Just a range report I wrote up on the XD .45 Service a few weeks ago, thought maybe some Hide members would be interested.
Well, as usual here in northern NY it was nice all week and the weather turned to shit for the weekend. It was a balmy 44 degrees, windy as hell, and pissing rain today when I packed the Jeep and left for the range with the XD and 1,100 rds of .45 ammo. I wanted to get some pictures and video at the range, but Carrie looked out the window at the beautiful north country weather and told me I was on my own today.
Anyway, I took 900 rds of 230gr cast LRN ammo loaded with 8.0gr of AA #5 (pretty mild), 100rds of cast 230gr TC loaded with 7.0 gr of Unique (pretty hot), 50rds of 230gr Hornaday XTP loaded to +P pressures, and 50rds of 185 gr Sierra JHPs loaded to +P+ pressures. ( I'm not going to post the load data I used because it is far in excess of published maximums. I worked up to these in 1/10gr increments with an RCBS Chargemaster electronic powder trickler/sclae combo until I saw signs of excess pressure and then backed off 2/10 gr. The velocity, energy, and recoil of these two loads are all quite subsantial. )
Anyway, I did this initial break in as the pistol came from SA, ie: I took it out of the factory hard case with the two mags it came with plus a 3rd spare I bought for it and took it to the range. It was not cleaned, lubed, or fucked around with in any way.
The pistol is dead nuts accurate. No, it's not as accurate as my EMP or my custom 1911, but it is damn close. It IS definitely more accurate than my M&P or my G30. At 7 yards double taps were tight and mozambique drills were effortless on B27s. Moving out to 25 yards it would easily shoot the X ring out of the B27 off hand at a rapid, but controlled rate of fire. At the 50 yard line off hand slow fire I could only hold the 9 ring on the B27.
The trigger. I was pleasantly surprised. It looks a lot like a Glock trigger and it was one of the things I really hated about my G30, that spongy, creepy, nasty trigger. That's what I was expecting on the XD. What I got wasn't too bad. Again, it's not a 1911 trigger, but it had a fairly crisp break at just under 5lbs without too much over travel, a nice positive reset, and the trigger itself did not tear the shit out of my finger pad.
The rest of the controls are large enough and well positioned. The slide stop is directly above your right thumb, has a large surface area, and was easily operated. The mag release was not quite as good. I found it easier to operate with my trigger finger than with my thumb. If I used my thumb I had to shift the pistol slightly in my hand to fully depress the release ( and I have big ass, ogre size hands). Using my trigger finger it was easier to maintain a shooting grip on the pistol during the course of the reload. YMMV.
One of the things I was VERY happy to see was the degree of support the brass has in this chamber. No guppy bellies in your brass here.
The loaded chamber indicator on top of the slide is nice. You can check that the pistol is ready to fire visually or by running you finger over the top of the slide. One of those things that isn't really necessary but is nice to have.
The grip was pretty comfortable for a tupperware pistol and it pointed very naturally. Sort of, kind of, feels like a really fat 1911 with an arched main spring housing. Sort of. At any rate, I liked it. A lot.
Reliability. I could not make this pistol malfunction and I tried. A lot actually. I was the only swinging richard at the range today so I held the XD like a little sissy ass limp wristed fairy bitch, like I was scared to death it was gonna bite me or something. (no fucking way I'd have done this if other dudes had been present ) I held the pistol with just my thumb and middle finger and tapped the trigger. ( I fully expected the thing to jam, like most plastic guns would) Fucking thing burned through three magazines of +P+ 185gr ammo being held like that. I could not believe it. So I did it again with 3 mags of target loads with the same results. I held the thing sideways, upside down, limp wristed, etc, etc.... not one single malfunction of any kind in 1,100 rounds right out of the box.
BTW, did I mention that my right thumb is damn near paralyzed?
OK, so I'll shut the fuck up and make with the pics of the aftermath now. I need to go get an ice pack for my thumb anyway.
Well, as usual here in northern NY it was nice all week and the weather turned to shit for the weekend. It was a balmy 44 degrees, windy as hell, and pissing rain today when I packed the Jeep and left for the range with the XD and 1,100 rds of .45 ammo. I wanted to get some pictures and video at the range, but Carrie looked out the window at the beautiful north country weather and told me I was on my own today.
Anyway, I took 900 rds of 230gr cast LRN ammo loaded with 8.0gr of AA #5 (pretty mild), 100rds of cast 230gr TC loaded with 7.0 gr of Unique (pretty hot), 50rds of 230gr Hornaday XTP loaded to +P pressures, and 50rds of 185 gr Sierra JHPs loaded to +P+ pressures. ( I'm not going to post the load data I used because it is far in excess of published maximums. I worked up to these in 1/10gr increments with an RCBS Chargemaster electronic powder trickler/sclae combo until I saw signs of excess pressure and then backed off 2/10 gr. The velocity, energy, and recoil of these two loads are all quite subsantial. )
Anyway, I did this initial break in as the pistol came from SA, ie: I took it out of the factory hard case with the two mags it came with plus a 3rd spare I bought for it and took it to the range. It was not cleaned, lubed, or fucked around with in any way.
The pistol is dead nuts accurate. No, it's not as accurate as my EMP or my custom 1911, but it is damn close. It IS definitely more accurate than my M&P or my G30. At 7 yards double taps were tight and mozambique drills were effortless on B27s. Moving out to 25 yards it would easily shoot the X ring out of the B27 off hand at a rapid, but controlled rate of fire. At the 50 yard line off hand slow fire I could only hold the 9 ring on the B27.
The trigger. I was pleasantly surprised. It looks a lot like a Glock trigger and it was one of the things I really hated about my G30, that spongy, creepy, nasty trigger. That's what I was expecting on the XD. What I got wasn't too bad. Again, it's not a 1911 trigger, but it had a fairly crisp break at just under 5lbs without too much over travel, a nice positive reset, and the trigger itself did not tear the shit out of my finger pad.
The rest of the controls are large enough and well positioned. The slide stop is directly above your right thumb, has a large surface area, and was easily operated. The mag release was not quite as good. I found it easier to operate with my trigger finger than with my thumb. If I used my thumb I had to shift the pistol slightly in my hand to fully depress the release ( and I have big ass, ogre size hands). Using my trigger finger it was easier to maintain a shooting grip on the pistol during the course of the reload. YMMV.
One of the things I was VERY happy to see was the degree of support the brass has in this chamber. No guppy bellies in your brass here.
The loaded chamber indicator on top of the slide is nice. You can check that the pistol is ready to fire visually or by running you finger over the top of the slide. One of those things that isn't really necessary but is nice to have.
The grip was pretty comfortable for a tupperware pistol and it pointed very naturally. Sort of, kind of, feels like a really fat 1911 with an arched main spring housing. Sort of. At any rate, I liked it. A lot.
Reliability. I could not make this pistol malfunction and I tried. A lot actually. I was the only swinging richard at the range today so I held the XD like a little sissy ass limp wristed fairy bitch, like I was scared to death it was gonna bite me or something. (no fucking way I'd have done this if other dudes had been present ) I held the pistol with just my thumb and middle finger and tapped the trigger. ( I fully expected the thing to jam, like most plastic guns would) Fucking thing burned through three magazines of +P+ 185gr ammo being held like that. I could not believe it. So I did it again with 3 mags of target loads with the same results. I held the thing sideways, upside down, limp wristed, etc, etc.... not one single malfunction of any kind in 1,100 rounds right out of the box.
BTW, did I mention that my right thumb is damn near paralyzed?
OK, so I'll shut the fuck up and make with the pics of the aftermath now. I need to go get an ice pack for my thumb anyway.
