Guide Rod Upgrade - Tungsten or other XD owners

order a few different weights and see which you like better

Originally Posted by jgrauman

bought the #22 , only problem was i have a ported service. the #22 was pushing me past my line of sight and my follow ups were lower than normal. found out that #22 overcompensates on a ported barrel. the ports push up and out in order to reduce muzzle flip already. of course i didn't look into any of this before i ordered the #22! i'll be ordering the #18 with upgrade bushing as soon as i get around to it.

I see. But you did see, feel and shoot a difference. Interesting to see that the change was noticeable.

definitely! the action is much smoother with the DGR. if you haven't already go to http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/showthr...ght=guide+rods this is a post from don lots of good info in here. you got me into the mood so i just finally ordered the #18 and new bushing!

Originally Posted by jgrauman

wilson combat has been making one of the industries most highly regarded handguns for 29 years, no offense, but if they suggest changing the spring on their guns every few thousand rounds, i'd stick with what they say

I know they make a fine handgun. That's why I bought one. But Wilsons are a little different bird than say a Kimber. They are truly a hand fitted handgun. Stuff like rail clearance is fitted more as an art than a science. They require a 500 round break-in. Wilson won't even talk to you about your "problem" with their guns until you have put 500 rounds of their approved ammunition through them. They tend to bind a little in the beginning.

If you ever get a chance to look at their handgun customizing videos, you will gain a real appreciation of their craftsmanship and why they cost so much.

As I said, my Beretta went for about 20 years on one spring. Light loads, heavy loads, extra-heavy loads. I doubt you need to replace a Wilson Combat spring very often. I'd guess it's a way of making sure the gun stays absolutely in specs, but is almost certainly overkill in terms of actual performance.

Originally Posted by jgrauman

definitely! the action is much smoother with the DGR. if you haven't already go to http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/showthr...ght=guide+rods this is a post from don lots of good info in here. you got me into the mood so i just finally ordered the #18 and new bushing!

That and other posts on XDtalk inspired this one. Don should give me a discount because of your purchase!!!!!!

got the new bushing and 18# spring today. the new bushing is awesome. i'll probably go to the range in a bit and try it out.

Very nice, keep us up to date!

Originally Posted by drewi

I agree with that. I think the original designers (which isn't Springfield BTW) probably knew what they were doing. Of course they may have tweeked the design when it made it to the States.

The factory spring is already stiff. Too stiff in my opinion. As I understand it the spring is the way it is to handle many many +P loads. If you don't have a solid grip on the gun it will malfunction. It too close to close to the edge of not functioning for me.

Are you guys wanting to make the spring stronger?

I've tried to "limp-wrist" every XD which I have owned, and a few of the others which I've fired... I couldn't get it to happen, even to the point of the gun nearly falling out of my hand, they all ejected and fed without a hiccup. I've come across few pistols which could handle this... namely Sig and Beretta, in my experience. Even some models of the 'uber-reliable' Glock are markedly prone to limp-wrist issues...

I believe that it may have something to do with the dual-buffered recoil setup of the XD, which has a weak tensioning spring and a heavy primary spring. This allows the slide to accelerate quickly, initially, but in a controlled manner. Still, the 5" models have only a single spring... And they are just as reliable, from my experience.

I don't see much of a point in messing with the recoil system of a carry-gun... too many variables to screw up which the designers would be cursing you for, if they knew.

I would only increase spring-tension on a gun which got a steady (darn near exclusive) diet of hot ammo. I would only reduce the tension in a non-carry gun which I used watered-down reloads, and needed to ensure function.

Originally Posted by molonlabetn

I don't see much of a point in messing with the recoil system of a carry-gun... too many variables to screw up which the designers would be cursing you for, if they knew.

the original rod, though well designed, is two peices and has been known to fail. as far as the "variables", you are actually decreasing the amount of variables that could go wrong by replacing the factory guide rod.

Originally Posted by molonlabetn

I would only increase spring-tension on a gun which got a steady (darn near exclusive) diet of hot ammo. I would only reduce the tension in a non-carry gun which I used watered-down reloads, and needed to ensure function.

to each his own. as stated in my other posts, changing recoil springs to reduce or increase felt recoil and control muzzle flip is up to the individual shooter