Wayne over at The American Firearms School can shoot the eyeballs out of a newt at ninety paces. With a Glock. Any Glock. ‘Cause all Glocks have the exact same grip and trigger. Shoot one Glock, you’ve shot ’em all. The Springfield XD-M shown here is different from a Glock in many important ways. As far as Wayne’s concerned, the XD’s trigger is the Big Kahuna. He doesn’t like it. Not a bit. It’s too “squishy.” Wayne prefers the Glock’s on-off-style clean trigger break and shorter reset. Hang on; Springfield’s sales literature claims that the XD-M has “the shortest travel than any currently available polymer pistol along with a similarly short reset.” We’ve put a call into Springfield, and not about their grammar. Meanwhile, time for a test fire . . .
If I was a newt, I’d buy Wayne a Springfield XD-M. Now back to the trigger thing . . .
Ace marksman Rob Leatham says that the XD-M’s “trigger alone is worth the price difference.” (Does the same hold true if it brings a friend?) Apparently, the new trigger makes the XD-M “better to shoot, more accurate to shoot and more consistent to shoot.”
Yes, well, Leatham meant the XD-M’s more accurate and consistent than the XD. Not a Glock. And, it must be said, The Dude made these statements in a promo video for the XD-M, for which he was handsomely rewarded.
I’ve got no problem with the XD-M’s trigger. After 1000+ rounds, newts should be afraid. Be very afraid.
[Note: no newts were harmed in the writing of this report or my Springfield XD-M review. So far. And as far as animal rights readers are concerned, no newts is good newts.]
hmmm interesting. I much prefer the XD's trigger over that of Glock and M&P. Neither of us are wrong, it's a personal decision.
Well Robert, I have had the wonderful opportunity to shoot with TGO (actually, everyone calls him Robbie) and Kippi (Rob's very sweet wife) for almost a year now. Rob and Kip are both regulars at Tuesday Night Steel (Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club, Mesa AZ). Rob actually holds training courses up there on a monthly basis (when it isn't so hot outside). For my birthday gift this year, my wife (man I love her!) signed me up for a Rob's "Day of Steel Class" held at the same range in Mesa. It was great to meet Rob and to have him go over my technique (I'm just getting into action shooting, so was awesome to get trained by the best right off the bat). What was more impressive was watching Rob shoot. What was EVEN more impressive was watching Rob shoot ANY gun brought to the range. If he was helping a student through a string or through a drill, he had no problem taking their gun and banging away at the same drill in record time.
If you knew anything about Rob (Leatham, not yourself), you know that he certainly isn't a Glock guy. While he respects what Glock has done to the industry, he certainly isn't going to be trading in his XD or XDM anytime soon, regardless of who pays his salary. As of this past May (2010), Rob was shooting Production Class with a 5" XD 9mm with a factory "trigger enhancement job" and some stippling to the grip that he did with a soldering iron. Rob, when asked about it, says he prefers an XDM over the XD, but the sight radius of the 5" XD was better for him. So, he had Springfield perform an trigger job, which ANYONE can have done for a nominal service fee (to either the XD or XDM). It can bring the trigger weight down if you prefer (not the best choice for a "combat" or nightstand gun). More importantly, you can get the pre and over travel brought down to nothing (which is what I like) or next to nothing (what most people like). This eliminates the squishy feel and makes it a very quick gun.
For me, all polymer guns have a very similar trigger out of the box. The M&P is on par with the Glock and the XD. The XDM raises the bar, but only slightly in my opinion. Some people swear that the 1911 is the best trigger around, but even then there is LOTS of room for improvement. The standard trigger-sets in modern guns are there because they are supposed to be "one size fits most". They leave plenty of room for customization and gunsmithing.