[Succinct]

Finally got a little range time last nite with my XD-45 I purchased back on July 4th. OOOOOOOh man, I cannot believe its accuracy with just a 4" barrel!

One hiccup was I had a jam from a bad bullet. Almost couldn't get the gun apart. My friend with me tried using it in his 5" barrel Kimber 1911 and it jammed that too, so we discarded that one as a misfire. I was using allegedly high-quality re-loads (cost me .49 per round at a recent gun show).

My friend stated that I should clean my gun good now and use something that will remove copper...

Other observations:
- 13 45ACP rounds in one hand is a not-insignificant weight!
- 14 .45 caliber rounds in your XD (one chambered plus 13 in the clip) makes for a heavy plastic gun!
- The chambered round indicator doesn't stick up as much as I thought it would. It's very subtle
- My wife, who was with us, and previously only fired a .22 Walther, fired not only my XD45, but also my friend's .380 Sig (she liked that, as did I) and one of his Kimber 1911s. She's tough and did well, but noticed the extra jump from firing the Big Boy.
- The 45ACP is a badass bullet - it dwarfs the 380 and a .22 looks like a small scale model.
- A 357 magnum revolver is still MUCH louder than either 45ACP semiauto we fired. We could feel the concussion from the guy adjacent to us.
- My girls (ages 6 & 9) were with us (they were there for a rifle class). They were SO well behaved in the range. My friend offered to let them fire his .380, but thankfully they declined. We will stick to the .22 rifle for now....
- My girls got to do something I had to wait nearly 47 years to do, and never did with my father - go inside an active indoor gun range!!

[orangello]

Originally Posted by Succinct

- 13 45ACP rounds in one hand is a not-insignificant weight!
- 14 .45 caliber rounds in your XD (one chambered plus 13 in the clip) makes for a heavy plastic gun!
- The chambered round indicator doesn't stick up as much as I thought it would. It's very subtle
- My girls got to do something I had to wait nearly 47 years to do, and never did with my father - go inside an active indoor gun range!!

Congratulations on your successful range run.

I agree that it is pretty heavy when loaded, but i find the heft rather comforting.

I think of the chamber indicator as more of a tactile indicator for me.

I'm 38 & don't remember ever using an indoor range. Most of my shooting is outdoor in a large clay-walled pit. (doesn't help with the sound much)

Re the kids: My dad started me with a single shot, bolt action .22(savage/stevens), then a single shot .410 (H&R), then a repeating .22 rifle (marlin 60), then a .22 target pistol (AMT). He wanted me to start slow & save the pistol for last. I still have each of those guns, though the singleshot .22 was absent when being used to teach my nephews. It sounds like you may be taking a similar path; i liked it when i was learning.