Modifying stock gun after buying it for competition?

[Dymond]

Hello,

I recently bought a Springfield XDM 5.25 competition pistol. I own the Mod 2 and XDs, and just a fan of Springfields.

I was wondering, should I buy everything up front I.e. Carver Mount w/optic , magazine well, threaded barrel, compensator, trigger group, etc? I would want to compete in the OPEN division.

My intention would be to learn the gun with most if not all accessories. Rather than learning as I go, after each modification. In the end I spend relatively the same amount.

It may come on as cocky showing up to a 5th meet with a modded gun only to come close to last, but perception seems like it would be easy to adjust habits when you don't need to upgrade parts. I know it's the shooter, not the gun that scores points.

If I should buy in parts, what order should I go?

[g.willikers]

My advice, worth what you paid for it, is to set it up the way you will use it.
Otherwise you could wind up trying to learn an ever changing shootin' iron.
Very confusing and not beneficial for scoring well.

[GJSchulze]

Is it a .45 or a 9? Open requires major power factor: 165. That can be hard to accomplish with 9mm and from what they tell me you need the higher PF for the compensator to work.. I use my 9mm xDM in production with 147 gr bullets. I made some mods to get the trigger down to 2.5 lbs.

I love mine.

[Jim Watson]

The sine qua non of Open is the optical sight.
If you just must nibble at the project, get that first.

But g. is right, if you are sure that is what you want to do, do it right the first time.

As for power factor, they make it in .40 which is easier to make Major than 9mm and holds more rounds than .45.
Do you handload?

I saw a guy yesterday who shoots 9mm Minor Limited. It lets him use a relatively cheap gun, a Plastic M&P with action job and magazine extensions but those Cs and Ds are going to hurt.

There seem to be a lot more people giving away Major scoring than when I was active in IPSC. Are shooters generally more accurate now? Or are they hung up on low recoil and cheap ammo to the disadvantage of their scores?

[TMD]

Probably wouldn't hurt to put a few hundred or few thousand rounds through it first to make sure you even like the gun and can shoot it to your satisfaction, before you dump a bunch of money into it.

[Jim Watson]

And to make sure it works.
Get any warranty coverage of flaws taken care of before you start messing with it.

[GJSchulze]

If it's the optics you want, there is a new division called Carry Optics.

I can't see shooting minor in Limited or Open. You are giving up points while everyone else is not. Scoring 5 for an A and 4 for a B or C means you can shoot faster and speed is the name of the game. In open you can use 9mm for major, but in Limited you have to shoot .40/10mm to score major.

The gun was really made for production, so shoot that for a while and then move up. You will definitely want to do a trigger job no matter where you end up, so do that first. You can get the parts from Springer Precision which will keep you within the rules of both USPSA and IDPA, but not IPSC (5.5 lb. first trigger pull). There are videos on YouTube on how to make the changes. If you are at all mechanically inclined it isn't hard and you don't need special tools except for a pin punch, small file, and needle nose. I changed trigger, sear, springs, guide rod, and striker for less than $300. It lightened the trigger and shortened trigger travel and reset.

[Don P]

Is it a .45 or a 9? Open requires major power factor: 165. That can be hard to accomplish with 9mm and from what they tell me you need the higher PF for the compensator to work.. I use my 9mm xDM in production with 147 gr bullets. I made some mods to get the trigger down to 2.5 lbs.

My bold added to the quote, I shoot with a bunch of folks who shoot 9mm major PF. Not hard to do.

[g.willikers]

Lots of 9mm major info here:
http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showforum=72

[T. O'Heir]

"...the OPEN division..." Of what? Everything depends on the kind of competition you plan of playing.
Most if not all accessories are a waste of money and may or may not apply to the game you're playing. Threaded muzzles, for example, do apply to bullseye shooting. Don't apply to much of anything unless you plan on putting on and removing compensators etc., regularly.
Like Jim Watson says, if it needs anything, do it before you send it to a smithy. Including trigger work or one shot with reloaded ammo. Voids the warrantee.
Really best to shoot thing for a while before you do anything to it.

[9x45]

Dymond, what you should do is learn how to play the game first. All the action pistol games have different rules, USPSA/IPSC/IDPA/Steel Challenge/3 Gun. But there is way, way more going on in any of the games than just the gun. Transitions/movement/stage math,etc. You will be best off to start in Production Division, get at least 2-3 dozen matches under your belt, and by then you will see how things roll. If you really want to go Open after that, and it can be done with an XDM, but you will see most of the Open guns are running Major 9 STI's (because they hold up). Getting on a dot takes serious discipline, and you may want to go Limited then.


Here is some XDM info

http://www.xdtalk.com/threads/xdm-5-...n-pics.237089/