I won't be real wordy, as I don't type worth a c$#@. Short summary, after 100 rounds of W-W 230 hardball... very impressed!! If you want more... read on!!My wife recently bought a S&W 638 and this XDS.Both were supposed to be hers, I may take, acquire,or inherit this little pistol from her. We did our shooting from our front yard, sand berm, back-stop range at a distance of 30ft. As this was both a break-in and test of the handgun, the shots were slow controlled fire. With the empty gun weighing in at 21.5 ounces, recoil(at least with the 230.s) was "snappy" but hardy uncomfortable. The grip is generously serrated. That were not an issue for me, at least for the first 70 rounds. Up until that point all shots were kept inside approx. a 5" group. The groups then opened a bit with several flyers. Probable cause was likely both from cumulative recoil and the rather sharp serrations. My wife, after running only 2 magazines, found the serrations more than she was comfortable with. The trigger pull was as good as or better than any of the single action only, poly pistols that I've handled, reasonably light and fairly crisp break. The pistol comes with a fiber-optic front sight. It came with red, with the capability to change to a "near" fluorescent green insert. I'll probably change to the green, as it seems to work much better with my color blindness!! The only issue that we had was a couple of failures to completely go to battery when releasing the slide on a new magazine. The wife was pulling the slide back and hitting the slide release. I believe that she held onto the slide, slowing it's forward travel. I never experienced the problem. All in all, this will probably be my new CCW using my new IWB holster(that I haven't gotten yet)!! memtb

I love my XDS. Been carrying mine as my BUG for almost a year now. Recoil might be a bit snappy for some, but I find it to be about the same as my Lightweight Commander in a 1911. Very shootable and plenty accurate.

This group, 5 rounds standing unsupported from my XD-S last Friday. The photobucket title says 10 yards, but the ten yard line is actually 15 yards in front of the actual firing line which is behind the tables by club rules when others are using the tables. So it's a 15 yard group. 2" wide and 1" tall.

Buddy Mark shot one smaller, 1.5 inches outside edge to outside edge and he'd never before picked up an XD of any kind.

These pistols are accurate.

This is typical of the accuracy I get from mine with ammo it likes. edited to add; When I do my part!

Jerry

The Professional model IWB holster that N82 TACTICAL makes for the XDS is REALLY comfortable. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed www.n82tactical.com

Thanks for the write up.
I'm planning on getting a xds-45 myself for my carry pistol.
I really like how small and light it is for a 45.

RWL99,

Thanks for the info on the N82 Tactical. It looks as though it would be a very comfortable rig. We ordered one today! Here's hoping that it will be what I think that it should be.The one's that I've used were kinda long(front to back) and required a bit of wearing to get comfortable,especially when seated!! memtb

I put the Pearce magazine extension on my 5 round mag. Makes a huge difference in feel and control without printing. It doesn't increase mag capacity it just gives your pinky finger a home.

"I put the Pearce magazine extension on my 5 round mag."

Just did the same last week, haven't fired it with it on yet but it feels great!

Jerry