Springfield XDS - Considering making the switch from 9 to 45

[Rollo]

Preface - My intention in writing this is not to start a caliber war. Honestly, it was more just for me to work out my own thoughts in my head and get them in order. I wrote this a few weeks ago and have been trying to decide whether to post it or not and finally decided to go ahead and do it. I mainly decided to post it because I know (from my own experience) that caliber choice is something that people that are a new to the world of CCW can sometimes struggle with and I thought that this could possibly help them.

I admit…When the specs for this gun first came out I thought it sounded horrible. First off, the weight was listed at 29 ounces. That seemed ridiculously heavy to me for a 5+1 pistol (regardless of caliber). Well, it turns out that the weight was misreported and it was actually 21 ounces. After reading this the idea of the pistol began to grow on me. There is however still my second issue which is basically this – You’re taking a big caliber (that is generally harder to control than a small caliber) and you’re putting it in a small frame gun (which is generally harder to control than a large frame one) and you’re decreasing the amount of rounds so essentially in my mind what you end up with is a big bore gun that easy to carry but has crappy capacity and is hard to connect with. Not things that go well together together for me when talking about a firearm… Interestingly enough I am still seriously considering buying one to evaluate when they come out as a possible new carry. Here’s why.

I remember a while ago an article (or maybe it was just something he said) by Gabe Suarez saying (And I’m seriously paraphrasing here) “I prefer 9mm because I prefer capacity because it keeps you in the fight longer”. Now, Mr. Suarez knows about a million times more than me when it comes to guns, tactics, and probably a lot of other things. That concept even makes sense to me in the context that Suarez is teaching it. This leads me back to the argument that the majority of people that carry a wheel gun (which is a group I was a member of for a while) tend to use when it comes to talking about capacity. That is that the majority of civilian self-defense shooting happen inside of 5 yards and are generally concluded with less than 5 shots. I admit, part of the reason I stopped carrying my wheel gun was a concern over capacity however the XDS partially corrects simply by the nature of semi auto’s generally being faster to reload than a wheel gun or at the very least requiring less manual dexterity. I think this brings up an interesting point and something that I have been giving a lot of thought to lately. It seems like I generally try to plan for the worst as opposed to the most likely.

Those of you that know me know that I am not a caliber guy. I generally consider myself above that particular fray. I think that 9mm is an effective round if placed well. I think that .40 is an effective round if placed well. I think that .45 is an effective round if placed well. I also think that all pistol rounds are generally under powered and I think that NO round is effective if you don’t hit what you are aiming at. That being said I remember watching an episode of a T.V show that I really used to like called The Unit. After a mission there is a conversation between one of the resident bad asses and another character who is strapping on their side arm.

“You pack a forty five instead of a 9?”
“Yeah, when I can…”
“Why?”
“Which would YOU rather be shot with?”
(I’m not trying to relate a fictional T.V show to a real life situation so don’t even start with me. I just found the dialog thought provoking)

I can say with 100 percent certainty that given a choice I would not want to be shot with ANY round. I’ve never been shot but I think it’s fair to assume that it sucks. However, given the choice I would be lying if I said that if I found myself in a situation where for whatever reason I could not avoid being shot that I wouldn’t want to be shot with the smallest caliber possible. So, what this really comes down to for me as a personal choice is capacity. Like I said earlier, planning for the worst case scenario or planning for the most likely one.

What I mean is this… It is thankfully highly unlikely that any of us will ever have to use our weapon in self-defense. In the off chance that we do, the most likely situation will be close range and will not require more than a couple of rounds. In that regard I think that in terms of my feeling confident in the round that I’m carrying getting the job done that the .45 wins out. However, we all know that situations that develop in real time are unpredictable. What if the first 2-3 rounds don’t bring the bad guy down? What if he doesn’t turn tail and run when the bullets start flying? What if he’s not a moron, makes it to cover and starts returning fire? What if there’s more than one target? What if they are both armed? Unlikely? Who’s to say. In a fight that lasts more than 5 seconds I feel that capacity wins out.

All that being said this is the decision that I have come to. The bottom line for me is that I have no business carrying a gun that I can’t shoot well. Bullets that don’t hit bad guys don’t stop bad guys. When the XDS is released I think I’ll buy one. I’ll buy a lot of .45 and I’m going to shoot the snot out of it. I will hold it to the same standard as I do for any carry gun. I must be able to connect at 25 yards. I must be able to fire it quickly and accurately. I must feel confident with the gun. If it doesn’t meet those criteria (assuming it is mechanically sound) I will simply sell it and other than losing a few dollars I’ll be no worse for wear. However, If it does meet those criteria I could seriously see myself making the switch from my G26 to the XDS and making the switch from 9mm to .45 for my carry gun. That’s assuming Springfield ever release the bloody thing…

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Thunder71]

If the XDS is all it's cracked up to be, I'll gladly switch... maybe.

I say maybe because the main reason I carry 9mm isn't because I can't handle 45, it is because I can afford to shoot it more often and as the saying goes, practice makes perfect.

[Rollo]

If the XDS is all it's cracked up to be, I'll gladly switch... maybe.

I say maybe because the main reason I carry 9mm isn't because I can't handle 45, it is because I can afford to shoot it more often and as the saying goes, practice makes perfect.

Cost of ammo is def something to consider. Now that I have my reloading gear setup I don't think about it quite as much but previously it was on the the primary reasons for keeping all my guns 9mm.

[BlueNinjaGo]

In my modest opinion, choosing a firearm is always going to be a series of compromises. Each person needs to evaluate their personal risk and level of comfort/security. If you follow Murphy's law, you'll be wearing body armor, with a Glock 17 on your hip, Glock 19 in a shoulder rig, and a Glock 26 on your ankle, and an AR15 on your back, 12 gauge in your trunk, and a few grenades in the glove box... just in case. And honestly, if you feel that all of that is realistically necessary for you, then by all means, I won't look down on you. But think about where you live, and what risk you are going to encounter.

Of course you'll never think "Man, I wish I didn't bring this many rounds to a gun fight", but we live in the real world where sacrifices and compromises are needed. People will always say "What if..." and they are partially correct, but you also could die in a car accident or plane crash, but does that stop you from leaving your house? (Where you could have a gas leak, hot water heater explode, aliens attack, yadda yadda.)

All that being said, I still prefer 9mm for cost, availability, effectiveness, and capacity. I sacrificed and compromised certain things and came up with that as my preferred caliber.

[WvHiker]

I go back and forth on carry guns too. Mostly I carry a G19, but bought a 3" SP101 a while back. I was enamored with the idea of a .357. It's fun at the range, but that's about it for me. I vastly prefer my 9mm.

I wish I'd bought a G26 instead, now that summer is rolling around. I just like 9mm better, and shoot it a lot better. The extra power was nicer in theory than practice.

[10thmtn]

Rollo - The G30 with the 9-rd mag has a grip that is only very slightly longer than the G26 that you now carry. Based on your previous thread, I thought that was the way you were going to go?

I recently bought a G30, but mostly for duty use. The heavier .45 does a better job through barriers (like car glass and such) than the lighter 9mm, IMHO. I still carry my 9mms more than the .45 though, since they are easier to conceal during my "day job."

The best solution to the low-capacity carry gun paradox, I have found...is to carry two guns.

[Rollo]

I gave a lot of thought to going the G30 route. What finally made me consider something else was overall dimensions. Mainly width and weight. I don't really want to carry a larger gun. The leaner I get the more difficult it is for me to properly conceal a handgun while maintaining the appearance I want. While I have absolutely nothing against people that carry two gun I just can't bring myself to do it. It's the same reason why I can't carry a fixed blade knife. It makes me feel like a mall ninja. I know it's stupid and it's totally a mental thing but I just can't do it :(

Rollo - The G30 with the 9-rd mag has a grip that is only very slightly longer than the G26 that you now carry. Based on your previous thread, I thought that was the way you were going to go?

I recently bought a G30, but mostly for duty use. The heavier .45 does a better job through barriers (like car glass and such) than the lighter 9mm, IMHO. I still carry my 9mms more than the .45 though, since they are easier to conceal during my "day job."

The best solution to the low-capacity carry gun paradox, I have found...is to carry two guns.

[10thmtn]

I hear you...

Still, a 12 oz LCP in the pocket is pretty easy to do. You might even skip carrying a spare mag for the gun on your belt. Two guns beats one gun plus spare mag, in my book.

[Wreckingba11]

I too thought about the xds but ended up with a cm9. Just for the fact that in a small package I'll have better shot placement with the 9.

[SamRudolph]

That’s assuming Springfield ever release the bloody thing…

Got it in one.

[DAO.Diva]

I ordered an XDS.45 in Bi-Tone to replace my BG.380. I didn't agonize over it at all. But, I am agonizing over the wait. I am also replacing my XD9SC with a XDM.45 or maybe an XD45c-4". No agonizing there, either. My reasoning was pretty simple: I'm old (lol) and I need to keep things simple because I am a newbie and don't have the experience/knowledge many of you have. Same platform, same caliber. These 2 should meet my needs (capacity) for CC depending on venue and dress. (I also have a SA1911.45 and a Taurus .38spcl for fun, bears and snakes.)
I like the idea of stocking up on one caliber and since I can handle a 45, I'm movin' on up. I really thought .45 was out of my league.

Hey, Rollo, just do it!

PS-I'm hearing on the XDforum that it comes with 2 mags: 5+1 and 6+1.

[INHUMAN]

Got it in one.

I dont understand exactly what that means?

[BugDude]

I should just sell you my Glock 36. Single stack .45 that handles the round nicely...I just can't attain the same accuracy as I can with my xd40sc or S&W 442. So I quit trying. It is collecting dust in my safe and I just need to sell the darn thing. I just need to get out of .45 all together. If I didn't like my xd40sc so much, I'd sell it and buy the 9mm version and just stick with 9mm. I might do that anyway. One caliber that is more economical to shoot is where I'm leaning.

[TonyDTrigger]

I prefer the 9mm. Especially when you can get + P + ammo (124 gr @ 1300 fts Buffalo Bore). I would like to check the XDS but not to replace but to add.

[shooterX]

Rollo - The G30 with the 9-rd mag has a grip that is only very slightly longer than the G26 that you now carry. Based on your previous thread, I thought that was the way you were going to go?

I recently bought a G30, but mostly for duty use. The heavier .45 does a better job through barriers (like car glass and such) than the lighter 9mm, IMHO. I still carry my 9mms more than the .45 though, since they are easier to conceal during my "day job."

The best solution to the low-capacity carry gun paradox, I have found...is to carry two guns.

I am begining to like the"new york reload" myself, often carry two when I am carrying revolvers.