Accuracy: 1911 vs. XDS in 9mm

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I took a trip to the range to practice shooting pairs: two shots at the same target with the focus on managing the recoil such that I could get the second shot off quickly. I focused on grip and trigger control. I shot about 50 rounds with my 1911 then decided to get in some practice with my XDS. I shot 26 rounds and called it quits. Here are the results:

Target Comparison

 

The shots from the 1911 are, for the most part, in the 6 inch circles. The shots from the XDS are significantly closer to the orange centers.

It doesn’t make much sense because:

  • the 1911 has a longer site radius (5 inch barrel vs a 3.3 inch barrel)
  • the 1911 has a lighter trigger

The trigger on the XDS is much heavier. It was fighting it a bit and honestly stopped at 26 rounds because my trigger finger was so fatigued I didn’t feel that additional shooting would do more than burn ammo.

Clearly I’m accurate with the XDS. As a friend said when I showed him the targets, “That gun just fits you.” So I’ve opted to get a trigger job. Yes! My very first trigger job. I’m pretty excited.

I dropped it off with my gunsmith and I’m scheduled to pick it up Friday. Stay tuned for details. I have plans to shoot this gun in a bug match in the near future.

 

 

8 thoughts on “Accuracy: 1911 vs. XDS in 9mm”

  2. Nice Shooting,
    Is your gunsmith doing a full trigger job or doing the Spring and Sear swap?
    Honestly that gun is shooting really well for you, I wouldnt have messed with a good thing.

    • I’m using the Powder River Precision XDS trigger spring kit for a few reasons:
      – It’s the only trigger kit I’m aware of
      – It’s under $20 for the kit
      – I quit after 26 rounds because my trigger finger was fatigued. Seriously.
      – I want to shoot it in a BUG (back up gun) match and I need to be able to shoot 4 to 5 times that many rounds at a match.

      I’ve asked my gunsmith to measure the trigger pull for me before and after the spring swap. I’ll post an update once we get that done.

      Thanks for the comment!

    • I’m trying to coordinate time with my gun smith so I can watch while he replaces all the springs. I’m interested enough to want to see the process on my gun. He also said he’d test the weight of the trigger pull before and after if I remember to remind him. Unfortunately that’s going to mean a Saturday and he only works every other Saturday. He was down with the flu last Saturday so I’m being patient.

      Here’s a link to the video that shows how to replace all the springs. That’s a bit more than I want to manage on my own – especially as I don’t have all the tools. I think this document provides a bit more detail that’s not quite clear on the video. The guy in the video takes about 15 minutes to replace all the parts. My gunsmith says it’s taken him about 30 minutes. I’m guessing it would take me 2 hours or more — assuming I could actually get everything back together.

      I’ll add a new post once it’s all done and add a link here.

  5. Pingback: XDS trigger job – Part1 | Girl Goes Bang

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