Your thoughts on extended mag release and guide rods

[KEVWYO]

First, do the extended mag release buttons help a little or a lot and are they worth the time and money?

Second, the guide rods ... yes or no? Do they help in terms of muzzle flip? I have a tungsten guide rod in my Glock 22 and to be honest I'm not sure if ti really helps in muzzle flip reduction.

If I did a tungsten guide rod for a XD 45 tactical what spring weight would I want?

[chrisxd45t]

Extended mag release helps a bit during normal shooting, but you'll notice it helps even more if you practice fast reloads with one. Less reaching with your thumb, don't have to change your grip, etc.
Weighted guide rod helping with muzzle flip? From a science-guy standpoint it should, more weight to push back. But feeling it is real subjective. Can't help you here. But, I can say from experience that you could keep your stock weight spring if you do get a guide rod.

[Kaboom]

Been waiting to say this lol.
I have extended mag releases on nearly all my pistols, with the long side on the thumb side. I am going to get rid of them or flip them to the other side. The reson being that pretty much all my rifles have thier mag releases on the right side activated by the trigger finger and this will make mag dropping a common action on almost all my firearms. It has the added bonus of getting your trigger finger off the trigger for extra safety while changing mags.

[shaner]

i have extended releases on all my xd's i use in comp's , habit from the 1911 days , i think thye help a lot but i have small hands , so i had to turn my hand more to reach the button , guide rods iam still undedied on, ive changed them an dont see a lot of diff???

[rgeliske]

I think in the XD a extended mag release may help in competition but not much otherwise. Besides cosmedics the advantage in the guide rod is one of security in knowing the guide rod won't break and you can pretty well tune where your spent cases will land. I tungsten guide rod may help with muzzle flip but I don't think you will notice that much. An interesting side note there are recoil reducing guide rods for other brand guns but I have never seen them for XDs.

[chrisxd45t]

Originally Posted by rgeliske

An interesting side note there are recoil reducing guide rods for other brand guns but I have never seen them for XDs.

I think EFK makes them now.
Unsure if they have them for the XD yet.

I'd say the advantage to switching guide rods would be greater for people with the service length XD's with two piece guide rods. It makes changing spring weights easier by installing a solid one piece. As far as recoil with a 45 tactical, practice a good grip that works for you. It made all the difference in the world for me; the guide rod, other than looking pretty, didn't help with recoil.

[rgeliske]

Originally Posted by chrisxd45t

I think EFK makes them now.
Unsure if they have them for the XD yet.

I'd say the advantage to switching guide rods would be greater for people with the service length XD's with two piece guide rods. It makes changing spring weights easier by installing a solid one piece. As far as recoil with a 45 tactical, practice a good grip that works for you. It made all the difference in the world for me; the guide rod, other than looking pretty, didn't help with recoil.

You're right they are $61.99. They even have them for the 45ACP Service but don't have any in stock. I'm not sure what they are made of but look the same as those for the Glocks and other guns.

https://www.efkfiredragon.com/products.php?cat=1463

[Bob Hostetter]

The extended mag release button will make it a little easier to release the magazine, especially if you have short thumbs. If you go with too long of one you will have problems with accidently releasing the magazine if you put the gun down on a table with the extended portion downward. That is why we only extend our's .200". Enough to help with releasing the mag but not enough to cause problems.

Going with a solid recoil spring guide in theory will help reduce recoil but the amount will be small, very small. If you are building a full house competition pistol every little bit help but for a carry gun, the difference might not be noticeable. What the solid guide rod is best for is moving the balance point of the weapon. By using different materials you change the balance point forward or backward. Although we will make guide rods out of several different materials including alum and tungsten, most people prefer the stainless steel rods which move the balance point slightly forward. The final reason for replacing the stock rod with a solid rod is to reduce the number of parts, which reduces the likelyhood of something breaking. It goes without saying that this is important for carry as well as competition.

[Myk9noseknows]

I really like the extended mag release feature and have them on more than just my XD's

I love the oversized button that Canyon Creek makes. It's on my 45 Compact XD that I CCW. Unfortunately that mag button is illegal for IDPA matches, but it's great for carry/range.