Saw my first XDs Sat. at my LGS, Nice, felt good, nice size etc... Told the owner I'd probably lay it away on Monday. Now comes the However... Went to a XD forum just to see what's being said, and regrettably there's plenty. A lot of FTF (failure to fire), going into battery probs, the striker pin having a prob and more. Not all owners have problems, but seems to be more issues than the Shield has at this point. I'm not gloating by no means. I feel bad for any gun owner who is having trouble. At this point in the game all of us must stick together, no matter what our brand loyalties. Anyone can check out what's being said, just as I did, by lurking on the XD forums. I did the same on the Shield for about a week or two, hence why I got one. For those on this forum who own a XDs, please chime in your thoughts & experience's. So for now I'm going to cool my heels, and see what the future brings on SA newest little .45

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John 3:16, Carry Everyday!

I've hold the xds and not impressed. Unlike when I hols the shield which made me a s&w believer. I see no true benefit of a xds 5 shot 45. I have heard a lot ftf w the xds.

Only problems w the.shield is the 40 sweet and magazine drop. Broke my heart when I got rid of mine due to it. It handed the 40 nice and accurate. When the bugs get fixed ill get a new one. For now my 9mm shield is my edc.

That's unfortunate, I'm sure Springfield will eventually work the bugs out. Just another reason to stay away from a brand new design, regardless of the manufacturer. I think that little 5+1 .45 will have plenty of demand, what more could you ask for in a pocket pistol?

I have a shield 9 and a 40. Like the 40 better than the 9. Also have the xds. I find that the xds is particularly sensitive to limp wristing and I wonder if that isn't the real problem that people are having. The only problem I had was failure to return to battery but I noticed it each time and corrected before I fired. It didn't happen often but I know I let the gun control me each time it did. I'm working on it and am having an instructor watch the next time I go to the range to observe and advise. Having said that, it is quite accurate and kind of fun to shoot but I do love my shield and can't imagine it being replaced by the xds at this point. The xds seems to require more oil than the shield. The shield just works. Don't have to think about it nearly as much.

I've had several XD and XDm pistols, but not the XDs. I have held it at a gun shop a couple of times, and each time I just didn't find it comfortable...which I can't imagine would improve with recoil.

Other than a 1911, I've never found a pistol as comfortable and that I like as much as I do my Shield. I recently sold all my other polymers, and now all I have are 1911s and my Shield.

Not to mention that each and every pistol I own is made in America...can't beat that with a stick!

I have an XDs and am very satisfied with it. Still waiting on my 9mm Shield though.

I am a member of XDTalk and have read a lot of the same problems as you have. I don't doubt that there were a few specific functional issues, especially early on. However, I am convinced that Springfield is correcting these issues. If you spend a good bit of time on XDTalk you will see that there are actually more folks pleased with their XDs, compared to those with issues. Just like anything else there are going to be far more issues posted than there are good experiences. This usually leads to a false impression that there are more problem guns that good ones.

Here are some of my impressions of the XDs...

• Very manageable recoil for a sub-compact .45ACP! Noticeably better than my G36 or even the G30.
• Nice trigger break and re-set. Very similar to Glocks!
• Excellent concealability! I can carry it in the front pocket of my cargo shorts with minimal printing, but will be IWB carrying most of the time.
• No problem with grip using the 5-round magazine. Very comfortable. I have average to large hands (XL gloves). Looking for a 7-round magazine for range and back-up.
• I shot a little low and to the left at first. Concentration on sight location, and a firm/steady trigger pull brought it back on center.
• Through 200 rounds I had no issues feeding, firing, or ejecting.

Very happy with my XDs! It's a keeper!!

Here are a couple pics I just took...

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Mark

I have a friend with a new XDs and got a chance to shoot it. First off the little pistol feels great in hand and has a nice trigger. We put a good 200+ rounds through it and it functioned flawlessly, it was also very accurate. I was so impressed after this range session that I ordered one from my LGS. I opted for one with the stainless slide and look forward to receiving it as I think it's a great pistol for concealed carry. I would not be surprised to see S&W follow with a 45 acp version of the Shield down the road. I think that anyone who shoots the XDs will be as impressed as I was.

I’m a huge fan of the .45ACP and probably own more than my rightful share of .45 S&W’s and Colts. After seeing the XDS at the last Shot Show I knew I had to have one and last week it arrived. To date I have put six hundred rounds of hand loads through it: 230gr. fmj, 230gr. cast lead and 200gr. jhp on top of both A#5 and Universal from moderate to heavy loads without a hiccup and not one ftf. I have yet to fire factory ammo in it so I can’t comment on how factory loads perform in this gun.

The magazines are quality stainless although the mag springs are heavy and it takes some force to get that fifth round seated.

Out of the box, this XDS preformed remarkably well. The gun was tight and the feed ramp looked as though it had been professionally polished. The trigger pull is nice and easy and trigger reset is comparable to the M&P. Accuracy is above average for a small gun in this caliber and recoil is less than I expected. I was hitting steel plates at 25 and 50 yards. As with all gun models, both new and established, there will always be some that don’t perform a well as others.

In my opinion the XDS is a great concealed carry gun, small, lightweight and with a big payload. It’s especially nice for those of us, like myself, who are partial to the .45ACP cartridge.

My two cents-

I've owned a XD40 full size and liked it well enough. I liked the idea of the chambered round indicator and cocked striker indicator. Heck, it even got me through the police academy. However, the slide would lock back periodically for no reason at all. I wasn't limp wristing it or anything. Just about half way through the mag, she'd lock back. It did provide some good malfunction clearing practice, but not ideal in a "every moment counts" scenario. I just recently sold my XD and got a M&P 9c for CCW purposes. Plus, I carry the full size M&P40 for duty, so no muscle memory issues that comes with switching between platforms. Still don't know what the problem was with the XD, but not my problem anymore....

my first post and it's Re:a XD mine is a 45 from 08 as it was to be my bedside it had a light/laser from day 1 ammo was still cheap then.I had 3 range visits @500rds each 6mags I had ZERO stoppages and none since either as a bedside weapon the chamber/striker nubs allow for ready check in the dark.Thats what kept my Glock 1st gen 23 in my car.Also I got it for under 400 bucks on sale great pistol better value

I have 300 rounds through my XDS. No issues at all. I purposely held out for one over the Shield because I wanted a 45. Yup, it does have some recoil. But what do you expect from a lightweight single stack 45ACP?

It's extremely accurate. Comes with two 5 round mags, two different backstraps and two different color fiber optic replacement tubes. Same size as the Shield too.

Picked up two 7 round mags for it today and shot it. Much easier with extended mags.

Over all a great gun. A 9 and 40 are coming later this year I hear. We'll see.

Thanks for the reply's guys. I'm still going to wait a bit as I'd like to spend some more money on the Shield, better holster, sights etc... But I'll still keep one in mind, my HS2000 wouldn't mind having a cousin.

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John 3:16, Carry Everyday!

I picked one up a few weeks ago to replace my 4516. I love it! No issues of any sort.