[joe_skeeter]

I bought a new XDm 9mm from Shooters in Jacksonville Fl and after shooting it several times decided I wanted adjustable sights. I purchased adjustable sights from Dawson Precision and had the Saturday gunsmith at Shooters install them. The gunsmith had a problem removing the front sight, so he decided to file the dove tail of the new sight to make it easier to install. He also gouge the slide bad enough that it would catch a fingernail. He said he was sorry but did not understand how the slide got gouged. When sighting the pistol in I realized that the front sight had move to the right over an 1/8 of an inch. I have sent the gun back to Springfield Amory and they were able to nearly remove the gouge and are making some other changes (action job, match grade barrel, and bomar style adjustable sights). Should have sent the gun to Springfield first! Don’t let Shooters gunsmith touch your gun.

 

[drsfmd]

I'm not exonerating the gunsmith. That said, I've never had a harder time changing a front site than I have had with the XD's... and we've got the special tools to do it. They are just a painfully hard site to change...

 

[uglydog]

I'll second, third, and whatever other number that about changing the sights of an XD. That has been a well known facet of this model for the decade or more that they have been available. The "hack" title for the gunsmith should not necessarily be for the job he did (though filing down the front sight dovetail too much is a problem) but for not knowing and explaining the hazards of this procedure to you before starting.

I've replaced the sights on my XDs myself, the use of a steel punch is almost mandatory and one can expect a few gouges and dings doing this. As I did this back in the early days of the XD, the use of brute force was almost a necessity and my gunsmith stated I may as well do it myself and save the price of him gouging it up. Getting them off is a real pain, getting them back on is only slightly less difficult. Freezing the replacement sights to 30 below (I did it in the winter but I got the idea from others who used their home freezer) to cause what little shrinkage is possible along with heating the slide in the oven a little along with the application of a thin oil allowed the sights to be inserted with slightly less trouble than otherwise.