Yet Another range report

[rhein]

Called Sportsmans Warehouse in Silverdale WA, and asked if they had any XD-s in, he said he had one, told him to put my name on it, I'd be right over. Filled out the paperwork, paid my bucks - $530 + tax, and walked out 30 min later.

Ran over to the range in Gig Harbor to run 20 rounds through it - I'm going out again tomorrow, my arms are super tired from the gym this morning, so I decided to only run 20 rounds though it.

First thing - the mags are TIGHT, I wish they included the mag loader like they do with the XD and XDm (I have an XD tactical)didn't help that my arms are like spaghetti today. Loaded the first mag, chambered a round......

CLICK.

CRAP. This does not bode well for a new gun. Wait 30 seconds, drop the mag, rack the slide enough to get it to cock but not eject the round, let it slide forward with the same round in (yea, I know) then put the mag back in. Sites on target.

BANG.

Much better. Go through all five rounds no problem. The gun IS a handful, but it doesn't feel that bad. Proceed to run 20 rounds through it, no other problems. Take the gun home, take it down, give it a quick wipe down and look over, and reassemble. Load up both mags to help loosen the spring a bit, and try out the holster(not bad) and the mag holder. One side of the Mag holder is WAY WAY tight (even with the set screw completely loose) and the other is just right. Let me put it this way - if the holder was on my belt and I was trying to pull the mag out, I'd probably pull my pants up somewhere around my chest before the mag came loose from that side. Looking at the mag holder on the tight side, and it looks like it might be molded a little off - I tried prying it apart to loosen it up, but that didn't help at all, so I'm going to call Springfield on Monday and see what they will do for me (and order some 7 round mags).

One thing I need to do is get used to the site picture, it's slightly different than the XD tactical, and to be honest I'm not sure I like the front site. The first couple rounds the trigger felt REALLY gritty, but even after the 20 rounds it's had though it, it seems to feel better.

The gun is TINY compared to the XD Tactical. Overall my impression is good, but I wonder if Springfield QC is slipping a little in an effort to get these out to the public. I'll post a follow up tomorrow after I spend some more quality time with it.

[3shot]

Welcome to the forums! Thanks for the report.
These guns are TIGHT internally as well, and sweeten up after a couple hundred rounds IMHO. Trigger, chambering, etc. smooths right on out. I think a lot of die-hard XDers find this strange/unexceptable as compaired to their XD's and XDM's that hit the ground running 100% right out of the box. XD-S: totally different internally. Mine has had zero issues. But tight she was at first. She just needed to be taken out behind the woodshed and givin' a good talkin' to .

Does the XD-S need a break in period??
Though it's not documented, it's looking that way IMHO. Not really a bad thing, just catching a lot of people off guard.
The 1911 gang deal with it.......
Looks like if we want to play XDS, we will too .

Just my thoughts.....

[rhein]

You are welcome, I hope it gives others and idea of what to expect.

Yea, I get the feeling that is the case with the gun, having said that, I DO think it's a QC problem with the mag holder. I'm not a weakling by any stretch of the imagination, and that one side of the holder is WAY tight.

I've got almost 200 rounds ready to run through it tomorrow. I'm hoping it starts loosening up a bit. I also noticed the button for the mag release is STIFF, WAY more stiff than my XD Tactical ever was.

[RetiredFCC]

Congrats on your purchase! I'm almost up to 400 rounds through mine and it is much smoother than when I fired my first round. As with all things that have wear surfaces, they have to be broken in. My trigger was nothing to write home about when I bought it but it is getting smoother with each trip to the range. A word of warning though, don't try and shoot too many rounds at one time! Although it doesn't feel too bad when you're shooting it, it's still a 45 and you'll feel it the next day! I shot 200 rounds in my first outing and would have shot more if I had the bullets. Glad I didn't, I had a sore palm the next day!

[Another]

little gun.

[slugger6]

Thanks for posting a very informative report.

[r1derbike]

rhein, I have the same problem with my mag holder. One side loose, other side unusably tight, no matter the tension adjustment. Was pretty disappointed with that one. No excuse.

Very poor design. If they are going to include accessories to sweeten the deal on these guns, they should at least work.

Going to ask if I may exchange the paddle holster for a left hand model as well. Maybe they'll trade that worthless magholder for one?

[rhein]

Well, I ran about 125 or so more rounds though it today - the trigger is getting noticeably better. I ran both FMJ and JHP through it with no problems. The gun is plenty accurate when I do my part. I ran the target back to 42 feet and all 10 rounds landed on the paper, only one missed the actual target outline.

The mag holder SUCKS. Seems like one side works ok, but even so, when it's on my belt you have to get the mag JUST right to get it in there, and the other side? Forget about it. The holster is ok, the weight of the gun is great.

My hand was getting sore, and I did manage to get bit by the slide one time, but I am not certain it was the XDs, the XD or the Glock 19 my buddy had that did it, but I'm leaning towards it being the XDs - oh well not a big deal. My only other complaints - twice while inserting the mag, it dropped the slide at the same time and on a related note - couldn't they have made the slide lock a little freaking LONGER? For some reason with out an empty mag in it, (as in clearing the gun) getting the slide lock to engage is ridiculously difficult.

As for hand pain - I push a keyboard all day, so admittedly I don't have any callouses - If I spent a bunch of time at the range with the XDs, I'd definitely build some up from the texturing, but I never felt the gun was abusive, it's just a big caliber in a small package.

I also wish they would have included a mag loader tool like with the XD, call me a wimp if you will, I don't care, the tool makes it easier. And thankfully yes, the XD tool works on the XDs mags.

Oh yea, one last thing. This thing REALLY throws the brass. Had more than one piece of brass bounce off the wall to the side, then hit the ceiling, then wack me in the head.

[richeyo2]

Congrats on new XDS & thanks for the report!