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Went to the range today with my wife and daughter. We were shooting my wife's new Ruger LCR .38 and the XDS .45 I bought this week from surferdaddy on this forum.

My wife is tickled with her LCR. She has had trouble racking the slide on any of my semi-autos in the past. She loves the easy load of the revolver (no magazines to load) and said the LCR was fun to shoot and didn't hurt her hand.

I shot about 100 rounds through my new XDS. It went bang every time. I struggled with shot grouping though. My hands are really sore now too. It's a good gun and I am looking forward to carrying it but I think I'll have to bond with it slowly over several range trips only shooting a few rounds each trip. I think 100 in one trip was way too many.

All in all, it was a good day. Any time I can get the girls out shooting is a good day.

RJGold wrote:Went to the range today with my wife and daughter...I shot about 100 rounds through my new XDS. It went bang every time. I struggled with shot grouping though. My hands are really sore now too. It's a good gun and I am looking forward to carrying it but I think I'll have to bond with it slowly over several range trips only shooting a few rounds each trip. I think 100 in one trip was way too many.

All in all, it was a good day. Any time I can get the girls out shooting is a good day.

Yeah, though the original XDS packs a punch when needed, it is not what anyone would describe as a "sweet range gun". I can usually get somewhere between 40 and 50 well placed rounds through mine before I start rushing things and experimenting with changes in my grip that tend to exascerbate any lack of marksmanship -in other words, I start not being able to hit the broad side of a barn. I'm thinking seriously of trading the XDS .45 for a 9mm version, or for a different gun altogether, simply because I don't shoot enough with it, because of its "uncomfortableness" that... well, I'm not convinced I wouldn't flinch at the wrong time when I needed it for real.

Anyway, just a note to say "I feel your pain!"

I've got an XDM 9mm that is a sweet shooting pistol. It's a good carry pistol too.

I bought the XDS .45 because I wanted a .45 in a small carry package.

I think if I shoot it in small bursts, I'll be able to gain confidence in it.

Thanks for the note.

My wife shoots an XDS 9 mm and loves it. She does not like my Sig 938 9mm though. There is a big difference in the recoil. The 938 is far more snappy. I've never shot the XDS .45 so can't help you there. I can tell you my wife recently put about 400 rounds through her XDS during a training day with no problem.

I enjoy my XDM .45 but carry my HK P30 9mm with my 938 as a BUG. I use the .45 for home or extra defense in my truck.

AndyC wrote:

n5wd wrote:I'm thinking seriously of trading the XDS .45 for a 9mm version, or for a different gun altogether

Test-fire the 9mm version before you trade. They came out with the 9mm a year after the release of the .45, and I was surprised - I happen to enjoy the recoil of the .45 version but the 9mm was unpleasant to me.

best suggestion that can be made, unfortunately i often don't follow this advice and buy without testing and then regret later.

but on the topic, small carry pistols weren't really made for range toys which stinks because you ideally want as much practice as you can get with your carry pistol. I can do about 100rounds out of my shield and it doesn't hurt my hand much, but my pm9 is a whole other story I can't even do a full box without feeling it.

As this topic is "Range Day," I took my daughter to the range today and shot .22 handgun, 9mm handgun and AR15. She was all smiles and quite accurate too!

RJGold wrote:I struggled with shot grouping though

While I do not shoot my XDs45 as well as I shoot my M&P Full Size, nor should I to be honest,
I have found that a bit stronger grip, and pushing forward, with the trigger hand and with my off hand, pulling a bit more than any other gun I shoot.
With that push/pull and stronger grip, yes, a bit sore, the grouping became much better (for me).
Maybe this will also work for you.

Teamless wrote:

RJGold wrote:I struggled with shot grouping though

While I do not shoot my XDs45 as well as I shoot my M&P Full Size, nor should I to be honest,
I have found that a bit stronger grip, and pushing forward, with the trigger hand and with my off hand, pulling a bit more than any other gun I shoot.
With that push/pull and stronger grip, yes, a bit sore, the grouping became much better (for me).
Maybe this will also work for you.

Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a go next time at the range.