Got two new pistols

G

GM1967

New member
Hey all

Finally bought two of the guns I've been talking about buying for a while

A Springfield XDm 4.5 inch .40 caliber, and a Ruger MkIII .22 (22/45)

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Sorry for the photo quality....cell phone camera, with a flash....

First impressions:

The Springfield XDm....I like it. It will be my primary home defense handgun, replacing my old S&W 4516. 16 round magazine of .40 replacing 7 rounds of .45. The XD also has a longer barrel, yet is a lighter gun overall. I like the feel of the gun. It has an accessory rail, which I may mount a light on. Odd thing about this gun: with an empty magazine, it can lay flat on a surface, but if disturbed in any way, has a tendency to roll onto an angle portion of the slide, then wobble. Annoying. It wouldn't do that with the magazine loaded, but when empty, all the weight is in the slide.

My only negative impression is that I'm wishing I had held out to get the two-tone model with the stainless slide. Would look a lot better, but that's just aesthetics.

The Ruger....I've wanted a MkIII, and I wanted the bull-barrel, and stainless. I had pretty much given up on getting one, due to the high price. But I managed to essentially trade my S&W 4516 (bought back in 1990 for $450) for this Ruger. A stainless bull-barrel. I wanted the all steel original design, but I'm liking the 22/45 more than I thought I would. I like the contrast between the black polymer frame and the stainless receiver and barrel. Should be a great plinker, and good for my wife and daughters to shoot. They might have some difficulty shooting it one-handed, though -- all the gun's weight seems to be in that bull-barrel.

Negative impression on this gun: disassembly process is insane. I guess I've gotten used to the more modern designs, some of which I can disassemble in seconds with my eyes closed, but with this gun you need the manual and some tools to help you, including, I kid you not, a hammer. A rubber or plastic hammer, but it's still a hammer.

Overall, I'm very happy so far. Now I have to get to a range and shoot them.

EDIT: fixed the image links
 
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Nice catches my friend,,,

I recently was able to fire a few rounds through a 40 XDm,,,
The recoil was surprisingly less that I had anticipated it would be.

I have twin Rugers very similar to yours,,,
They are insanely precise shooters.

In a home-made rest,,,
They will shoot one tiny hole at 15 yards.

Like I said,,,
Nice catch.

Aarond

.
 
I have the Ruger 22/45 in the form of a MKII & III, both 5.5" H-bar.
Both wear Bushnell dot optics. From a solid rest when I'm up to par I can shoot 0.5" at 25 yards with ammo the pistols favor.
Great .22 pistols.
 
Yeah...never had a .22 pistol before, but I'm looking forward to it. Have some ammo on the way. Can't believe this shortage of .22 ammo. Heard about it but didn't really understand how bad it was until now
 
@GM1967: Yes, take down on the ruger is complicated, but it does get easier with practice. You may want to consider:

Ruger take down tool, Midway #985968, 14$
Wilson combat magazine loader for ruger, Midway #790664, 5$, and
Vollquartzen extractor for ruger, midway #363360, 12$.

They make things handier and are available from midwayusa.com.
 
Also look into a Powder River Precision roll pin replacement for the striker retainer pin on the XDM. It's a very cheap way to fix one of the only design issues of otherwise great pistol.
 
Look into the Volquartsen trigger upgrade for the MK. It will make a world of difference. Now i've got to find me another MK lol.
 
the 22/45 is my favorite of the 22lr pistols and the XDM4.5 is my favorite of the service sized centerfire pistols. I shoot my XDM3.8 compact(45acp) better than any other handgun.

a man after my own heart.
 
MKIII Upgrades

Recently shot my buddy's MKIII that was upgraded as per the other posters suggestions. Great, very noticeable improvement in the trigger, plus getting rid of that magazine disconnect in favor of the bushing setup really makes the takedown and re-assembly much easier. I plan on doing it to all 3 of my MKIII's (Stainless Target, 22/45 Bull Barrel, and 22/45 Lite w/Threaded Barrel)
The VQ trigger upgrades make the MKIII better than my Buckmark!!!
 
You have made two excellent choices. As you see from the other posts both pistols have great aftermarket support if you want to upgrade or just change either. I had the 4.5 in bitone(it was beautiful) and was getting ready to make several modifications for competition when they introduced the 525 so I traded for it .Always sorry for not keeping the 4.5 but I do love the 525 for IDPA and bowling pins.Don't let anybody tell you the .40 is not a great round.Safe shooting.
 
I have a Ruger Mk iii Target. Has had some trigger work and modified to fire without a magazine in place. Neither are necessary, but suit me. The gun is accurate. Assembly of the pistol is crazy.
 
Your combo is similar to mind. I have an XD9 and a Ruger MKiI and they have both been shot and shot .... Amazing guns.
 
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