Mine has worked all the time, everytime.

 

I don't even notice the grip safety.

 

I haven't shot my XD yet, but when I shot my brother's XD 40 I don't see how it can't be pressed all the way every time.

 

Love the grip safety. I agree I have no idea how someone could do an even close to proper grip on a pistol and not have the grip safety depress so that the pistol functions. To me it adds a piece of mind to holstering and carrying. Great feature. It was cool on the 1911's and it is cool on the XDm.

 

Mine has worked all the time, everytime.

60% of the time mine works every time...

Seriously though mine always works and i like it. Good feature.

Though a potential problem would be if one hand were incapacitated and one was required to rack the slide. The safety needs to be depressed in order to do so.

 

It's never been a problem on the 1911, so I can't see a problem on the XD platform.

 

Never say never the XD`s grip safety can be disabled.

In some of the models that hole thats at the Butt of the grip actually runs behind the grip safety. I threw an XD in some mud (on purpose for a review). Debris went up the channel and I could not depress the safety disabling the gun. I wrote about that many years ago before the hacker broke xdtalk mid 2000`s.

Usually its the other way around the grip safety will break and either make the safety limp or stick out really far in either case you can still fully depress it and use the pistol.

In Jan there was some on xdtalk that got some grime in between the grip safety and the safety it made the safety stuck in the depressed position, again the pistol would have been usable but not in the safest condition with a safety disabled.

The debris/mud/sand on some models though can disable the gun on some models. I had actually designed a key safety that would shove up the channel and when you turned the key to lock it a piece of the safety would move under the grip safety locking the pistol. But not all of the models could use it, plus thats the time when they changed the butt channel from the old style to the new style. The limited market would not be worth it.

 

I just checked out two different XD45ACP`s and both of them can be disabled by the method I described. Try it with yours just shove a pen/pencil/skinny twig/q-tip up your XD`s butt channel to check if you can disable you grip safety. Or just shine a light up the hole and if your channel goes all the way up the back strap you will be able to see the sight under the grip safety.

 

I think the majority of the people that don't like the grip/beavertail safety are thinking about "what-if" scenarios and to dismiss those scenarios is ignorant and naive. One example would be what pausekey mentioned about one hand being out of commission. What if it is your strong hand and you have to cross draw and fire with the weapon upside down? I can also think of a few more examples. On a quick draw in an intense situation, if I were to get a not-so-great-grip on the gun, I would rather be able to fire a few rounds, readjust my grip if need be and continue firing rather than nothing happening when I pull the trigger, readjusting right now and then being able to fire. The difference in putting a couple of bullets in the targets direction might be the difference in the fight. If those rounds land on target, the fight may be over, and if they don't land on target, they might be suppressive enough to buy you the time you need to gain a positive grip. Granted since 99.9% of most people shooting will be in a controlled environment, you may not ever need to worry about that, but some people do actually rely on their weapon as a survival tool. I have noticed that sometimes when I am locking the slide back to field strip my XDm, I don't get the grip safety fully depressed (I hold the pistol sortof sideways in my shooting hand when I am just locking the slide back) and have to adjust my hand to get the grip safety down to lock the slide back. Now, as this will never actually happen in a firefight, it is a negligible detail, but still a detail nonetheless. Some people love the grip safety, I honestly could do without it and if the XDm were offered without it, I would have definitely chosen the model without it. I have read people opinions on the benefits of a beavertail safety, but I disagree. I think the whole reason they are still put on weapons is because way back when it was invented, it seemed like a good idea (which it wasn't any better of an idea back then as it is now), and since weapons with the beavertail safety gained cult level popularity, it stuck. Now people are afraid to bad mouth it b/c they think they will get ragged for saying their is a fault with the 1911.

By the way, I just got my XDm today, and haven't even shot it yet. I am going to Coal Creek tomorrow to try it out, but that being said, I have shot XD's (no XDm's yet) and plenty of 1911's with a grip safety, and everything I mentioned is a possibly failure point for the weapons I have shot with a grip safety.

 

On a quick draw in an intense situation, if I were to get a not-so-great-grip on the gun, I would rather be able to fire a few rounds, readjust my grip if need be and continue firing rather than nothing happening when I pull the trigger, readjusting right now and then being able to fire.

I have thought about this also and have been looking at this for awhile Springfield XD XDm Springer Precision "EZ Grip" safety

 

if yall are worried about it, modify whatever you'd need to modify inside the gun so that it stays depressed or whatever....... superglue it into the handle....whatever it takes. EASY fix, i don't see what the big fuss is about. just something to discuss I guess out of boredom.

 

To be honest and without reading other comments about this, I never even notice the grip safety whenever I fire my xd and sometimes forget it's there and in fact just ordered an XDM compact .40 to show how much I like them but wish they never had that feature. The only positive I see is reholstering the weapon. Just wish they got rid of the useless to me grip safety.

 

Well I guess I have to be different. Yes, I have had issues with the grip safety on a very early model 9 mm. It was a rental gun that had literally thousands of rounds through it. The issue that I had was that the grip safety was very narrow and in quick draw scenarios it was easy to not get it depressed causing me to not shoot at the target. You could not be off the slightest little bit on the grip or you would have problems.

Now, with my XD 40 and all of the newer XD's and XDM's the grip safety is much wider and it is easier to engage every time that you draw. I have not had any issues with my 40.

 

Personally, I really value the added safety. I've always been concerned with owning a Glock. God forbid, you ever get yourself into a situation where a bad guy is trying to disarm you and he has a good hold on the trigger and points it to you, it should not fire until someone has a grip on the weapon itself. Just peace of mind IMHO...

 

I have never had the grip safety cause any sort of failure with my XDs or XDMs.

I really dislike having to depress the grip safety in order to rack the slide. On other pistols, when clearing the pistol, I'll grip the magazine well at the lowest possible point when racking the slide to eliminate any possibility of touching the trigger.

I believe having the grip safety really hurts XD sales. Many people I know won't buy an XD due to the grip safety. I'd really love it if SA either eliminated the feature altogether or offered a model without one. SA's biggest competitor in the polymer pistol market is obviously Glock. In my opinion SA offers a lot more value for the money.

 

I like the grip safety, it's never been an issue with my XD or my 1911's. For the average pistol owner I think it's much to do about nothing because they keep there guns in pristine condition. I can honestly say I do not know one person who abuses there pistols. Seems the one they abuse the most is the one they carry everyday for SD and that one is far from abused even if it does have a few scars on it.

 

Some what if scenarios drive me nuts. Hey, if I bend my barrel with a vise it won't fire properly! If I shove a piece of steak in the safety mechanism it won't work! If both hands are sawed off and one eyes are packed with mud I can't rack the slide!

 

Some what if scenarios drive me nuts. Hey, if I bend my barrel with a vise it won't fire properly! If I shove a piece of steak in the safety mechanism it won't work! If both hands are sawed off and one eyes are packed with mud I can't rack the slide!

I seriously think that other "what if" scenarios are more realistic than yours.. What I described is an actual possible scenario if your home is invaded and the home owner is surprised. Like I said, strictly my opinion.

 

Personally, I really value the added safety. I've always been concerned with owning a Glock. God forbid, you ever get yourself into a situation where a bad guy is trying to disarm you and he has a good hold on the trigger and points it to you, it should not fire until someone has a grip on the weapon itself. Just peace of mind IMHO...

Welcome to XD Talk. Please do not dismiss otherwise safe and reliable weapons because they do not have a grip safety. Your scenario is just a little unrealistic. In all the years I have carried Glocks I have never thought: "I sure wish this gun had a grip safety".

In reality I think the question is not whether the thing is reliable or could cause problems but whether it is actually necessary. Of course the answer to that is no.

 

yeah you cant tell its there and if you are if you want to fire a gun holding it in a way where it would not be pushed in doesnt seem to safe to me

 

It's only been shown to be a reliable safety feature for the last 100 yrs?

 

Welcome to XD Talk. Please do not dismiss otherwise safe and reliable weapons because they do not have a grip safety. Your scenario is just a little unrealistic. In all the years I have carried Glocks I have never thought: "I sure wish this gun had a grip safety".

In reality I think the question is not whether the thing is reliable or could cause problems but whether it is actually necessary. Of course the answer to that is no.

Well, I will say this again for the THIRD time.... STRICTLY MY OPINION THAT I LIKE THE ADDED SAFETY and I gave my thoughts as to why I like it, take it or leave it. BTW, my "What if" scenario is not all that unrealistic. Has your home ever been invaded? Mine has......

 

Never had a problem with it.

For those that think its unnecessary for the XD to not have a grip safety, well here you go. Remember its a single action gun, not double action like a Glock.

Viddler.com - Springfield XD - Sear system - Uploaded by Bareideru

Watch this Glock animation to compare the trigger pull moving the striker back then releasing it, instead of just releasing it. Its the same reason a thumb safety is necessary on a cocked and locked 1911.

 

I've steered away from Glocks because of the lack of externally mounted manual safeties.

I grew up on 1911s, and now swear by the XD line.

 

The only problem I run into with the grip safety is when I go to rack the slide or lock it back I sometimes forget to depress the grip safety. No biggie, just reposition my hand it works perfect.