First Time Buyer Essentials

[Poncharello]

I am getting ready to buy my first handgun, and because of the wealth of knowledge on sites like XD Talk, I have decided go with the SA XD 9mm 4" compact bi-metal. I have shot many different guns, and for the price and overall enjoyment, I just keep coming back to the XD. My question for the group is what other accessories should I purchase right off the bat. I would be interested to hear people's opinion on eye and ear protection as well as if I need to upgrade the sights or add a magwell. I am certain there are a million things I will want to do later on down the road, but I am most interested in the 5 or 6 things I should do immediately to add to the enjoyment of shooting the gun. Any insight you could lend on an inexpensive range ammo would be most helpful. I see that most people are quite happy with the quality and service of PistolGear.com, so I look forward to becoming a customer myself. Thanks in advance for everyone's time.

[Smoke_Works]

Welcome. If you are going to carry it concealed, take a look at a good holster first and foremost. I carry my XDSC .40 in a Crossbreed Supertuck CrossBreed Holsters, Innovative holsters for concealed carry-1911-Glock-HK-Sig-Taurus-Kimber-Springfield-Colt-XD or a Comp-Tac Infidel. I am not an accessory guy when it comes to the XD, they are perfect right out of the box unless you are going full blown custom shooter, mall ninja competition style. As for hearing protection I wear a standard Leighton setup, nothing costly, just big ole ear muffs that I can take on and off without stuffing things inside of my ear canals.

As for range ammo, wherever you buy ammo, get whatever is cheap, the XD eats it all.

Enjoy, it is a fine firearm.

[Poncharello]

Thanks so much for the quick response.

[propellerhead]

Welcome to XDTalk.

There's not much to eye protection. Any of the ones you see at the hunting section at the store will do fine.

Some people like to spend $100 or more on electronic hearing protection. It helps you hear conversations but still protect your ears from loud noises. I just double up on inexpensive plugs and muff. I'm not at the range to chit-chat with people. Remember, the plugs go into the ear canal. Not just the outer ear.

Same goes for gun bags. You can pay more for the gun brand ones or go to Sears and get a sturdy tool bag for less. Internal pockets are good for holding magazines and such.

Besides those essential items, spend you money on range fees and ammo first.

[Carnivorous]

You're looking at the exact same gun I bought my first time out. It's a blast to shoot, so keep buying cheap ammo and have fun.

Here's what I think you should buy/do to the gun, in order (just my personal opinion):

1. Buy snap-caps. A-Zoom makes good ones. Since this is your first hangun, PLAY WITH IT before you buy any ammo. Dry-fire, get a feel for how it loads and cocks and ejects. Just work on safety and get familiar with the thing.

2. Shoot the gun. Fire upwards of 500 rounds through the gun to get a feel for it. Most ranges include eyes and ears in the range fee; while you're going through the rounds, you can pretty quickly get a feel for what you prefer (muffs vs. in-ear protection).

3. Buy eyes and ears. Whatever you want, higher the db the better. If you want fancy electronic ones, spend the money, but at first keep it simple.

4. Buy a holster if you plan to carry, or leave the gun anywhere but in a safe or the box, or if you plan on leaving it loaded at home. The XD holster that comes with it is fine, but you'll want something better. It'll prevent accidental/negligent firing.

5. If you really really want to, but a kit to reduce trigger overtravel and reset. Powder River Precision makes a good one (I hear), and it's fairly inexpensive.

6. Buy night-sights if you want to use the gun for home defense. The stock sights are pretty good, so this is all preference. Sights are expensive, so try to test some out before you buy.

---

Things like magwells are only really necessary if you're doing competitions and need to reload quickly, or if you like the look. For ordinary carry/target practice, they're not necessary. Playing with other accessories (extended mag release, different style sights, etc.) are all up to you, but don't do it for at least 1,000 or so rounds.

One thing to watch for on the bi-tone is the takedown lever... at first, when I was taking the slide off, I'd end up pushing the lever forward as I pulled the slide off. This left some faint lines down the side of the slide as the two pieces dragged against each other. Not major, but annoying. So watch for that.

Oh, and enjoy the gun!

[Poncharello]

Propellerhead / Carnivorous:

Thanks again for such great advice. It did not even dawn on me to use snap caps. I will definately be picking them up. I have to admit, the bi-metal was nothing more than an asthetic choice for me. Should I be concerned with it showing scratches more so than the all black or OD.

[Nosrac]

1) Basic eye and ear protection
2) snap caps- I agree ^dry fire 100's of X's and know your gun inside out.
3) Buy a decent holster. The kit holster is just barely OK for the range but I find it flops around way too much for my liking.
4) Buy a couple extra mags. I have one loaded with HD rounds and the other 3 I load before I go to the range. (I still take a box of ammo but it saves me some range time having the 3 loaded first. )
5) Download bullseye pistol, how to be a crack shot or one of the many other online articles or youtube on how to be safe, sight and trigger your new gun.
6) After 500-1000 rounds or so decide if you want a trigger kit. I have the powder river and it is awesome. Learn on the stock trigger first and clean up any bad trigger habits before you switch.

7) Buy tons of ammo and I don't spend much on targets. I find a white piece of paper with a black marker dot in the center works as good as anything. If I've grouped in 2" I'm good if it looks like a scattergun blast then I've got work to do.

be safe and have fun!

[XDConvert9mm]

Here's a target you can print out and it will help you diagnose any aim issues you might have:

[Raptor1956]

One esential not yet mentioned -- the UpLULA mag loader. You can handload or use another mag loader but the UpLULA is so much nicer to use.


Brian

[tracker366]

Originally Posted by Raptor1956

One esential not yet mentioned -- the UpLULA mag loader. You can handload or use another mag loader but the UpLULA is so much nicer to use.


Brian

+1 on the Uplula MidwayUSA - Maglula UPLULA Universal Pistol Magazine Loader

and get a nice range bag,safe or good gun lock,cleaning kit,then after shooting it for a while maybe new sights,trigger job,and another XD