Letter Re: Springfield Armory XD Series Polymer Frame Pistols are the Ars Nova

Dear Jim,
I love the site and have learned much. As soon as I can scrape together some extra money, I will be joining the Ten Cent Challenge.
“Some Guy” wrote about the lack of availability of spare parts for the XD series pistols and the lack of certified armorers. One is true, the other is patently false. Springfield has indeed been less than forthcoming with spare parts. Most of this seems to be just a lack of manufacturing capacity. If I remember correctly, they can barely get enough parts to make the pistols, let alone keep extras around. Why no third party has taken up the slack, I have no idea. They do, however, have a lifetime warranty which Springfield is quick to honor. Also, the weapon is built rock solid, even passing the fabled Glock abuse test, and it is only the odd pistol that needs work.
As far as there being no certified XD armorers, that is demonstrably false as I have dealings with one on a regular basis. He is also a Glock armorer, and a Kel Tec armorer. They are out there but one can get certified only by invitation, not just any guy in his garage can become an XD armorer. Here is a good forum for more info on the XD: http://www.hs2000talk.com/
Thanks again for all the info. – DD