Springfield Amory XD v-10 ported question

[hk91666]

Has anyone owned or shot a XD ported and what was your opinion of it ? I am considering buying one in .40S&W and have heard a couple of bad things about them. Leaving the sights dirty from blow-by etc...Anyone out there have any experience with one of them.
Thanks,
hk91666

[SnWnMe]

Ports around the front sight have this side effect. In any case, how does the dirty front sight affect the performance of the gun?

[J-cat]

Some people like clean powders because they leave the gun cleaner.

[AfisBoy]

I used to shoot one. Yep, the front sight gets really dirty. Does the porting work ? Yep it sure does. I was in an IPSC match where I had to shoot under a table. The escaping gas would bounce off the bottom of the table and push the pistol down (as opposed to keeping it from rising). Weird, but clear evidence of how effective the porting is.

[Old4eyes]

I shot a rented ported XD-40 Ported at Target Masters. The front site was not just dirty, it was obliterated. That was a rental gun which probably was not cleaned after each usage, but getting the carbon fouling off the sight might require a solvent that takes out the paint as well.

Cleaning will be more tedious, lots of little holes in the barrel and slide to clean out. The top of the slide will not maintain a pristine look very long.

I did not really notice debris coming back to hit me, but a lot of people report that it happens.

What I noticed and what my wife REALLY noticed (shooting on the next bench) was it was LOUD.

I have heard that there were slide cracking problems with XD Ported, but not a lot of data to back it up.

As a range gun, would probably be fun to have. Good ear plug/muff and eye protection would be mandatory. The porting really does tame the muzzle flip, it was like shooting an XD in 9mm. Other than the obliterated sight, I enjoyed shooting it.

As a home defense weapon, I'd say no on several counts:

1. If you were in a situation where the gun is very close to you (say you just cleared the holster and you have to fire the gun at your hip level) the flame and debris will hit you. And you may not have your safety glasses on.

2. The muzzle flash might diminish your night sight. Getting debris in your eyes certainly will. But I believe I got more muzzle flash from a snub nose shooting 357 magnums.

3. It's really loud. But so was a snub shooting 357 magnums.

[J-cat]

Some people think that a dirty front sight prevents glare which is also beneficial in terms of contrast.

[Old4eyes]

I can tell you there was no chance of glare on the front sight of that rented XD40 V10. I can also tell you that this three dot sight gun and been reduced to a two dot sight. And trying to use the silhouette of the center post against a black bullseye target wasn't fun. And I'm a lousy shot to start with.

Like I said, shooting it was a blast, people around you might not appreciate it but for a range toy, it was fun. And to reiterate, the porting does work for muzzle flip but it has its disadvantages. You have to weigh the good vs the bad.

[J-cat]

Some people shoot with a six o'clock hold

[AfisBoy]

The white dot in my 9mm non-ported XD is not visible any more, and it hasn't made a bit of difference in effective aiming. The blacked out front sight is no big deal. The *****'n flames out the top are. Ported guns are neat, but they are loud and put you in the open class in the various shooting matches in the area. I wouldn't make it my only gun, but as something fun to add to the collection, you bet, they are cool.

[hk91666]

Thanks to all this more than I could have hoped for. I reload so can use cleaner powder. Blue dot as opposed to Unique JMHO

You all gave me a lot to digest thanks
hk91666

[caldude]

My wife bought one, and it's probably our least favorite gun. As others have mentioned, its very loud, but it does shoot nice, once you get used to it. The porting does help keep the gun on target (the reason my wife got it), but the drawbacks outweigh the benefits IMO.

[hk91666]

I just got back from looking at the XD ported and a S&W MP.40, they also had a S&W SIGMA.

The XD fit my hand better, the sigma had a crappy, creepy, hard trigger, and the MP .40 was okay but could not try all of the back strap replacements to see which fit the best.

I am leaning toward the XD with the porting but not totally decided yet. Mostly because as one of the earlier folks on this thread called it kind of cool having the ports.

Thanks to all for your comments especially the comment about having to shoot limited or open in competition with porting, that I had forgotten when I took the competition class here.

Happy shooting all

[novabrian]

I came so close to buying a used one of these until I read the reviews on it.I found online somewhere that they are prone to cracking somewhere on the gun.I can't remember though.Just Google it.

[hk91666]

I didn't buy the V10 ported, I pulled a 180 degree reverse and got a FNP-40.
After carefully, considering the info here I got to thinking I really wanted a true double action not a striker fired psuedo DAO/SAO. The FN hit all my requirements. Another reason is I have owned a HP-35 hi-power for over 30 years and it has served me well.

So Thanks for all your info it did help me, fellow cal-gunners.
hk91666

P.S. the FN will take 2-3 months or so but I can wait.

[Richie Caketown]

if you are worried about dirty sights make sure you dont shoot 45 or 1911s lol