Help with XDS Failure to go into battery

[troglodyte]

My wife is looking for another carry gun. She normally carries and shoots an XD9SC. Thinking the same manual of arms would be good we borrowed an XDS in 9mm.

She can shoot a couple of rounds then one of two things happen, it either doesn't quite go back into battery, and we are talking just a smidge out of battery or the trigger doesn't reset and you have to pull the slide back just a little to get the trigger to reset. On the very first few rounds the striker was light and off center. I oiled it up real good and that has gone away. We are getting a good, deep strike.

Three other of us have fired the same gun and we have no problem. I initially thought she was limp wristing but she does not appear to be and I have tried to replicate every possible limp wristing and grip that I can and still operate the safety an gun safely.

We changed out the backstrap with the smaller one thinking it may just be a hand or reach issue, she has small hands, but that didn't help and we have checked her grip and cannot see any issues. She does not ride the slide.

What really confuses me is the trigger does not reset when the next round is loaded. Reset occurs when the slide moves about 1/8" back so I don't understand how it can feed the next round and not reset the trigger. I have tried replicating both on the range and at the bench but can't figure it out.

We've tried three different ammos and it only shows up for my wife, the rest of us have no problem, even if we try to make it fail.

It still may be limp wristing or how she grips but I find it odd that she shoots the XD9SC without any problem. The XD9SC grip is really too big for her and I know the mass helps absorb a little of the recoil but I can't see that it makes a big difference.

Any other ideas on what to check? We'd really like this to work but will obviously go a different direction if this is just a gun she cannot shoot.

[rotor]

If you google "xds 9mm battery problems" you will see lots of problems listed. Why it works well for you and not your wife may just be that she is limp wristing a little.

[Jusme]

The trigger not resetting is curious to me, also since it only happens with your wife shooting. Is it possible she is slightly releasing the trigger at recoil, and then resqeezing it? Maybe effectively preventing a reset.

I'm not familiar with the XDS but I remember someone having that issue, when they were doing rapid fire drills with an LCP, and it was just a slight trigger control issue where they were basically double squeezing it during the shot. Don't know if that helps, but it might be something to look at. JMHO

[treadlightly]

I don't have an XDS and don't know the gun. I shouldn't post, but I wonder if moving the slide back is jiggling the disconnector. It also sounds odd that oil moved the striker back to center. Maybe the off-center strikes were all a little out of battery but close enough to fire.

[Wag2323]

I would wonder if it is the grip safety. On the other gun might be large enough that even if she limp wrist a bit the safety is still down because it really fills her hand. On the xds maybe on the recoil she is loosening the grip and the safety moves out some stopping the return to battery.

[Pariah3j]

I would wonder if it is the grip safety. On the other gun might be large enough that even if she limp wrist a bit the safety is still down because it really fills her hand. On the xds maybe on the recoil she is loosening the grip and the safety moves out some stopping the return to battery.

I'm thinking this is might be how she holds it and or is limp wristing it and because of that the grip safety isn't being depressed correctly and causing the gun not to fire correctly. My old XD40SA would fire perfectly for me, but as soon as my wife would start shooting it, it would jam or not go into battery correctly. Never could figure out exactly what she was doing wrong - but 2 things that I found made it do it less often when she fired it - 1) she was death gripping the gun, which apparently was applying just enough pressure on the mag to caused the bullets not to feed correctly. 2) She was limp wristing it or not holding the grip right. After working with her on her grip, it got a lot better.

Does the grip bother her hands? I had to get some Talon grips for my XDs to make it comforatable for me. https://talongungrips.com/grips/springf ... 0-.45.html

[The Annoyed Man]

I'm thinking the gun needs to go see the doctor. I can't speak to the 9mm version, but my XDS45 has been nothing but utterly reliable. If it were MY gun, I'd take it to a smith and get it fixed. Absent that, I'd ask Springfield to warranty it.

[troglodyte]

I would wonder if it is the grip safety. On the other gun might be large enough that even if she limp wrist a bit the safety is still down because it really fills her hand. On the xds maybe on the recoil she is loosening the grip and the safety moves out some stopping the return to battery.

I'm thinking this is might be how she holds it and or is limp wristing it and because of that the grip safety isn't being depressed correctly and causing the gun not to fire correctly. My old XD40SA would fire perfectly for me, but as soon as my wife would start shooting it, it would jam or not go into battery correctly. Never could figure out exactly what she was doing wrong - but 2 things that I found made it do it less often when she fired it - 1) she was death gripping the gun, which apparently was applying just enough pressure on the mag to caused the bullets not to feed correctly. 2) She was limp wristing it or not holding the grip right. After working with her on her grip, it got a lot better.

Does the grip bother her hands? I had to get some Talon grips for my XDs to make it comforatable for me. https://talongungrips.com/grips/springf ... 0-.45.html

After much observation, research, and a lot of "here hold it this way", "now let me move your finger", "can you roll your hand this way?" type contortions I believe there is a couple of things going on. The light strikes seem to be an occurrence on some guns. It seems the extractor is a little too tight and it draws the round to the side just a little. After a little more break in and some oil the light, off-center strikes disappeared and we got good solid strikes.

I do think that there it is a combination of grip during recoil and the grip safety. On her XD9SC the grip safety is longer and contacts the heal of her hand more completely. On the XDS it is shorter and and falls more into the arch of the palm of her hand. I'm thinking it is physical grip (with a touch of limp wrist) vs. ergonomics issue. We've moved her grip around and got it running better but it still hiccups every so often. Not something I need her worrying about in a self-defense situation so we will be looking for other alternatives.

Not sure how the trigger reset plays into this but it runs for the other four people that have shot it, with bigger hands, so I'm sure it's not a problem with the gun. Unfortunately this is just a gun that she can't shoot.

I appreciate the insights. I really wanted her to be able to transition to the XDS but its doesn't seem to fit her right. She might could learn to work around it but in a self-defense situation I don't want her having to think of how to force a grip. There are plenty of other options out there, we'll find something that works.

[The Annoyed Man]

Troglodyte, have you considered trying a G43, since you're looking at single-stack 9mms?

[gtolbert09]

You might check out the new Springfield XDE

[Pariah3j]

If ya'll are looking for a single stack sub compact gun - I just swapped my XDs for a Walther PPS and love it - (100 bucks off right now with a mail in rebate)

[parabelum]

I can't really add anything as I never owned XDS, but I do agree with TAM on 43. It is one of the finest and the most reliable single stack 9mm that I ever owned. No matter what I fed through mine, it never hiccuped. Anything from wwb to some of the hottest +p+, it is very reliable.

[bblhd672]

Have her try a S&W Shield.

[Soccerdad1995]

If ya'll are looking for a single stack sub compact gun - I just swapped my XDs for a Walther PPS and love it - (100 bucks off right now with a mail in rebate)

on the Walther PPS.

With all the rebates going on the last few months, I was able to get a S&W Shield, a PPS, and I already had a Glock 43. All are great guns. And all have been 100% reliable (in fairness the PPS only has 100 rounds downrange).

Personally, I would rank them, in order, as PPS, Shield, then G43. Nothing against the G43, but the other two guns are notably less expensive and have better ergonomics, IMHO. Ergonomics are a bit of a personal thing, so someone else may feel differently.

[troglodyte]

We've got a Shield lined up for her to borrow and I got a P938 from a friend. Haven't found a G23 yet and hadn't thought of the PPS.

We'll keep going down the list. Thanks all!