Glock 19 VS SpringField Armory XD 9

[Mike from Texas]

That is really a personal choice that only you can make. I would try them both out and see which one you like better.

But since you are asking for opinions, I'll just say that I used to own XDs, now I own Glocks. My Glocks have NEVER failed me. I can't say the same thing for my XDs. I refuse to own a gun that I do not have 100% confidence in.

[fickman]

I favored the XD until recently. I had a salesman who broke both guns down and showed me several things on the Glock that changed my mind. Keep in mind, going into the conversation I was anti-Glock and looking for ammo to feed my fury.

One of the most important things to me was when he showed me the stands on the lower receiver where the rail glides. On the Glock, all four contact points are made of metal (as is the slide). On the XD, the rear mounts (for lack of a better term - I'm not a gunsmith by any stretch of the imagination) are plastic. This means that the metal slide rides along two metal mounts and two plastic mounts. He also gave me the Croatian history of the XD. He said he likes the XD but thinks they're about 100-200% overpriced. The Glock also had a design advantage in the extractor and in its ability to prevent lint, dust, dirt, and other impurities from getting into the handgun. I'm not buying a Glock (I still prefer Kimber and Sig), but he probably gave me enough substantive reasons to choose Glock over the XD, especially for the price.

I learn best by observing discourse, so if an XD aficionado has the answer to these statements, fire away. You won't hurt my feelings. :)

[BlackWidow]

I'm very curious to hear what other things you notice better in the Glock that the XDs did not have.

Also which Glock and XD did he show you?

[fickman]

I'm very curious to hear what other things you notice better in the Glock that the XDs did not have.

Also which Glock and XD did he show you?

I'm racking my brain trying to remember.

It was the subcompact of both in the .40 caliber.

He demonstrated the internal safeties of the Glock and showed their design. He showed how you can tell/feel the hammer position of the Glock by the trigger position, thus rendering the visible indicator on the back of the XD a nice luxury but not a necessity. He said that Glock's philosophy is, "Metal on metal and plastic on plastic." That was when he was showing us the rail system.

I didn't think it was a huge thing, but he pointed out a difference in the design of the springs inside the guns. The XD is a typical round spring while the Glock was a flat spring and coiled many more times per inch around the barrel. I can't see how this is an advantage for Glock since their springs are often maligned.

He compared the prices of additional magazines for both, and the Glocks were significantly less expensive. He mentioned that the parts of the XD are made in Croatia and assembled in America, so we should be careful to immediately allow the XD to ride on Springfield's good name. The Glock is made completely in America with American parts.

There is a noticeable difference in where your hand sits on the handle relative to the slide on the two guns, but that is probably a personal preference thing.

He also spent some time trying to dispel the urban legends about Glock that I kept bringing to him. By reputation (and I know we're entering dangerously into Chevy vs. Ford type of territory here), the Glocks are much more predisposed to misfires (he claims he owns two Glocks and has never had a misfire that wasn't faulty ammo), less accuracy out of the box (he just countered with a point about his personal accuracy and the importance of practice), exaggerated recoil for a given caliber (my own observation based on the weight distribution of the Glocks - they're top heavy), the fact that they're not truly double-action (which is true for the XD, also - and his counter was that you never want to rehit the same ammo anyway - you want to cycle the firearm and get a new round loaded), and that you have to dry fire them to break them down (his counter was that it's not bad to dry fire most pistols, and that you just have to check the chamber several times before pulling the trigger).

If you're in the D/FW area, go to Cheaper Than Dirt in Fort Worth and talk to Keith. He's the one who I was dealing with. He sounded like a Glock fanboy a little bit, but I'd never heard somebody counter the knocks on Glock with substantive reasoning, facts, and by pulling the gun apart. He's definitely knowledgeable. I walked away feeling like the plastic rear mounts for the metal slide to ride on the XD as the biggest point he made.

Like I said, I learn better from watching a debate than a lecture, because not only do I heard your positive pitch for your position, I get to see somebody try to shoot holes in your argument and watch you defend them. So when I blasted him with anti-Glock rhetoric, I was seeing how he responded more than trying to beat him at his own game.

[starrbuck]

I prefer (and own) the Springfield XD. The Glock just doesn't fit my hand as well.

[bauerdj]

I'm very curious to hear what other things you notice better in the Glock that the XDs did not have.

Also which Glock and XD did he show you?

I'm racking my brain trying to remember.

It was the subcompact of both in the .40 caliber.

He compared the prices of additional magazines for both, and the Glocks were significantly less expensive. He mentioned that the parts of the XD are made in Croatia and assembled in America, so we should be careful to immediately allow the XD to ride on Springfield's good name. The Glock is made completely in America with American parts.

.

To the best of my knowledge all Glocks are made in Austria

Dave B.

[TX Rancher]

I'm very curious to hear what other things you notice better in the Glock that the XDs did not have.

Also which Glock and XD did he show you?

I'm racking my brain trying to remember.

It was the subcompact of both in the .40 caliber.

He compared the prices of additional magazines for both, and the Glocks were significantly less expensive. He mentioned that the parts of the XD are made in Croatia and assembled in America, so we should be careful to immediately allow the XD to ride on Springfield's good name. The Glock is made completely in America with American parts.

.

To the best of my knowledge all Glocks are made in Austria

Dave B.

The slides on mine are marked "AUSTRIA" and the lower bears the stamp "MADE IN AUSTRIA"...but I wouldn't let that slow you down when making your choice.

I fire/carry both Glocks and XD...my personal preference is the Glock but that's primarily because I've had them the longest and I'm more familiar with them than the XD. Actually, I'm still partial to the 1911 platform, but that's a different discussion

As others have said, try them both and one will probably feel better in your hand. If your familiar with the 1911 you'll probably like the XD best due to grip angle.

If after handling it's not clear which you like, buy based on cost and don't forget to add in extra magazines. Whichever you pick you won't be wrong...

[starrbuck]

Anyone who doubts the XD's toughness should read the XD Torture Test.

[fickman]

To the best of my knowledge all Glocks are made in Austria

Dave B.

Whoops. Well there you go. I hope my post didn't come across as authoritative. . . I'm certainly not an expert when among true aficionados.

It may not be fair for me to quote that man as saying they were made in the USA. . . he may not have. The point he made might have been that some people choose the XD because Springfield's American made, and he pointed out that they were Croatian just to dismiss that specific claim of being a deciding factor between the two.

[Mike from Texas]

Anyone who doubts the XD's toughness should read the XD Torture Test.

After the failures I saw with my XD I have a REAL hard time believing that torture test.

[jpierce30]

I was sold on the XD the first time I ever picked one up. This was at the NRA Convention in Houston. I told my buddy, this would be my next pistol purchase. I have a 5" tactical and a 4" with ported barrel. My son also has a 4". We both like the feel of the grip angle and the indent for your thumb.
I have about 10,000 rounds thru the 5" and the only malfunctions I have encountered have been due to operator error or bad reloads.

I know lots of people with Glocks, and it is kind of like the Ford-Chevy thing, but I just never could get the feel for the Glock.

[nitrogen]

Glock 19.

A friend of mine who'se taken a lot of training found a problem with the XD: Their mags do not perform at ALL if they get wet or a bit dirty, i.e. muddy.

Glock 19 does much better.

Most of us probably don't care, but it's something to think about.

[ewhite]

Anyone who doubts the XD's toughness should read the XD Torture Test.

After the failures I saw with my XD I have a REAL hard time believing that torture test.

Any gun mfg has there good and bad. I am sure there are glocks out there that have had breaks and failures also. Obviously I love my Xd's, I own 2 of them with zero failures of any sort with thousdands of rounds through them. I feel the XD is safer to carry than the glock, kahr, and all the others that have nothing on them as far a physical safety. Whether you like it or not I know that unless I have a tight grip on the frame of my xd and have engaged the palm safety it is not going off. That being said I am a huge fan of the 1911 and love the grip angle on the xd. Here is a link to a good article on the xd and it goes into good detail. That all being said, if you do not get to shoot a gun before buying it, it is a shot in the dark whether you will really like a gun or not. All you can do is read and make an informed decision.

http://gunsandammomag.com/cs/Satellite/ ... +XD+Series" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lumberjack98]

I have close to 10k rounds through my XD9 Service. Lots of them under competitive shooting scenarios. I have also observed several dozen XDs function under the same conditions and have never seen a failure that wasn't attributable to either ammo or an aftermarket part.

[Barron76]

I would take the Glock 19. I had an XD and loved the feel of it in the store but shooting it was another story, I just couldn't ever warm up to it. I sold it and bought a Glock 19, I never liked the Glock's I had shot in the past but the newer third gen models with the finger grooves really fit my hand well. Plus they are easy to work on and there's an abundance of parts if you ever need anything.