I've been pretty happy with my stock 5" tactical XD9 pistol and was thinking about a couple of things. Wanted to get feedback from you guys if you have any experience with the gun.

1. I'm thinking of buying a PRP trigger for my XD9. Anyone have any experience with these triggers?

PRP Ultimate Easy Fit Trigger Kit XD $100
http://shop.powderriverprecision.net/product.sc?productId=36&categoryId=2

PRP Drop In Trigger Kit XD $125
http://shop.powderriverprecision.net/product.sc?productId=80&categoryId=2

PRP Ultimate match trigger kit XD $135
http://shop.powderriverprecision.net/product.sc?productId=34&categoryId=2

2. What ammo does your XD9 like using?  I've tried CCI/Speer 115gr FMJ and Winchester white box 115gr FMJ ammo on this and no misfires on either. However, I've noticed that I am getting much better groupings on the Winchester than the CCI/Speer. I have just bought some white box Federal 115gr ammo and will be trying it out soon. Have any of you tried a variety of 9mm ammo and what works best for you? 

Since no one has answered....

I have an XD 45. I poked through the same list of trigger upgrades and (being low on funds) ended up smoothing out the sear and the matching catch on the striker and it was good enough for me. Trigger pull and release improved a bit. It also got a little better when I stripped the gun down to its pieces and wiped it all down with Ballistol.  I'd still love a nice, crisp competition trigger break on it... but can't throw that kind of cash at it just now. 

I used the flat side of a slightly serrated screw driver to polish the sear and striker - wasn't willing to risk anything stronger without more knowledge of what I was doing but I did make sure the trigger was slightly positive. Which of course it is with this kind of trigger. All I wanted to do was make it easier for the striker to slip off the sear and it worked. Not a huge improvement but enough to make it worth doing - and it was free.

Love the pistol, though. I know it has its issues but I'm completely satisfied for the money I spent on it.

Thanks for your comments, clshade. I didn't think there were a lot of XD folks in this forum (mostly Glock fans I think) so I went to xdtalk.com instead. It looks like everyone there was pretty happy with the PRP trigger kit so I'll have to set aside some funds for a future purchase.

I'll have to look inside the XD and see if I can figure out what you did.  It would be a good learning experience to do a full disassemble of the XD9 over a basic field strip.  At the very least, I should clean and re-lubricate the internals.

That said, I bought about 4 different types of 9mm ammo and will take it to the range this weekend. My retired military friend and I will do some tests with it and check the grouping of the different ammo. I'll post my findings here when i figure it out.

I'm an XD guy, I got a XD .40 but I never really done anything to it yet. I'm pretty happy with it the way it is. But that might change in the future.

I got an XD40 & a XDM45.

Good pistols. 

Ok, I had a really nice day this morning at the range. I just wanted to share the results of my ammo tests for other XD9 users out there. This is not a definitive test so I welcome other shooters to test it to confirm and compare results.

How I tested:

1. Set up the target 25 yards down range. Target is an 8" round target in a 12" square target. Scoring is determined by counting how many shots were in the black 8" round target and how many were in the 12" square target.



2. Shot a box each of 4 different ammos, 5 rounds (or 1 mag) at a time. Shot 5 of the CCI, then 5 of the Federal, then 5 of the Winchester, then 5 of the Gold Dot, then back again.  I counted the number of holes in the 8" and 12" after every 5 bullets.  Another option was to shoot all 50 bullets at one time per box but I wanted to avoid the effects of practice and fatigue.  So I staggered the ammo types and did it this way.



Testing Results:

1. CCI Blazer 9mm 115gr FMJ
     - in 8" round target: 18/45 (40%)
     - in 12" square target: 30/45 (67%)

2. Federal Ammunition 9mm 115gr FMJ
    - in 8" round target: 21/45 (47%)
    - in 12" square target: 31/45 (69%)

3. Winchester Bulk Ammo 9mm 115gr FMJ (came in box of 100. Took 50 to the range.)
    - in 8" round target: 30/45 (67%)
    - in 12" square target: 41/45 (91%)

4. Speer Gold Dot 9mm 124gr JHP (small box of 20)
    - in 8" round target: 10/20 (50%)
    - in 12" square target: 17/20 (85%)

Anyway, there you go. At least for me, of the 4 ammo i tried, the Winchester 9mm 115gr bulk ammo worked best on my XD9.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I've had no jams or failures on any of the ammo I've used. Probably fired around 600-800 rounds through the gun, which is cleaned after every visit to the range.  Pretty happy with the XD9 as is.

Yeah, it's a really good pistol. I guess it's a matter of preference.

I went to a local gun shop today to buy more ammo and the guy behind the counter was telling me that the Winchester White Box 9mm 115gr bulk ammo was one of the worst (inconsistent) ammo compared to CCI or Federal.

I was wondering if I was just getting the sales talk or the real deal since my limited experience with the Winchester shot the best on my XD9. I am not really that familiar with the reputation of the different ammo manufacturers but is it true that WWB 9mm 115gr bulk ammo is towards the bottom of the barrel?

I saw the Twitter that ogc put out and was going to grab a case. Also got some pmc and hydra shocks. Maybe we could do another test with other ammo as well or trade some ammo or something.

Most of the testing I've done was point and shoot and hit the Target and make sure it feeds. No offical groupings, or anything like that.

Hi bass monkey -- I'm game if you want to test groupings of different 9mm ammo. It'd be good to share / trade a box or two or compare results with someone else.

I went to a local gun shop today to buy more ammo and the guy behind the counter was telling me that the Winchester White Box 9mm 115gr bulk ammo was one of the worst (inconsistent) ammo compared to CCI or Federal.

I was wondering if I was just getting the sales talk or the real deal since my limited experience with the Winchester shot the best on my XD9. I am not really that familiar with the reputation of the different ammo manufacturers but is it true that WWB 9mm 115gr bulk ammo is towards the bottom of the barrel?

Just want to answer my own question here. I have not heard back from anyone (here or other boards) regarding whether WWB sucks or not, so I think that may an answer in itself.

Also, the non-WWB ammo that the local gun shop sold me shot really well.  So, +1 to the guy behind the counter.

Just want to answer my own question here. I have not heard back from anyone (here or other boards) regarding whether WWB sucks or not, so I think that may an answer in itself.

Also, the non-WWB ammo that the local gun shop sold me shot really well.  So, +1 to the guy behind the counter.

Every gun has its preferred fodder.

A lot of times, people will shoot a particular brand of ammo with their gun and it doesnt work well. They presume that the ammo is shit ammo and tell everyone they know that brand x of ammo sucks and is unreliable.
Another gun might shoot that ammo perfectly and the owner of the latter gun will tell everyone that brand x is the greatest ammo made.

I have a Glock 23 that feeds damn near everything that i feed it. I fed it some magtech ammo at a range session one time. It jammed (FTF) at least 2-3 times per magazine. I tried different mags and same thing. I stopped shooting the magtech fodder and started shooting the Speer Lawman I brought. The trusty old 23 shot perfectly the restof the day.

Does this mean that magtech is shit ammo? No, definitely not. It means that my particular pistol just doesnt like that particular ammo.

Take most of the ammo advice youget with a grain of salt.
Every gun is different and likes or dislikes certain ammo brands/types.

^^^ That makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks, KK.

It sounds like each handgun really should be treated as a unique piece. That means more range time to test various ammo -- awesome!!! 

^^^ That makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks, KK.

It sounds like each handgun really should be treated as a unique piece. That means more range time to test various ammo -- awesome!!! 

Just as a suggestion you might want to include more 124gr ammo choices next time you go to the range. Maybe even a couple of 147gr ammo choices. In my particular case I found my two 9mm semi autos have a preference for 124gr ammo. Generally speaking this means they will shoot most 124gr loads better than most 115gr loads but there is always an exception to any rule. At least in this way you'll have a general idea what type of ammo (generally speaking) your particular gun likes just in case you are presented with numerous choices (which is a good thing).

I shoot REAL cheap ammo through my 9's when I am just practicing. And I found that the ammo I am using (no longer available) shoots almost as well as my reloads do. I suggest after you do your research if you find that a cheap brand of ammo shoots better than the more expensive stuff does then you are lucky and should buy a quantity of the cheap ammo while you can. 

^^ thanks and noted.  I've been sticking to buying cheap 9mm ammo from the various LGS when they have a sale. I should definitely give the higher grains a try.