchin

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    I'm on my second xd. The first was a xd9. The striker indicator broke but continued to function so I didn't bother fixing it. Its a nice gun but I prefer the g17 any day of the week. My other xd I carry daily as a truck gun. It is the xd45 service model. I like it. Functions fine and is rugged. You don't have.to hate glock to enjoy xd. I like both.
     

    Anger

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    I have been a fan of sig, hk, and used the xd45 and xd40 in the past. Never had an issue with any of them. Talking thousands and thousands of rounds. I dont care for how the glock feels in the hand.

    they're like carrying a brick. Other than that, they're awesome. Disclaimer, I no longer own one. I've owned three. Oh, BTW, my G34 point of impact is outside of the range of the factory sights adjustment. A problem I never had with any of my XD's. For the record, I had an XD40SC, and two XDM40's.

    Will own an XDS45 soon enough. Just need the wife to look the other way long enough for me to plop down money for a reasonable price two-tone.
     

    Leper

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    I don't know of any issues with the xd. There are personal preferences that make some people dislike them, but those aren't issues. The sites are a pain in the ass to replace though. I could tell you the things I like, but you didn't ask that.
     

    Tejano Scott

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    I have shot lots of XDs and they all performed flawlessly. That's most important. If I was going to be a hater, I'd mention two preferences-

    1. I think XDs are ugly. I'd personally rather have a glock or m&p.

    2. I think the grip safety is absolutely pointless. In fact, dare I say it's ridiculous. I would personally never carry a gun with a grip safety for self defense. I love 1911s, but wouldn't Defense carry for same reason. A few good reads on this subject. Most notably the guy from ar15.com that got into the shoot out with his 1911 and got shot in the hand. His failure to be able to activate the grip safety after being shot in the hand (which is a statistically common place to be shot) caused him to do a slap rack drill and eject a live round onto the ground.
     

    Younggun

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    I have shot lots of XDs and they all performed flawlessly. That's most important. If I was going to be a hater, I'd mention two preferences-

    1. I think XDs are ugly. I'd personally rather have a glock or m&p.

    2. I think the grip safety is absolutely pointless. In fact, dare I say it's ridiculous. I would personally never carry a gun with a grip safety for self defense. I love 1911s, but wouldn't Defense carry for same reason. A few good reads on this subject. Most notably the guy from ar15.com that got into the shoot out with his 1911 and got shot in the hand. His failure to be able to activate the grip safety after being shot in the hand (which is a statistically common place to be shot) caused him to do a slap rack drill and eject a live round onto the ground.


    The hand statistic is surprising (taking your word for it), but makes sense if you consider using your hands to fight or take the weapon from an aggression.
     

    Wryknow

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    I own an XD, XDm, and XDs - Here's a list of the minor defects/design annoyances as I see them -

    The mag release is hard to use if you have a full magazine. This is only an issue for shooting competitions. For defensive purposes I think it's a good thing: it makes it harder to eject a full magazine by accident. If you shoot competitions where you may have to do a tactical reload you need to practice with a full mag. It feels very different and can be hard to operate quickly depending on how you grip the gun.

    The trigger is a bit stiffer than it needs to be and there is a lot of slop (over-travel) in the trigger after the break. I installed an after-market (PRP) trigger to fix this and now it makes me all warm and fuzzy when I shoot stuff.

    I think they run better a little wet. I put about 1,000 rounds through an XDM at a shooting class and the slide began to get a bit sticky towards the end. It shot OK, but it I mostly noticed this during reloads if I didn't rack the slide assertively it wouldn't go all the way into battery. The next day I dropped a few drops of CLP in it before class and again about 1/2 way thruugh and didn't have an issue the 2nd day.

    XDM is a bit more picky about reloads than the XD or XDS in my opinion. I think it's just a tighter tolerance on the XDM but the XDM 45 did not like 185gr FP reloads. The XDS 45 and XD 40 shoot everything I've put in them.

    XDS doesn't manually cycle rounds unless you bring the slide ALL THE WAY BACK. It shoots great but if you try to manually cycle the slide it will jam unless you bring it all the way back.


    Over-all I think that they're great guns.
     
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    hellishhorses

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    Took my CHL qual with my XD, it lives in my living room closet safe with a weapon light and two magazine just in case. Anytime I'm working with a new shooter, I introduce them to the XD9 first. It's ugly and is scratched all to hell, but I shoot it best and have never had an issue with anything other than a Promag mag-related failure to feed. I also own glocks and M&Ps, but the XD fits my hand best and has the most natural sight picture. YRMV.
     

    majormadmax

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    I loved Glocks until I got my frst XD over eight years ago, now Glocks seem second-rate and poorly designed. I ho early believe the XD is the improved Glock that Glock never made....
     

    NOLA Jack

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    The hand statistic is surprising (taking your word for it), but makes sense if you consider using your hands to fight or take the weapon from an aggression.

    It happens a LOT shooting at a distance, even more than that if you're using a WML and it is on. If you ever use simunitions wear gloves.
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    A gun is a gun, the way I look at it. I think if people were truly honest with themselves, they would look at the XD and Glock side by side and realize there really isn't any major difference in the general shape of the grip, a few degrees of angle, etc. Both are pretty damn rectangular, and not anywhere near the ergonomics of an M&P, for example. Not a night and day difference, and certainly not one that should make or break a person's ability to hit the target with a reasonable degree of accuracy and consistency. Align a notch and post, pull a lever.

    The grip safety on the XD is pointless, and in some cases can be a serious problem/liability.

    The XD actually has some rather serious ergonomic problems. There is the aforementioned grip safety, which can provide some difficulty when attempting to manipulate the gun in certain ways. Also, the "step" in the profile of the slide can cause some serious issues with trying to rack the slide hard, and at speed. It can just be difficult to grab on to sometimes, and in some cases your fingers can hit the step and your hand loose it's grip of the slide. The XD-M is a MASSIVE improvement in ergonomics over the original XD/HS2000. Considering that, there is kind of no point for the XD to even be in production anymore. It's like offering carbs or FI on a brand new production car...
     

    majormadmax

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    The grip safety on the XD is pointless, and in some cases can be a serious problem/liability.

    The XD actually has some rather serious ergonomic problems. There is the aforementioned grip safety, which can provide some difficulty when attempting to manipulate the gun in certain ways. Also, the "step" in the profile of the slide can cause some serious issues with trying to rack the slide hard, and at speed. It can just be difficult to grab on to sometimes, and in some cases your fingers can hit the step and your hand loose it's grip of the slide. The XD-M is a MASSIVE improvement in ergonomics over the original XD/HS2000. Considering that, there is kind of no point for the XD to even be in production anymore. It's like offering carbs or FI on a brand new production car...

    Your opinion only. The XD is an extremely popular handgun and I rather doubt it would be so if it had, as you claim, "rather serious ergonomic problems." Actually, many consider its ergonomics a vast improvement over the Glock. These "issues" you claim sound more like user error, and can be claimed about any firearm. The mag release on the AR could be claimed to be an "ergonomic problem" as well as it can easily cause a shooter to inadvertently drop the mag if unfamiliar with the functions of the rifle. I always found it to be a "flaw," but mainly because I don't like the design.

    But to contend that the XD has "serious problems" is laughable simply because it has been one of the best selling and highly regarded handguns since it's introduction.

    By the way, the XD was chosen as the best replacement when the SAPD was looking to replace it's Glock 22s; the only reason M&P was chosen was because S&W offered the city such a considerable deal on its pistols. Plus, there was some bias towards buying a weapon made in Croatia, despite the fact that county has a great reputation for building firearms (possibly even better than this country's!). It's sad that such ignorance exists, but it's been clearly evident against the AK for decades which still to this day causes a lot of uninformed people to claim that rifle is inaccurate and other erroneous and baseless accusations that simply have no basis.
     

    NOLA Jack

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    Your opinion only. The XD is an extremely popular handgun and I rather doubt it would be so if it had, as you claim, "rather serious ergonomic problems." Actually, many consider its ergonomics a vast improvement over the Glock. These "issues" you claim sound more like user error, and can be claimed about any firearm. The mag release on the AR could be claimed to be an "ergonomic problem" as well as it can easily cause a shooter to inadvertently drop the mag if unfamiliar with the functions of the rifle. I always found it to be a "flaw," but mainly because I don't like the design.

    But to contend that the XD has "serious problems" is laughable simply because it has been one of the best selling and highly regarded handguns since it's introduction.

    By the way, the XD was chosen as the best replacement when the SAPD was looking to replace it's Glock 22s; the only reason M&P was chosen was because S&W offered the city such a considerable deal on its pistols. Plus, there was some bias towards buying a weapon made in Croatia, despite the fact that county has a great reputation for building firearms (possibly even better than this country's!). It's sad that such ignorance exists, but it's been clearly evident against the AK for decades which still to this day causes a lot of uninformed people to claim that rifle is inaccurate and other erroneous and baseless accusations that simply have no basis.

    Production numbers and sales are pretty much irrelevant to performance. People buy all kinds of dumb shit(not saying the XD is), what they buy shouldn't be linked to the product's quality. Mossberg chainsaws and hi points come to mind, hell Llama has sold a lot more 1911s than Nighthawk.
     
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