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willforu1
01-01-2013, 09:47 PM
I just picked up a Springfield XDS in .45 cal. I am a Glock aficionado but I was attracted to the slim frame and the small size. The dealer said that the felt recoil of the new XDS is very manageable. I bought the Springfield new for 565$ out the door. The gun came with two 5 round capacity single stack magazines. I purchased three Springfield 7 round magazines as well.

After firing a 100 rounds on two seperate occasions I have to agree that the recoil is manageable from such a small gun and I was fairly happy with the accuracy I was able to acheive. My buddy who competes in the IDPA matches really liked the trigger. It seems like the reset is lionger than my Glocks. The stock sites are very nice. I like the the grip safety. It is a sexy gun, feels great in my hands, and is very concealable.

Now for the problem: I am having trouble feeding the first round into the chamber. When I insert the magazine with the slide closed and pull the slide to the rear, frequently the first round does not feed properly and becomes jammed. At first I thought it was the 7 round extended magazines but then I had trouble with 5 round magazines. I am not sure if it is ammunition specific. It seems I noticed this when loading hollow points in the extended mag for carry. I took it back to the dealer and he said to load it from slide lock. He demonstrated this and it was much better. Then he had a jam while playing around with it (I think while trying to load it by inserting the mag with the slide closed). It seems when you unload the chamber manually the round is barely ejected.

So far I have fired about 100 rounds. I have field stripped it and cleaned it three times. For the first cleaning I found the gun very dirty from whatever they packed it in. The first few magazines I fired the slide would not lock to the rear when the magazine was empty. After about firing 5 magazines of ammo the slide lock began to function properly half the time. After a good cleaning the slide lock is now functioning perfectly. Can I attribute this problem to the breaking in process?

The dealer told me to shoot it and see if the problem works itself out. This is assuming the problem is due to breaking in. He said if this keeps happening he said it would be better to send it to a local gunsmith who would tune it up. He said he would work with me on the cost. If he sends it back to Springfield he would have to pay shipping one way and they probably will not do anything substantial. He said that the gunsmith working on it is really a better deal. He said yes they are stiff and you have to be forceful. But to me the magazine ought to seat correctly regardless of the position of the slide. I told the dealer that this wouldn’t happen with anyone of my four Glocks.

I was on the XD website and there seem to be a lot of problems with the Springfield XDS models. Most of the problems reported in the forum seem to be light strikes and the gun being slightly out of battery. I am not having this problem. All the strikes have been very strong and the spent brass is ejected into the next county. The one time it was out of battery I think it was a user error. Another problem for me is depressing the mag release. I broke the thumb of my stubby right hand and I have to turn the gun sideways to depress the magazine release. This is also a problem for the Gen 3 glocks I own. The Gen 4 Glock 22 and the Glock 34 are much easier to get to the mag release than the XDS.

Are there any constructive thoughts or comments? I am worried to let the dealer tune it up. Is this something that is typically needs to be done with XD’s or other non-Glocks? I have to check and see if I will violate the terms and conditions of the warranty? Could this be a break-in problem?

Langford
01-01-2013, 10:04 PM
Now for the problem: I am having trouble feeding the first round into the chamber. When I insert the magazine with the slide closed and pull the slide to the rear, frequently the first round does not feed properly and becomes jammed. At first I thought it was the 7 round extended magazines but then I had trouble with 5 round magazines. I am not sure if it is ammunition specific. It seems I noticed this when loading hollow points in the extended mag for carry. I took it back to the dealer and he said to load it from slide lock. He demonstrated this and it was much better. Then he had a jam while playing around with it (I think while trying to load it by inserting the mag with the slide closed). It seems when you unload the chamber manually the round is barely ejected.

I have noticed the exact same thing with mine while loading the first round. After a few frustrating moments at the range, I now only rack in the first round from slide lock. It didn't seem to matter if I was shooting JHP's or round nose WWB target loads, it was a constant issue.

As for ejecting a round manually, I had the same issue at first. I found if you pull back on the slide quickly, you wont have the issue. If you slowly pull it back to eject the round, it will get lodged in from time to time.

I'm not sure if the above issues are just because it's a new unbroken in pistol (300 or so down the pipe so far), but speed seems to be the issue. A slow moving slide seems to cause it to jam up while feeding, and a slow moving slide will cause it to jam up while ejecting an un-shot round.

Other than those two issues (which are easy enough to work around), I have no complaints with mine.

Musta Demoni
01-01-2013, 10:59 PM
My advice is to contact Springfield yourself directly. If they're anything like other manufacturers, they'll have you ship it directly to them (on their dime) and fix it and ship it back to you completly free of charge. Don't try to go through a local gunsmith for any service or have them be the middle man for your communications with Springfield. It isn't necessary.

Contact them tomorrow and tell them what the issue is and I'll be they'll have you send it in, fix it for you, and have it shipped back to you with $0 cost to you. Have the gun's serial number handy; they'll ask.

willforu1
01-02-2013, 12:09 AM
Musta and Langford - thank you for your comments. I will call them tomorrow and I will post any feedback that I receive from Springfield. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this problem because it is really unacceptable.

2PawsRiver
01-02-2013, 12:14 AM
We have been carrying them for about 2 years.......and I can say with almost absolute certainty that the first round will go off and I am pretty sure subsequent rounds will go off.

Lots of problems with the magazines...........and best of all....made in Croatia

G36 Shooter
01-02-2013, 09:46 AM
If all else fails buy a GLOCK 36, never a problem with mine. good luck.

JimA
01-02-2013, 11:44 AM
We have been carrying them for about 2 years.......and I can say with almost absolute certainty that the first round will go off and I am pretty sure subsequent rounds will go off.

Lots of problems with the magazines...........and best of all....made in Croatia

They only came out last spring.

detacbob
01-02-2013, 07:50 PM
We have been carrying them for about 2 years.......and I can say with almost absolute certainty that the first round will go off and I am pretty sure subsequent rounds will go off.

Lots of problems with the magazines...........and best of all....made in Croatia


What?

XDM 40 cal
01-02-2013, 09:00 PM
well i hope SA fix the issue...

All SA firearms have a lifetime warranty no matter who is the owner.

IMO i think the mag or mags are the issue.

pscipio03
01-02-2013, 10:44 PM
I agree-- Contact SA directly! Don't allow anyone to try and tell you that a brand new pistol should need gunsmithing that cost comes out of your pocket. In fact, list the dealer who told you that, please.
I shot 50 rounds through the XDs when it first came out at my LGS. I had two FTE and one stovepipe. The mags are crap, pure and simple. Which sucks, because it's a great gun (as are all SA's pistols!). Chose to not go with it, but still carry XDm 3.8 compact in both 9 and 45 as I trust them completely.
In your case, if it's not accepting the JHP, I wonder if the OAL of the JHP is causing the issue? Feed ramp burr would be a possibility. SA polishes their ramps before sending out the pistol-- take yours apart and rub your finger on the ramp to see if there's any rough spots, areas where it wasn't polished or a sharp burr. Simple Dremel will cure that.
In the end, if you continue to have that issue, sell the sucker and get yourself either an XD 3.8 or a Glock.

pscipio03
01-02-2013, 10:48 PM
They only came out last spring.
Ha!!!! Good catch.

willforu1
01-03-2013, 12:58 AM
I have been reading about the XDS. As I said before there have been many problems cited on youtube and shooting forums. Many posts indicate that the problems with the XDS may be due to user error.

As stated, my main issue is that I am having problems when loading with the slide closed. I have been reading on the XD forum and looking at a few youtube videos that claim that you cannot baby this gun. You have to rack in that first round with authority and quite a bit of force. The other issue is that this gun requires a lot of lubrication. Forum posts claim that the product rep told them that the gun requires a lot of lube and that Rem oil is not viscous enough.

I said earlier that my misfeed seemed to happen with the 7rnd capacity magazine using Winchester whitebox 230 gr JHP ammo. So today I went out and bought a few personal protection ammo brands. I gathered all 5 magazines (three 7rnd and two 5rnd). I sat in my living room and I loaded the first 7 round magazine into the XDS with the slide closed. I racked in the first round with authority and then I racked in the other 6 rounds with no issue. Next I field stripped and lubed the XDS with CLP. I repeated the same excersize with the same magazine and the same 7 rounds. My focus was to really rack in that first round with authority. I was able to do this successfully and then I racked the slide 6 more times with no issue. I repeated this excercise with all 5 magazines using the same ammo that proved problematic the other day. Each time I focused on racking that slide to the rear with as much force as possible. each time I was able to load the weapon successfully and I was able to successfully unload all the rounds in the magazine without a misfeed or jam.

My hands begain to tire. My son walked into the room and asked me what I was doing. I told him of the problem and I repeated the excercise again successfully. I tried it again and fatigue set in. My hands were slipping from all the CLP. I had a missfeed. I tried another mag and I had another missfeed. I dried my hands and loaded up another mag and I was able to successfully unload an entire mag by manually working the slide.

In short, I think that the XDS takes some technique and some brute force to operate. I think mine is a breeze to reload from slide lock but if you want to load with the slide closed (I think this is called Slingshot) you have to get a good grip on the slide and forcefully rack in that first round and make sure the meat of your hand does not get in the way of the slide etc.

I checked the feed ramp and I think it is smooth. I thought that with one of the extended mags the rounds did not seem to eject with as much force but I was able to manually unload successfully. I think my hand was a bit fatigued and the slide was slipping a little due to the CLP. I dont think this could have anything to do with the mag anyway.

This is an accurate tight little gun with tight tolerences that packs a lot of punch with manageable recoil. Someone posted on the XD forum that the XDS is not a good choice for the inexperienced shooter or people purchasing their first semi-auto handgun. I tend to agree. It is sexy and it catches the eye but it is a bit finicky and requires some technique and brute strength to operate. Read some of the other forums and and read about the XDS being out of battery and making light strikes. Some claim this is due to a poor grip and the thumb interfereing with the slide blah blah blah...I have never had a problem like this with my Glock 26, 20, 22, or 34.

I plan to take it back to the range and fire about 3 different kinds of personal protection ammo and a few different kinds of practice ammo. I will report back.

JimA
01-05-2013, 07:07 AM
On page 16 of your instruction manual it tells you how to load your XDs. It says to lock the slide back, insert a mag and depress the slide stop lever to load. Why make it difficult by jamming a loaded mag up under a closed slide? If you want to top off the mag remove it and do so.
This isn't a Glock. It is a tiny carry gun in a very large caliber. Some allowances must be made to operate it properly.
Kahrs are also loaded best from an open slide.

joepistol
01-05-2013, 09:29 AM
If all else fails..:banghead:
read the instructions..:roflmao: Joepistol..:pistols:

XDM 40 cal
01-05-2013, 10:36 AM
I have been reading about the XDS. As I said before there have been many problems cited on youtube and shooting forums. Many posts indicate that the problems with the XDS may be due to user error.

As stated, my main issue is that I am having problems when loading with the slide closed. I have been reading on the XD forum and looking at a few youtube videos that claim that you cannot baby this gun. You have to rack in that first round with authority and quite a bit of force. The other issue is that this gun requires a lot of lubrication. Forum posts claim that the product rep told them that the gun requires a lot of lube and that Rem oil is not viscous enough.

I said earlier that my misfeed seemed to happen with the 7rnd capacity magazine using Winchester whitebox 230 gr JHP ammo. So today I went out and bought a few personal protection ammo brands. I gathered all 5 magazines (three 7rnd and two 5rnd). I sat in my living room and I loaded the first 7 round magazine into the XDS with the slide closed. I racked in the first round with authority and then I racked in the other 6 rounds with no issue. Next I field stripped and lubed the XDS with CLP. I repeated the same excersize with the same magazine and the same 7 rounds. My focus was to really rack in that first round with authority. I was able to do this successfully and then I racked the slide 6 more times with no issue. I repeated this excercise with all 5 magazines using the same ammo that proved problematic the other day. Each time I focused on racking that slide to the rear with as much force as possible. each time I was able to load the weapon successfully and I was able to successfully unload all the rounds in the magazine without a misfeed or jam.

My hands begain to tire. My son walked into the room and asked me what I was doing. I told him of the problem and I repeated the excercise again successfully. I tried it again and fatigue set in. My hands were slipping from all the CLP. I had a missfeed. I tried another mag and I had another missfeed. I dried my hands and loaded up another mag and I was able to successfully unload an entire mag by manually working the slide.

In short, I think that the XDS takes some technique and some brute force to operate. I think mine is a breeze to reload from slide lock but if you want to load with the slide closed (I think this is called Slingshot) you have to get a good grip on the slide and forcefully rack in that first round and make sure the meat of your hand does not get in the way of the slide etc.

I checked the feed ramp and I think it is smooth. I thought that with one of the extended mags the rounds did not seem to eject with as much force but I was able to manually unload successfully. I think my hand was a bit fatigued and the slide was slipping a little due to the CLP. I dont think this could have anything to do with the mag anyway.

This is an accurate tight little gun with tight tolerences that packs a lot of punch with manageable recoil. Someone posted on the XD forum that the XDS is not a good choice for the inexperienced shooter or people purchasing their first semi-auto handgun. I tend to agree. It is sexy and it catches the eye but it is a bit finicky and requires some technique and brute strength to operate. Read some of the other forums and and read about the XDS being out of battery and making light strikes. Some claim this is due to a poor grip and the thumb interfereing with the slide blah blah blah...I have never had a problem like this with my Glock 26, 20, 22, or 34.

I plan to take it back to the range and fire about 3 different kinds of personal protection ammo and a few different kinds of practice ammo. I will report back.

try using royal purple as a lube on the XDs and let it run. It what i use on my Xdm and XD , well all my guns.

willforu1
01-05-2013, 11:28 AM
Jim A - thanks for your contribution. What you are referring to is actually on page 15 of the manual. But is also says (on that same page) the following:

"Note: An alternative method to load the cartridge into the chamber is to pull the slide completely to the rear and on one motion quickly release it, allowing the slide to slam forward unimpeded under its own force.”

I took this to mean that I can load the XDS with the slide closed (which I prefer to do). The good news for me is that with practice reloading in the manner in which I prefer is now a breeze. BTW - page 15 says use only "commercially manufactured ammunition. Using reloaded ammunition may void the warranty." This is just CYA. What reloader is going to listen to this?

I discovered something else: An administrative reload (inserting a mag while the gun is in your holster and a round is already in the chamber) is very difficult. I tried an administrative reload the other day and the extended mag actually fell out of my magazine well once whil I drew it from my holster. Another time the mag was not fully seated and it did not strip the round. So, an administrative load is also not a good idea. Also, reloading a new mag in the middle of a scenario caused a blister in the meat of the palm of my hand. There is quite a pinch point between the bottom of the mag well and the top of the 7 round mag x-tension.

Last night I fired off 57 rounds of PPU 230 gr FMJ Prvi Partizan ammo in mock scenarios (Serbain ammo ought to work good in a gun made in Croatia). I had one round in the middle of the mag that did not fire. I was in the middle of a scenario but I believe I pulled the trigger and the gun made a click noise but no boom. I pulled the slide to the rear and this time it fired. The XDS did not eject a live round when I pulled the slide to the rear. This was one malfunction that I believe that could not be attributed to user error. Can I blame this on the Magazine? This is only one misfire in less than 200 rounds. So I will continue to fire until the round count reaches 500 and report back. Everything fits so tight. A fellow shooter suggested taking off 1/32”-1/64” off the bottom of the 7Rd mag x tension but it fits so tight already

No, Jim A, this is not a Glock and I do take some solace when I learned that Kahrs suggest the best way to load their guns is with the slide open. The XDS looks beautiful, the recoil is minimal for its size and caliber, and it is very accurate and carries well. It will take some getting used to. If you buy one be prepared to practice with it.

willforu1
01-05-2013, 11:30 AM
try using royal purple as a lube on the XDs and let it run. It what i use on my Xdm and XD , well all my guns.


Thanks. I will do so.

JimA
01-05-2013, 11:34 AM
Mine is my EDC. I have shot many different loads through it including hundreds of my reloads. I have never had any type of failure. It is very easy to shoot for me. I also have a grip like a vise and that may help.:grin:

Marcus
01-06-2013, 12:46 PM
You are starting to undetstand XDS operation. In short, the gun wants to be bitch slapped.

Small gun, tight tolerances, big bullet....not for weak hands.

99% of new XDS issues are operator error.

raptorous_g4
01-09-2013, 08:53 AM
try using royal purple as a lube on the XDs and let it run. It what i use on my Xdm and XD , well all my guns.

Royal purple? as in the automotive oil? heh why not I use Marvel mystery oil for mine..

XDM 40 cal
01-09-2013, 09:17 AM
Royal purple? as in the automotive oil? heh why not I use Marvel mystery oil for mine..
Yea, cheaper to buy a quart of the best oil on earth...imho...
If use by racers, why not guns too...