A few Questions concerning Springfield XD's

[ArizonaScot]

I am wondering if any other springfield XD pistol owners think that the recoil spring is way to spout. the reason I ask is that I have tried to do some one handed drills and cannot seem to cycle the slide catching it on my belt or crouching and catching it in the back of my knee. I thought maybe that changing the recoil spring for a lighter on might help but then I run the risk of causing reliability issues. Any help or advise that could be given would be great.

I have one XD and two XD-m's (no, I don't like these pistols at all ). The stock recoil spring is definitely stout. If you try to do one-handed drill with the stock recoil spring at a public shooting range using your belt, you may embarass yourself if you don't have a nice tan. Get a nice tan first or get a tighter belt!

You might want to try the 18lbs recoil spring as suggested, but anything lower than 16lbs is asking for trouble and reliability issues if it is your intended carry weapon. One thing to keep in mind if you are going to experiment with recoil springs is that if you go with a heavier recoil spring, then the slide returns to battery quickly and your sights will be pointed low on the target after recoil from the first shot. If you go with a lighter recoil spring, your sight will be pointed above the target after the first shot. This is in general, of course, because it also depends on your personal good/bad shooting habits. Finally, if you use a heavier spring with lighter loads, then you will probably experience FTF and/or FTE. But I'm sure you are aware of all this.

Here are some additional links for XD springs:

XD 4":
http://www.gunsprings.com/Semi-Auto%...1/mID60/dID272

XD 5":
http://www.gunsprings.com/Semi-Auto%...1/mID60/dID271

XD-m 4.5":
http://www.gunsprings.com/Semi-Auto%...1/mID60/dID418