Review: Custom XD-9 by Springer Precision - Pic Heavy

[Medic218]

I have an XD-9 Service that I wanted a little work on so I decided to send it in to Springer Precision and let them tune it up a bit.
They offered me their FedEx discount, which was nice, so it was about 45.00 each way. They do this for all their customers by the way.

Services I had done:
Grip chop
Trigger job
Recrown barrel
Undercut trigger guard
Install my supplied sights(Trijicon HD)

Before you ask...no, I have not had a chance to shoot it yet. This review is just to show their handy work since when I was looking for pictures of some of the services they offered I couldn't find any of the things I wanted done. So, I decided to have them done on my pistol and then share it with anyone wondering what a particular service would look like once completed.

Now to the good stuff!


Finished product.


There is a bit of a gap that I wasn't expecting. I was expecting it to be a more precise fit, like from the factory. What you see hanging off the back is from the pinky extension.


Notice the gap.






Notice the offset. Both the compact and the full size mag have some side-to-side play in them but they do still lock in nice and tight and everything seems to be functioning ok to spite it.



The undercut of the trigger guard came out nice and smooth.






The grip chop came out a little rough in my opinion. I would have thought that paying someone to do it and having it done on a mill would have yielded a cleaner end product. I was able to clean it up pretty well with a Dremel and a nylon bristle wheel.







Real happy with the sights and how they turned out. The bright orange is a great contrast on the nearly all black rear sight and should make getting on point a snap. The tritium is bright and easy to pick up in the dark.





Barrel recorwning just 'cause. I think it turned out really well and looks slick.


All in all I'm please with the work they did. My only gripe would be the roughness left over by the mill on the grip chop. It took me all of 5 minutes with a Dremel to clean it up and I feel the extra effort to clean up their work should have been made.

The trigger job seems nice while dry firing it. The take up and reset has been greatly reduced. They said they set it at about 4#, which I have no way to test, but it is a bit lighter than the factory trigger. The biggest difference is not the weight of the pull but the length of it as well as the reset.

[TrackinPat]

That looks fantastic! The offset would bother me slightly but not much however I do agree they could've taken the time to touch up.. I have an XD Subcompact .40 I was thinking about putting their drop in trigger kit into.

[gfmun]

Be sure to post how it shoots and how it feels. I have been thinking of getting the grip chop on mine.


Thanks,
George

[TrackinPat]

So is the purpose of the grip chop to gain the advantage of a subcompact while keeping the advantages of a 5 inch barrel?

[The Annoyed Man]

I have those exact same sights on my XD(M)-45 Compact 3.8, and I love them. Wait until you actually try transitioning from bright sunlight to lower light indoors! That orange disc glows quite brightly, aiding the transition. And it phosphoresces in bright sunlight too, making the front sight really easy to pick up. And the big U-shaped notch in the rear sight with no white around the rear tritium lamps makes for a better sight picture too.

I'll eventually put these on all my carry guns.

[Medic218]

Be sure to post how it shoots and how it feels. I have been thinking of getting the grip chop on mine.


Thanks,
George

In the hand it feels great. Just like my sub-compact did before I traded it off.
I'll shoot it a little later today and see whats what.

So is the purpose of the grip chop to gain the advantage of a subcompact while keeping the advantages of a 5 inch barrel?

It's a 4", but yes.

[TrackinPat]

Ah okay just making sure that was the reason though. Can't wait to hear how it shoots!

[The Annoyed Man]

Be sure to post how it shoots and how it feels. I have been thinking of getting the grip chop on mine.


Thanks,
George

In the hand it feels great. Just like my sub-compact did before I traded it off.
I'll shoot it a little later today and see whats what.

So is the purpose of the grip chop to gain the advantage of a subcompact while keeping the advantages of a 5 inch barrel?

It's a 4", but yes.

So basically, you've converted it to a compact, kind of like my compact 3.8 XD(M), except that its an XD?

[Medic218]

TAM, pretty much.


I got it to the range today and had a hard time maintaining any level of accuracy while standing but from a rest it was dead on so I know the problem lies with the operator.
I shot it better before I sent it off....
Before I went out I also added a pair of rubber Talon grips that didn't seem to give me the advantage I had hoped for based on what I've seen other say about them.
I almost wonder if the undercut was throwing me off. I don't know. My neck and back being really tight and sore probably didn't help either but that probably had less to do with it than operatir error.
I'm sure I just need more time on it to get used to it.

[TrackinPat]

That undercut could've thrown you off I bet! Different grip and all.. I had the sandpaper talon grips on my XD before and wasn't a huge fan so I tore them off.