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Replacing factory sights on my Springfield XD9 Sub Compact and having a terrible time getting the old rear sight off. Mechanical sight pusher will not budge it, and light to moderate tapping with jewler's hammer and brass punch will not move it. I have replaced identical slide-in sights on several Glocks without breaking a sweat.
Anyone offer a solution (or at least encouragement) ? Next up is the old motorcycle mechanic trick, get a bigger hammer. I would appreciate guidance before I break my wrist or worse, permanently scar the gun.

He talks about the difficulty of removing XD sights.

This guy shows his setup for removing XD sights.

The sights on the Springfield Armory XD/XDm/XD-S are extremely difficult to remove and install. You will need to use a sight pusher designed specifically for the XD. Here is a link to a sight pusher that should work on your XD9, but it's not clear if it works on the XD9 Mod 2 variant:
https://www.pistolgear.com/proddetail.p ... 100-2526-B

You run the very real risk of damaging your slide if you use a punch or a sight pusher not designed for the XD to remove the sight.

If you do not want to install the sights yourself I would suggest contacting either the Springfield Armory Custom Shop (800-617-6751) to see if they can install them or contact Springer Precision.

Thanks Dan, I have this same pusher but the small anchor blocks have not been tapered to the shape of the XD slide. This is the first edition Sub Compact, not the Mod2.
I guess I was hoping there might be some "trick" that I've been missing, like a taper in the dimensions of the mounting channel from one side to the other. I'll try penetrating oil before I ship it to the factory.
I love the way the gun shoots but fit and finish leaves a lot to be desired. First time to use the slide release lever required a pair of smooth jawed pliers... and the magazine ejector would only push from one side until a healthy application of grinding compound and a polisher to the release mechanism. Clearly quality control issues that an inspector should have flagged.

I've replaced sights on an XD, an XDS and two XD Mod 2's.

The tapered slide makes it necessary to have a way to clamp the slide vertically as well as horizontally. Sight pushers that don't have this feature won't work.

A good example that I know works is this one.. However, unless you've got a lot of sight replacements in your future, you'd probably be better off just paying a gunsmith his $35.

Excaliber wrote:I've replaced sights on an XD, an XDS and two XD Mod 2's.

The tapered slide makes it necessary to have a way to clamp the slide vertically as well as horizontally. Sight pushers that don't have this feature won't work.

A good example that I know works is this one.. However, unless you've got a lot of sight replacements in your future, you'd probably be better off just paying a gunsmith his $35.

Ed's right about needing vertical support/clamping on the XDs. I bought a universal Sight-Tool for $79.99 and I've used it on 1911s, CZ75s and Glocks. I haven't used it on my XD yet, but it is advertised as working on Springfields.

If you search eBay for it, you will see it offered for $114.98 and $79.99, so be sure to get the one from 4X4MachineShop.

Chas.

1wise1 wrote:I love the way the gun shoots but fit and finish leaves a lot to be desired. First time to use the slide release lever required a pair of smooth jawed pliers... and the magazine ejector would only push from one side until a healthy application of grinding compound and a polisher to the release mechanism. Clearly quality control issues that an inspector should have flagged.

I agree that's not good and does not match my experience with the XD pistols. You may want to contact Springfield about the fit and finish issues you have encountered.

My EDC is an XD9 SubCompact and I have more than 8000 rounds reliably through it. Also, I have been shooting the XD9 SubCompact exclusively in IDPA competitions in the BUG division for the past 1.5 years and I have gotten significantly better at shooting the small pistol. Unfortunately, the 2017 IDPA rules has made the XD9 SubCompact illegal in the BUG division so I'm bummed about that.

If you can get the fit and finish issues resolved I think you will be very happy with this pistol.

I shipped my slide to a Smith that specializes in xd's. Cost me about 30$ shipping included and got it back without a scratch. Was well worth it to me, site was www.xd-hs2000.com

Excaliber wrote:I've replaced sights on an XD, an XDS and two XD Mod 2's.

The tapered slide makes it necessary to have a way to clamp the slide vertically as well as horizontally. Sight pushers that don't have this feature won't work.

A good example that I know works is this one.. However, unless you've got a lot of sight replacements in your future, you'd probably be better off just paying a gunsmith his $35.

If you are near a GT Distributors they can do it. I had GT in Austin install some Night Sights on my XDm and they charged 20.00.

So, i EDC a MOD2. I agree that the sights could be better. When they installed the sights, do they make sure it shoots accurately? What if you need to adjust the site because they put it on wrong?

TreyHouston wrote:So, i EDC a MOD2. I agree that the sights could be better. When they installed the sights, do they make sure it shoots accurately? What if you need to adjust the site because they put it on wrong?

Both my factory XDm sights and the truglos I had them changed for hit right on without needing adjustment. YMMV but mine is far more accurate than I am.

TreyHouston wrote:So, i EDC a MOD2. I agree that the sights could be better. When they installed the sights, do they make sure it shoots accurately? What if you need to adjust the site because they put it on wrong?

Here is my limited experience shooting 3 different Springfield Armory pistols from sandbags to a target at 25 yards to verify sight alignment:
- XD9 SubCompact with fixed factory sights and it shoots spot on.
- XD-S 3.3 in .45 ACP with fixed factory sights and it shoots spot on.
- XDm 5.25 in 9mm with factory adjustable rear sight (both elevation and windage adjustable) and it needed a fair bit of adjustment.

I think they do a good job of aligning fixed sights, but my adjustable sights were sort of close from the factory but easily aligned.

I use a Sight Pro from MCW for installations. Not something you'd buy for a one off, but it's a great tool that protects slide rails better than most. You just buy type/model specific slide shoes that you change out in the tool.

Previously made the mistake of going cheap on a 'universal' e-bay sight tool (not the one mentioned in this thread, that actually looks like a quality item). I keep that one on my pegboard as a reminder.

I still cross my fingers with Springfields though

...and a little 'micro' oil applied on the exit path and along the joint prior to the operation helps.

SRO1911 wrote:I have replaced the sights on both my xd45 tactical and my xds.
The sights seem to be installed cryogenicly, and are very useful if you like to break tools.
Since I had absolutely no intention of re using the sights i simply used a cut-off wheel in a dremel to take a slice across them, then a few light taps with a punch.
Front and rear replacement done in 5~10 minutes.

Yup, that works too.

When I took my first XD to a gunsmith, that's what he ended up doing because none of his sight pushers would budge the things.