Springfield XD-S .45
- Thread starter Choot-um
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thehammer69
Well-Known Fanatic
Choot-um said:
I held one yesterday at PSA. I could have left with it for $529 but I'm gonna wait for the prices to fall. It's definitely the right size to fit in my pocket. For reference, it is smaller than my XDM .45 compact. And is also smaller than my Taurus PT745 Subcompact that I recently sold.
bigfutz
Well-Known Fanatic
I was looking at a PT-745, but not subcompact. What did you think of it? Seemed easier to rack than the Kahr CW-45 with a similar small grip diameter / feel. Would you recomend the Taurus as a 45 for a small hand?thehammer69 said:
thehammer69
Well-Known Fanatic
bigfutz said:
I saw no issues with the Taurus hand size wise. My biggest issue was the feel of the trigger. Very long travel and felt gritty.
mcdaniel
Well-Known Fanatic
I liket he loks of this one.
Side question, does anyone know someone that can do a "melt" treatment on the slide? I used to have XDs but they were so "square."
Side question, does anyone know someone that can do a "melt" treatment on the slide? I used to have XDs but they were so "square."
11B3XCIB
Well-Known Fanatic
I've been debating an XD-S versus a Glock Model 36 for about a year. My father in law bought one and I will be able to handle/ test fire it this coming weekend. I will be sure to post a few photos and give my opinions on the gun. For reference, I currently own a 4.5" XD-M .45 and a 4" compact XD .45, so I will be able to compare/contrast to some of Springfield's previous XD offerings.
11B3XCIB
Well-Known Fanatic
Alright, I borrowed my father-in-law's XD-S for a few hours of testing and comparison. Here are some (cell phone) photos of my XD vs the XD-S. My XD .45 ACP has a 4" barrel with the compact, 10 round capacity grip.
Initial Impressions
The XD-S was much more compact than I expected from the pictures on Springfield's website. Unfortunately, I didn't have the other back straps for the grip, because I would have preferred to have the next size down from the biggest one. It was very light and thin. I like the fact that it doesn't have the exposed striker in the back. I've put a hole in several t-shirts while sitting down. As I'm sure ya'll have seen from stock photos, they've done a great job with detailing. I like how the back of the slide is sloped rather than flat.
Range Time
I went to the range and as luck would have it, they had a Glock Model 36 for rent. I've been comparing the XD-S and G36 for my next carry pistol. The G36 is on the left in both photos.
Sorry about the crappy second photo. The lighting and the gunsmoke haze didn't exactly help. The G36s barrel is about half an inch longer. The difference in weight between the two was so close, but the G36s slightly longer barrel gave the XD-S the edge on balance/weight distribution. I was shooting at 5 meters (I was doing an initial test, not an action movie) and I was able to get tighter groups with the XD-S over the G36, but not by much. My father-in-law told me that when he first bought the XD-S he had problems chambering rounds, but firing it helped. I guessed the feed ramp just needed some smoothing out when it was brand new, but I personally had no issues. The G36's grip was perfect for me, but if I buy that, I'd put a Hogue Hand-all slip on grip like I have on my G19. The XD-S has a grip safety, so that's not a possibility. The XD-S has the plastic detailing on the grip, and I found that the detailing on the back strap would dig into the palm of my hand some. This might have been solved by the slimmer back strap, but I didn't have the option to swap out. If you have a larger hand, the G36 is going to be better for you simply because the XD-S will be impossible to hold. The G36 magazine has a small lip to accommodate a little finger. Like my full size Glock and XD, the Glock wins in terms of slide smoothness and chambering, but the XD-S was much better than my XD-M. Also, the short barrel on the XD-S required locking the slide to the rear before chambering a round; I misfed probably 50% of the time trying to pull and release, even though I made sure to draw it all the way back and not ride it forward. Both pistols will fire a chambered round with no magazine in the weapon, if anyone is curious for safety's sake. I shot 50 rounds through each pistol and had zero malfunction or misfeed of any type. I fired several Speer 200gr.+P JHP rounds...whew. That was a little rough compared to the 230 gr FMJs, but if it was life or death, you'd never notice.
I'm going to buy one of the two, so which would I choose? I don't know yet. They were so closely aligned in performance and size, I just don't know. The XD-S is clearly a better looking gun. It might come down to price. I will have to shoot them both again and think about it some more. The G36 definitely gets a point for being 6+1 versus the XD-S's 5+1.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Initial Impressions
The XD-S was much more compact than I expected from the pictures on Springfield's website. Unfortunately, I didn't have the other back straps for the grip, because I would have preferred to have the next size down from the biggest one. It was very light and thin. I like the fact that it doesn't have the exposed striker in the back. I've put a hole in several t-shirts while sitting down. As I'm sure ya'll have seen from stock photos, they've done a great job with detailing. I like how the back of the slide is sloped rather than flat.
Range Time
I went to the range and as luck would have it, they had a Glock Model 36 for rent. I've been comparing the XD-S and G36 for my next carry pistol. The G36 is on the left in both photos.
Sorry about the crappy second photo. The lighting and the gunsmoke haze didn't exactly help. The G36s barrel is about half an inch longer. The difference in weight between the two was so close, but the G36s slightly longer barrel gave the XD-S the edge on balance/weight distribution. I was shooting at 5 meters (I was doing an initial test, not an action movie) and I was able to get tighter groups with the XD-S over the G36, but not by much. My father-in-law told me that when he first bought the XD-S he had problems chambering rounds, but firing it helped. I guessed the feed ramp just needed some smoothing out when it was brand new, but I personally had no issues. The G36's grip was perfect for me, but if I buy that, I'd put a Hogue Hand-all slip on grip like I have on my G19. The XD-S has a grip safety, so that's not a possibility. The XD-S has the plastic detailing on the grip, and I found that the detailing on the back strap would dig into the palm of my hand some. This might have been solved by the slimmer back strap, but I didn't have the option to swap out. If you have a larger hand, the G36 is going to be better for you simply because the XD-S will be impossible to hold. The G36 magazine has a small lip to accommodate a little finger. Like my full size Glock and XD, the Glock wins in terms of slide smoothness and chambering, but the XD-S was much better than my XD-M. Also, the short barrel on the XD-S required locking the slide to the rear before chambering a round; I misfed probably 50% of the time trying to pull and release, even though I made sure to draw it all the way back and not ride it forward. Both pistols will fire a chambered round with no magazine in the weapon, if anyone is curious for safety's sake. I shot 50 rounds through each pistol and had zero malfunction or misfeed of any type. I fired several Speer 200gr.+P JHP rounds...whew. That was a little rough compared to the 230 gr FMJs, but if it was life or death, you'd never notice.
I'm going to buy one of the two, so which would I choose? I don't know yet. They were so closely aligned in performance and size, I just don't know. The XD-S is clearly a better looking gun. It might come down to price. I will have to shoot them both again and think about it some more. The G36 definitely gets a point for being 6+1 versus the XD-S's 5+1.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Torontogosh
Well-Known Fanatic
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I have a G36, and for me, it required aftermarket replacements for the magazine floor. The stock mag floor would pinch me and it was just awful. If that wasn't enough, it had a 2-4% failure rate, so I shipped it back to Glock and they replaced damn near everything (including putting the factory magazine bottoms back on). After all that, I have grown to like the 36 a bunch, but if the XD-S has less out of the box drama, then I would certainly be swayed.
11B3XCIB
Well-Known Fanatic
So you're saying you had problems with the factory magazines, rather than problems with the pistol itself?
My father in law said he experienced difficulty with chambering rounds when the XD-S was fresh out of the box. From what I understood, he had some problems up front with hollow points and was trying to pull and release the slide, rather than lock the slide to the rear, insert mag, depress slide release. Once he swapped to FMJs and locking the slide to the rear, then he had no problems. Once the XD-S went through a few mags, he was able to load all types of ammo. I felt it had some burring or even some superficial problem with the feed ramp that worked itself out. When I shot the XD-S, I had zero problems feeding hollow points or FMJs, except 2 failure-to-feeds that I caused myself experimenting with the weapon.
My father in law said he experienced difficulty with chambering rounds when the XD-S was fresh out of the box. From what I understood, he had some problems up front with hollow points and was trying to pull and release the slide, rather than lock the slide to the rear, insert mag, depress slide release. Once he swapped to FMJs and locking the slide to the rear, then he had no problems. Once the XD-S went through a few mags, he was able to load all types of ammo. I felt it had some burring or even some superficial problem with the feed ramp that worked itself out. When I shot the XD-S, I had zero problems feeding hollow points or FMJs, except 2 failure-to-feeds that I caused myself experimenting with the weapon.
Parhams0508
Well-Known Fanatic
I really hope they make this gun in other calibers.
Torontogosh
Well-Known Fanatic
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2011
- Messages
- 115
I think both. The magazine issue was just a painful pinching, but the gun would malfunction regardless of modified mags or stock mags.
11B3XCIB
Well-Known Fanatic
Torontogosh said:
Can you describe the pinching for me a little better? I'm having trouble picturing it. The only pinch point I can think of is between the magazine and the mag well/pistol grip...but I have never been pinched by a pistol there.
What type of ammo were you using?
11B3XCIB said:Alright, I borrowed my father-in-law's XD-S for a few hours of testing and comparison. Here are some (cell phone) photos of my XD vs the XD-S. My XD .45 ACP has a 4" barrel with the compact, 10 round capacity grip.
Initial Impressions
The XD-S was much more compact than I expected from the pictures on Springfield's website. Unfortunately, I didn't have the other back straps for the grip, because I would have preferred to have the next size down from the biggest one. It was very light and thin. I like the fact that it doesn't have the exposed striker in the back. I've put a hole in several t-shirts while sitting down. As I'm sure ya'll have seen from stock photos, they've done a great job with detailing. I like how the back of the slide is sloped rather than flat.
Range Time
I went to the range and as luck would have it, they had a Glock Model 36 for rent. I've been comparing the XD-S and G36 for my next carry pistol. The G36 is on the left in both photos.
Sorry about the crappy second photo. The lighting and the gunsmoke haze didn't exactly help. The G36s barrel is about half an inch longer. The difference in weight between the two was so close, but the G36s slightly longer barrel gave the XD-S the edge on balance/weight distribution. I was shooting at 5 meters (I was doing an initial test, not an action movie) and I was able to get tighter groups with the XD-S over the G36, but not by much. My father-in-law told me that when he first bought the XD-S he had problems chambering rounds, but firing it helped. I guessed the feed ramp just needed some smoothing out when it was brand new, but I personally had no issues. The G36's grip was perfect for me, but if I buy that, I'd put a Hogue Hand-all slip on grip like I have on my G19. The XD-S has a grip safety, so that's not a possibility. The XD-S has the plastic detailing on the grip, and I found that the detailing on the back strap would dig into the palm of my hand some. This might have been solved by the slimmer back strap, but I didn't have the option to swap out. If you have a larger hand, the G36 is going to be better for you simply because the XD-S will be impossible to hold. The G36 magazine has a small lip to accommodate a little finger. Like my full size Glock and XD, the Glock wins in terms of slide smoothness and chambering, but the XD-S was much better than my XD-M. Also, the short barrel on the XD-S required locking the slide to the rear before chambering a round; I misfed probably 50% of the time trying to pull and release, even though I made sure to draw it all the way back and not ride it forward. Both pistols will fire a chambered round with no magazine in the weapon, if anyone is curious for safety's sake. I shot 50 rounds through each pistol and had zero malfunction or misfeed of any type. I fired several Speer 200gr.+P JHP rounds...whew. That was a little rough compared to the 230 gr FMJs, but if it was life or death, you'd never notice.
I'm going to buy one of the two, so which would I choose? I don't know yet. They were so closely aligned in performance and size, I just don't know. The XD-S is clearly a better looking gun. It might come down to price. I will have to shoot them both again and think about it some more. The G36 definitely gets a point for being 6+1 versus the XD-S's 5+1.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Life or death situation. I'm was infantry and was in a life or death situation more than i count on both my hands and just so you know the higher the adrenaline the worse your shooting is. You can tell a difference of anything you shoot if you noticed you didn't hit where you were aiming. I don't care how much you are a range in a dangerous situation all that training is useless without you being able to control yourself. Control your breathing and you will be fine
fordnut
Well-Known Fanatic
Great Write-up...Thanks for all the time it took to do this one...
I have never been much of a Springfield fan...(Lost money on a couple of Springfields) so I don't look at them much..I think I need to go look at an XD-S..
Steve
I have never been much of a Springfield fan...(Lost money on a couple of Springfields) so I don't look at them much..I think I need to go look at an XD-S..
Steve
Rosea Carpa
Well-Known Fanatic
I have had my XDS for a while now and put a few hundred rounds through it without a problem!! I like it better than my Walther PPS and my girlfriend can actually shoot the XDS but couldn't fire the PPS without having a F2F on almost every shot. I know some guys have had diff issues with them but knock on wood i haven't and mine is a early model with a xs504 serial number.
