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XD/XDM Reliability

11848 Views 11 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  threetango
3
Although a small test good results I must say.

Quality – Springfield XD and Smith & Wesson M & P

By Yankee Gun Nuts
XDM and M&P

Next up – tracking the reliability of Springfield Armory’s XD/XDM family of pistols, and the Smith & Wesson Military & Police pistols. Both are designed to compete with Glock, and like the Glock they are both available in full-size, compact and subcompact versions.

Same method as before: every review in Gun Tests magazine back to 1996. A gun would be judged as “broken” if it stopped working, shed parts, or physically disintegrated in some way. A gun would be “unreliable” if it had failures to fire, feed, extract or eject that were not attributable to a documented problem with the ammunition. An obviously defective part like a single bad magazine would not render a gun “unreliable” if the manufacturer’s regular magazines worked when the bad magazine was replaced like-for-like.
Since these are relatively new designs, there is a smaller sample size of reviews to draw upon:
Test Results

The Springfield Armory XDM is made in Croatia. It was originally produced by I. M. Metal, and brought to market in 1999 as the HS2000 by Intrac. Springfield worked with Intrac for the U.S. rights and renamed it the XD. The XD was a success, and Springfield upgraded the XD to the XDM by modifying the grip angle, texture and slide serrations. Robb Allen is a fan of the design.
Smith & Wesson, seeing the success of Glock, tried to break into the market with their Sigma pistols in 1994, which never really took off. They then tried to adapt the Walther P99 pistols to the American market as the SW99 in 2000, but they also were not runaway hits. So they developed the Military & Police pistols and seem to have achieved some level of success with them.
Notes

There was some buzz a while ago about the subcompact M&P models ejecting their magazines when the guns were carried concealed, or when the gun was being fired. S&W apparently modified the design to make that less likely, and will retrofit older guns upon request. Then the L.A. Sheriff’s Department had some quality issues with the M&P and had to de-authorize the gun as a duty weapon. They have since re-authorized the weapon after S&W addressed the issues with the batch that the Sheriff’s Department received.
Once again, these are not huge sample datasets. But the XD/XDM guns have a reputation for reliability that is supported by the Gun Tests experiences with them.
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I have used my XDm 40 for 4 years without any issues using factory and handloaded rounds. I carry it or my XDs 45 every day on my small farm of 40 acres for ground hogs or coyotes and they get quite nasty. The XDs is a handfull with 230 grain Rem Golden Sabres! Also shoot 200 grain lead SWC and FP jacketed for practice. Both guns get miminal cleaning just to see if I can get a malfunction. Working on getting 5.25 XDm 45 to up my ratio on groundhogs. So impressed with the XD's that I gave my Springfield 1911 with Crimson Trace grips to my son in the Navy. I did replace the sights on the 40 with TrueGlo Trinium green fiber sights. My 67 year old eyes really like those green dots day or night.
I've had my XD SC, with a 3" barrel for some time and no problems whatsoever. No one I know with the same model has had any problems.


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I've had my XD SC, with a 3" barrel for some time and no problems whatsoever. No one I know with the same model has had any problems.


Sent from my iPhone using XD Forum
I have had my XD sc for 3 yrs. and never had a misfire or any other problem . The exception is I am 63 and the standard 3 dot sight is to dim even in day light. I would like to get the Big Dot from XS Sight systems.
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I own several XD models including 9s and a .45. I have never had a issue in several thousand rounds with a wide variety of foreign and domestic ammo.


Factory Certified XD/XDm Armorer
State Certified Firearms Trainer
NRA Pistol Instructor
Concealed Carry Instructor
Concealed Carry since '89
1 shooting
Capt USMCR (Ret)
Definitely good to hear.

So, which type birds (Helo's) did you work with ?
I have had really good luck with both my XDMs. The 3.8 9mm and the 4.5 .45acp.


The 3.8 I borrowed to a buddy to take the shooting test. He is in school to be a Fed. over 750 rds with NO issues at all !!

I have yet to have either one "jam" and we puts some serious lead down range lol
I own multiple XD's & XDm's

I've never had any problems with any of mine & I shoot mine in competition.

Shooting literally 1000's of rounds through them.

:cool:
Threetango: I flew the CH-53D.


Factory Certified XD/XDm Armorer
State Certified Firearms Trainer
NRA Pistol Instructor
Concealed Carry Instructor
Concealed Carry since '89
1 shooting
Capt USMCR (Ret)
I have an xd45c, an xd45tactical, and an xds45 and have only ever had a problem with extraction with 200g lswcs(a known and expected problem.) Other than that, the post recall trigger is horrible on the xds, but the other two have no problem making 300rd practice sessions with zero malfunctions.
I have around 15,000 rounds of "minor" power competition loads through my 5.25 XDm in .40 and it shows no sign of wearing out any components. The PRP Ultimate trigger kit went in right after I bought it, along with the solid guide rod for the recoil spring and the extended magazine release, since it's used exclusively for IDPA with an occasional USPSA match just for fun. I can't recommend the 9mm or .45 as highly for competition as they have not proved to be as useful, though they are most likely equally reliable. You would have to seriously abuse any of the XD's to ever "wear" one out.
Sounds good to me.
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