LoL... Beavis and Butthead Go Pistol Shopping
Unfortunately, that's not uncommon enough. A couple months ago I watched what appeared to be escalating toward fisticuffs over Safety Slugs with some random home defense commando swearing they were the best ammo for home defense (hey, I've been there, I bought 500ea Silver and Blue of the expensive little snake pellets back in the day of newness).
Anyway, hopefully the XDe will be available near me to rent soon. I very much want to give it a shot or two or hundred.
You will more often be attacked for what others think you believe than what you actually believe. Expect misrepresentation, misunderstanding, and projection as the modern normal default setting. ~ Quintus Curtius
I shoot bagged 25 yard groups for work, but with guns with barrels 4" or shorter, the magazine's protocol calls for 15 yard groups. Five 5-shot groups with three different bullet weights from different manufacturers. Those numbers will be in the article.
The farthest I've fired the XD-E is fifty yards, but that was on poppers, so it really doesn't count.
In my experience, the only way a modern production pistol is going to shoot "patterns" and not groups out of the box is if there is some sort of gross manufacturing defect. *shrug* Maybe your buddy's is defective.
Last edited by Tamara; 05-26-2017 at 02:32 PM. Reason: Added the qualifier "out of the box".
My test sample is running upper 2", lower 3" five-shot groups from a Matrix rest, benched on concrete at 25 yards. Worst was 3.55". I expect it's capable of sub-2.0" from a machine rest at the same distance.
Last edited by LittleLebowski; 05-27-2017 at 07:03 PM.
I picked up one from Kentucky Gun co and have trigger tested it on Lyman Guage. The double action is about 10.5 pounds, while the single is around 4 pounds, ten ounces, up to a little over 5 pounds depending on where you put the gauge.
I like the idea of a hammer for an IWB gun, and I do like the ease of manipulating the slide. I've got an injured right hand and the slide is easier to manipulate than a shield or the Sig 290rs I used to have.
The double action reach seems a little long for me (I carry a 340 pd most of the time, so I'm used to a shorter reach). For comparison's sake, my 340PD breaks at 11 pounds, with a shorter reach.
I wish that it had an ambi slide lock. The safety decocker seems a little difficult to manipulate left handed, even though it is ambidextrous. Testing both the left and right safety decocker levers with just my index finger, the right handed (left side of the gun) lever "feels" easier and crisper.
I'll differ to other more capable shooters (like Mas!) for accuracy testing, but I'll try to post my impressions as best I can.
Edited to add: I haven't shot this gun yet -- I'm guessing things will smooth out with a couple hundred rounds.
Last edited by idahojess; 07-01-2017 at 12:06 PM.
I bought one on a whim. I took it apart to see if I could polish it up/ get the trigger pull a bit lighter, dead end. The internals are actually nicely smooth and the contact points are polished at least as far as I bothered to look. The main spring looks like it is actually inside the hammer, which is unique. Anyways, on to more useful info. Trigger pull weights initially matched what idahojess reported, I'd bet they've come down a bit over the past week of screwing with it but I'm out of town and I don't have my trigger scale handy. The SA pull is a pretty smooth rolling break now, the DA is still heavy but it's smooth enough.
I've only shot it a little, maybe a hundred rounds or so. Accuracy was fine, and my initial impression after a couple bill drills from a low ready and some shooting on the move at around 7 yards was: "hey, this is actually pretty nice." The recoil with defense loads is snappy, but the sights return nice and quick with little dip. With 115g UMC it's super tame.
I need to find a holster that doesn't suck, it looks ridiculous, and it won't be supplanting my 9mm commander; but it's pretty nice, I'll be keeping it.
Tamara, I hope this doesn't come across as creepy, but I have admired your wisdom on a variety of forums since the late 90s as a professional lurker and this post is a perfect example why. At my recent annual bithday shoot, I felt real dumb as the alpha shooter in my group of friends showed me what my new to me p32 could really do at 10 yards (3 shots touching, tight 7 round group) . All this from a gun "I couldn't hit a broadside of a barn with." Even Kel-Tecs shoot tight groups. Some guns just require more from the shooter than others.
Back on topic, I think my own choice of CCW 9mm will be between the subcompact Storm or an XD-E, as I am a long DAO/ DA revolver/ TDA kinda guy for "serious work." I am nervous about newer guns, but all the XD series I have shot have been very reliable and I was able to shoot them well, by my standards.
Can't believe I'm bumping this but...I'm in need of a NPE carry gun and this one seems to fit the bill. Immediate needs: single stack, TDA, good sights. My new work attire is business casual (khakis or slacks with tucked in polo's/button downs). In the colder months I can get away with a sport coat/IWB 4 o'clock carry or standard AIWB with a sweater. In those situations I'll be carrying my PX4 CC.
However, I want something I can carry with a tucked in shirt in a Smart Carry (I know, I know, but it's the best option I've seen for my requirements). I don't wear the same color belt every day so tuckable AIWB/IWB holsters are out. I want a TDA because the gun will be in a Smart Carry and I feel the TDA gives me an extra layer of safety, especially in a holster as floppy/generic as a SC. I personally don't feel comfortable carrying a striker gun in a SC. You may be, and that's cool. I'm not so don't bother trying to convince me otherwise.
How are these holding up for people that own them? Any glaring issues I should be aware of? This won't be a high round count pistol by any means but I will train with it from the Smart Carry/my work clothes a few times a month to build/keep proficiency. There's a NIB XD-E on Armlist about an hour and a half away from me for $400. Comes with 6 mags and a POS holster that I'll junk but still...seems like a solid deal. Best prices I'm seeing online are in the $430-440 range before shipping + transfer.
Shoot more, post less...
I'm in the same boat as you, business casual with tucked-in shirt almost every week day.
I have both the XDE and a S&W 3913. Both are very enjoyable to shoot, and I like both. I would say the XDE shoots a little better, but while it's okay for carrying, and is close to invisible, the hammer spur can dig into you when sitting and be a bit uncomfortable.
The 3913 is almost identical in height, length, width and weight, and is equally as invisible, but it has a spurless hammer which I have found makes it considerably more comfortable to carry. Not quite as good a shooter as the XDE, but still quite good.
No issues with mine -- I only have about 450 rounds through it, but it's been fine with everything.
Haven't carried it -- not a lot of lefty holsters. It's sort of heavy and clunky, I'm not sure what it would be like with a smartcarry. I've got an OWB holster ordered from Mitch Rosen that I think will work well for my personal preferences.
One of the main reasons I'm liking the gun is the ability to rack the slide easily.
The safety levers aren't terribly easy to manipulate, at least for me (lefty), but I don't think it really matters if you just carry it decocked. I'm not sure I'd be confident carrying it cocked and locked in single action (safety all the way up). Of course, I know you weren't thinking about carrying it that way!