James,
Count me as another check mark to add to the “switch to XD” category.
I know several shooters who’ve made the switch from [Model] 1911 [pistols] to the [Springfield Armory] XD with almost no issues. Most of them shoot equally well or better with the XD.
In my experience, Model 1911s are just too prone to fail. We see too many here at the Un-named Shooting School take a dive. Virtually no Glocks or XDs have mechanical failures, though.
Good Providence! – The Pioche Professional Polymer Pistolero (PPPP).
JWR Adds: PPPP is the pseudonym for a SurvivalBlog correspondent that is an instructor at a well-known firearms training academy. I trust PPPP’s accumulated wisdom and experience. He has worked with many hundreds of pistol shooting students, and has seen all manner of weaponry with and without all of the popular modifications. He knows from experience what works, and what doesn’t. He has seen what breaks, and what is “bomb proof.”
There are M1911 aficionados, and there are Glock aficionados. For many years I was a dyed-in-the wool M1911 kinda guy. But I could see the wisdom of the Glock revolution. Their reliability is astounding, and their magazine capacity is superior to a M1911. (Well, aside from the ParaOrdnance double stack M1911s.) My only complaints about Glocks were A.) their lack of an external safety, and B.) their uncomfortable grips. The latter can be altered by a gunsmith. (The grips can be re-countoured (“reduced”) by machining to be slimmer, and the grip angle can be improved a bit.) But recently, the Springfield “Extreme Duty” (XD) pistols hit the market, and in my estimation they are “the best of both worlds.” It combines the advantages of a polymer frame and the high capacity of the Glock with the same grip angle as a M1911, (which provides natural pointing for most shooters), and the .45 ACP Service Model variant has an external safety! Bonus points to the designers! (Call me a dinosaur, but I like external safeties.) If you are already a trained Glockophile, you can either get can XD without the thumb safety lever, or simply get in the habit of not touching it–since you can rely on just the “in-the-trigger” safety–the .45 ACP Service Model XD has both safeties.
I recommend that if you are interested in getting an XD pistol, you should take advantage of Front Sight’s very generous “Get a Gun” training and gear package offer. It is available only for a limited time, so don’t hesitate. And again, if you are a Rawlesian, you should specify the XD-45 model.