First Range Trip Report

[TenaciousRock]

I took possession of my XD45 this past wednesday and took it to the range yesterday (its now 2:30am) for its inaugural shooting. I ran 100 rounds of WWB 230gr FMJ from Walmart through it, no FTF but did run into an issue twice with loading a new magazine: After the slide locked as the last bullet ejected from the current mag I would release it, load the new one and reset the slide but the gun wouldn't fire. I realized that the end of the recoil system was more exposed than normal and it ended up that the slide hadn't come back all the way to the neutral position. Was this simply an error on my part or does it happen sometimes with XD's on magazine changes?

As far as the actual shooting it was my first time shooting a handgun so most of the time I was trying to figure out where to hold but didn't have much luck. A buddy went with me (he took his XDm 9mm) and we shot each others guns. Between the two of us it seemed that the 45 had a habit of shooting to the left slightly but I wasn't really able to determine where to hold for vertical placement. We were shooting between 10-25 yards I believe and our target wasn't perfectly stationary as it was an outdoor range so wind may have been a factor.

I switched between POA and 6 o'clock and really couldn't tell if one was better than the other. Does anyone have any advice about how their XD45 shoots as far as shot placement or how they shoot in general?

Overall I am very pleased with the gun and can't wait to take it out again, I may need to look into some better quality ammunition though as 100 rounds of this plinking ammo affected the finish under the muzzle which I assume is normal. I left the gun with my buddy for cleaning (I don't have the proper hardware yet) so I would hope that takes care of it.

Also forgot to mention that recoil was very manageable and the trigger pull wasn't quite as bad as I expected although I am going to look into the Springer kit eventually

[xdmp22]

How were you releasing the slide on the new mag? Were you using your hand and slowly letting the slide go home? Or were you using the slide lock and letting it slam home?

[TenaciousRock]

I was pulling back on the slide to unlock it and easing back...which I suppose means its my own fault. Is it common practice to just release the stop or pull the slide back and let it go to slam it home?

I think I was just being cautious since its a $500+ investment that I want to last lol

[Kent]

Originally Posted by TenaciousRock

I was pulling back on the slide to unlock it and easing back...which I suppose means its my own fault. Is it common practice to just release the stop or pull the slide back and let it go to slam it home?

I think I was just being cautious since its a $500+ investment that I want to last lol

Pulling the slide back, known as the slingshot method, is the "best" way to go. If you are into the IDPA/IPSC/etc games, then using the slide stop is what you want to do. For now I would suggest the slingshot method.

Congrats on the new 45!

[xdmp22]

Originally Posted by TenaciousRock

I was pulling back on the slide to unlock it and easing back...which I suppose means its my own fault. Is it common practice to just release the stop or pull the slide back and let it go to slam it home?

I think I was just being cautious since its a $500+ investment that I want to last lol

When you ride the slide and ease it home you don't allow things to woork properly and the extractor hangs up on the case.

As posted, slingshot or the slide release is the only way to go

As far as hurting the gun....everytime time you pull the trigger and the gun cycles on it own it slams the slide....why would it hurt the gun if you did the same thing on the first round? The gun is designed to slam its slide back and forth.

Hope this helps! Good luck

[Kansas Slim]

Congats on the .45. And like others have already said, guns are made to be worked vigorously. Take a bolt action, for example. They are specifically designed to handle the adrenaline fueled working of the bolt after buck fever hits, but some of them get finicky at the range because people baby their bolts. These guns can handle tens of thousands of tiny explosions, so unless you're the 6million dollar man you aren't going to hurt it.