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Guns

Anybody have thoughts on the Springfield XDM 10mm? Looking for a bear gun to take hiking/backpacking. I'm a novice gun owner, but live in Montana, so have lots of friends with lots of guns fortunately, so I've been able to shoot a decent variety of 10mm, .44, and .41 mags and have landed on a 10mm. My buddy's Sig Legion is my favorite of the guns I've shot, and I know the Springfield is not that, but going it can be a more affordable alternative.

Or, any other cost effective 10mm you'd recommend?

Anybody want to trade a gun for some cigars? 😂
 
smellysell said:
Anybody have thoughts on the Springfield XDM 10mm? Looking for a bear gun to take hiking/backpacking. I'm a novice gun owner, but live in Montana, so have lots of friends with lots of guns fortunately, so I've been able to shoot a decent variety of 10mm, .44, and .41 mags and have landed on a 10mm. My buddy's Sig Legion is my favorite of the guns I've shot, and I know the Springfield is not that, but going it can be a more affordable alternative.
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I have this friend in South Dakota. When he sees people with .454 Casulls, etc, talking about needing them in the back country for bears, he tells them they need to file the sights off.

"Why?" they ask.

"So it'll hurt less when the bear shoves it up your ass," he tells them. 😂

Sorry. Couldn't resist. ;)

Personally I'd think something like a .45-10 or one of those trick little shorty 12 gauges would be a better option for that specific job description.

~Boar
 
Not A Nice Person said:
I have this friend in South Dakota. When he sees people with .454 Casulls, etc, talking about needing them in the back country for bears, he tells them they need to file the sights off.

"Why?" they ask.

"So it'll hurt less when the bear shoves it up your ass," he tells them. 😂

Sorry. Couldn't resist. ;)

Personally I'd think something like a .45-10 or one of those trick little shorty 12 gauges would be a better option for that specific job description.

~Boar
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Lots of anecdotal opinions on bear guns from people that have never had to use one. Only study I've found that has any data showed 97% effectiveness from basically any handgun. Plus, there's bears in South Dakota? People here carry mostly .44 mag, but 10mm is quicker and usually lighter.

ETA: Friend's father in law is only person I know that has had to use a pistol on a bear, and killed it, so there is that too. Bear spray will just piss off a grizzly, so while I don't think a pistol is a great option, it's the best option short of carrying a rifle, which isn't happening.
 
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My buddy has an xd and a xd mod 2 both 9mm. So my opinions are based on that. With that being said, they were fun comfortable guns to shoot. The only thing I didn’t like (and I hate this on any gun) is the grip safety. Another big advantage is weight. If you’re going to be walking around the back country for miles and miles, you don’t want a heavy gun hanging in your hip. The xd is a polymer frame while your friends legion is alloy. I own a p229 (not the legion) that was my EDC for awhile before I moved to a much smaller carry. I also carried my friend xd for a day just to get a feel for it while I was still shopping around. The Springfield was much more comfortable to carry IMO.

Other things to consider. The Xdm has a longer trigger pull. This may not make much of a difference out in the back country, but at the range it makes a huge difference. My groups are the tightest they’ve ever been with the SIG because it’s a heavy gun with a short reset. Again, real life, may not matter, aim for center of mass and call it good.

The long and short of it is, in my opinion the Springfield is a fine choice. They seem to be very reliable and my buddy said the customer support is awesome. My final thought would be (if it’s legal in your state) ask your buddy if you can carry his xdm on one of your hikes and get a feel for it. It’ll save you money in the long run to find you don’t like it before you buy one. Just my thoughts YMMV 😎
 
smellysell said:
Anybody have thoughts on the Springfield XDM 10mm? Looking for a bear gun to take hiking/backpacking. I'm a novice gun owner, but live in Montana, so have lots of friends with lots of guns fortunately, so I've been able to shoot a decent variety of 10mm, .44, and .41 mags and have landed on a 10mm. My buddy's Sig Legion is my favorite of the guns I've shot, and I know the Springfield is not that, but going it can be a more affordable alternative.

Or, any other cost effective 10mm you'd recommend?

Anybody want to trade a gun for some cigars? 😂
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While just about anything can kill a bear it all depends on how good a shot you are, odds are the bear doean't want to mess with you anymore than you want to mess with it unless cubs are involved. Even just firing into the air (prvided it isn't charging you) will convince it to leave.

Now with that out of the way. I have an XDM in 40 and 9mm and had one in 45 ACP. Reliable gun, shoots as well as I can, standard rail so you can attach your laser or light if you want. The 10mm has gotten good reviews too but I just didn't want another XDM so I got an RIA 1911 in 10mm. It is only 8 shots instead of 15 but it is all steel and has handled everything I've put through it from my buddy's nuclear hand loads (1450fps @ 800ftlbs of energy to the much weaker standard loads you can find (1150fps @ 540 ft lbs) If you don't have a friend that reloads you'll want Buffalo Bore Hard Cast 200gr (Just believe me) when out in the woods. For regular carry or on the nightstand then Sig Sauer 10mm is the best standard ammo you'll find.
A plus for me is that a 1911 style can be customized from as mild to wild as you want as you needs and wallet change. Out of the box it is about the same price as the XDM 10mm. I know RIA makes a double stack 1911 style 10 mm but I have no experience with it.

This is mine, Curved MSH with magwell, extended mag release, extended slide release, different grips. under $150 to make it the way I wanted it.
RIA Tac 10mm.jpg
Edit: Yes I carry this or my STI 45 on a regular basis.
 
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AVB said:
While just about anything can kill a bear it all depends on how good a shot you are, odds are the bear doean't want to mess with you anymore than you want to mess with it unless cubs are involved. Even just firing into the air (prvided it isn't charging you) will convince it to leave.

Now with that out of the way. I have an XDM in 40 and 9mm and had one in 45 ACP. Reliable gun, shoots as well as I can, standard rail so you can attach your laser or light if you want. The 10mm has gotten good reviews too but I just didn't want another XDM so I got an RIA 1911 in 10mm. It is only 8 shots instead of 15 but it is all steel and has handled everything I've put through it from my buddy's nuclear hand loads (1450fps @ 800ftlbs of energy to the much weaker standard loads you can find (1150fps @ 540 ft lbs) If you don't have a friend that reloads you'll want Buffalo Bore Hard Cast 200gr (Just believe me) when out in the woods. For regular carry or on the nightstand then Sig Sauer 10mm is the best standard ammo you'll find.
A plus for me is that a 1911 style can be customized from as mild to wild as you want as you needs and wallet change. Out of the box it is about the same price as the XDM 10mm. I know RIA makes a double stack 1911 style 10 mm but I have no experience with it.

This is mine, Curved MHS with magwell, extended mag release, extended slide release, different grips. under $150 to make it the way I wanted it.
View attachment 31818
Edit: Yes I carry this or my STI 45 on a regular basis.
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Thanks Ray

I've heard common complaints about 1911s jamming, assuming since you didn't mention it you've not had that experience?
 
smellysell said:
Thanks Ray

I've heard common complaints about 1911s jamming, assuming since you didn't mention it you've not had that experience?
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In the past there were some 1911's that did favor certain ammo over others and some that don't seem to care at all. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with cost or perceived quality either. I've been packing a 1911 for 45 years and I had one Colt that certainly had problems with Winchester ammo. Once I figured that out it worked fine until the day I sold it. I will say that no 1911 I've bought in the past decade has had any ammo problems. I'm not saying that steel Tula wouldn't do it but I don't shoot that. I really think that quality control all the way down to the low range of $5-600 has improved that there will be less and less chance of problems because of ammo failure to feed. One tip is not to keep all your mags loaded all the time. Rotate the one you carry or keep by the bed as a spring that is always compressed will be weaker then one that is newly compressed - that is true for all mags.

What most people call ammo problems in a 1911 is really an extractor problem where the last round case isn't fully ejected before the next round tries to load causing a stove pipe. That I have seen but it can be cured by literally bending the extractor by hand a millimeter. You can get fancy and file and polish but while I have done that I've never found it necessary. Just an excuse to use the Dremal tool. Extractor problems aren't limited to 1911's. I've seen it in Sigs, Glocks, Smith& Wesson and others over the years. Depending on how much you go to the range and shoot you'll see it too eventually. I'm the Chairman of my local pistol range so I am there a lot and probably see these things more often then most would.

Of course, shooting whatever you are thinking of buying is highly recommended but no other pistol has a trigger like a 1911 overall. It can be made as perfect for your needs as possible or works straight out of the box. You'll find that true of most single action pistols.

One last semi-hidden benefit of a RIA 10mm is that you can buy a 40 S&W barrel from RIA, drop it in, get a few 40 cal mags and shoot less expensive 40 cal ammo for most of you practice sessions. You do want to practice with 10mm ammo just so you can remember the difference, the 10 will kick more. There are a few companies that make barrels for the Springfield I just don't know if they go from 10mm to 40, Storm Lake is one and Fire Dragon is another. I'm sure there are some of the custom shops that could do it to at a higher cost.
 
AVB said:
In the past there were some 1911's that did favor certain ammo over others and some that don't seem to care at all. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with cost or perceived quality either. I've been packing a 1911 for 45 years and I had one Colt that certainly had problems with Winchester ammo. Once I figured that out it worked fine until the day I sold it. I will say that no 1911 I've bought in the past decade has had any ammo problems. I'm not saying that steel Tula wouldn't do it but I don't shoot that. I really think that quality control all the way down to the low range of $5-600 has improved that there will be less and less chance of problems because of ammo failure to feed. One tip is not to keep all your mags loaded all the time. Rotate the one you carry or keep by the bed as a spring that is always compressed will be weaker then one that is newly compressed - that is true for all mags.

What most people call ammo problems in a 1911 is really an extractor problem where the last round case isn't fully ejected before the next round tries to load causing a stove pipe. That I have seen but it can be cured by literally bending the extractor by hand a millimeter. You can get fancy and file and polish but while I have done that I've never found it necessary. Just an excuse to use the Dremal tool. Extractor problems aren't limited to 1911's. I've seen it in Sigs, Glocks, Smith& Wesson and others over the years. Depending on how much you go to the range and shoot you'll see it too eventually. I'm the Chairman of my local pistol range so I am there a lot and probably see these things more often then most would.

Of course, shooting whatever you are thinking of buying is highly recommended but no other pistol has a trigger like a 1911 overall. It can be made as perfect for your needs as possible or works straight out of the box. You'll find that true of most single action pistols.

One last semi-hidden benefit of a RIA 10mm is that you can buy a 40 S&W barrel from RIA, drop it in, get a few 40 cal mags and shoot less expensive 40 cal ammo for most of you practice sessions. You do want to practice with 10mm ammo just so you can remember the difference, the 10 will kick more. There are a few companies that make barrels for the Springfield I just don't know if they go from 10mm to 40, Storm Lake is one and Fire Dragon is another. I'm sure there are some of the custom shops that could do it to at a higher cost.
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Thanks brother, all of that info is helpful. Had not even looked at RIA prior to your initial post, so now have another option to check out.
 
AVB said:
One tip is not to keep all your mags loaded all the time. Rotate the one you carry or keep by the bed as a spring that is always compressed will be weaker then one that is newly compressed - that is true for all mags.
Click to expand...

I think this is third in line to the arguments of 9vs45 and 1911vsEveryrhing else. 😁

Not saying it's not true, but it's definitely not an absolute truth.
 
Scap said:
I think this is third in line to the arguments of 9vs45 and 1911vsEveryrhing else. 😁

Not saying it's not true, but it's definitely not an absolute truth.
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I'm not sure about the 9 vs 45 when it comes to springs but I am sure about the point I made. (A bigger hole is almost always better IMO)

Spring Fatigue
 
H. Vachon said:
My buddy has an xd and a xd mod 2 both 9mm. So my opinions are based on that. With that being said, they were fun comfortable guns to shoot. The only thing I didn’t like (and I hate this on any gun) is the grip safety. Another big advantage is weight. If you’re going to be walking around the back country for miles and miles, you don’t want a heavy gun hanging in your hip. The xd is a polymer frame while your friends legion is alloy. I own a p229 (not the legion) that was my EDC for awhile before I moved to a much smaller carry. I also carried my friend xd for a day just to get a feel for it while I was still shopping around. The Springfield was much more comfortable to carry IMO.

Other things to consider. The Xdm has a longer trigger pull. This may not make much of a difference out in the back country, but at the range it makes a huge difference. My groups are the tightest they’ve ever been with the SIG because it’s a heavy gun with a short reset. Again, real life, may not matter, aim for center of mass and call it good.

The long and short of it is, in my opinion the Springfield is a fine choice. They seem to be very reliable and my buddy said the customer support is awesome. My final thought would be (if it’s legal in your state) ask your buddy if you can carry his xdm on one of your hikes and get a feel for it. It’ll save you money in the long run to find you don’t like it before you buy one. Just my thoughts YMMV 😎
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Missed a few responses at first somehow. Unfortunately, I don't know anybody with a XD, that's why I asked you guys. Been carrying his Blackhawk .41 for now while I try to decide what to get, and something lighter sounds appealing! 😂
 
smellysell said:
Is that a 50 cal? Desert eagle is a bit out of my price range. Was looking at the Glock 50 cal conversion (not really considering it though).
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That DE is in 50 Action Express which makes the 50 GI look like a fat toddler. The AE hold 40% more powder and fires a 300gr bullit at 1500fps with 1500 ftlbs of energy. The 50 GI fires a 300gr bullet at less than half that speed and about 22% of the energy. In reality a mid-level (like Sig Sauer) 10mm round packs more punch then the 50 GI
 
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