XDS 9mm a picky eater?

mukjp22m · August 30, 2015, 11:19 AM

I have a Springfield XDS 9mm 3.3 inch. When I first bought it, I had some failures to eject, but that seemed to work itself out after a few hundred rounds as it loosened up. But it has another problem - it doesn't work reliably with all the defensive loads I've tried. It seems to love Liberty Civil Defense 9mm (the fast, light rounds). I feel that I've probably run around 60 rounds of that through it flawlessly.

But yesterday I tried the Federal HST 124 gr, and out of 35 rounds, it failed to feed once. It got jammed up on the feed ramp.

Then I tried a box of Hornady Critical Defense 115 gr. With such a steep angle on the bullet, I figured it couldn't possibly fail to feed. But I was wrong - it jammed up as soon as I put the magazine in, seemingly even before I attempted to release the slide. That doesn't really even make sense, and I thought I had done something stupid, so I reseated the magazine and tried again. In just 15 attempts I had two jams similar to the HST jam, getting stuck feeding onto the ramp. For a sanity check, I ran some ball ammo and it went just fine.

Is this normal? Do I just live with it and stick to rounds that operate well? It makes me nervous to see any sort of malfunction in my CCW.

GJSchulze · August 30, 2015, 02:08 PM

Everything I've read says that you should always test ammo in a SD gun until you find one that is 100% reliable. Feeding HP can be problematic.

If you have friends who have HP, load them in a mag and rack your slide through all of them. If they feed OK, go buy some and shoot them.

dave421 · August 30, 2015, 05:58 PM

I no longer have mine but FWIW I use Speer Gold Dots and had no issues with my XDS9

Gene Pool · August 30, 2015, 06:47 PM

IMO, like a Glock, the XD should feed about any of the regular brands of self defense ammo. I would venture to say you have a magazine issue. If it were me, I would call Springfield tomorrow and explain the problem to a technician. I am sure they will want the gun sent in for inspection, along with the magazines. Springfield is a reputable company. They will make you satisfied, but you have to work with them.

Hope this helps,
Gene Pool

Captains1911 · August 30, 2015, 08:17 PM

Mine has eaten everything I've fed it, including several types of both FMJ and JHP.

Do you experience the malfunctions with different mags? How many rounds do you have through yours?

mukjp22m · August 30, 2015, 09:17 PM

I have the 7 and 9 round mags it came with, plus another factory 7 round. I've seen it in at least two of the three mags, including the 9 and one of the 7's. I have about 350 rounds through it now. I'm going to take it to the range again this week and try a large amount of cheap JHP's, as well as another 10-20 of the Civil Defense rounds to put my mind at ease.

Ride Madone · August 31, 2015, 03:03 PM

SEND IT BACK to Springfield. It should not malfunction at all. Why trust your life to something that "will probably" work.

Tony C · September 1, 2015, 10:12 PM

I've had my XDs for about two months, maybe a little longer. I have over 1,000 rounds through it without a single malfunction.

I've put very cheap factory ammo, my own reloads, and both Hornady 115 grain Critical Defense and 135 grain Critical Duty through it. No issues at all.

If you have three hundred rounds or more through it and still having problems, call Springfield. Their customer service is excellent.

Tony

JDBerg · September 2, 2015, 07:58 AM

If your gun won't cycle Federal HST 124 gr. or Hornady Critical Defense 115 gr. I wouldn't waste any more time or expensive factory ammo, I'd just call Springfield CS & get an RMA to have this gun fixed so it shoots this ammo.

Shadi Khalil · September 2, 2015, 08:33 AM

I don't own one but from what I've read, they seem to be pretty reliable. I would agree with the other posters and give SA a call. I couldn't imagine owning a SD pistol that would not fire the HST's.

Keithg · September 3, 2015, 02:02 PM

I also had issues feeding Critical Duty in my XDs 9. I've found that it likes the HST so I've stuck with it ever since. I should mention that I've only put about 300 rounds of HST through it though.

August 30, 2015, 11:19 AM	#1
mukjp22m Member Join Date: October 3, 2013 Posts: 44	XDS 9mm a picky eater? I have a Springfield XDS 9mm 3.3 inch. When I first bought it, I had some failures to eject, but that seemed to work itself out after a few hundred rounds as it loosened up. But it has another problem - it doesn't work reliably with all the defensive loads I've tried. It seems to love Liberty Civil Defense 9mm (the fast, light rounds). I feel that I've probably run around 60 rounds of that through it flawlessly. But yesterday I tried the Federal HST 124 gr, and out of 35 rounds, it failed to feed once. It got jammed up on the feed ramp. Then I tried a box of Hornady Critical Defense 115 gr. With such a steep angle on the bullet, I figured it couldn't possibly fail to feed. But I was wrong - it jammed up as soon as I put the magazine in, seemingly even before I attempted to release the slide. That doesn't really even make sense, and I thought I had done something stupid, so I reseated the magazine and tried again. In just 15 attempts I had two jams similar to the HST jam, getting stuck feeding onto the ramp. For a sanity check, I ran some ball ammo and it went just fine. Is this normal? Do I just live with it and stick to rounds that operate well? It makes me nervous to see any sort of malfunction in my CCW.

September 2, 2015, 07:58 AM	#9
JDBerg Senior Member Join Date: May 18, 2015 Location: PA Posts: 1,835	If your gun won't cycle Federal HST 124 gr. or Hornady Critical Defense 115 gr. I wouldn't waste any more time or expensive factory ammo, I'd just call Springfield CS & get an RMA to have this gun fixed so it shoots this ammo. __________________ Words to Live By: Before You Pray - Believe; Before You Speak - Listen; Before You Spend - Earn; Before You Write - Think; Before You Quit - Try; Before You Die - Live

August 30, 2015, 02:08 PM	#2
GJSchulze Senior Member Join Date: May 3, 2013 Location: Western New York Posts: 454	Everything I've read says that you should always test ammo in a SD gun until you find one that is 100% reliable. Feeding HP can be problematic. If you have friends who have HP, load them in a mag and rack your slide through all of them. If they feed OK, go buy some and shoot them.

August 30, 2015, 05:58 PM	#3
dave421 Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2006 Posts: 510	I no longer have mine but FWIW I use Speer Gold Dots and had no issues with my XDS9

August 30, 2015, 06:47 PM	#4
Gene Pool Member Join Date: April 16, 2014 Location: Rural Texas Posts: 96	IMO, like a Glock, the XD should feed about any of the regular brands of self defense ammo. I would venture to say you have a magazine issue. If it were me, I would call Springfield tomorrow and explain the problem to a technician. I am sure they will want the gun sent in for inspection, along with the magazines. Springfield is a reputable company. They will make you satisfied, but you have to work with them. Hope this helps, Gene Pool

August 30, 2015, 08:17 PM	#5
Captains1911 Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2009 Location: West of the Blue Ridge, VA Posts: 684	Mine has eaten everything I've fed it, including several types of both FMJ and JHP. Do you experience the malfunctions with different mags? How many rounds do you have through yours?

August 30, 2015, 09:17 PM	#6
mukjp22m Member Join Date: October 3, 2013 Posts: 44	I have the 7 and 9 round mags it came with, plus another factory 7 round. I've seen it in at least two of the three mags, including the 9 and one of the 7's. I have about 350 rounds through it now. I'm going to take it to the range again this week and try a large amount of cheap JHP's, as well as another 10-20 of the Civil Defense rounds to put my mind at ease.

August 31, 2015, 03:03 PM	#7
Ride Madone Member Join Date: May 20, 2015 Posts: 85	SEND IT BACK to Springfield. It should not malfunction at all. Why trust your life to something that "will probably" work.

September 1, 2015, 10:12 PM	#8
Tony C Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2007 Location: Oregon Posts: 293	I've had my XDs for about two months, maybe a little longer. I have over 1,000 rounds through it without a single malfunction. I've put very cheap factory ammo, my own reloads, and both Hornady 115 grain Critical Defense and 135 grain Critical Duty through it. No issues at all. If you have three hundred rounds or more through it and still having problems, call Springfield. Their customer service is excellent. Tony

September 2, 2015, 08:33 AM	#10
Shadi Khalil Senior Member Join Date: September 23, 2006 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 5,210	I don't own one but from what I've read, they seem to be pretty reliable. I would agree with the other posters and give SA a call. I couldn't imagine owning a SD pistol that would not fire the HST's.

September 3, 2015, 02:02 PM	#11
Keithg Member Join Date: January 13, 2006 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 21	I also had issues feeding Critical Duty in my XDs 9. I've found that it likes the HST so I've stuck with it ever since. I should mention that I've only put about 300 rounds of HST through it though.