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Are the original XD40s just undesirable now?

3.1K views 36 replies 17 participants last post by  Mike51392  
#1 ·
I've got an XD40 that's been sitting around gathering dust, so I took it took it to a local shop to try and trade it in toward something else. What he offered me was... not great. He said they basically have no demand for .40 pistols in general, and not much for older Springfield XDs in particular.

When I was young, single, and had no bills I sent this thing off to the Springfield custom shop, got a national match barrel, trigger job, etc... done. The bill was the same as what I paid for the pistol in the first place (really wish I could have a talk with past me about that). I know compact frames and optic cut slides are all the rage now, so I sort of get why an older plain pistol wouldn't be a big seller. I didn't expect to break even on all that, but I didn't expect the guy to say it was hardly worth his time to put an XD on his shelf.
 
#2 ·
You are fighting on two fronts.
First, the XD platform has always taken a back seat to other brands, notably Glock. When I was actively expanding my collection, the gun shop I basically lived at pushed the Glock lines to the max and gave the XD the ugly red-headed step child treatment. That's OK, I've got one Glock, 4 XD's, I voted with my wallet, but I was a minority.

The second front is the FBI doing an about face on the .40 caliber, something they pushed for after the Miami shootout. The bottom line here is literally the bottom line. When you read the blurb they put out when they switched from .40 to 9mm, they pointed out that "one stop shots are a myth" - yes, something not to be counted on, but a .40 with a proper design shot in a gun that takes advantage of those designs will have more stopping power than a similar setup in 9mm. The price of the ammo and the shorter lifetime (or increased repairs) of the .40 over the 9mm was the real reason for the switch back - follow the money. And they mention that it their reasoning for going back to 9mm. They argued that advancements in 9mm bullet design now meant they were equal to if not superior to .40, as though they couldn't apply some of those technical advances to .40 or even .45, although speed and weight differences will mitigate if not require bullet designs.

Simply put, the XD40 has lost its POPULARITY, not its effectiveness.
 
#3 ·
Nothing wrong with your pistol. Keep it. Buy some .40 S&W ammo and enjoy it. If you don't want to buy .40 ammo buy a 9MM conversion barrel for it (probably magazines, too) and shoot 9MM through it.

When my (small) department went to one handgun model/caliber for all officers in the early 80's we went with S&W 686's and the 125 grain hollow points from Federal, Remington or CCI/Speer. Why? The Chief had an article in a LE publication about the Kentucky State Police experiences with the .357 magnum 125 gain hollow points after two years of use. Eighteen or nineteen Officer involved shootings and all but two were one shot incapacitations. Only twice in almost 20 uses of that cartridge required a second shot. And no bullet fragments exited the body when the bullets hit the torso.

Yeah, no one wants to carry a revolver anymore but even in those days some cartridges worked way better than others.
 
#4 ·
There’s more than just caliber at work, there.

The “spray and pray” and “when in doubt, empty the mag” mindset has taken over in police training circles, fueled by “high capacity” pistols (perhaps “higher capacity” is more accurate, particularly when comparing to revolvers), with more emphasis on volume of fire vs accurate, placed fire in LE firearms training.

Personaliy, I think that has more impact than caliber/load has on shots fired vs stops percentages.
 
#5 ·
40s laying around all the lgs in my area. Cheap prices and no buyers it seems. Probably be the next 357 sig
 
#6 ·
40's have been in disfavor for four years plus, I have gotten some good deals on new ones for awhile. Now I can't find a used one as Gun stores and pawn shops don't want them to linger on their shelves. Shame, but same for .357 Sig and 10 MM, though 10 MM came back.
 
#8 ·
I just bought an XD40 Tactical. It was inexpensive. After I complete all mods and ancillary purchases, I will have about 9X the original purchase price in this gun. I did this after becoming a seasoned and experienced person. No regrets. I can understand why a law enforcement agency would trade .40s for 9mm because of cost of the weapon and ammo. In the early stages of the evolution of the .40 cal, they were known to break guns. I personally have dealt with a cracked barrel, weakened springs, chipped extractor in one of my .40 cal, hammer fired, all metal guns. I cannot understand how people can say that 9mm is comparable to the stopping power of a properly loaded .40 cal ammo. It is not. Most analysis are done with the high end of 9mm and the low end of .40 cal. The gap has been bridged with smoke and mirrors. With regards to reckless trigger use by law enforcement, you are responsible for every bullet. You are responsible for every death you cause by every round, not to mention a stray round and so are police. Police, sheriffs, and troopers have policy they have to follow. If they don't follow policy while conducting law enforcement actions, they fall outside the protection of qualified immunity. They get reprimanded, terminated, prosecuted and imprisoned. Look at the 5 Memphis officers who lost their livelihoods and their futures for conducting law enforcement actions outside of their department policy. Firearms are becoming a real liability. Know the police agencies where you live. Know the hot spots for assaults and armed robberies and avoid them. Understand your DA's philosophy on defensive gun use. Consider firearm insurance.
 
#9 ·
People can say it, because it's true... Stopping power is a myth. The only thing that will stop a fight is poking a hole in a vital structure... That's it. And 40cal poking a hole in a artery does not make anyone deader than a 22 hole in an artery. If you are going to rest on the stopping power argument then it would be straight to 10mm and we would not even discuss a 40 cal.

There are legitimate differences between 9 and 45, and people will choose based on those. Fact is... The one in the middle just isn't that special. Jack of trades, master of neither. People and agencies have come to understand that, and 40 just does not have much going for it compared to others to keep it in favor. Most will chose 9 or 45, and others have wised up that it should have always stayed a 10mm and they chose that one.
 
#15 ·
FWIW, years ago I stopped trading or selling my firearms. We’re in a different world now, and nothing is stable. I’m not a collector; what I buy must be suitable as an EDC. Don’t believe that either .40S&W or .357 SIG are undesirable. Have a look on GB or a few other reputable sites; weapons in those calibers are selling, and not at bargain basement prices.

Ignore the market weenies; they claim to know the future.
 
#19 ·
FWIW, years ago I stopped trading or selling my firearms. We’re in a different world now, and nothing is stable. I’m not a collector; what I buy must be suitable as an EDC. Don’t believe that either .40S&W or .357 SIG are undesirable. Have a look on GB or a few other reputable sites; weapons in those calibers are selling, and not at bargain basement prices.

Ignore the market weenies; they claim to know the future.

100% agree on them not selling for bargain basement prices on gb. I got a wild hair up my ass and decided I wanted a 357 sig. ended up losing out on about 15 of them, a lot were going for well o er what a new Glock was going for. Think the g31 retails for around 600, had several go for over 1k for who knows what reason. Ended up winning a g31 and an sig 320 in 357 sig at about the same time.

However, the ammo shelves show their popularity. Very difficult to find 357 sig, 40 is easier to find, but about 1/3 as plentiful as 9 and 10 around here. Although for some reason there was more 40 than 45 last Friday when I was at sportsman’s warehouse picking up some 45.
 
#24 ·
The XD40's the first handgun I purchased. I'm very accurate and confident with it. Shot with my brother-in-law and he had to buy one as a result - his 2nd handgun at the time.

I purchase quality self defense ammo in .40 and 9. I can put holes in holes at 7 yards (and further!) with my XD40 (more than I can say for my XDS9). I know I can depend on mine. Later I purchased an XD40SC. Mag reloads bite my hand, which I hate, but I'm deadly accurate with it as well.

Keep it unless you are not confident shooting with it. That's the ONLY reason to get rid of a firearm in my book. And why my XDS9 is on borrowed time.
 
#30 ·
At this point I’m only hanging onto it out of sentimental value. I bought it the week I turned 21, the gun shop on Quantico kept a fridge full of beer for Marines who came in to buy a birthday gun. They handed me a cold one while I waited on the background check. I do wish I’d used the money elsewhere instead of all the unnecessary upgrades (National Match barrel? The gun already shot better than I could). But doing all that was part of the learning process.
 
#25 ·
It is true the FBI dumped the .40 caliber as its choice because many of the DEI hires couldn't handle the .40 so they went backwards to the 9mm. Where the fbi goes so goes law enforcement in general.

So the .40S&W of any make isn't doing well. My very first 9mm is the XD9 4.0 Mod 2. and I like it so much the Mod 3 is in my sights.
 
#26 ·
It is true the FBI dumped the .40 caliber as its choice because many of the DEI hires couldn't handle the .40 so they went backwards to the 9mm. Where the fbi goes so goes law enforcement in general.

So the .40S&W of any make isn't doing well. My very first 9mm is the XD9 4.0 Mod 2. and I like it so much the Mod 3 is in my sights.
Not, it's not. 🙄
 
#33 ·
I had the optic cut done at Powder River Precision, it was $195 plus shipping and it came with the optic plate; however, I had so much work done to that gun, the optic cut was less than 1/3 of the total cost of the work I had done there.

I am a perfectionist. Everything I do is carefully thought out and I only appreciate perfection. I hate having other people do things for me. I prefer to do everything myself. With that said, PRP is overwhelmed with work and short staffed. They work 4-10s, M-Th. They are busy. I went to VM often and felt lucky getting ahold of Michelle to ask a few questions. Once connected with them, all my questions were answered. I quickly realized that there was talent in the shop and on the phone. The work was completed 2 days ahead of schedule. The finish was unmarred, the milling was perfect. The action of the firearm, whether racking, inserting or ejecting mags, trigger reset, etc., everything worked perfectly.

No disappointments for me.