Posted: 3/5/2013 7:03:43 AM EDT
XD pistols are somewhat controversial in the gun community; some love them while others feel they're not quite up to par with the other polymer wonders on the market today. I'll try to take that on one pro and con at a time as well as cover the specifics to the gun that is the subject of the review here, the XD40 .... Pros: -Price. Before the current madness many base model XD pistols could be had for under $400 -Accurate. I've owned many XD(s) over the years and they're as accurate as any of their competitors in my experience -Easy to maintain -Easy to field strip -Good amount of aftermarket support -9+1 or 12+1 capacity -Springfield Armory has excellent customer service -Melonite finish -Requires very little cleaning/lubrication to run reliably -Fully supported feed ramp -Loaded chamber indicator for ease of low light chamber checks -Has an accessory rail for lights/lasers/combo units -Trigger has a positive reset Cons: -Reliability. As stated earlier, I've had several XD(s) and 2 needed to go back to SA for reliability issues. This one has been flawless however and I'm sure many will come along reporting theirs run 100%; I'm just reporting my experience here. -Detail stripping is more work than many competitors and relies heavily on roll pins. The striker retainer pin seems to have an unusually high failure rate which will deadline the gun if it fails when you lease want it to. -The sights are machine pressed into the slide so if you want to replace them it's harder than most pistols. Do-able for sure but easy it is not. -The bore axis is high for a striker fired gun -Relatively heavy. The 40 SC comes in at 26oz unloaded vs 20oz for a G27 Here's a video with a little shooting, disassembly/assembly of the pistol, and a discussion of the pros and cons of the pistol. 
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| Nice review. Mine has somewhere over 1K rounds through it, without a single malfunction. I bought the pistol because I wanted a .40 for cc (obviously) and it fit my hand perfectly. It's one of my favorite pistols to shoot, but hasn't quite lived up to my hopes as a carry weapon. As mentioned, it is rather heavy, but my bigger issue is with the full, double stack thickness. I personally find it a bit too bulky to wear on my hip. I've recently bought an M&P Shield .40 that is much more deserving of the name "subcompact". Still, when I wear a coat, the XD goes in the shoulder rig. I like having all of those big bullets already in the gun. |
| Wow- I've never heard anyone that stated reliability concerns for the XD line. When I got into IDPA- all I ran was my XD45 for thousands of rounds. I lost track of even trying to keep up with how many I had shot. I witnessed many 1911's fail during stages and even one Glock fail ( modified by owner) Being in manufacturing myself I know first hand that anything man made can be out of spec or just bad. Thanks for the review and I'll be keeping an eye out for issues on the XD line that I might not have been aware of. |