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Concern about reliability

Glock 30s 
4K views 73 replies 32 participants last post by  FixedSights 
#1 ·
Ok, save the "if it ain't a Glock, it ain't a gun" stuff for someone else. I'm A loyal Glock guy. Also, I don't really care that much about a gun law in Illinois... I grew up in Oak Park- the site of the most unconstitutional gun laws I know of, and I don't live there, or even in the state any more, and I'm not political enough to know or care if Springfield Armory did something wrong there. I care about the hardware, and if it will do it's job EVERY time.

I really like my Glocks. I got one by surprise- won it in a raffle. I figured I'd shoot it a few times then trade it for what I really wanted. After I shot it, I realized it already WAS what I really wanted. I've added more since then. When I read reviews, they usually say some variation of "this gun is as reliable as a Glock..." which makes it sound like Glock is the standard for reliability, even if they prefer the other gun's sights/grip/capacity/trigger... They still seem to compare everything to the reliability of a Glock in any given category.

My son likes my Glocks, but he has his eye on a Springfield XDs .45. Some kind of wizardry there to get as many .45's into the same space and weight as my G43 has 9mm rounds- and much smaller than my G30s. Most of what we've read gives good reviews of the XDs. But I read one recently- the first one I've seen- about how many, a LOT, of catastrophic failures this firearms instructor has seen with XD's. This worries me. No matter how small, accurate, concealable, or anything else a gun is, if it won't go bang in that crucial moment...

So, should I be concerned? Is the Springfield really that bad? Thoughts on this? Does Glock have a .45 that compares to the size/weight/capacity of a Springfield XDs .45?


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#5 ·
I have read multiple reports by trainers of XDs having trouble getting through courses. The XD is a civilian retail market pistol (though the original HS2000 was adopted by the Croate military), not a gun line designed to win police and military contracts. So maybe there is reason for concern with a pistol that claims to do more in a smaller package.

I think some recent designs are really pushing the envelope with mag capacity vs. spring space.
 
#7 ·
There is a saying." You pays your money and you takes your chances". Some of us are smart enough or at least old enough like me to know that it does not matter what you buy,you will either get a good one or a lemon.That is especially true with guns,any guns. I only ever owned one Springfield and that was an XDsc 40 which I bought years ago when first getting into CC. It was totally reliable and accurate.I traded it for something that I thought was better.I was wrong.Live and learn,I guess.
 
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#15 ·
Well, sure. Any individual piece of equipment is fallible and made by fallible people. But some are more notably, or more frequently problematic than others- even at the same price.

I.E. my uncle always paid way more for his Remington 1100's than my Dad, brother-in-law, cousin, me, and several other people I knew paid for our S&W model 1000's. Yet, for a much higher price, any 1100 I ever knew about had far more malfunctions than the 1000's I knew of. Now, clearly there were some bad model 1000's (but I never knew of any) and there must have been some good 1100's (that's a lie, I don't think there were any good ones), but as a rule, one design or one model was much less picky and more reliable than the other.

It's one thing to lose a pheasant because a tiny weed seed clogged your gas port (when the S&W would have ground up the seed and killed the rooster anyway), but when your carrying to defend your life and the lives of others, those kinds of things are best if reduced to a minimum.

I'm still not sure if I like him to rely on the Springfield. Maybe I can get him to consider the S&W...


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#8 ·
Glock's single stack 45 ACP is the G36. I had it and found the grip and grip thickness not to my liking. However, there are others that like it very much. It's thicker than the XDs (.9 vs. 1.10) but it holds more rounds, if that's important to you, and has a 3.77" barrel compared to the XDs' 3.3" barrel. I believe that the one that is closest in size and capacity to your XDs is the Shield 45 which I have and can recommend.
 
#11 ·
I have an xds45 so I can speak of it a little. I myself have NEVER had a reliability issue with it. I have over 1k down the pipe. It is however a tight tolerance gun and may actually need a break in period. Ymmv. I know, I know many say you should not need that break in time. Again Ymmv. I had some stippling done to make it a joy to shoot.


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#12 ·
I too, had an XDS 45. Constantly had FTEs on the first and second round, no matter which mag or ammo I used. I went back to the shop I bought it from, where they tested it as well. The guy tried multiple types of ammo and all of the different mags and had the same results. He offered an exchange for a new one, I politely said no. I ended up picking up a Glock 19 shortly after. I know it's not a single stack 45, but I have been happy. The new Shield 45 has my interest.
 
#14 ·
Will relate a story from personal experience.
First need to give a statement. I am not the biggest Glock fanboy for certain. I measure reliability in a handgun not by a Glock but by a 3rd gen Smith& Wesson or a Browing High Power and frankly think a Glock even comes up short. My son and I have had polite Glock vs old Smith arguments for years. We also both own examples both brands. I tell you this so you understand I definitely do not have a pro Glock bias here!
My son had just bought a new full size SD .45 and on the way over to the range stopped by a local Gun shop.They had a super clean Gen 4 Glock 21 in the case for a price we could not pass up so it also went with us that day.
So here we have a brand new SD and a new to us Glock 21 at the range for the fist time on the same day.
At the end of the day the Springfield was for sale still own the Gock.
Is the Springfield a bad gun? NO but the Glock is just a MUCH better gun. More comfortable to shoot more accurate in the extreme just a far superior pistol head to head in every way.
Hope this helps.
 
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#18 ·
That makes me feel better. He's an adult and he's buying his own gun, but I want him to have a good one.

That's a good thought about the break-in. I don't have an issue with this as someone mentioned above. I mean, until I've shot it a good few times, I don't know if I trust myself OR the hardware with people's lives. If it takes that "break-in" to be sure that both the gun and the guy are ready, then so be it.


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#20 ·
I.E. my uncle always paid way more for his Remington 1100's than my Dad, brother-in-law, cousin, me, and several other people I knew paid for our S&W model 1000's. Yet, for a much higher price, any 1100 I ever knew about had far more malfunctions than the 1000's I knew of. Now, clearly there were some bad model 1000's (but I never knew of any) and there must have been some good 1100's (that's a lie, I don't think there were any good ones), but as a rule, one design or one model was much less picky and more reliable than the other.
I had an 1100 I hunted with for at least ten years... also ran trap with it... zero failures ever... they were not hard to clean and maintain.
 
#21 ·
Lol,this is to funny.I now have another story for you.I bought a Browning Citori 20 ga. featherweight for rabbit hunting.That thing was beautiful with that wood on it.Hated to even take it to the woods.One day my beagle ran a rabbit in circle back to me 4 times.That's 8 shots.I missed each time.I got the rabbit though because apparently he died of a heart attack cause I never found one number 6 in him.Actually I don't think I ever got anything with that gun and sold it to the first guy that came along.I forget what I paid for it,somewhere between $1400 and $1700 so I took a big hit on it but I just wanted rid of it.Now I hunt with either my old 1100 or my Dad's old 1960 Ithica featherlight 20 ga.
Hahaha! Touchè! You've exposed my prejudice. Don't mind me, ever since I switched to a Browning Citori Upland Special I've become an intollerable snob. I seriously did know a lot of... "finicky" 1100's and a bunch of 1000's that were very reliable. But I'm sure that scores of Remingtons ran flawlessly- it was probably America's premier fouling piece for a whole generation.

But I hated seeing my uncle and cousin hunched over pieces spread across the kitchen table each night cleaning gas ports and adjusting springs so that we wouldn't have to do it in the back of the truck tomorrow at lunch.


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#22 ·
I think I know why you guys had so much trouble with your 1100's.You didn't
use Hoppy's number 9 or Hoppy's oil.
Hahaha! Touchè! You've exposed my prejudice. Don't mind me, ever since I switched to a Browning Citori Upland Special I've become an intollerable snob. I seriously did know a lot of... "finicky" 1100's and a bunch of 1000's that were very reliable. But I'm sure that scores of Remingtons ran flawlessly- it was probably America's premier fouling piece for a whole generation.

But I hated seeing my uncle and cousin hunched over pieces spread across the kitchen table each night cleaning gas ports and adjusting springs so that we wouldn't have to do it in the back of the truck tomorrow at lunch.


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#23 ·
There were PLUMES of Hoppe's fumes floating over that house! Years after he moved, I think I heard that house was declared a Superfund Cleanup Site. But he soon discovered that he was over-oiling, so he ran them dry and then they only failed every other day...

<sigh> Now I have to go get my bottle of Hoppe's No.9 and open it up for a sniff. Don't even have a gun to clean at the moment. Dad still has about 1/4 of a quart size glass bottle in a yellowed, crumbling cardboard box...


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#24 ·
I have an XDS 45 3.3 and it's not going anywhere, been totally reliable and accurate. The only real issue starts when the extractor isn't cleaned correctly and starts binding. There is a roll pin in the slide that has to be removed and most people don't go that far when cleaning. There has been a lot of great deals on used XDSs that just need the extractor cleaned and or adjusted.
 
#25 ·
I carry an XDS .45 3.3 in a sticky holster in my pocket.

There was an issue at first(FTF) that Springfield promptly fixed by recutting the slide. It's been 100% reliable ever since I got it back.


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#28 ·
I have owned many Glocks, and a few Springfields along with many other brands.... For a compact .45 I have preferred the Kahr CW-45... That all changed last year when I got ahold of a new S&W .45 Shield.....It is now the only .45 compact I own.... Soft recoil,, accurate,, and hardly any larger or heavier than the 9mm Shield...The new grip texture and trigger make it much better than previous Shields.
 
#30 ·
I carried an XDs45 for about 2 years, and I've put about 5000 rounds through it. About 1/2 the rounds were pre recall and 1/2 post recall. I have no concerns about reliability. I switched to a Glock 43 just for weight, ergonomics, and an intangible feeling that I like the Glock better. I suppose you can get a "lemon" from either Glock or Springfield but I've personally never had a lemon from either manufacturer.
 
#31 ·
I too, had an XDS 45. Constantly had FTEs on the first and second round, no matter which mag or ammo I used. I went back to the shop I bought it from, where they tested it as well. The guy tried multiple types of ammo and all of the different mags and had the same results. He offered an exchange for a new one, I politely said no. I ended up picking up a Glock 19 shortly after. I know it's not a single stack 45, but I have been happy. The new Shield 45 has my interest.
I'll echo this. Had an xds .45 for a couple of weeks and then got rid of it after several ftf's at range.
It never made the carry rotation because of its unreliability.
I'll never invest a nickle in anything made by Springfield after this experience.

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#32 · (Edited)
I too, had an XDS 45. Constantly had FTEs on the first and second round, no matter which mag or ammo I used. I went back to the shop I bought it from, where they tested it as well. The guy tried multiple types of ammo and all of the different mags and had the same results. He offered an exchange for a new one, I politely said no. I ended up picking up a Glock 19 shortly after. I know it's not a single stack 45, but I have been happy. The new Shield 45 has my interest.

I'll echo this. Had an xds .45 for a couple of weeks and then got rid of it after several ftf's at range.
It never made the carry rotation because of its unreliability.
I'll never invest a nickle in anything made by Springfield after this experience.

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Every mass produced item has issues. Just because it's a gun doesn't change that fact. Glocks, Sigs, Smith and Wesson, FNH, Ruger, Springfield, etc. just because you may not have an issue with one of those, and had one with Springfield doesn't mean one is more reliable then the other.

Not buying Springfield because the one gun you bought had an issue is ridiculous. Especially when you didn't give the manufacturer a chance to fix it.
 
#33 ·
I had a friendly running argument with the owner of the local gun range about the reliability of Springfield vs Glock which I own both of and have never, with any model, had a malfunction.
I prefer the ergonomics of Springfield but Glock 19 for me shoots as accurately as the XDM competition
My son in law has the Xds 45 and it is a sweet shooter for sure
These days I'm just as likely to grab one of my 357 revolvers as anythingelse I own for protection
 
#36 ·
They are all good guns. Some shoot a bit different, feel a bit different, weigh a bit different, and cost a bit different. I started the LEO career with a 4" revolver, then a 4" .357 Magnum. Colt, S& W, then 1, 2, and 3rd generation S&W autos.

Then the G-17 came out. I simply hated the look, and said this is never gonna work. My agency sent me to the Armorers class, and GLOCK Transitional Instructor course.

Since then I have carried on a daily basis, a GLOCK pistol, and it is usually two. I have had the occasion to either own or shoot extensively EVERY brand, type and caliber of about 95% of all handguns out there.

I own everything from a Wilson CQB, TO a Kel-tec 9mm. The GLOCKS WORK BEST FOR ME.

Go to a gun shop that rents them and spend the money rent all of the models that you want to buy. Or borrow a buddies... Make the decision what works best for you!

The internet is a wonderful tool for research, but has just some idiots doing silly things with, and to weapons. So, this just being me I would do the research and shooting myself. I would rather explore the possibilities out there personally to decide what I like best, and what works best for ME! Ymmv!
 
#37 ·
Yep.
1) We've shot the Springfield XDs .45 and he likes it and can hit with it.
2) It's the right size for carry. No bigger than my G43 and same capacity but in .45
3) Clearly any machine can malfunction (there's probably a lemon Rolls Royce out there...)
4) If I had a malfunction with a particular gun I probably wouldn't carry it for protection, but I don't know that I would generalize my concern to all guns of that model let alone the whole manufacturer.
5) But there are clearly some guns by design/materials/manufacturing that experience more malfunctions than others and some that tend to be more reliable.
6) What happens on the range is not the same as EDC- (I own some guns that are unreliable on the range but I'm willing to mess with them because I don't fear that the paper will come get me while I eject a spent round...)
7) For protection I want a gun that goes bang every time (so far as is humanly possible) and works for my hand and eye to hit what it's supposed to.

So, I guess it's really the #5 point that I'm asking about. Is the design, manufacturing, material mix of the Springfield XDs .45 going to be, by its nature, more likely unreliable or will it most likely be reliable?


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