[Grumpyoldman]

Bought a Springfield XD-E last Friday. I know that people say they caved in to pressure from Illinois gov. and we shouldn't buy from them, but I remember years ago Smith and Wesson and Ruger had the same things said about them. I bought it for a couple of reasons. My arthritis is getting worse the last 2 years, and I am having trouble locking the slide back on my S&W Shield 9mm. I tried an XD-E out and with the hammer down, I could rack the slide with my index finger and thumb easily. I can carry it DA/SA with the de-cocker or SA Locked and Cocked like a 1911. I put 150 rounds though it and my messed up right hand was still ok. I would say it absorbs recoil as well as my Shield. The SA pull is 4 3/4 lbs by my RCBS trigger gauge. The second reason is Springfield Armory is giving away three extra mags with any XD pistol purchased before 06-30-18. I received notice my extra mags are on the way. Now for the bad news. The slide won't lock back on the last round when using the extended mag. The slide release slips off the mag. I found this was a problem a few years ago ( after I bought it) and should have been fixed. I called Springfield Mon. and a customer service rep emailed me a mailing label to send it back at their expense. I dropped it off at Fed Ex today. So far good service. I have seen online that others who had this problem got it fixed and have had no more trouble. I actually like the gun. Smooth trigger, great sights, good accuracy and no failures to feed with 3 different types of ammo.
Next Tues. I am having surgery on my right knee, so I won't be shooting for a while. Springfield said turnaround is 2 to 4 weeks. By the time I can shoot again I should have it back. I'll let everyone know how it works.
I thought about putting this in the Review section, but because of the slide lock problem, I though more people would see it here. If you are going to buy any XD series pistol, check to make sure the slide release fully engages the mag. Mine was barely on the mag. Hoping this will save someone else from having to send one back.

 

[electricmo]

How long has the xd-e been on the market?

 

[Grumpyoldman]

I believe the XD-E has been out about a year. I read online that some of the other XD models had the same problem a few years ago. If I would have known about the problem, I probably would not have bought one. All the reviews I saw ( not just the gun mags, but posts by owners) were good. I didn't see anything online until I searched for the exact problem. As I said in my post, except for that one problem, I really like it. I am going to be hopeful, which is not my normal pessimistic self.

 

[kah64]

I don't have any experience with the XD-E but bought an XDS-45 shortly after they came out. As you may know, they recalled the XDS's a short time later. In spite of the size of the recall, I thought their communication and turn around was pretty good. I hope your experience with their customer service is the same.

Keith

 

[Grumpyoldman]

Thought I would post a couple of pics so everyone can see what the problem is. One pic is the standard mag and the slide stop is barely engaging it. The second is with the extended mag and the stop slips right off. Springfield received the pistol Friday so we will see how long it takes. The 3 extra mags are scheduled to be here this Tues. The ad said 8 to 12 weeks. Mine are taking 10 days. Makes me hopeful of a quick turnaround for the XD-e.

 

[much ado]

I like what you`re saying. I bought a Shield for my wife when they had the big rebate...figured I could move it if she didn`t like it. She shoots it well but has problems cycling the slide.She tried cycling the XD-E at Cabela`s and liked it. Guess I`m looking for a hardly used one or when things slow up for Springfied maybe a new one. Thanks for the post. John

 

[Grumpyoldman]

Got the XD-E back yesterday. Put 150 rounds of winchester white box, PPU, and Hornady Criitical defense through it today. No malfunctions except 1 mag won't lock back on the last shot. The spring pressure on it is much heavier than the others, including the other finger groove one. Going to load the mag and put it away for a few days and see what happens. One the plus side, using a 3/4 size silhouette target, rapid fire at 10 yds., all rounds center of target about a 4 in spread.

 

[Maineiac]

I had a good experience with Springfield customer support for my XDS. I would be a little bothered about the one mag though...
You can take some of the tension out of the spring if necessary. Weak springs are usually problematic and not strong ones. This is first time hearing about a mag spring being too stiff. Maybe that mag is defective?

 

[Grumpyoldman]

The original finger groove mag is the one in the picture that has the slide stop off of it. That one now works fine. The one that is not working is one of the 3 free mags from Springfield. The other 4 work. I can't get all 8 rounds in the mag, only 7. I hurt my thumb trying to get the 8th in. I can load the other 2 eight round and the 2 nine round ok. Kind of reminds me of when the magazine ban was in effect. Some of the 10 round Glock G21 mags I had could only load 9. Tomorrow I will trade springs with another mag see what happens.

 

[Tomray]

I had a good experience with Springfield customer support for my XDS. I would be a little bothered about the one mag though...
You can take some of the tension out of the spring if necessary. Weak springs are usually problematic and not strong ones. This is first time hearing about a mag spring being too stiff. Maybe that mag is defective?

Mike,

The Mag springs in my S&W Shield 40 mags are the heaviest spring rates I've ever seen in Mags................

Sometimes, I wonder what the S&W Engineers were thinking, but they do work 100%, once you get them loaded.............

I'm thinking of trading my Shield 40 for a Performance Center Shield 9MM..............It's an Itch I seem to want too scratch...........

Tom

 

[Da Duke]

I've only owned one Springfield and it was a while back when the V-10 came out. Loved that thing accept shooting it in low light.
WOW it would blind you. Made money on that one when I let it go. It would shoot and function lights out.

 

[Grumpyoldman]

Traded springs with a mag that worked. Problem followed the spring. The bad one now works, and the one that worked doesn't. Here is the weird part. The spring causing the problem is 1 in. shorter than the other one that works. The shorter spring is harder to compress, almost as if the spring steel is a different type with a different compression. I'll contact Springfield tomorrow and see if the will send me another spring.

 

[Tomray]

Traded springs with a mag that worked. Problem followed the spring. The bad one now works, and the one that worked doesn't. Here is the weird part. The spring causing the problem is 1 in. shorter than the other one that works. The shorter spring is harder to compress, almost as if the spring steel is a different type with a different compression. I'll contact Springfield tomorrow and see if the will send me another spring.

I'd suggest taking the short non-working spring, and stretching it EVENLY to match the length of the spring that does work..............

Tom

 

[Grumpyoldman]

I thought about stretching the spring, but I will wait and see what Springfield says. I emailed them late yesterday and asked if they would send me a new spring and if they wanted the bad one back. If they don't want it, I will stretch it and see what happens.

 

[Grumpyoldman]

Springfield just emailed me. A new spring is on the way. So I guess I can take the old one and stretch it as Tomray suggested. I'll let everyone know what happens with the new spring and stretching the old one.