XDM .40 First Run

[AirForce2]

Just test fired the XDM .40 Friday and here's my thoughts. Remember this is my gun and yours may not have the exact same thoughts. I plan get back into shooting after 8 year layoff to use for USPSA production class.

Fired 50 rds w/medium backstrap and had 2 jams, one jam was a feed halfway into chamber on the upper barrell throat and actually cut a half moon piece of jacket sliver off the jacket and was sitting in the throat of barrell. The other jam was an ejection jam with a live round in chamber and the clip removed when it happened. I'll smooth out the feed area as I always do on a semi auto.

I have smaller hands so I will put the smaller backstrap on which was easier than replacing the 1911 backstrap since the XDm has no springs to fly across the room.

Accuracy was good out to 25 yds (most in a softball area no prob) but will be replacing front sight with fiber optic front sight and adjustable rear from Dawson Precision.

Likes:
-shoots pretty well and recoil was not bad. I'm sure the PMC 180 gr ammo/powder combo factory stuff can be made much better from a recoil standpoint by reloading my own stuff with say Hodgdon Clays powder or another and still gain the same velocity (from prior exp w/.40)

-Magazines have many holes # marked to tell how many rounds are in the clip so you don't have to guess. It's been a long time since I had such a hard time loading 16 rds into a clip by hand and almost needed the help from the magazine loader that comes with the gun. The mag springs were very tight. I've loaded appx 80,000 rounds between 1990 and 1999 by hand w/o help of a mag reloader in STI 18 rd .40 and 27 rd .38 sup.

-Trigger was good as well as no complaints from the sights other than not the best combo for darker indoor ranges.

-rear grip pad changes a plus to address different hand sizes

-Accuracy good out to 25 yds tested

-Grip and pointability function setups good

Dislikes or preference:
-I prefer a little more roundness on the side of the grip pannels versus the very flat sides

-A full 16 rd clip was near impossible to eject on either mag with only normal thumb pressure from one hand hold. I'm talking after switching the gun in my shooting hand to get good pressure on the button it would not budge. I had to use 2 hands on the gun to support and full thumb bust a nut pressure on mag release button to eject full clips on both from either ambi side. I hope this is a burr on the mag release for it wasn't on the clip that I could tell. It was fine with 15 rds in clip.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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I use to use STI mags in .40 w/18 rds and 27 rd .38 Sup and they required more pressure but not like this. I also looked inside the gun handle and felt the mag release ledge in the gun and couldn't feel any burrs or sharp edges to tell me what to fix, it tilts up and out like a see saw out (mainly out) of the hole in the mag. It just feels like the mag button doesnt budge. There doesn'e appear to be much metal on the mag release ledge that goes into the mag to fool with, it's pretty small piece. I also held the clip in the gun and released the mag several times to wear it in and no change. I keep it loaded with 14 rds for now and sometimes it's ok and other times it's still to stiff/catching. The gun ejects mags with 14 rds the way I'd expect it to feel with 16. The ledge in the handle doesn't have much meat on it either. Think I'll give SA a call and I'm sure they'll say "well sir, it does take a lot more pressure on the mag release button if the mags are full by nature". Then I'll say "I mean damn near impossible without putting it on a table and pushing down on the button". Typical luck I have, it probably won't even be noticed or an issue with other people XDM guns. Please let me know if this problem happens on your XDM.

-Just so you know as of right now Springfield Cust Service claims this:

---The XD mags/clips "will not" fit/function in the XDm or vise verse
---The form fit XD holsters from springfield and maybe other brands of XD holsters may not fit the XDm gun due to larger outer dimensions of XDM
---The XD magazine pouch will not fit the XDM .40 magazines

The items above will be avail soon per Springfield, but right now the only thing springfield has for the XDM is the magazines in 16 rd only

Thanks
Billy Armour
1997-1999 Air Force Practical Shooting Team
1996 & 1998 Alabama IPSC Section Open Champ<o></o>

[blown964v1]

I have had the same problem with my xd(m) and have heard other reports of the same issue. That mag was freakin ridiculous to get out with 16 target loads. Another poster posted that he never had that problem because we should never have to extract a fully loaded mag. I just tested it because I wanted to see what they weight was like and then it took me forever to get the mag out. I think I am going to call SA tomorrow and ask about it also. I have emailed CS and got no response. A lot of people have said that they are top notch when it comes to CS especially when dealing with the xd(m) but haven't gotten a response and that was two weeks ago. Send me a PM if and when you get ahold of them. LET ME KNOW!!!

[mhillsing23]

Just so you guys know, the full mag ejection "difficulties" (I don't think it is a "problem"), aren't limited to the new XDMs. Releasing a full magazine in my XDs is a bit tough too. Like I said, I don't really consider it a problem as I can't imagine wanting to drop 16 rounds in a real life situation. If you are doing a tactical reload and dropping off a mag that is partially loaded there is no problems.

[AirForce2]

I've shot many a pistol from EAA, 1911 single stack, 1911 STI Edge .40 (18 rd mags), 1911 STI .38 Sup (27 rd mags). If I put a live round in this XDM then put a 16 rd mag under it and for some reason need to eject the mag after one round "That mag needs to fall out with firm thumb pressure, period". I don't care if it's competition or real life.

Also like I said I've shot appx 60-80,000 rounds in the 90's and "never" required the assistance of the "magazine bullet loader assist" that came with the XDM kit. Until the XDM that is. I can reload a handfull of 18 rd .40 STI and 27 rd .38 Sup STI mags in the dark faster than most can load a 10 rd in daylight. This 16th round was challenging to load to say the least. My opinion is the mag spring is to tight/to many coils for this setup and at least one coil should be removed and likely 2. Even with 15 rds it was not to my liking. I did talk with springfield custom today and they said they know it's tight and to send it back and they will polish the mag release ledge to make it better. They say they tried to use tighter spring and tolerance setups to help with the feeding. I've done a lot of tweeking and tuning on 1911's but not the XD models.

[.22Three]

Good report. I noticed the difficult mag release button also.
Do you guys think that it is something that would give a bit down the road or should they be sent back to SA?

[AirForce2]

I think I could fix this problem myself by doing one or both:

-I could cut the bottom coil or 2 off the magazine springs or polish the mag eject ledge or both.

I'm just more comfy working on the 1911 style guts but not the hammerless glock/XD types and since this is a brand new gun, don't want to fart with it. I'm still toying around sending it back or doing it myself.

I could not feel any "burrs" on the mag release ledge or see anything via flashlight. I talked with SA and they said "they have noticed the mag release is a little hard to do with a full 16 rd mag". I retorted with " it's unacceptablely hard & near unable to do at times even at times with 14 or 15 rds". SA did give me a return auth and said they could polish the release in the gun handle, but wonder if the springs are also part of the problem. When the mags were brand new I couldn't load the 16th rnd by hand and now after letting them sit w/14 rds for a week or 2 I can. I think the strong mag springs are not as much the isse and more the mag release style of the XD versus 1911 is the problem. I had 27 round 1911 mags that released better than this 16 rd XDM

[Zetsumei]

Good review, thanks.

My .45 compact is really hard to eject full magazines too and the mag springs are very tight, I do use the reloader.

[AirForce2]

I tinkered around with the mag release ledge in the gun, magazine spring, and looked at the slide this weekend and here my thoughts.

-I put a small pointed fine polisher on my dremel at slow speed and buffed the mag release ledge on side corners & top in the gun and also polished the outer and inner ledge of one magazine enough to remove any burrs if there were any and had no noticable results to make me feel good.

-I also cut one of the full coils off the mag and no noticable help. (hope I can get a replacement spring from SA cheap and not have to buy a mag). No help. This was dumb on my part and don't suggest it. There are not enought coils to loose any.

-I then decided to trim the bottom of the plastic follower in the test mag to gain some crunch room and have not tried it yet in the other mag with new spring yet. (still testing)

-I tried another test: I took a non modified new clip of the 2 I have and ensured with 15 or 16 rds that mag eject still sucked, then removed the slide and the mag drops easy as pie. I don't have another gun to compare brand or 1911, but I think the amount of pressure a full 16 rd mag puts upward against the bottom of the slide is the main problem. As the slide goes forward against a new shell to load, the amount of meat on the bottom middle part of slide that pushes the bullet from mag into barrell seems pretty deep (the bottom is appx into or close to the primer area).

I think there is to much upward pressure to bottom of slide from a full mag. The mags take quite a bit of force to insert than I think is needed. I can't shave an 1/8 inch without machinery I don't have. I hope this won't be a problem in competition of production class since it's 10 rds allowed only but I'd hate to have 15-17 rds in the gun and have to do a mag change due to malfunc in limited or life scenario.

[.22Three]

Originally Posted by AirForce2

Just test fired the XDM .40 Friday and here's my thoughts. Remember this is my gun and yours may not have the exact same thoughts. I plan get back into shooting after 8 year layoff to use for USPSA production class.

Fired 50 rds w/medium backstrap and had 2 jams, one jam was a feed halfway into chamber on the upper barrell throat and actually cut a half moon piece of jacket sliver off the jacket and was sitting in the throat of barrell. The other jam was an ejection jam with a live round in chamber and the clip removed when it happened. I'll smooth out the feed area as I always do on a semi auto.

I have smaller hands so I will put the smaller backstrap on which was easier than replacing the 1911 backstrap since the XDm has no springs to fly across the room.

Accuracy was good out to 25 yds (most in a softball area no prob) but will be replacing front sight with fiber optic front sight and adjustable rear from Dawson Precision.

Likes:
-shoots pretty well and recoil was not bad. I'm sure the PMC 180 gr ammo/powder combo factory stuff can be made much better from a recoil standpoint by reloading my own stuff with say Hodgdon Clays powder or another and still gain the same velocity (from prior exp w/.40)

-Magazines have many holes # marked to tell how many rounds are in the clip so you don't have to guess. It's been a long time since I had such a hard time loading 16 rds into a clip by hand and almost needed the help from the magazine loader that comes with the gun. The mag springs were very tight. I've loaded appx 80,000 rounds between 1990 and 1999 by hand w/o help of a mag reloader in STI 18 rd .40 and 27 rd .38 sup.

-Trigger was good as well as no complaints from the sights other than not the best combo for darker indoor ranges.

-rear grip pad changes a plus to address different hand sizes

-Accuracy good out to 25 yds tested

-Grip and pointability function setups good

Dislikes or preference:
-I prefer a little more roundness on the side of the grip pannels versus the very flat sides

-A full 16 rd clip was near impossible to eject on either mag with only normal thumb pressure from one hand hold. I'm talking after switching the gun in my shooting hand to get good pressure on the button it would not budge. I had to use 2 hands on the gun to support and full thumb bust a nut pressure on mag release button to eject full clips on both from either ambi side. I hope this is a burr on the mag release for it wasn't on the clip that I could tell. It was fine with 15 rds in clip.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
<o> </o>
I use to use STI mags in .40 w/18 rds and 27 rd .38 Sup and they required more pressure but not like this. I also looked inside the gun handle and felt the mag release ledge in the gun and couldn't feel any burrs or sharp edges to tell me what to fix, it tilts up and out like a see saw out (mainly out) of the hole in the mag. It just feels like the mag button doesnt budge. There doesn'e appear to be much metal on the mag release ledge that goes into the mag to fool with, it's pretty small piece. I also held the clip in the gun and released the mag several times to wear it in and no change. I keep it loaded with 14 rds for now and sometimes it's ok and other times it's still to stiff/catching. The gun ejects mags with 14 rds the way I'd expect it to feel with 16. The ledge in the handle doesn't have much meat on it either. Think I'll give SA a call and I'm sure they'll say "well sir, it does take a lot more pressure on the mag release button if the mags are full by nature". Then I'll say "I mean damn near impossible without putting it on a table and pushing down on the button". Typical luck I have, it probably won't even be noticed or an issue with other people XDM guns. Please let me know if this problem happens on your XDM.

-Just so you know as of right now Springfield Cust Service claims this:

---The XD mags/clips "will not" fit/function in the XDm or vise verse
---The form fit XD holsters from springfield and maybe other brands of XD holsters may not fit the XDm gun due to larger outer dimensions of XDM
---The XD magazine pouch will not fit the XDM .40 magazines

The items above will be avail soon per Springfield, but right now the only thing springfield has for the XDM is the magazines in 16 rd only

Thanks
Billy Armour
1997-1999 Air Force Practical Shooting Team
1996 & 1998 Alabama IPSC Section Open Champ<o></o>

Great report, thanks.

[AirForce2]

I sent the XDM to SA and they should have it appx 22 Jul and I think I will also have them put on a full set rear and front adjustable fiber optic sights while it's there to fix the "Can't eject a 16 rd clip with one hand" issue. So people know I did leave a 15 rd clip in the gun for a week and the issue was still unaccpetable with 16 rd and marginal w/15 and sometimes catchy with 14 rds. I'll have an update in a few weeks.

I've heard rumors the sights on the XD are not something you can replace/do at home w/hammer & punch like some guns. Anyone have experience w/this?