Just made it to the range with two friends who wanted to try my new XDs. Friend number one brought his Shield 40 and friend two brought his M&P40c with his 357 Sig barrel installed. Between the three of us we put 300 rounds through the XDs. First off I have to report that the XDs was 100% reliable with everything we shot in it including some old left over ammo. The pistol shot perfectly to the POA with 230 grn ammo at 7,10 amd 15 yards. Here a list of the ammo we tried.
50 rnds Federal 230 grn FMJ
50 rnds Federal 230 grn FMJ Match
50 rnds Winchester 230 grn FMJ GI Ball
50 rnds Federal 230 grn HST
20 rnds Speer 200 grn JHP (this was the old flying ashtray load)
20 rnds Winchester 230 JHP Black Talon (old and expensive)
20 rnds Winchester 230 JHP Silvertip (old stuff)
40 rnds of assorted grab bag stuff from partial boxes we all had laying around.
The XDs was cleaned and lubricated the night before as I don't like shooting any pistol straight out of the box as they come from the factory.
Reliability...... Perfect, even with some 30 year old ammunition. It runs beautifully just like our M&Ps.
Accuracy....... We shot at combat distances starting out at 7 to 15 yards. At 7 yards we all shot one big ragged hole and we all really liked the sights on this pistol. The front fiber optic in daylight is so easy to pick up Ray Charles could see it.
Trigger........ The trigger was better than previous XDs I've shot with a very short reset. The pull I would estimate was between 5 & 6 pounds and crisp after a short takeup. The reset is similar to the Shields and definately better than the M&P compacts.
Grip........ The grip is aggressively checkered but it is not sharp. I did most of the shooting at about 175 rounds and the palm of my hand was a little red. But surprisingly the recoil is more of a shove than a snap. I thought it would be a beast, but it wasn't. All three of us were pleasantly surprised with the recoil, followup shots were easy. The recoil was obviously heavier than my Shield 9 but not as sharp as my friends Shield 40. The M&P 357c, now that was the least comfortable pistol we shot, that one really smacks you and is not something you'd want to shoot all afternoon. Any 45 this size is going to have a substantial recoil but again this one was more of a push back than a sharp snap like the 357 Sig. No +P loads were tried as we didn't want to punish ourselved and really I don't think they are necessary in a 45 ACP. I really like the Federal HST load and that will be used for carry.
Summary...... For anyone looking for a CCW in 45 ACP I recommend giving the XDs a look. All three of us liked the pistol and all were impressed with how accurate it was. This initial outing was mainly to see if the gun would be reliable and to get the feel of it. My next range session I'll settle down and really check the accuracy and do some bullet expansion tests. I demand 100% reliability in any handgun I'm considering carrying. Those old Speer flying ashtrays wouldn't feed through a lot of semi autos, especially small ones, but this XDs ate them and everything else. Cleaning the pistol was aided by the stainless steel slide, a wet toothbrush with Hoppes No 9 and everything wiped off easily. When you have this pistol apart the build quality is apparent with good attention to detail.
So there you have it. I found this pistol to be totally reliable, very accurate and surprisingly comfortable to shoot. I like the idea of a 45 in a package the same size as my Shield. I really like this pistol.