Wow - an overwheming response on the XD. I will certainly take the advice of trying them both at Bill's. From what I've read and researched, the XD is taking the lead, especially with the lower cost. Not to take anything away from the Glock 21 (which I've shot a Glock 30), but I'm starting to favor the XD.

ALL of your comments and suggestions are appreciated - THANK YOU ALL!!

My XD-45 Service (4"Barrel) is my carry. A bit of advice, my 2 Lincolns,
buy 2 extra mags, it's fun to blast away at the range, but I spend more time reloading mags than shooting. I also don't care for the supplied mag holder, too each his own, the Blackhawk double stack mag holder works great for me as well as the CQC serpa holster from Blackhawk.
The 4" does have a very stiff spring on the guide rod, but as said before, go to Bills and try them both.
When I bought mine I was looking at 2 guns, a Sig and an XD, the deciding factor for me was fit.........the XD just felt right in my hand. One more thing, with 14 rounds 230 gr JHP it is a tad heavy, but very well balanced.
Hope this helped

Don't forget about the weird spring noise after the penultimate shot.

I too have been thinking of getting the XD-45. The only thing that bothers me is that you can't modify or work on them yourself like the Glocks. You have to send it in for any repairs direct to Spingfield. They don't seem to believe in letting anyone have access to the parts?

If someone has found a way to get parts for the XD line please let me know. I don't like the idea of having to send a gun into the manufacturer and waiting what seems like forever to get it back. I want a XD, and that is the only thing holding me back.

Jeff C.

I really, really like the XD-45

The Glock 21 beats it in just one area, in my opinion - reliability. Unlike a Glock, the XD will stop working if you don't maintain it.

Everyone here cleans their guns, so I'm sure it isn't an issue

I think it's only a matter of time before many of the small XD parts will be available from other manufacturers. The gun has become so popular that other companies will jump in. As of now you can get 4 and 5 inch barrels, recoil spring guide rods and springs for the tactical models. 3 inch barrels are coming soon. I have read on the XD Forum that in many cases Springfield will now send you replacement springs (like trigger return and 2 piece guide rod) instead of insisting you return the gun.

I'll second all that -- except that I like the included mag carrier. I'm not fond of the included Fobus holster -- but the SERPA works, well, like a SERPA -- very nice.

I'm also fond of the grip safety; I think of grip safeties as one of those "breakeven or win" things.

I stopped cleaning my 3" XD-9 about 15k rounds ago. After cleaning it, she would have problems for several hundred rounds. Now she works fine. My 5" XD-9 worked so well in IDPA that I decided to add it to the pistols that I carry. Just picked up a 5" XD-45 to compete with. The only problem I have had with it so far (only about 200 rounds) is I am not used to the larger grip compared to the 9mm, and mag changes were... slow.

And they all work in the same BlackHawk QCQ.

As for parts, ya that is a problem. I do know that the springs for the 5" 9mm are 1911 springs. Have not had time to look at the 45 closly.

I stopped by Cabela's yesterday to pick-up a Kinetic Bullet Puller and decided to check out the Glock 21, XD45 4", and XD45 5". After picking up and holding the XD45 first and then the Glock, I instantly fell in love with the XD45. The grip, the feel, the safety features, the balanced weight, the price, everything about it felt much better in my hands then the Glock did. I have not shot them side by side yet, but I plan on doing that at Bill's next week. Unless there's an overwhelming defference between the two, I believe I'll be owning a new XD 45. Now I just need to settle on the 4" or 5".

On the size of the pistol, what I have found to be the biggest problem for concealing is not the length of the bbl but of the height, i.e. how long the grip is.

The 4" will have a shorter grip then the 5". But Springfield is releasing the the XD .45 compact, which appears to have a shorter grip.

The 4" compact is 5.1" tall
5" Compact is 5.75" tall
And they don't put the numbers on their web site about how tall the normal ones are.

We got the XD-45 Compacts in on Friday and they feel nice in the hand.. with or without the extension magazine.

Hey, that is good to hear. My carry gun is an XD45 Tactical. With a coat or long jacket OWB works fine. With IWB carry, barrel length is not an issue with the proper trousers. However the grip is just long enough that it definitely prints on any shirt or cover garment that pulls tight now and then. When I first started carrying I just knew everyone could see it.
No-one ever has, or ever mentioned it. That said, just a bit of length off the grip will help a lot.

The reason is of course that nobody really notices and even if they do they are too polite to mention it. That little square outline could be the edge of a lot of modern electronics and "gun" seldom crosses most peoples minds.

One man does custom work on GLOCK/XD/M&P pistols...
http://www.bowietacticalconcepts.com/

I like his slimmed down GLOCK 21, as well as the GLOCK 19 with a GLOCK 26 length grip/magazine conversion...

I would just say that had S&W put a grip safety on the MP line they just brought out, it would be the clear winner.

I have fired all three and the M&P is the best in the had to me so far, shoots like a dream, nice clean break in the SA trigger. BUt I have to say, I never feel good about pushing a non safety equipped weapon into a holster without a safety.