[inSight-XD]

Hey all-

Im new here and glad to be a part of XD talk. Now, my topic may not be the best way to "break the ice" but, I would be lying if I said that I wasnt a bit disappointed with my first experience with an XD series pistol.

Just a little background....I recently purchased an XD-45 ACP with the hopes of using it as my main home defense pistol. I have a Sig P220 which fit that role earlier, but I felt a polymer weapon would be less prone to the "wear and tear" of daily handling/use. I bought my XD based of rep and nothing else..well, that and the fact that this firearm just "felt" better to me than a similar Glock I checked out.

Anyway, I put my first 100 rounds through it today and not only did most of my shots go low and left (probably user error) but, more importantly, I experienced the almost infamous "premature slide lock" roughly 4 times. Now, it may have been an ill fated mag. I will verify that tomorrow as I plan on putting another 100 rounds through it, just to make sure. If this isnt the obvious cause, then back to the factory it goes.

Now, I fully realize that Im not alone in this boat and that this is a problem that, more than likely, can be corrected by SA. However, its still ridiculous that such a problem is occuring on a brand new weapon equipped with brand new mags. And yes, I thoroughly stripped/cleaned the weapon before firing it for the first time.

My other gun, the Sig P220, has seen roughly 200 rounds through it with no hitches whatsoever. Now, I realize that 200 rounds is nothing and that well....Im comparing an XD to a Sig Sauer. But still, the XD is supposed to be the next Glock, in terms of reliability and durability. Damned the luck if my first one has failed to meet this criteria, up to this point anyway.

If things get worked out..great. I will keep the XD and be proud of it as I was initially. If not, I just might be selling it...along with 10 mags. Anyone interested?

 

[silvernightmare]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. You need to practice more with your XD. Some people on here like to get shorter trigger travel. I had same problem in the begining, but I changed my holding of the weapon and practice.....practice.....practice.

 

[coldsolderjoint]

Mine all go low and left too. I'm thinking I'm back to yanking the trigger

What do you mean pre-mature slide lock?

On, my XD9, the slide didn't like to lock back, but then I found out that my thumb was resting on the release.. so it was my fault.

BTW: Welcome to XD Talk~!

 

[BoomerBSG]

first off, welcome to the forum and the XD.

the low left shooting is due to you not being used to the trigger. 100 rounds is far from enough to get used to it, especially coming from a SIG. your comparing a striker fired weapon to a hammer fired weapon, and believe me there is a different feel to both of them. Low and left your jerking your trigger, so try this..
before even going to the range, unload your gun, and put the ammo in a different room.
cock the gun by pulling the slide back about a quarter of the way back. now pull the trigger slow and steady strait back with the pad of your finger, till it breaks and the striker slams forward to strike the primer thats not there (because the guns unloaded right?).

keep your eyes on that front sight and make sure it doesnt move.. now rinse and repeat for a few hundred times... or you get it down perfectly..

now go to the range, load a mag and try again. eventually you might find yourself just taking up the slack quickly, going right to the breaking point and then the gun goes bang... not good.. steady, and slow, the shot should almost surprise you.

pay attention to your off hand grip, if you contact the slide release you will activate the stop almost every time. get your grip as high on the grip towards the slide as possible, and watch that slide stop..
thats almost opposite of the sig, you actually have to drop your grip a bit to avoid hitting the slide stop at the top of the grip panel on a sig.

if none of this helps dont feel bad.. i tossed many thousands of rounds down range and still ended up selling my XD's off. guns are extremely personal preferences, and no one but you can decide if you really like it or not.

cheers

 

[Deer Slayer]

There's a learning curve to shooting any new gun. It takes a few rounds to get used to it. When I first started at the range with the rental XD, I wasn't impressed with my first group. Then I loaded up another mag, and tried again, this time I was hitting all in the inner circles. The trigger is definitely different than a hammer operated gun. 3rd mags the charm, literally blew the X out of the bullseye, and not one stray shot out of the 2 inner circles. 4th mag I was screwing around, seeing how fast I could go from the gun sitting on the table in front of me, and take a shot. Then I was basically seeing how fast I could get back on target after a shot, and shoot again trying not to piss the range officer off. I knew I wanted the XD for sure after that, but jerking the trigger definitely puts you down and left. That's where most of my first mag went. I think some XDs have the mag seating too deep in them from what I gather. Is your mag hard to insert when full? It's either that or the spring on the slide lock is too weak, and allows the recoil to flip it. I dunno, I just know I'm happy with my XD, and think you will be too once you get it all sorted out. Sorry about the slide lock thing, and hope you give it a chance. :sad:

 

[Reborn]

To add onto what others have already posted, your premature slide lock may be due to your very own thumbs. Why don't you give yourself a chance on the XD and shoot it a little more? We all have our bad shooting days at the range, and maybe unfortunately for you, the first time you chose to take out an XD happened to be one of those days. The XD wasn't chosen as gun of the year for nothing, you know. :shock:

Also, to somewhat back Deer Slayer said in his/her assertion, when I first shot my XD45 (my very first pistol and shooting a .45 period), I was inadvertently hitting the ground at 15 yd., no joke! I am now double-tapping and keeping it within the "8th" ring at 12-15 yds.

By the way, even though I do NOT believe that the gun makes the shooter, I am a Sig fan myself...(anyone selling a P6?)

 

[ghost--scout]

I think it's the way you're holding it. If your thumbs are anywhere near the slide lock you have a good chance of hitting it and either keeping it down or pushing it up. You definitely need to shoot some more with it but it's also important that you're comfortable with the gun. I'd get it out of my head that the gun is a pos and will malfunction if you look at it funny until you've tried changing your grip if I were you, get a fresh start with it.

 

[F117AGuy]

I find it almost amusing that people blame the firearm when it has malfunctions. I too had my slide lock back a couple of times the first few trips to the range. I had lurked on here, seeing if anyone else had that problem. Sure enough they had! I also thought that they might be crazy about the problem lying in how I held the pistol, but I slowed down, tried what they suggested and sure as hell it's never happened again. HOLY COW some of the guys here actually might know what they are talking about!

 

[Deer Slayer]

Well, I asked when I first started looking at the XD, the guy at the gunshop said as long as you keep your thumb in the spot in the grip for it, you shouldn't have a problem. It looked like it might be easy to hit if you weren't holding it properly. Put your thumb in that little dimple, and adjust your grip accordingly. :arrow:

 

[ADA]

Mine all go low and left too. I'm thinking I'm back to yanking the trigger

What do you mean pre-mature slide lock?

On, my XD9, the slide didn't like to lock back, but then I found out that my thumb was resting on the release.. so it was my fault.

BTW: Welcome to XD Talk~!

I was having the same problem with my new Sig .40 S&W. Low to the left. Shot two five shot groups and only one round in the black. This is at ten yards, no rest. Loaded another mag and fired two rounds with the same result so I changed my trigger grip. Instead of using the pad of my finger as is usually recommended I gripped the trigger with the crease of the first joint. Really brought me back on target. Included that target below. Remember this was outside on a windy day so I was not real steady. It was also a new gun that had not been fired before. (Is that enough excuses?) Anyway. if this helps someone else I am glad.

 

[Deer Slayer]

I did this at the range, with the rental XD. This is what sold me. Either one shot was compltetly wild, and missed the target :shock:, or it went through the same hole. Seen as how I didn't miss the target ONCE even when I was screwing around, something would have had gone really wrong for that to happen. Ok, I lied, there's one in the 8 . Considering I hadn't shot a pistol in MONTHS before this, and this was my first time with that gun, I think I did OK. This is 15yds, I think, might have been 20. Can't remember.

 

[Kev_n_Az]

as it was mentioned, unload the XD and remove the ammo from the room. check the XD 1 more time for ammo in the pipe and the mag.

if you have a long hallway or decent garage, tack a target to the end wall. this is now your practice alley. you may dry fire the XD as often as you want.

pace, measure, or guess 5 or so yards.

take a breath, make your stance, and take aim.

take your time with dryfire of the XD.

seem ridiculous? I spent 3 weeks with a full size silhouette at the end of my hallway. when I took my CCW course, I was the ONLY ONE to group in the center. everyone else was all over like a scatter gun.

you will enjoy it. give it a chance.

 

[Joeywhat]

I find it almost amusing that people blame the firearm when it has malfunctions. I too had my slide lock back a couple of times the first few trips to the range. I had lurked on here, seeing if anyone else had that problem. Sure enough they had! I also thought that they might be crazy about the problem lying in how I held the pistol, but I slowed down, tried what they suggested and sure as hell it's never happened again. HOLY COW some of the guys here actually might know what they are talking about!

It is amusing...people always looking for a scapegoat.

Never had a problem with my XD's that wasn't caused by my fat thumbs getting in the way...

 

[XDXtreme]

I was quite pleased with the first go around with my XD45. It shot quite well, for me at least. No malfunctions with any of the ammo I tried in it, and a good shooter overall.

 

[rupert]

I think it's the way you're holding it. If your thumbs are anywhere near the slide lock you have a good chance of hitting it and either keeping it down or pushing it up. You definitely need to shoot some more with it but it's also important that you're comfortable with the gun. I'd get it out of my head that the gun is a pos and will malfunction if you look at it funny until you've tried changing your grip if I were you, get a fresh start with it.

He's probbly right.

Yesterday I found a cure....XD with thumb safty

I will be shooting it for the first time today.

 

[Kev_n_Az]

He's probbly right.

Yesterday I found a cure....XD with thumb safty

I will be shooting it for the first time today.

thumb safety???

WTF is that?????

 

[Wizard1500]

I agree with what everyone else has said about the grip....this is kind of funny, because I purchased the XD-45, not only because of the way it felt, but also because of all the stories about P220 failures, concerning extractors....btw: I love my P226.....

 

[timdog]

I would like to offer what helped me on the low and left. I too was very dissapointed with the XD45c that I bought the first time I went to the range. I was sure the sights were screwed up for me being low and left. Then my wife put some dead center and proved the issue was me.

In practicing...empty gun, verified and dry firing in the bathroom mirror, I watched my every indication of the cause. Seems I was tensing up when I squeezed the trigger. Try it, take your right hand and make a loose fist, now squeeze hard...those smaller fingers pull the gun low and left. I remedied it by concentrating on gripping hard until I got used to the gun.

Hope it helps you....and I will take some of those mags off of you if you decide to part them out.

Tim

 

[inSight-XD]

Now, regarding the possible issue of inadvertantly moving the slide-lock while firing...I tend to use the "thumbprint over thumbnail" technique vs the straight thumbs or "Leatham-Enos" type hold. This keeps my thumb(s) away from the slide. So, while its possible I may be hitting slide lock/release, its doubtful in my case. Also, the aiming thing I understand. Heck, Im still trying to get good with the Sig!! :mrgreen: So, I cant expect to be hitting POA every shot. If it were that easy, everybody could do it. Oh and there is that pesky cross-dominance issue I have. Im STILL trying to get used to that one. Guess thats why I bought a shotgun!

For those who thought I was just trying to blame my gun..not true. As I mentioned before, I am completely willing to run another 100 to 300 rounds or so through this gun before I start calling Springfield on the slide lock issue. Personally, I suspect a bad magazine as the cause for the premature slide-lock, if even possible or a weak slide spring. If the spring is the case, where would I get a stronger one for the 4" Service model? Almost every place I have looked seems to only offer a "stock" replacement. Does Springfield Armory offer a replacement containing a "stouter" spring?
The aiming thing, unless a slightly mal-adjusted sight, is on me. I blame nobody for this one!! Thanks again for the responses.

 

[Kev_n_Az]

insight - XD check this out ....

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