The XD was an early contender against the Glock. Many people (often those who favored all-steel guns over any polymer one) complained about the grip angle, the lack of active, external safety mechanisms, the shape of the grip, and many other, less valid arguments. How a gun feels in your hand is usually a function of familiarity more than quality. Certainly a very small person trying to manipulate a very large gun like a 5.7 or Desert Eagle is going to have legitimate biomechanical problems that no amount of acclimation or training can overcome; that’s not what this is about.
This is (generally) about people finding a reason to justify their bias. Unfortunately the first company to hear and respond to those complaints was Marko Vuković, of HS Produkt, a Croatian arms manufacturer perhaps best known at the time for the HS95, an unlicensed copy of the Sig P226. They produced a polymer framed pistol called the HS2000 that had a different grip angle, a grip safety, and an absurdly tall upper, otherwise fairly similar to a Glock, but priced about $100-200 less. It is decidedly Not A Glock, though many of the genpop might mistake it for one.
In the last decade or so, many firearms instructors have kept track of the guns that show up in their classes. They’ve also kept track of which ones performed well, and which choked hard: John Correia is one, and Greg Ellifritz is another, out of many. In the article linked, Greg goes into detail about how after years of watching these “Just as good!” not a Glocks go down with any sort of hard use, as well as the issues that come with getting one repaired. It seems that if a serious issue arises (as can happen when the grip safety locks up because a fatigued shooter didn’t depress it completely while manipulating the slide), the gun must be sent back to the factory. As we have mentioned, despite being sold by Springfield Armory, the guns are made by HS Produkt. That means if your XD chokes hard enough, you have an international freight fee, and a long wait ahead of you.
Don’t take my word for it, read Greg’s article yourself and consider if the moderate savings on an XD is worth the pain in the ass that might follow.
