By WyomingDood On 10/26/2009

After hearing all of the fanfare and rave reviews for the XD, I purchased one to see what all the hubbub was about. I got the XD as an upgrade to my tried-and-true every-day-carry piece, the Taurus PT145. I was beyond surprised I was absolutely blown away by what a great pistol this really is! Once fully loaded with my round of choice ]230 gr JHP[, the pistol is extremely well balanced, sits back in the palm and almost effortlessly finds its target. Recoil is remarkably light, owing to the solid steel slide, even when using a variety of different loads. When it came time to give it a good cleaning, I was amazed at the simplicity and pure functionality of it''s construction - it''s guts look very similar to a Glock, and it took no time at all to field-strip, clean and reassemble. I greatly appreciated that there is no convential on/off safety on this piece, as I believe these are dangerous because people rely on them too heavily, and they can cost you that extra split-second in a self-defense situation. Between the grip safety and the trigger shoe, there is no accidental discharge on this gun - if it fires, it''s because you intended it to fire. The addition of the Picatinny rail on the front of the frame has facilitated my addition of a tactical light for nighttime home defense. This is absolutely a great firearm and has replaced my PT-145 as my everyday carry piece. Though it''s a bit larger and heavier than the Taurus was, this pistol is very easily my favorite, surpassing even my collection of 1911''s. It''s wickedly accurate, too. I will correct the specifications listed here, as this pistol is a SINGLE-ACTION ONLY pistol there''s absolutely nothing double-action about it. With well over a thousand rounds through mine in the few months I''ve owned it ]and with the reliability of well-branded manufactured ammunition[ I''ve yet to have a single misfeed, misfire or other mishap. This is an absolutely great gun, and worth every penny!