Joined
·
1,349 Posts
Proper care and maintenance of your Springfield XD is something that every owner and user should know like the back of your hand. Luckily, the gun has a very basic take down process. However, there are a couple of tricks to keep in mind.
View attachment 1801
Why learn to field strip?
Every time you fire your XD, carbon is created from burnt propellant and lead shavings from the bullet itself. These need to be removed after firing to ensure the weapon is clean and functional. Even if you never fire the gun, keeping it loaded, especially with a round in the chamber can lead o brass corrosion in the barrel and slide.
Also, should you have a serious jam, squib load, or misfire that an emergency action drill does not clear; you may need to take your XD down in the field to clear the malfunction. This isn't a total disassembly, just a break down to the basic subcomponents.
The process
First, make sure the weapon is completely unloaded. This means drop the magazine to remove the source of ammunition. Once you have the mag away (it's best to put it in another room entirely), cycle the gun one, two, three times. How many times was that?
Three!
You do this so that you absolutely ensure that the gun is unloaded. You see, if you forgot to remove the magazine (these things happen) when you cycle that slide three times and still see bullets coming out, you should be able to figure out what step you forgot here. Once you have racked the slide three times and no longer have any brass or ammo visible in your weapon or on your workspace, you are ready to proceed.
View attachment 1800
Now lock the slide back to open the action of the gun. To do this, pull the slide all the way back then push up the slide stop lever to keep it locked back. Now physically look inside the open breech for any ammo. Place your index finger in the breech to feel for any ammo that you can't see. Once you are completely sure you have an unloaded gun, look away then look back and check it a final time. You'll see why we are so careful in a minute.
View attachment 1799
Now flip the take down lever (it's the one on the front of the weapon frame) strait up some 90-degrees like the flag on a mailbox. This detaches the slide from the frame. Now, depress the slide stop to release the tension from the slide. You will notice the slide ratchet forward. To remove it the rest of the way from the frame, depress the rear grip beavertail safety and press the trigger down all the way. This will allow you to slide the top half of the pistol off the rest of the way. The XD is one of the few handguns on the market that require you to pull the trigger during the take down process.
View attachment 1798
When you do this, be sure you have the pistol pointed in a safe direction at all times. Remember to treat all guns as if they are loaded-especially if you think they aren't.
View attachment 1797
Then you remove the guiderod and barrel from the slide, clean and lubricate all metal-on metal parts, making sure just to use a small drop of lubricant to avoid creating a mass of goop in your XD, and reassemble in the same process only in reverse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJBG7Xl2Ptc
View attachment 1801
Why learn to field strip?
Every time you fire your XD, carbon is created from burnt propellant and lead shavings from the bullet itself. These need to be removed after firing to ensure the weapon is clean and functional. Even if you never fire the gun, keeping it loaded, especially with a round in the chamber can lead o brass corrosion in the barrel and slide.
Also, should you have a serious jam, squib load, or misfire that an emergency action drill does not clear; you may need to take your XD down in the field to clear the malfunction. This isn't a total disassembly, just a break down to the basic subcomponents.
The process
First, make sure the weapon is completely unloaded. This means drop the magazine to remove the source of ammunition. Once you have the mag away (it's best to put it in another room entirely), cycle the gun one, two, three times. How many times was that?
Three!
You do this so that you absolutely ensure that the gun is unloaded. You see, if you forgot to remove the magazine (these things happen) when you cycle that slide three times and still see bullets coming out, you should be able to figure out what step you forgot here. Once you have racked the slide three times and no longer have any brass or ammo visible in your weapon or on your workspace, you are ready to proceed.
View attachment 1800
Now lock the slide back to open the action of the gun. To do this, pull the slide all the way back then push up the slide stop lever to keep it locked back. Now physically look inside the open breech for any ammo. Place your index finger in the breech to feel for any ammo that you can't see. Once you are completely sure you have an unloaded gun, look away then look back and check it a final time. You'll see why we are so careful in a minute.
View attachment 1799
Now flip the take down lever (it's the one on the front of the weapon frame) strait up some 90-degrees like the flag on a mailbox. This detaches the slide from the frame. Now, depress the slide stop to release the tension from the slide. You will notice the slide ratchet forward. To remove it the rest of the way from the frame, depress the rear grip beavertail safety and press the trigger down all the way. This will allow you to slide the top half of the pistol off the rest of the way. The XD is one of the few handguns on the market that require you to pull the trigger during the take down process.
View attachment 1798
When you do this, be sure you have the pistol pointed in a safe direction at all times. Remember to treat all guns as if they are loaded-especially if you think they aren't.
View attachment 1797
Then you remove the guiderod and barrel from the slide, clean and lubricate all metal-on metal parts, making sure just to use a small drop of lubricant to avoid creating a mass of goop in your XD, and reassemble in the same process only in reverse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJBG7Xl2Ptc
