I really, really tried...

[KenW.]

to like the XD45 compact enough for duty carry. What I learned is this; I can't find anything I like more than the 1911 platform. I qualified with it satisfactorily, albeit with lower scores than I'm used too. Its embarrassing to not be in the top 5% of the office when I has a track record of it.

I picked up the XD because of the reported similar ergonomics, increased capacity, and the reputation its been built up to on boards like this.
I shoot it just "alright". By no means as well as I shoot my Kimber 1911.

Leather is hard to find off-the-shelf, especially for the magazines. Duty holsters are a tough find too. I hate having a cop-shop order me in a holster or anything else, then I don't like it.

I think that for the time being it will be my RV gun; to be kept in the lockbox bolted to the floor of my RV. I like the gun, but I cannot place any of my 1911s with it.
I'd still pick it over a Glock any day. I refuse to drink the cool-aid.

[DevJames]

Heh, no worries.

<---still needs to get a nice 1911.

you can't beat one with a slick trigger.

The XD is a very simple to learn, easy to shoot reliable pistol though.

someone asks me what to get for a first gun, I'll tell them to go pick which one they like better between a Glock and XD

[Mad Pick]

It sounds like you're making the right decision . . . if it doesn't feel great to you, go with what does. No shame in that.

I'm in a sort or similar situation, minus the duty aspect -- I'm trying REALLY REALLY hard to like my CZ-82. I just LOVE the way it feels in my hand, and I hear all kinds of rave reviews, but shooting it just doesn't work well for me . . . .

[Bearlaker]

The 1911 is a timeless piece built by a man who has to at least be considered as one of the great geniuses of the last few centuries.
(A moment of silence, please.)
The XD is a tool, a very clever, effective tool. JMO.

[mongoose33]

I suspect everybody had a "best" handgun, whatever it is. Whether it's the sights, the grip angle, the girth of the grip, the weight or balance--all of these matter, and differentiate various handguns.

If you've given the XD an honest trial--though I have to wonder if you're comparing apples and bicycles by comparing the compact XD with the 1911--then if the 1911 works better, it works better.

It makes me wonder, though, if you'd do better with a Service XD or even a Tactical. Especially the tactical strikes me as something more similar to the 1911, compared to the compact.

Anyway, you've got to go with what makes you feel comfortable. I don't ever expect to call on my XD to save my life or those of others--but that's not true for you.

[DevJames]

eh...can't hate a person for not being as comfortable with it.

no one's hand is the same...some people love the way a Glock feels....

I personally wish everything could point like a Walther P-38

[leeindy]

i got rid of all my xd s same reason. i shoot other weapons better. and xd magazines didnt hold up well to the amount of abuse i put on them shooting ipsc and idpa on concrete floors 3-4 times a week. the magazines really hate being dropped partially loaded. they tend to bulge causeing the magazine to stick.
i didnt have this problem with my glock or cz spo1 or my sti spartan. and i had a really bad experience with the springfield custom shop. and at that point i refused to trust my life to the xd. my wife still loves hers but there just not for me.

what im trying to say is it doesnt matter what you shoot as long as you are comfortable and competent.

[leeindy]

have you looked into maybe and sti double stack 45 or a similar offering from para

[SRD]

I have found that i do shoot certain pistols better. But someone who knows how to shoot a gun should be able to pick any gun up and do well. Its not the gun its the shooter i really believe that.

[leeindy]

true i made master the first time with my xd service. but the first time i shot the glock 34 i cut 7 secounds off my classifier time. thats a pretty big chunk of time.