I finally got to fire my XD-m, I'm undecided yet!

[Nutczak]

I was able to get some .40 ammunition finally, so I took my 2 month old XD-m out to the range with 100 rounds of ammunition and brought my Springfield model 85-c .22 bolt-action rifle with me too. That rifle went missing for over 20 years, I just recovered it in May with parts missing and covered in rust. I cleaned it up, found some of the missing parts and once I got the sights corrected (one of the parts that was missing) it is as accurate as it always was. it turns out one of my fathers friends "Borrowed" it without my permission and never brought it back. After he had died his wife returned it all beat up and rusty. I am still a little PO'd about it because that was my first .22LR and alot of squirrels were brought home with it as a kid.

anyways with the XD-m .40, I do not know if it was me or the weapon, but i could not group my shots at all. They were all over the paper with some even missing a full-size silhouette target altogether. I started at 30' (my normal distance for handgun practice)

I had several "failure to feed" problems show up too. One of my 2 factory included magazines is the culprit for the FTF's, but it later made it through a full mag with no issues. I am not seeing anything obviously wrong with the offending magazine, but it was always the same one causing the FTF's. the other magazine performed flawlessly.

I also shot a friends "Baby-Eagle" in .45ACP at the range, and had a very tight grouping on paper with that gun. so it may just be the grip on my XD-m, or it may be the XD-m causing my issues, I'll swap back-straps and see if anything improves from that.

I did not have any of the slide locking issues some people have reported, but I shoot lefty so I do not have a thumb near the release. I tried several different grips on the .40, and none produced any better results.
once I started getting more holes in the paper, i could see a tendency for the gun to shoot low and right. I think I am going to borrow a solid mechanical pistol rest and see what it does from that. I was embarrassed by my used targets and burned them to hide the evidence of such poor shooting.

This is not my first handgun, I regularly shoot my Ruger GP-100 4" .357 revolver. and I have put several thousand rounds through my Desert Eagle in .41 Mag. I can shoot equally well between those 2 guns, but I cannot shoot my XD-m worth a crap right now. I hope it is me and not the gun at fault.

Is there anything I should look for on my XD-m that may cause poor groupings and accuracy issues? And what should I look for on the magazine that was causing my FTF issues?

I was shooting FMJ aguilla ammo, that was all that was available. The Baby-Eagle didn't like the hornady HP's and would jam almost every 3rd shot with those but it ate the FMJ's like pez candy. I did notice am OAL difference between the two, the jammers were longer.

I did not have any stovepipe jams, but the slide would not return to battery, I would re-rack the slide to eject the round that did not feed, it had no extra resistance and the next round would chamber fine. there was no odd marks on the rounds that did not feed properly.

Any ideas guys??

[Palmguy]

Dry fire.

[Old Hick]

Just practice more. It's sounds as though you are jerking the trigger or slapping it.
Try these links. They are for right handers, but just reverse them for a left hander.
Good Luck, and keep us posted.

http://www.targetshooting.ca/docs/grp-analysis.pdf

http://www.tackdriver.com/pix0703/correction.jpg

Encyclopedia of Bullseye Pistol

YouTube - Todd Jarrett on pistol shooting.


Hope these help.

[em3whitworth]

I cant shoot ANY plastic pistol worth a crap. I love everything XD and Glock, but cant get groups even close to a Baby Eagle or 1911 or anything else made of steel. I think it is the weight issue, and I am trying to correct for the anticipated recoil on the lighter guns. The harder I try to correct this the worse it gets. Lesson learned buy 'heavy metal' to shoot for fun, and buy plastic to carry.

[Nutczak]

if I was flinching or slapping, it would have been evident on the baby-eagle that I fired in between me firing my .40.

I have been doing alot of dry-fire at home with snap caps for the last 2 months, this was the first live fire I had with the gun.

if I can get another 100 rounds, I go out again with other handguns and see where I am at with those too.

I am going to get that small backstrap on before heading out again and see of that helps me.

The trigger seems to have alot of creep to it before feeling the engagement point. That took a little getting used to at the range. It has a great reset, but way too much pre-fire travel I thinks. Maybe I am more used to zero trigger creep from my other guns.

[tcox4freedom]

I'm sorry you didn't have a good day first time out with your XDM.

My best guess is your probably just having trouble getting use to the gun. You may have to change to the smaller backstrap to get a better grip. If you are unable to get a "correct" grip, you could be using to much pressure with your support hand. (This could cause you to shoot low right as a "lefty".)

Have you had anyone else shoot the XDM to see if they experience the same problem?

I'm not sure about the magazine and feeding issues. If both magazines were problematic, I probably would say you're not seating or charging the magazine properly. (This is sometimes an issue with "high" capacity tactical magazines and firearms.)

But, you may have a defective magazine. The magazine probably needs to be taken apart and cleaned. I would try different ammo and run about 50-100 more rounds though it before I actually made up my mind it was the magazine.

[klwheat]

Originally Posted by em3whitworth

Lesson learned buy 'heavy metal' to shoot for fun, and buy plastic to carry.

Not to be argumentative...but still, I have to question the logic here. If you aren't comforatble shooting "plastic", and you don't spend the time at the range to get comfortable....are you sure you want to carry it. I mean...where's the logic behind using a gun you can't fire when you need it the most!?

[reyloxdm40]

thats a good observation klwheat

[jstringer5]

Sandbag it. Then you'll know what it can do.

Worked for me.

[1852legend]

I think it is common for us right handers to shoot low left(right for you) at first with the XD (I did) until you get used to the trigger. I think there is a thread about it somewhere. Just go shoot more.(blowing stuff to hell relieves stress)