The 9 will be more enjoyable to shoot, especially from that small of a gun. I've known many people who bought small guns like that in 40 and then regretted it later.

Go to a range and rent any two guns with the same lenght barrels. One in .40 and one in 9mm. See which one you like to shoot the best. That should settle the 9mm or .40cal question.
I like the feel of the 3" XD and I think it will meet your needs. You will have to practice a lot to get really good with it. But heck that's part of the fun of shooting anyway. Good luck.

my home town range and my range where i live and pretty much every one that i could go to is on the Glock kick with their demo no XD demos

That's OK get two Glocks with the shortest barrel you can get or closes to the one you want. Get one 9mm and one .40cal and try them out. That will tell you the difference between the 9mm and .40cal. Go to a dealer or gun show and get the gun you want in what ever caliber you deceide on.

I've got the 4" .40 XD. Great gun, very reliable. The .40, IMO, is a good round for carry and home defense, but you mentioned plinking. .40 is far more expensive than 9mm, so unless you have a big shooting budget, 9mm will be the more affordable choice. The cost of ammo is the one regret I have about the gun. If I had gone with the 9mm, I'd be able to hit the range more often.

I agree with Baldy and say shoot the Glocks with the short barrel to test the guns out.

... to effectively accomplish all 3 of those tasks that you mentioned I would go with a the 9 ... my 1/2 cents

Hey Clemco, I have been looking at the XD for over a year.I was going to get the XD 40 sub 3in. But after reading about the XDs and trying them all. On 12/23/06 I got a XD 9mm service 4in,Stainless and had TruGlo Brite Site put on it. It is a GREAT GUN, 350 round thru it with out a problem.
The XD 9 4in is a great all around gun.
Good size & weight for CCW
9mm cheap to shoot
9mm, 4in is alot more fun to shoot then a 40, 3in.
9mm, 4in comes with 2, 16 round mag.

Good Luck Clemco

I've shot the S&W 40 1000 times through my P99 and XD compact. I wish I never bought these guns in 40 and will try to trade them for 9's at the up coming gun show. The round is to snappy for me and I find the 45 acp easier to shoot. The 40 is very popular so it's just how I feel for whatever that's worth. I know Not Much.

I have always preferred the 9mm over the 40. Ammo is cheaper if you don't reload, and in the same size gun you get more magazine capacity.

I've got the XD-9sc and it has been nearly perfect in reliability. Right after I bought it, it jammed once during it's break-in (I think in the first 50 rds or so), but I've never had any problems since! And, for its size, it's hella accurate too. I can shoot that little XD more accurately than my Beretta 96, 1911, and even my HK at times. I haven't shot the .40, but 9mm is very tame. It's also very simple to take apart, and I like the added features that it has, too. If you get one, I really don't think you'll be sorry at all...I know I'm not!

Go to the XDtalk forum. There's lots of useful info there. I dont know if the problem has been fixed, but .40 subcompact XD's had an issue with the locking block cracking ( i think). There are alot of people who like them though. It might just be a hit or miss deal. I didnt want to worry about it, so i bought a 9mm SC.

Originally Posted by Rob

Hey Clemco, I have been looking at the XD for over a year.I was going to get the XD 40 sub 3in. But after reading about the XDs and trying them all. On 12/23/06 I got a XD 9mm service 4in,Stainless and had TruGlo Brite Site put on it. It is a GREAT GUN, 350 round thru it with out a problem.
The XD 9 4in is a great all around gun.
Good size & weight for CCW
9mm cheap to shoot
9mm, 4in is alot more fun to shoot then a 40, 3in.
9mm, 4in comes with 2, 16 round mag.

Good Luck Clemco

Rob we would love to see a picture of your XD. Never seen one with the truGlo and stainless.

I have spent 3 hr trying to down load my gun photo to Photobucket.
My head is KILLING ME.I will try tomorrow to down load my photos.
I have some great photos if I could post them.
Im going to bed before my head BLOW UP:

Originally Posted by Rob

I have spent 3 hr trying to down load my gun photo to Photobucket.
My head is KILLING ME.I will try tomorrow to down load my photos.
I have some great photos if I could post them.
Im going to bed before my head BLOW UP:

Just use imageshak... Go here for instructions and the link if ya need it

http://www.handgunforum.net/showthre...6074#post46074

I prefer guns in .45 but between the two I would go for the 9

I got the xd 9mm 4" service.

I have put about 5k rounds through it and it has not had a problem yet.
9mm cheap
cheap means you will probably practice more.
4" gives more distance to better site your target.

Thanks to all who responded.. I am going with the .40 Sub Compact it should be in next week

I am going to start a new thread about accessories

Good luck. That's a heavy caliber in such a small gun. Hope you aren't disappointed in the recoil when U shoot it.

Go with the 9mm.

another XD 9mm 4"er here. 2 15+1 mags. i use it for my ccw. i can do a few hundred rounds at a time through it comfortably. after shooting my friends .40cal i was decidedly happier with my 9

I see nothing wrong with either choice if you aren't concerned about ammo cost. I would have said 9MM for a subcompact, but you already decided to go .40 cal and it will problably do just fine for you.

They do make a mag extender for the sub compact that uses the full size mag and gives you a little more to hold onto. Also adds mag capacity because of the full size mag. I think it would cool for plinking and maybe carry in the winter months. It would give you more to hold onto which should help tame that .40 cal kick and result in better accuracy. I don't know if I trust them 100% because I haven't tried them and I don't completely like the idea of something that may cause you to tug on the mag during recoil, but they aren't expensive and if they don't cause issues then hey it's a neat little gadget.

Good luck with the new gun.