This is the new hammer fired pistol from Springfield Armory.
I picked up my new XD-E from the gun shop yesterday and went straight to the range.
Two magazines were supplied and both loaded without difficulty.
The advertised easy working slide works just as described. I wondered if there might be some failures to feed because of that but it never happened.
I started out with a box of Federal 115 fmj bulk box ammo. The first 2 magazines the group was poor. The next 2 magazines the group was better. The third 2 magazines the group was good.
Apparently it took a bit to get things settled in. Maybe just me getting used to the trigger.
It shot about 1 inch left of point of aim at 10 yards at the correct height so that part is acceptable since I can drift the rear sight to make up for that. Recoil was not an issue even though the pistol weighs less than my other 9mm pistols.
Sights were easy to see and get good alignment.
I ran 100 rounds of the Federal fmj through the pistol then switched over to my cast reloads. There was no difference in feel or accuracy. I tried several different boolit weights and nose profiles. They all fed well and shot accurately so no bad surprises there.
I have fairly large hands but had no issues with the grip at all. The trigger was about what you would expect for a carry pistol. There was a little creep before the trigger breaks in single action mode. The double action pull was pretty stiff but still manageable.
I really like the controls being similar to both my Taurus PT92 and 1911 pistols so I don't have to remember a different set of movements to work the gun.
It can be carried cocked and locked or hammer down if you wish.
I ran 200 rounds through the pistol and had no failures of any kind. This gives me great confidence in the pistol as a reliable defense weapon. The cast reloads I was using had boolits sized anywhere from .356 to .358 depending on the particular boolit and they all fed flawlessly and shot well. I didn't try any light loads in it this time. I may later just to see what happens.
After 100 rounds of cast there was no leading in the barrel and what residue there was cleaned out with a couple of brush strokes from the brush included with the pistol.
Please bear in mind that I am not a really good shot. I was able to hold the 9 ring on a silhouette target at 15 yards with all the ammunition I ran through the pistol. That is adequate for my use. I am not going to be using it for a target pistol.
Disassembly for field cleaning is simple and straight forward.
So far I can't find any real downsides to the gun. I am going to shoot it more in the near future to see if anything pops up.