I was at the shop last night and they have on the shelf:
XD 9 for $509
XDm 9 for $609
XDm 9 with OD lower, black upper $659
XDm 9 with black lower, SS upper $659
The XDm has a 0.5" longer match grade barrel, and some of the controls and the upper are tappered off.The grip feels better on the XDm with the more agressive checkering. It also costs $100 more.
I am not into the stainless thing, to bright and shiny. I like the other three options, and I damn near walked out with the all black XDm 9 last night. I forced myself to leave before I made a mistake.
This would be a carry piece. What one of the above would you choose? Please help me decide! I do have an interest in that OD/Black version, it looks really sweet… but for a carry gun, I can imagine the OD coating wearing off, bu the black plastic is black plastic… it will not wear. Help!
Go with a Glock or M&P. Those prices aren’t even thrilling.
You said talk you out of it right? Well I think of Springfield as a Marketing company. They use the NAME of the legendary Springfield Armory and put it on mediocre (at best) guns. They make a fortune doing this. I wouldn’t buy anything from Springfield Armory.
The guy at the gun shop and I talked and he told me his feeling is that the XD/XDm is in a position today that Glock was in in 1990. He feels the SA XD/XDm is the future “glock” of CC handguns.
He says go with the XDm because of the match barrel, I feared the match grade barrel may have trouble with tighter tollerances and reload ammo. I had a match barrel on my Glock 17 and it absolutely would not injest relaods, they would get stuck and not eject. New ammo would work fine.
So you disagree with him tha the XD/XDm is an extremely nice and well thought out tool? Interesting. That is exactly why I threw it up here, I wanted to get some feed back and see what the majority rule is.
I hope I can get more feedback.
On a note, he also had a XD 40, and he has about 15 various Glock’s. He was not steering me away from Glock, he knows I have one because I purchased it from him. He says he honestly feels very stronge towards the XDm series.
While there are certainly people who love their XDs, there are also people who will tell you a Toyota Corolla is the best car on the market.
Is the XDM an improvement over the old XD? Yes.
Is it enough of an improvement to make it comparable to the dominant platforms in the market? No.
If you like it and want it, get it. Personally, the grip safety is a non-starter for me. The slide cannot move unless the safety is being pressed. Try doing some wounded/one-handed manipulations with it (reload, stoppage clearance) … it’s not hard to get into a situation where you cannot put the right amount of pressure in the right spot. On any other gun, no problem. On the XD/XDM, the slide is locked shut.
They’re fine range guns, but I don’t buy range guns. For personal protection? I’d look elsewhere. YMMV.
I’ve had positive experiences with the XD series across relatively low round counts. However, the lack of interest and adoption by most expert users speaks volumes. Unfair or not, I’m shopping for a new platform these days…there just too many good alternatives at the same price point without the seed of doubt.
I have heard that the new "M"s are better than the XDs but I agree with the M&P option. You can pick them up for less and if you get a new one you get 2 more mags right now.
For the record, just as the “black plastic is black plastic”, if it is a factory OD gun, then “green plastic is green plastic”, through and through. There is no “coating” to wear off.
one of which i just picked up for $450 new. not everyone is raping people on prices…i’m one who jumped on an XD45 when they were first out and while i do like the gun, it just never shot like i wanted it to or as tight as some friend’s glocks, thus my recent purchase for upcoming classes this summer.
Anyone know what kind of margin gunshops are making on XDs?
It seems like everytime I go into a non-leo gunshop, the clerks are always trying to push the XD on people who are looking to buy glocks, saying shit like how Springfield is a better company, the XD is more accurate and how it has (subjective) better ergonomics and whatnot. Is it because they make more money off XD sales?
I live in Central Indiana and there seems to be a shortage of 9mm M&P’s and Glock’s but there are a shitload of XD’s of every description everywhere. That would kind of tell you they are not as popular as with consumers as the S&W and Glock. Never had an XD but have shot them and just can’t warm to them. I’ve had several Glocks and M&P’s and can highly recommend either.
Three of the best 9mm platforms on the market here although the G17 is closer to the XDM fullsize 17+1 vs 18+1.
If I won an XD at a DU banquet I’d trade it towards one of these.
P30 is only $100 more than what you were quoted on the green XDM and you’d have a way better pistol. Glock is slightly cheaper and the M&P marginally more than the glock and both of those are excellent choices.
The XD’s seem to be the only pistols that don’t fly off the shelf nowadays.
They are $300 Croatian guns that SA bought the import/distribution rights to, stamped their logo on, bought ads in every magazine and then doubled the price.
