APOD Firearms

what are the issues with the xd?

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  • 556.45.12

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    I'm just wanted to add... that spending $2000 customizing your Glock to make it "as good" as a 1911 is like spending $80,000 to make your Honda Civic "as good" as a Nissan GTR. There's something called the Law of Diminishing Returns (is that capitalized?). If someone gave me a Glock, I would sell or trade it off as soon as possible. That is how much disdain I now have for Gaston's creation.
    Guns International
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    It is my belief that Glocks are just inherently mechanically inaccurate.

    They're not. A true test of mechanical accuracy really needs to be performed with something such as a Ransom Rest, to remove as much of the human from the equation, delivering consistent results from shot to shot. With a number of the tests I've seen over the years, they're roughly a 2-3" gun at 25yds from a mechanical accuracy standpoint. From a practical standpoint, fired off-hand, that may not be the case for a lot of shooters, though some can achieve it or close to it with a factory gun.

    There are a few factors with the Glock design, ergonomics, and positioning of various components that can make them particularly problematic for a lot of shooters to extract as high a degree of mechanical accuracy from. For example, as a result of the high bore axis, and with the tendency for shooters to utilize a high and aggressive grip of the gun (which is ideal from an overall performance standpoint in terms of controlling the gun), it is not uncommon for a lot of shooters' trigger finger placement to be such that the intermediate and/or proximal phalanges of the trigger finger may be touching the top of the frame above the trigger and/or the frame above and to the rear of the trigger. If this is the case, when pulling the trigger, the flexor tendons in the trigger finger can press against the frame and push the gun the opposing direction (left for right-handed shooters, vice versa) even if it's just ever so slightly. One issue a lot of shooters will have with Glocks (I do myself), is they may be fairly consistent with most of their fundamentals, and might even have relatively good trigger control, and they might even experience shooting relatively tight and/or consistent groups.....but those groups might often be off-center, to the opposite direction of the shooter's gun hand. For a lot of shooters, this can sometimes lead to bashing one's head against the wall, thinking they're somehow anticipating recoil or otherwise yanking the trigger, when they aren't necessarily. All things considered, if you're shooting a consistent group (provided you're maintaining the same POA), that may be an indicator that something else is up.


    ...and about the grip angle - I preach instinctive shooting within close-quarter ranges - using your sights can get you killed. Why use your sights when the BG is only 15 feet away from you. You should be able to easily hit someone center of mass without using your sights at that distance - if not, you need more practice. My XD points like a 1911 and I can easily hit a head-sized target at 50 feet from the draw without using my sights - not so with a Glock. I would be lucky to clip an ear with slow and deliberate aimed fire.

    Just two more of my cents...

    That's just ridiculous. LOL
     

    Tcruse

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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.
    I think you are exactly correct that the claim that the XD/XDM has "serious problems" is not correct. It has some design issues and some quality issues as with any gun you pick. Basically they are "problems" because the individual does not like them.
    The HS2000 was built and priced at a lower tier than the M&P and Glocks. When Springfield started selling them (and possibility forcing some changes) the price was increased and a big "pro-American" logo was added to the slide. Was the purpose of the logo to "off set" the import of the gun? The two persons that I know that purchased the XDM used the logo to portray the gun as a US made higher quality gun than a Glock. Of course, most Glocks are also imported but not all.
     

    Maverick44

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    I think you are exactly correct that the claim that the XD/XDM has "serious problems" is not correct. It has some design issues and some quality issues as with any gun you pick. Basically they are "problems" because the individual does not like them.
    The HS2000 was built and priced at a lower tier than the M&P and Glocks. When Springfield started selling them (and possibility forcing some changes) the price was increased and a big "pro-American" logo was added to the slide. Was the purpose of the logo to "off set" the import of the gun? The two persons that I know that purchased the XDM used the logo to portray the gun as a US made higher quality gun than a Glock. Of course, most Glocks are also imported but not all.

    To me, the XDM is a slightly higher quality gun than the Glock, but not because of the logo. Mainly it has features that appeal to me over the Glock's.

    Let's compare the two. The full size 9mm XDM and the Glock 17 Gen 4 are very similar, so we'll go with them for a comparison.

    Glock 17 Gen 4
    Barrel - 4.49"
    Rifling - polygonal (no cast bullets)
    Sights - plastic
    Grips - interchangeable
    Capacity - 17+1 (standard capacity)
    Safety - trigger safety
    Length - 7.95"
    Width - 1.26"
    Height - 5.45"
    Weight - 24.87 oz
    MSRP - ?
    Street Price - $521

    https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog...rms/Handguns/Glock/Glock+G17+G4+17+1+9mm+4.48

    Barrel - 4.5"
    Rifling - traditional (cast bullet safe)
    Sights - metal
    Grips - interchangeable
    Capacity - 19+1 (standard capacity)
    Safety - grip safety
    Length - 7.6"
    Width - 1.18"
    Height - 5.75"
    Weight - 29 oz
    MSRP - $624
    Street Price - $500

    https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsupers...1hcsp/springfield-xdm-9mm-4.5-full-size-black

    Size wise, they're about the same, and the prices are close enough that they shouldn't be a deciding factor. Neither of these are what I'd consider to be conceal carry guns. They're service pistol sized guns, though you can get compact (and I believe sub compact) versions of both. Feature wise, the XDM has the Glock beat in quality based solely on the fact that it has proper steel sights. The idea of having cheap plastic sights on a fighting gun is inexcusable. I know you can change them, but you shouldn't have to. They cheapen the gun. Having 2 extra rounds in a standard capacity mag isn't a bad thing to have either.

    The other features on the XDM are of the take it or leave it variety. I don't mind a grip safety at all (some might object to them), but the barrel is a deal breaker for me. 95% of what I shoot is cast.

    I don't care where a gun is made as long as it's well made.
     

    zackmars

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    Grip safety completely locks up the gun

    The even worse part is that it can break, meaning you might very well get a gun that has to go back to the factory LOADED. I haven't seen this personally, but more than a few reputable instructors have mentioned this, and I remember hearing about it years before it got all over the internet.

    Magazines occasionally have QC issues. This I have seen. More than a few times.

    The trigger reset is terrible. I'm not a trigger snob, but I need a good reset.

    The gun was avalible at a lower price as the HS2000. It's hard to be willing to pay a few hundred more for SAI's logo.

    Also, why give Springfield armory your money? As if scummy marketing wasn't bad enough, they dropped their opposition to anti gun laws in trade for a cut out.

    I don't mean this as a slight to anyone, but people with XD's tend to be very green when it comes to shooting, and when these people are looking at guns, the unique 'features' of the XD sounds like the bees knees. I'd also imagine glossy ads and pushy salesmen also contribute. With how many gun store clerks talk about how great XD's are, i have to wonder how much of a markup they have on them...

    Basically XD's are glocks for people who don't understand the "why" behind glocks.

    I will say that if you go into it understanding that it's not going to fare well under high round counts, you'll be ok.

    As far as shooting lead from a glock, not a huge deal, just be very rigorous about cleaning, or buy an aftermarket barrel. The thing against lead was a combination of poorly supported .40 s&w guns, poor quality reloads, and poor maintenance, IIRC.

    WRT accuracy, gen 1-4 doesn't have the greatest of lockwork, this was improved on gen 5, but I've never seen a glock that I felt limited by when I shot it.
     

    Sam7sf

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    Nothing wrong with an xd. Greatest pistol in the world. I love mine.

    if grip zone wasn’t on my frame I wouldn’t know how to operate the gun. Sure glad it’s on there.
     
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    BRD@66

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    Nothing wrong with an xd. Greatest pistol in the world. I love mine.

    Only negative is if grip zone wasn’t on my frame I wouldn’t know how to operate the gun. Sure glad it’s on there.
    I thought I was happy with mine until today. Now I'm gonna have to chunk it.
     

    Maverick44

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    Welp, I've had my XDM 10mm for about 5 months, and can't seem to find any issues with it other than it chucking brass into the next county (to be expected in a 10mm with hot loads). It seems to like everything I've put in it. Even ammo loaded to light 40 S&W levels (~950 FPS with a 175gr bullet).

    I would and probably will buy another XD in the future.
     

    Maverick44

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    I would love to experience shooting an XDM in 10mm! Or maybe I wouldn't, not sure my wallet could afford it at the moment!

    Mine's the 4.5" version.

    It's a very pleasant gun to shoot. Accurate, and it handles recoil wonderfully. It gets a little snappy with full house loads (not bad), but moderate and light loads are pretty easy shooting. You could shoot them all day long. The only thing I've done to mind is put in a heavier recoil spring, just to help with the brass chucking issue. It'll probably keep the gun from beating itself up if I shoot a ton of hot loads too.

    For $550, it's a pretty good deal. 10mm is so versatile that one gun could fit into several different roles.
     

    Ioannes

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    I loved my XD45. I ADORE my XD 45 converted to 460 Rowland. Reliable and powerful.

    Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
     
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