New USPSA Production Blaster

[Paladin]

I bought a used XD-9 Tactical for use in USPSA Production competition. I bought it used primarily because it had everything on it that I wanted. This allowed me to get some near-instant gratification and yet have that great lifetime warranty to serve as a safety net if anything had been wrong with the pistol.

One key reason I bought this particular XD was that Rich from Canyon Creek had already done a 2 1/2 pound action job on it as well as refitting the factory barrel. After having him do a 4 pound action job on my XD-9 Service, I consider a treatment from Canyon Creek an absolute must.

It also has an adjustable Dawson Precision target sight on the rear and their fiber optic sight on the front. This is a dynamite combination for competition.

I shot it for the first time yesterday. It shoots like a dream. The trigger is silky smooth with a good, crisp break. The sights were dead on as delivered. As usual with XDs, I put over two hundred rounds of both Blazer brass and aluminum rounds through it without a single hiccup.

The acid test will be Saturday when I shoot it in completion for the first time. Before then, I plan two more practice sessions to get a bit more familiar with it. However, after more than 11,000 rounds through my XD-9 Service, the adjustment is pretty minimal.

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[bobert1]

Since you will be shooting your first match I would like to offer some advice. VERY FEW shooters ever practice transfering a loaded gun from their strong hand to their weak hand. In competition that is a very common requirement. With that wonderful light CC trigger job I would practice finger control and hand tranfers. I have DQ'd several shooters when they had an AD during the transfer. Just a suggestion. HAVE A GREAT TIME. It is very addicting.

[sturmruger]

I agree with Bob on the transfer thing it can be quite tricky. Also if you have a holster practice drawing and changing a few mags.

I have a new technique(at least new to me) for drawing transfering to my weakhand. I grab the gun in my strong hand with my thumb on the top of the slide and fingers underneath the trigger gaurd. I am not engaging the grip safety, or putting my fingers in the trigger gaurd. This leave most of the grip completely open so that my weakhand can find the grip and grab on. I have found this to be faster, but does require a lot of practice to do it properly. I will post some pics or videos later.

[Old School]

When doing a transfer from strong to weak, I draw with my strong hand, grabbing low on the grip. I bring the gun up to eye level getting a near sight picture. Once I am close, I transfer hands, keeping my left trigger finger along the slide until I am ready to fire.

More shooters have left matches early because of this type of exchange. It's hard, which is why few practice it. The best way to practice is with an empty gun during dry fire.

OS

[Old School]

BTW, the gun looks awesome! You did good, young man!!

[josh870]

i was thinking of getting the same setup but i looked in the rules and it said something about 5 lb trigger pull for first shot. that was ipsc tho.

[bobert1]

Originally Posted by josh870

i was thinking of getting the same setup but i looked in the rules and it said something about 5 lb trigger pull for first shot. that was ipsc tho.

No trigger pull requirement here in the U.S. of A.

[Paladin]

Thanks for all the transfer advice folks. As always, I get some really great input here.

I may have inadvertently misled you. I have been shooting USPSA for a little over a year. I have yet to drop a gun during a transfer but I intend to use the pointers above to make the process smoother and hopefully a little faster.

I have been using my XD-9 Service for Production up until now. It is a great gun and has gotten me to C class in Production. However, it is a bit lacking in the extra features that the Tactical I purchased offers which is why I bought this second XD-9. I have been primarily using my Black Stainless for L-10 until now. I now intend to focus on Production for awhile.

[josh870]

thanks.