[KDXD]

Hey guys been lurking the site for a while and thought I’d come out and say hi. I'm 35 and live in Atlanta Ga. where as until I was 18 (and moved to the city) I grew up in the country around guns,(mostly long arms) hunting and fishing. I now live in the city for the most part but still have respect for the outdoors and firearms. I haven't had much exp. in my life with handguns except for shooting relatives handguns at deer camp. Due to the fact that the area I live in is not the Pleasantville it once was 5 years ago and that I work late nights in the Atlanta bar district not to mention that I have realized un like a lot of people that the world is actually a dangerous place to live anyway,(epically with the zombies coming :wink: ) I have decided it was in my best interest that I arm up. I have a permit to carry and have purchased a Springfield XD compact .40 cal. LOVE IT. I now wish I had gotten the sub compact but it was not avail at the time, not even at a gun show. The compact (4 in) is just to big to pack, and I plan on packing most everywhere I go. I'll get the sub as well. (Can’t have to many guns huh?) :wink:

I got to the range at least once a week. The first time out at the range with my new XD was about 4 months ago. First I put the target about 35 to 40 feet out I applied all I had been taught to guns in general. I was putting them all in and around the bull with no problem this was to easy for me so I back the target down the range to 25 yards away and went for head shots, surprisingly I put them all in the head about the group size of a saucer. Beginners luck? The next week I went back to the range and shot the same distances I held the same groups but now the groups have gotten larger. Long story short every time I go to the range it seems my shot its getting a little worse or in consistent every time and is very frustrating being that I was holding tight patterns the first two times I went. Don't get me wrong I'm still pretty deadly but I want my head shots at 25 yards away back in a tight pattern. What has gone wrong? I even bought an add on thumb rest to cut down on recoil and improve my shot, that didn't work and btw I'll sell to any body for 12.00 shipping included.


Here are some questions I have.
Why is it I have to aim 2 inches or so BELOW the target to get it to hit IN the target area? A friend said its cause a bullet travels up when it leaves the gun. But I'm thinking at 40 ft. to 25 yards you shouldn't have to compensate any. Explain.

What is the spring and rod I always see people talk about.
http://www.pistol-gear.com/products.php?cat=8&PHPSESSID=bd5c4a97f7b4be1468053f017b8080a3

Is this an upgrade or replacement part?

I have heard that lasermax does not stay true in guns and that they are no good. Any feedback on these?

Does Springfield make a .45 sub?

Any general suggestions to improve my shot?

Thanks guys, I'm sure I will have more questions later.

 

[BigBob68]

Welcome. The XD does have a 45 GAP. I do not understand what you are talking about with the pistol not shooting to point of aim. At 15 yards, my XD 40 service shoots to the center of the target as long as I can line up sights correctly and do my part. The aftermarket rod you speak of is "Don's Full length Guide Rod" which is not needed but alot of us prefer a different spring weight for the recoil. I am sure others will have many more suggestions than I have at this time. Lazermax is one way to go but I prefer good night sights.

 

[KDXD]

I am going to upgrade to night sights the lasermax was an idea I had in my head but heard they won't hold sight. I have been told the shorter the barrel the lower you have to aim. Seriously, I'm doing my part but I STILL have to aim a good 2 inches or more BELOW the target to put it in the target, it sucks is this a factory sight defect in the gun? Am I doing something wrong? Does a bullet travel up before it goes down? What does GAP stand for is that a sub compact?

 

[Rated R1]

GAP = Glock Automatic Pistol

It is only availably in a 4" and 5" model.

 

[BigBob68]

In theory, yes a bullet travels in an arc. It sounds like the sights are wrong height for you pistol. I would have someone else shoot it or have your local gun smith examine it.

 

[punisher80]

On my Springfield 1911 I was shooting a foot low at 25 yds. I had some friends shoot it and then the range master shot it. It was a foot low for everyone so I sent it back to springfield and had new sites put on. now I am shooting to the right a little, about 1 inch at 15 yds, and I am starting to wonder if its the sites again. Springfield replaced the sites and reimbursed me the overnight shipping charges I had to pay up front to get it to them, so you can always send it back to them if the sites are off they will make it right for free. I did get my gun back in about 1 weeks time, but it came back dirty even though I sent it spotless :evil:

 

[knuckles]

There is a break-in period and the bullet will dance around on ya durring that time.

If you think you've got it broke-in,....make sure it's clean and smooth,...my XD's got a little squirrelly when I let them get gruby.

Some @mmo-brands shoot straighter in my XD's than others.

I hope it's OK for you soon.

 

[Don]

2" high is really perfect for zombies. Think about it, you are going to tend to center on the head when shooting quick and this puts the bullet up into the cranium where you really want it.

When you first shot the pistol you were not anticipating the trigger and the groups where tight. Now you are anticipating the trigger getting worse. I am the same way with a new or strange pistol.

 

[kgpcr]

Welcome to the board and welcom to the XD club. you now own one of the best

 

[manygunner]

2" high is really perfect for zombies. Think about it, you are going to tend to center on the head when shooting quick and this puts the bullet up into the cranium where you really want it.

Actualy you want to shoot for the eyes or mouth to have certain access to brain areas. Mouth is better as you get brainstem instant stop. It you hit the front of the skull, forget it, even .45 ACP can bounce off the cranial vault. The eye has nice pathway all the way to the rear of the skul by the way of the optic nerve opening. Mouth shot lead to the base fo the brain, kills the cerebellum and medula oblongata.

When you first shot the pistol you were not anticipating the trigger and the groups where tight. Now you are anticipating the trigger getting worse. I am the same way with a new or strange pistol.

Yup. Sounds to me like he is breaking his wrist up anticipating the recoil. He should do some dry fire drills to get rid of that.

 

[Don]

Mouth is better as you get brainstem instant stop.

It is not proven that you need that on zombies,

 

[KDXD]

There is a break-in period and the bullet will dance around on ya durring that time.

I was wondering about this, how many rounds break it in you think?

If you think you've got it broke-in,....make sure it's clean and smooth,...my XD's got a little squirrelly when I let them get gruby.

Makes since, most of the time my piece is clean it's grubby now and my shooting wasn't that bad today but I know it can be better, I'll clean it. go back to the range and see what happens.

Some @mmo-brands shoot straighter in my XD's than others.

I hope it's OK for you soon.

Ok so what brands have you found to shoot strait?

 

[KDXD]

2" high is really perfect for zombies. Think about it, you are going to tend to center on the head when shooting quick and this puts the bullet up into the cranium where you really want it.

When you first shot the pistol you were not anticipating the trigger and the groups where tight. Now you are anticipating the trigger getting worse. I am the same way with a new or strange pistol.

This all makes good since.

 

[1of2]

Mouth is better as you get brainstem instant stop.

It is not proven that you need that on zombies,

It is a proven fact that most people can back step faster than a zombie can go forward so next time why not take the time to prove this theory?

 

[knuckles]

It should say how many rnds till "brake-in" in your manual,.....did you get a manual w/your gun?

My XD's were pretty smooth out of the box, but both behaved differently.

I bought my XD-40 servise mod. first, and out of the box it hit low and right about 2-3" at I think it was 10 or 15 yrds. (only 150-200rnd brake-in and I was hiting 25 yrd 10-rings 1 out of 7).

My XD-9SC was a bullseye gun out of the box and never really changed much after 400 rnds.(when it's good & dirty,....I can barely keep them on the "black" at 25 yrds.)

Something important I noticed,... was if both guns ever got to dry, they sent out a lot of "flyers" .........I'd give them a drink of oil and POW! right back on target.

I'm good with gadgets, ..but I'm no gunsmith,... so take any of my advise with a grain of salt,....I only use logic.......but not a ton of expereance.

 

[KDXD]

It should say how many rnds till "brake-in" in your manual,.....did you get a manual w/your gun?

My XD's were pretty smooth out of the box, but both behaved differently.

I bought my XD-40 servise mod. first, and out of the box it hit low and right about 2-3" at I think it was 10 or 15 yrds. (only 150-200rnd brake-in and I was hiting 25 yrd 10-rings 1 out of 7).

My XD-9SC was a bullseye gun out of the box and never really changed much after 400 rnds.(when it's good & dirty,....I can barely keep them on the "black" at 25 yrds.)

Something important I noticed,... was if both guns ever got to dry, they sent out a lot of "flyers" .........I'd give them a drink of oil and POW! right back on target.

I'm good with gadgets, ..but I'm no gunsmith,... so take any of my advise with a grain of salt,....I only use logic.......but not a ton of expereance.

Good advice .....

 

[M1Thumb]

I don't know how to say this without sounding rude or boorish, but pistol barrels do not "break-in" - at least from an accuracy standpoint. A pistol barrel can break-in as it pertains to the feed ramp (feeding will become smoother and more reliable as more and more rounds are fired), but your pistol is not going to change point of impact unless it is somehow seriously altered. Rifle barrels sometimes require a "break-in" procedure, which is nothing more than an allowance for the initial erosion of the throat while the first few rounds are put through the barrel, but even this doesn't seriously affect accuracy. If your pistol's POI is changing, it's either you, the sights, or your ammo. A shift from "low-right" or "low-left" to "Point of Aim" or something close to it is an indicator that you have become a better shot. (Sure, guns will be more/less accurate depending on whether they are clean or not, but this will be a general accuracy issue rather than a shift of POI.)

 

[retired]

When I first bought my SC9 it shot 6" low. The rangemaster at my former dept. also had the same luck. I sent the gun to SA at their complete expense and got it back in 10 days with a new rear sight. Turns out the sight was mismatched to the front they said. Gun shoots as good as I aim it now.

 

[FatMatt1981]

Both of my Xd's shoot dang near identical...well the way they function is the same.
When I was using WWB or Blazer brass 115grains I have kept shooting low and to the left....until I practiced awhile and got it where I knew how to get the groups to land where I wanted em. The only thing different was tryin to focus on the grip and proper stance, lockin my elbows more etc.
The casings still kept hittin me in the head....until I tried holdin it a little tighter. I found out after reading on here I was limp wristing it(you will find awesome info on here from others who've done the exact same things)
Then I tried somethin...I tried different ammo......larger bullet. 124grains...and a much hotter load. Nato loads. I couldn't believe it. I squeezed off a round downrange and watched the slide instead of aiming.....the casing did like I had been expecting....popped out and to the right behind me.
Then I stood and fired at the target....my shots were off at first. Expecting it to shoot low and to the left again. I put it on the bullseye....groups landed as they should.
It might take you weeks of practice man, or a dozen different ammos to get things figured out.
The XD is an awesome machin when you do your part, and feed it what it likes
Sorry for the book, but that's what I wanted to say to ya. Hope it helps

 

[dark_syde99]

Sounds to me like you have developed a flinch. When you first took the gun to the range, you did well and now, you are not doing so well. Try doing some dry fire training or buy some Snap-Caps and take a friend with you to the range and have them load your mags with some live rounds and a couple caps.

You could also ask the range master for some help. Most of them will be willing to lend you a hand. Have him/her shoot your gun to see if it is in fact accurate. Then have him/her watch you to see what you are doing wrong.