Notes on the Springfield XD's Failure to Fire issues

Some of my favorite guns both to shoot and to carry are Springfield XD's.
However, because I teach and practice dynamic movement and drawing and shooting on the move it was possible for me to end up with the XD in my hand with a less than perfect grip.  This meant the grip safety was not depressed enough to let the XD fire without taking the time to shift the grip in my hand. Of course shifting the grip to engage the grip saftey would only happen when I realized the gun was not going to go bang.  Once I had an FTF it meant some action needed to be taken to get the pistol to fire.  Tap/Rack is not the cure for this type of FTF. 

Needless to say this is not a situation I wanted if I was trying to use my XD to defend myself.

Thanks to members of the Suarez International Warrior Talk  forum I found a product that was developed to provide a cure for this problem.  Springer Precision LLC www.springerpresision.com makes a replacement enhanced grip safety that fits XD's and XDm's

I purchased two of the enhanced grip safeties and installed them on an XD9 and an XD9C.  I am happy to report that it is now possible to grip either XD with a grip that is far from perfect and still get the grip safety to depress.

With this product installed I am now confident that my XD's will no longer produce FTF's when I need them to fire under less than perfect conditions.

This problem is most likely to be encountered by persons who have hands that are on the small side.  It also only occurred during periods of dynamic movement and drawing while moving.  Most persons who shoot an XD are not likely to experience an FTF due to the grip safety.