Springfield XD9 upgrades..??

H

HAMMER1DOWN

New member
Hey everyone. I have had this XD for a few years now and love it for plinking and running drills. I have been getting serious into 3 gun shoots now and want to know what kind of upgrades are available for them. I run an insight red dot sight instead of irons and this gun will be used for nothing other than comps and fun now. So any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
I just upgraded my XDm 9mm 5.25 with a Powder River trigger kit and replacement striker, striker springs, titanium striker safety and spring, plus a solid guide rod. The trigger went from 5.5 lbs to 2.7 lbs. Make sure the replacements abide by the equipment rules for your competition. Mine are USPSA and IDPA legal , but I don't know about 3 gun.

I did it myself after watching some YouTube videos. It didn't take long and wasn't too tricky, but if you aren't mechanically inclined have a gunsmith do it. Parts cost was under $300.
 
Dawson .100 fiber optic front and 'competition' rear sight work splendidly on my IDPA XD.

And if $$ is tight, the Powder River or Springer Precision spring kit alone is about $25, and lightens the pull nicely.


Larry
 
One of the Powder River trigger kits would be an great upgrade. Pistolgear, Springer Precision and Dawson Precision have cool stuff to trick out an XD
 
I chose Powder River because it was the one that specifically stated that their triggers were IDPA compliant. The trigger itself is the only external part and is made by Springfield. The trigger has an overstop on it to shorten the trigger pull to exactly enough to release the striker, so it has to be made by the gun manufacturer. All the other parts are internal, so can be from anyone as long as it fits the rules. You can't disconnect safeties. I added a stainless steel guide rod. The rule is that the gun can only weigh 2 oz. more than the manufacturers original weight. If you use this kit, you will be well practiced in removing the sear. I had to remove it about eight times and file an edge to get the backstrap safety to engage.

Oddly, USPSA rules are a little more lenient. Now that I'm thinking of it, maybe the 2 oz rule is USPSA and not IDPA.
 
Powder River striker roll pin replacement. Cheap and addresses perhaps the most vulnerable core fail point in the design. Good peace of mind buy.
 
I looked at the springer precision trigger kit. It's 140ish bucks, a 4.5 inch barrel with porting that's 180 bucks. Next for sure though is going to have the reward top of my slide milled down and drilled and tapped for the red dot sight so there is no mount in the rear sight groove. And the striker pins and springs a good deal to do? What does all the upgrades for the striker system do?
 
My XD has the powder river easy fit trigger kit in it. It wasn't too difficult to install and what an improvement. The gun has a clean trigger with short takeup and reset. The pull is lighter too.
 
And the striker pins and springs a good deal to do?
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If you are asking if it is difficult to do, if you have (and know how to use) a roll pin punch, it is not too hard. If you are asking if it is a good idea, some of the trigger kits will come with the lighter striker spring. This will require you to remove the striker retainer pin, so you might as well replace it with a more sturdy roll pin if you are doing the trigger job.

What does all the upgrades for the striker system do?
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The stock striker retainer pin (roll pin) will likely break at some point. Others have told me the striker retainer pin won't break if you are using snap caps or the like to absorb the striker energy; however, I ALWAYS used snap caps and my pin broke around 3K rounds. Some companies like Powder River (and Springer Precision?) have upgraded replacement roll pins. I ordered a bag of roll pins from a screw/bolt/fastener/etc retailer online. Got 25 of them for something like $7 + shipping. So far I have only used one and 6K rounds later it still appears to be in great shape.

If I remember correctly, the Powder River Precision (PRP) trigger kit comes with a lighter striker spring to help lighten the trigger pull. I installed the PRP Ultimate Match Trigger and it has been GREAT! I didn't get the pull down to the 2.7# that GJSchulze ended up with. Mine is about 4.5#.

If you install the PRP trigger with the over-travel nub, and you may be shooting in freezing temperatures, you will want to make sure that you sand enough off the nub so that it still fires with AT LEAST a business card between the nub and the back of the trigger guard. Personally, I placed two business cards between the nub and backstop to make sure it would still fire. When the plastic trigger drops to near freezing, it expands and could intermittently not allow the gun to fire no matter how hard you mash the trigger to its full travel...Ask me how I know.

Regarding the legality of the Ultimate Match Trigger in USPSA, it IS legal in all divisions. Specifically, it is legal in USPSA Production Division because it is offered directly from Springfield Armory. However, the upgrades you are talking about (ported barrel, red dot, etc.) will not allow you to shoot in USPSA Production Division. So the trigger is a moot point.

A red dot will put you in the Open Division of USPSA. If that IS the route you are going, then you have a LOT more money to spend. For example, an open holster, mag pouches, and a magwell funnel will be a MUST. However, when you are all done, you will still have a 4.5" barrel XD and will be competing against shooters with ported 5" custom fit barrels shooting a hot 38 Super Comp load. That's stiff competition.

Regarding the PRP polished striker. I believe the benefit is a striker that moves more freely providing consistent firm primer strikes since there is less friction impeding the striker movement.

Fly
 
If I remember correctly, the Powder River Precision (PRP) trigger kit comes with a lighter striker spring to help lighten the trigger pull. I installed the PRP Ultimate Match Trigger and it has been GREAT! I didn't get the pull down to the 2.7# that GJSchulze ended up with. Mine is about 4.5#.
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PRP has three different trigger kits IIRC. I got the middle one (Ultimate Match) that included a new sear, sear spring, and striker safety lever as well trigger and trigger spring. It is the cheaper Drop in Trigger Kit that has the lighter striker spring as well as the lighter striker safety spring. I also changed the striker and two striker springs as well as the installed the titanium striker safety and spring. My trigger started at 5.5, went to 3.5 after the trigger kit and then to 2.7 after the second mods. If you have the same XDm 5.25 9mm as me, then know that they advertise the trigger to be from 5.5 to 7. If you only got it to 4.5 then you probably started out higher. So if you only got the Ultimate Kit, there are still things you can do.

Come to think of it, I would think that the changes would be absolute changes and not relative changes. IOW, I wonder why yours didn't drop to 3.5. Maybe give PRP a call and see what they say.
 
GJSchulze said:
I wonder why yours didn't drop to 3.5. Maybe give PRP a call and see what they say.
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It could also be the tool I'm using to measure it, though I've used two different tools and they came out close to the 4.5#. At this point, I don't feel a need to go lighter. There is already such a huge difference between my stock G19 carry gun and my competition gun, that I don't think I want to go further.

Fly
 
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