S...field XD-E

The XD-E Loaded 8+1 weighs an ounce less than a Glock 19 15+1, and the Glock is not single stack. I have a Glock 22 and prefer not to carry a 4" barrel nor a DAO nor a fat grip in my smallish hands. My Glock serves well as a bedroom gun with light and laser, secure in a lockbox. I have the XD-E in what for me is an ideal holster, and I don't even think about its weight or bulk. I have carried a compact 1911 and some pretty beefy revolvers. I never pocket carry. I dress to conceal. So there are just no issues for me to dislike this XD-E. Someone else may feel differently and obviously there are choices.

I have had the XD-E to the range twice, running about 100 rounds, and had no issues. I like the way it shoots and would not want anything lighter and harder (for me) to control.
 
The XD-E is unusually heavy for a polymer gun and isnt all that lighter and nearly the same size as a Sig P239, which I find to be a better gun.
Wow, go figure that the $900 gun is better than the $400 gun. I think you deserve a promotion to Major, Captain Obvious.

I find the trigger OK not great for a DA/SA and the safety completely pointless (unless you want cocked and locked I guess, which might be ok).
The safety is clearly there to be sold in certain states that mandate a manual safety. I do not intend to use it, not do I intend to use a grip safety on Springfield's other pistols, but they insist on including them.

End of the day, hard pass from me. If I wanted a DA/SA single stack that size, I'd find a 239. More likely I'd find a compact doublestack like an HK compact to fit that roll, or a CZ RAMI.

I haven't checked the width on those pistols, but they don't interest me. As to other, lighter single stack pistols you mentioned, the LC9s and PPS M2 are on my list in competition with the XD-E, but the LC9 is very thin and light and being the owner of two LCP's, I can see the recoil of that LC9 being as bad as the LCP and affecting my ability to shoot after 20 rounds.

The PPS I haven't handled yet, no stores near me have one, but many sing its praises for ergonomics, so I haven't ruled it out yet.

I don't care for the G43, too large IMO, and the Shield I'm not all that familiar with.

Bottom line is DA/SA is what I'm after and the XD-E offers it in a small package, albeit a bit heavier than other single stack compacts. Not necessarily a bad thing, it should reduce recoil.
 
Last edited:
I haven't checked the width on those pistols, but they don't interest me. As to other, lighter single stack pistols you mentioned, the LC9s and PPS M2 are on my list in competition with the XD-E, but the LC9 is very thin and light and being the owner of two LCP's, I can see the recoil of that LC9 being as bad as the LCP and affecting my ability to shoot after 20 rounds.

The PPS I haven't handled yet, no stores near me have one, but many sing its praises for ergonomics, so I haven't ruled it out yet.

I don't care for the G43, too large IMO, and the Shield I'm not all that familiar with.

Bottom line is DA/SA is what I'm after and the XD-E offers it in a small package, albeit a bit heavier than other single stack compacts. Not necessarily a bad thing, it should reduce recoil.

I think you've answered all questions then, right? If DA/SA is on your must-have list, and you're ok with 8+1 capacity, then the XD-E is a competent pistol and the only one in its category. I was very close to buying that model myself -- due to the size and weight being so much higher than comparable single stack guns, I sized up to the CZ P-07. Look at the specs, and when fully loaded, the height and length of the XD-E is almost the same. The CZ is about 0.3" wider -- and yes it does make a difference -- but under most clothing it's not an issue, and you get double the capacity for not much more weight. And about the same price.

My single stack choice is the Walther PPS M2. The exposed striker that pokes out the back when the trigger is pulled adds the margin of safety against my own dumbassery, somewhat the same as thumbing the hammer when holstering the DA/SA gun. And it's much lighter than the XD-E. I classify the springfield as too small to be a double-stack and too big to be a single stack. The post about it being "the answer to a question nobody asked" resonated with me.

So if as you say, you don't care about width, and you definitely want DA/SA, I would very strongly recommend you just up the width a bit and go with a C-P07, Beretta PX4 Compact, or HK P30SK. They're all fantastic guns and give you double the capacity for not much more size.

(Also confused on your comment about the G43 being too large -- it's identical to the PPS and XD-S, and smaller than the XD-E) :confused:

But anyways, if you get the XD-E, you'll have a pretty good DA/SA pistol that's easy to conceal, has decent capacity and will probably go a million rounds between failures. That's a nice thing about the gun market today -- barring a few uber-chintzy budget guns, there's hardly a bad option out there.
 
The CZ P-07 weight loaded is about a half pound heavier than a loaded XD-E. The barrel is almost a half inch longer. The XD-E doesn't feature a grip spur, so I would consider that more concealable than the CZ, which is a nice gun though.
 
Like others have stated, its heavy for a single stack 9mm, compared to something like a Ruger LC9S at 17 oz. I do appreciate a single stack da/sa 9mm being brought in to compete with all the striker fired options though.
 
Wow, go figure that the $900 gun is better than the $400 gun. I think you deserve a promotion to Major, Captain Obvious.

You asked for opinion and I gave it, no need to be a jackhole about it. Then again, that seems to be par for the course for you.

Also, I got my 239 for around $500. Sure it was used (and in great shape) but still, they're out there.
 
Certainly not too wide to conceal, but that's 30% wider (including the grip).
Definitely -- I've learned over the last year that the CZ (and I'll assume any other gun its size) definitely gets heavy after many hours of lugging it on my belt. And while it is pretty easy to conceal with a good holster, under a T-shirt it's iffy, and at least does put a lump right in the front of my pants :-D

Something thinner and flatter, and lighter, is becoming more appealing to me. Given my love affair with red dot sights, I'm really considering the PPS RMS-C. I already have a PPS and the weight difference is considerable vs. the loaded CZ. If I just wanted iron sights and were doing this from scratch, the XD-E would definitely be high on my list.

I think you should buy it and post a review here :) I've shot it a few times and it really is a very nice gun.
 
I too have an XD-E

I've had an XD-E for a year or so. At first I had a hard time getting used to the thin grip and long trigger reach. Lotta practice later I can shoot it well enough to be a carry gun, but still don't shoot it as well as my Beretta 92fs or my Rock Island 1911 45. I keep shooting it and keep getting better. It is really thin, and it was the combination of DA/SA plus a safety that originally attracted me. I got it when I was a touch paranoid about CC and XD-E seemed like a relatively accidental discharge proof gun. In the mean time, I've gotten use to carrying a DAO gun with no safety, and a SAO gun cocked and locked. Anyway, I'm no expert but the XD-E runs like a champ, is easily concealable and has become one if my favorite carry guns.

Life is good.

Prof Young
 
this thread took a turn.
my weigh-in before it gets closed:
1. everyone has preferences, what one person despises, another loves, hence the reason that more than one company makes firearms and usually they have more than one product line.
2. everyone cherry picks their info. it's natural to focus specifically on the items which greatest confirm your preconceptions, and most discredit criticism of your pre-conceptions. few people, even many good scientists tend to find it difficult to adopt truly unbiased positions in discussions. take comparisons with a grain of salt accordingly.
3. it sounds like two parties are the majority of posts and they are both polarized to the point that it's not likely that either will change their mind, so why bother?

I personally agree with a lot of points from both sides. the XDe is a bit on the heavy side, a bit on the large side given the ammo capacity and barrel length, and a bit mediocre in all categories. however I would never compare it to a glock because it's a hammer gun, not a striker gun, and I would never compare it to a sig because it costs a 3rd of what most sigs cost, even their polymer models typically run twice the price range. the XDe is fortunate enough to be a category, largely by itself, but as I said in a previous post, that is not necessarily a good thing, and springfield would likely benefit by entering into the DA/SA service sized market and would likely find itself compared favorably along lower end Sigs and FN Herstal offerings(where such comparisons are not quite so apples to tacos).
is it a bad gun? no, they have quite the reputation for being reliable, and most people that own them either bought, not knowing what they were getting into(due to brand bias developed through favorable experiences with XD striker models), or wanting to experiment with the new piece. whether they kept or sold is largely again due to personal bias, no right or wrong answers.

so if someone has read the above and still wants one, that's great, if someone has been dissuaded by the above bickering, then that is also your prerogative, either way, have fun shooting the guns you like, hope you never have to use it against something that breathes, and prepare for the possibility, just in case.
 
Back
Top