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You really need to shoot the various versions in both calibers and decide for yourself which is best. Even thought I'm a huge 1911/.45 guy, I'd lean toward the .40cal Tactical (5-inch) or Service (original 4-inch format) model XD for duty use.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the XD. Since you haven't heard much that was negative, let me offer some negativity. I just love pointing out the flaws in every gun design...even the 1911.

My biggest issue with the XD, is the trigger return spring. Though Springfield seems to have fixed a pattern of failures with this spring, it's still a critical point of failure in the design. If the spring breaks, the gun becomes a paperweight and cannot be made to fire until the slide is partially disassembled and remove from the gun to facilitate replacement of the spring. Examples built between 2004 and 2006 had a bad habit of breaking trigger return springs at around the 2000 round mark. I told a student this during a class with John Farnam last year and almost like clock work, the spring gave way right after lunch at about 2100 rounds.

My second issue is the extractor. While not generally prone to breakage, the XD extractor has been known to develop reliability issues relating to a lack of tension or simply not grabbing enough of the case rim, particularly in 9mm pistols. Most of this can be prevented by proper maintenance. It's not necessarily a deal breaker but it's something one should monitor.

My final complaint is the magazines. XD magazine bodies are made from unnecessarily weak/thin steel. I have seen them deform and become non-functional after hitting the ground, particularly hard pavement. While any magazine can deform and fail under such conditions, XD magazines seem especially fragile in this regard. Finally, the cost of these magazines is high enough that I expect them to be more robust.

There you go, some negative info on the XD. If you'd like me to provide similar info on other guns/designs, I'll be here all week. Do keep in mind these are my opinions and in no way represent the views or thoughts of the rest of the Texas CHL Forum or it's owners. No gun is perfect and all have their faults. Some are more inferior than others but in the end, they all work the same way. You press a button and they go bang. Shoot straight, shoot fast, know and maintain your equipment, discard junk that does not work and you should be fine. Good luck!