Springfield XD .45 jams/feed problems

[andyw328]

I recently bought my first handgun, a Springfield XD in .45. I really love this gun, but I have noticed something. I have put about 500 rounds through this gun at the range, and I am getting on average 2 or 3 jams/feed problems per 100 rounds. Now, prior to purchasing my XD, I remember reading a feature from a magazine (I believe... Guns? Guns and Ammo? I don't read gun literature too much...yet!) where they performed what they called the "20,000 round torture test." In it, they fire 17.5k rounds through the gun at the range, and the last few thousand are fired while the gun is subject to various adverse conditions, i.e. frozen, waterlogged, filled with mud(!) etc. Throughout the 20,000 rounds they supposedly had not one malfunction. I have gone through 500 and had at least 10.

NOW, I have been buying ammo right at the range, and the ammo they sell are reloads. Could this have something to do with it, or is something wrong with my gun?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[matiki]

I recently bought my first handgun, a Springfield XD in .45. I really love this gun, but I have noticed something. I have put about 500 rounds through this gun at the range, and I am getting on average 2 or 3 jams/feed problems per 100 rounds. Now, prior to purchasing my XD, I remember reading a feature from a magazine (I believe... Guns? Guns and Ammo? I don't read gun literature too much...yet!) where they performed what they called the "20,000 round torture test." In it, they fire 17.5k rounds through the gun at the range, and the last few thousand are fired while the gun is subject to various adverse conditions, i.e. frozen, waterlogged, filled with mud(!) etc. Throughout the 20,000 rounds they supposedly had not one malfunction. I have gone through 500 and had at least 10.

NOW, I have been buying ammo right at the range, and the ammo they sell are reloads. Could this have something to do with it, or is something wrong with my gun?

My XD's have been utterly reliable, but that doesn't rule out your gun as a suspect.

Are you a new shooter? What experience do you have? Tell us more about the reloads. Have you used new manufactured ammo and had the same issue? Have you tried different ammo or just the same stuff for all 500 rounds?

There's a wealth of knowledge here. I'm sure someone will help you figure it out (I'm likely not around for a few days).

[grady]

NOW, I have been buying ammo right at the range, and the ammo they sell are reloads. Could this have something to do with it, or is something wrong with my gun?

The only way you're going to know is to buy some quality ammo and try it.

I don't recommend Federal HST. Some XD-45's won't run it. Try another quality brand and you should have your answer.

[Avenger]

Its most likely you or the ammo and I am pretty sure its not you. The XD are simple to operate, just by gripping and squeezing the round should break, eject, feed, and be ready to fire again. Its probably the ammo, go buy a box of factory ammo and try it out.

What kind of malfunctions are you experiencing? Stove piping? Failure to feed? Knowing what kind of malfunction will help determine whats actually going on.

[dukalmighty]

If they aren't resizing and crimping the ammo right,including over belling the case mouth it can cause FTF

[digitalexplr]

Definitely get some factory ammo; Winchester White Box, Remington, Federal, etc. I would suspect the ammo.

For the record I shot Federal HST through my XD45 with no issues at all.

[andyw328]

Well, this is my first handgun, but not my first firearm. I suppose I am an amateur shooter, but I'm positive it isn't anything I'm doing to the gun. As was said, the gun is pretty simple to use. Come to think of it, the first 100 rounds were factory new and I did not have any issues.

The issue that happens is, somewhere halfway through the mag, a round just doesn't feed right. I'll be shooting, and suddenly the next trigger pull, nothing happens. The problem is always resolved by pulling the slide back and letting the round eject. From what I can tell, the round simply did not feed correctly. Is this a known issue with reloaded ammo? I will buy my next 100 rounds factory and see what happens I suppose.

[Phantoms]

What shooting stance are you using? What kind of grip? Check ARIZONA CCW PERMIT COURSE - Fundamentals of Pistol Marksmanship for information on different stances and grips. This is just to rule out you as the cause.

[PastorPack]

It sounds like an ammo issue. I agree with the recommendation to try some good factory ammunition. I expect that will fix your problem.

The other possibility is that you're limp-wristing it (no offense, but a poor shooting grip can cause failures--usually stovepiping the spent casing).

[andyw328]

I appreciate everyone that is asking about my grip to rule me out, but I do not do anything halfway. I make it a point to learn beforehand, and practice practice practice when the time comes. I had the rangemaster at both of the ranges I shoot at around here show me proper grip and shooting techniques. I can't figure out how to upload pix or I would just do that, but with my dominant hand holding the pistol, I make sure to choke up as far as I can get up the grip, hold firmly, and my supporting hand I slide into the open space on the grip between my palm and fingers.

I can't see how the grip could affect the gun functioning, but now I am curious! Can anyone explain how "limp-wristing" so-called can cause malfunctions?

PS I am broke but hopefully I can go get some new rounds tomorrow and report back about any malfunctions I do or do not encounter.

[andyw328]

PSS Weaver Stance :)

[ExHippie]

Regarding the ammo:

Did you look at the round that came out of your gun after you had a failure to fire, and needed to rack the gun? If so, did the firing pin strike the primer?

[andyw328]

I did inspect it, but admittedly I would not have known what to look for short of something obvious. The round looked like all the others... And when I reloaded it into the magazine w 12 others, they all fired fine.

[louie19]

If you don't provide a good backing to the gun with your grip (limp-wristing it) then sometimes it won't cycle right. Your description of your grip sounds fine. You could get the book Surgical Speed Shooting by Andy Stanford which goes in-depth into grip, stance, etc.

I had serious problems with an XD-9 that I tried when I was new to guns. I'm positive it was due to the range folks not maintaining it properly. Basically it was a lot of double-feeds and failure to ejects.

I'd definitely try a few different brands of factory ammo, not reloads. See which one(s) work best with your gun.

Also make sure you're cleaning and lubing your gun properly.

Finally, try different magazines and mark each one as good or bad. Sometimes you just get a bad magazine in the mix.

[Avenger]

I can almost guarantee its not the mag, the grip, the stance, or the gun. From what I have heard on this forum ( I would certainly be able to tell you if I saw it happen) its got to be the ammo. Sounds like the ammo is defective in one way or another and to figure that out Andy, you need to inspect EXACTLY what happens. The primer for example, if fired should have a dent in it and the bullet SHOULD be missing, if its not, its junk. If the chamber closed all the way the gun went "click," with NO boom and no dent in the primer then its the striker not hitting the primer correctly or not at all and you would know this because almost every round would do this. Obviously, if the chamber is not closing properly due to an over-sized round or FTF (failure to feed) and you squeezed the trigger, you wont hear a "click" and nothing will happen. Pulling the slide back and releasing it should clear the problem. This is again a bad round problem. Everything points to the rounds being bad. However, I am 98% sure and I would have to witness the malfunction or see pictures or a more descriptive detail of what is going on to make a good conclusion, but again, I am sure its the rounds and that is probably the best place to start anyway. Use Occam's razor which is the principle that entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity and the conclusion thereof, that the simplest explanation or strategy tends to be the best one. Or in other words: Given all things and all things being equal, the simplest explanation is the right one.