XD Ammo Question

[Paulie Walnutz]

Is the XD OK shooting aluminum or steel casings? Up to now I have only used brass. Looked in the manual and all they mention is not using reloads.

[two-70]

blazers should work just fine in it made by cci they are aluminum case but should work

[LarryO1970]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnutz

Is the XD OK shooting aluminum or steel casings? Up to now I have only used brass. Looked in the manual and all they mention is not using reloads.

All manuals will "suggest" you not shoot reloads.... simply because if they blow your gun up (and maybe you too) they will not cover the gun by any warranty or legal issue.

Steel casings (like Wolf) you will get varying reports on. Some people love it, some people hate it. My take is this... armorers love Wolf because it generates them money. Steel casings are rough on extractors and ejectors due to the expansive properties of steel vs. brass. say this because I work with an armorer who sees it all the time. Would you rather shoot cheap ammo and risk your gun's performance or feed it right, knowing it will not fail you when you need it? Maybe try Wolf's brass cased line of products?

Aluminum cased stuff... I have not had any problems with whatsoever. Others may have... but I have not. It is a better option that steel cased stuff in my opinion. It is a nice inexpensive option for plinking... but I would not bet my life on it in a self defense situation. In 14 years + of carrying a gun for business/work... you trust what you know.

I hope I have been somewhat helpful.

[nathangdad]

As with any ammunition, just make sure it is clean. This gun is, like most guns of its type, engineering for an industry standard load and thus is apt to be subject to problems with handloads and bullet weights other than industry standard loadings.

[Paulie Walnutz]

Originally Posted by LarryO1970

All manuals will "suggest" you not shoot reloads.... simply because if they blow your gun up (and maybe you too) they will not cover the gun by any warranty or legal issue.

Steel casings (like Wolf) you will get varying reports on. Some people love it, some people hate it. My take is this... armorers love Wolf because it generates them money. Steel casings are rough on extractors and ejectors due to the expansive properties of steel vs. brass. say this because I work with an armorer who sees it all the time. Would you rather shoot cheap ammo and risk your gun's performance or feed it right, knowing it will not fail you when you need it? Maybe try Wolf's brass cased line of products?

Aluminum cased stuff... I have not had any problems with whatsoever. Others may have... but I have not. It is a better option that steel cased stuff in my opinion. It is a nice inexpensive option for plinking... but I would not bet my life on it in a self defense situation. In 14 years + of carrying a gun for business/work... you trust what you know.

I hope I have been somewhat helpful.

Thanks for the recs. I called SA. They said not to shoot steel loads in any SA. Aluminum and brass were OK. Going to try some CCIS - thank you everyone

[LarryO1970]

... anytime Paulie.

[fr33z3r.burn]

I have had horrible experience with wolf ammo and my xd45. They have never failed to fire, but they have failed to feed many times. First couple of times I thought I was losing my mind. Gun would fire one, two, maybe three shots, then click. I can take out the magazine and look down into the magazine and see the remaining rounds just sitting down there, stuck. If I shake the magazine, they usually pop right back to the top. I tried cleaning the magazines and the gun, even got a buddy to do the same. Took it to a gunsmith who looked it over and said "must be the ammo, cause ain't nothing wrong with this pistol or the magazines" Then I met a friend of a friend at the range who had the same problem with his xd45. Got to talking and confirmed it was the ammo, not the gun. I still use wolf in my 1911 and my sks, but never again in my xd. just my 2 pennies.

[LarryO1970]

Personally... I avoid Wolf at all costs. It could also be the coating they use on their steel casings too...? With any gun, they are picky in what they eat.

[ART338WM]

FWIW, I just fed both factory ammo and reloads out of my 5"XD45acp and mixed all diferent types in the same mag and all fed and fired flawlessly. I had four different types of 45acp ammo from thee different manufacturers plus my reloads. They brake down as fallows:

Speer 230grn JHP Gold Dots Nickle case
Remington 230grn JHP brass case
Winchester 185grn Silvertips brass case
Winchester 230grn FMJ Brass case
230grn FMJ reloads brass case
230grn FMJ reloads nickle case

In my 13 round capacity magizine I loaded one of each till I had all six in, then repeated till I had a total of 12 in my mag. I did this three times with perfect function from my XD.

I reload so I dont have to shoot any factory ammo. The only reason I was shooting factory ammo this time was I got it at a price to good to pass up. Literally for the same price I reload it for from a friend of mine who had sold his 1911 in 45acp and wanted to get rid of his remaing ammo. Sadly he only had a few 100 factory loads left.

I have been shooting my reloads out of both my semi-autos and wheel guns for over a decade and never have encountered any problems. I also make a point to shoot less than max loads for fun and plinking.

[papadave]

I use the aluminun Blazer ammo in my 4" XD40 and it seems to shoot the best group. I tried WWB, Blazer Brass and UMC and the CCI Blazer worked the best.

[CrazyBullCack]

Ive shot some steel through my xd40 no more than 200 rounds i would say, never had a problem and have never had a problem with the other 2000 rounds or so that have gone through it, Love this gun. I have never shot aluminum though, i may have to look for it for the next time im out shooting

[madhatter007800]

i was just wondering has any one shot +p or +p+ in they xd????

[Ranger Al]

I would never use CCI Blazer with any of my semi-auto gun. CCI have quality ammo but aluminum casing does not hold up to the 40 calibert pressure. I have experince with my GLOCK, the bullet got stuck in the barrel cause it doesn't have enough pressure to push out the bullet and knowing my crazy finger. I jammed another round threw it and it wasn't good. Contacted CCI and GLOCK and the result, I had to beg them to buy me another gun! Lesson learned, "always use brass" for my auto.

[Bravo]

Originally Posted by Ranger Al

I would never use CCI Blazer with any of my semi-auto gun. CCI have quality ammo but aluminum casing does not hold up to the 40 calibert pressure. I have experince with my GLOCK, the bullet got stuck in the barrel cause it doesn't have enough pressure to push out the bullet and knowing my crazy finger. I jammed another round threw it and it wasn't good. Contacted CCI and GLOCK and the result, I had to beg them to buy me another gun! Lesson learned, "always use brass" for my auto.

Regardless of the material of the casing, shouldn't the pressures being generated (especially in the .40 S&W) be enough to push the bullet out? Physics tells me yes...

FYI, I might blame the Glock and its geometric rifling before I point fingers at CCI. If your Glock went "ka-boom", I hardly doubt that you would have found evidence that a bullet was lodged in the barrel. More likely you made assumptions.

What really happened was probably significant lead build up in the barrel from a few hundred rounds without cleaning. This lead build up created excess pressures, and because of the rifling type, caused the gun to catastrophically fail.

Just a hunch

As for the XD Ammo question, I would shoot what ever you can get your hands on, for practicing purposes that is. I've had good luck with wolf in the past, but it is a little harsh on extractors. Winchester White Box is really good stuff too.

[Chris]

I would never put steel casings through my baby. I use mine for personal carry, so I won't be toying with that. I also do not carry +P in my ammo or any special loads due to legal reasons.

[ttus]

Always shoot what you carry with.

That be in practice or on the street.

Wolf, and the other "cheap" ammo, isn't what you need to shoot.

I know that name brand ammo, isn't cheap, BUT, how much are you worth???

After all, that is the Bottom Line, Agreed?

[rl356]

Personally I would not use anything with a steel case in my XD or any other pistol for that matter. Steel is as others have said, hard on the extractor. Anything with an aluminum or brass case would be the way to go. I've used the cci blazer .45acp for years at the range and have never once had any problems with them.

[Bravo]

Originally Posted by ttus

Always shoot what you carry with.

That be in practice or on the street.

Wolf, and the other "cheap" ammo, isn't what you need to shoot.

I know that name brand ammo, isn't cheap, BUT, how much are you worth???

After all, that is the Bottom Line, Agreed?

Well, I agree that you should never carry surplus ammo to defend yourself with, but shooting a winchester white box or CCI Blazer for practice is definitely fine. If you want to be accurate and efficient with your weapon, practice often.

[ttus]

Bravo,

Understood, to each their own.

your post below:

(( Well, I agree that you should never carry surplus ammo to defend yourself with, but shooting a winchester white box or CCI Blazer for practice is definitely fine. If you want to be accurate and efficient with your weapon, practice often. ))

My thinking in the post I made, is Totally with the mind that shoot, practice with what you carry. The other ammo, will Not perform as
your carry ammo will. This stems from over 50 years of handling firearms.
I am 71 now. Spend awhile on the streets. Enough Said.

Take Care

[Bravo]

I agree with you, if possible, definitely shoot with what you will want when the $h!7 hits the fan. That being said, I can't afford to shoot 1000 Federal HST's every year

In this case, White Box ammo will have to do, and I'll shoot the Federal good stuff when I can.