Got to shoot both today, the XDM 9mm (5.25 barrel) and the plain XD 9. I shot the XDM first and although I could tell by the groups I saw that the gun itself had the potential for some great accuracy, I have to say I did not care for the way the gun handled in my hands during firing at all. I am not by any means the greatest handgun shooter in the world, but I had a tough time getting a comfortable, stable grip on the gun that would hold very well after firing a shot. It felt like I almost had to have a death grip on there while I was firing. It is worth noting I don't have the largest hands in  the world, so I suppose that might play into it too, although I do like the grip angle itself.

I shot the XD afterward (I had originally planned to shoot the XD 9 first) and although I thought I'd probably have an even worse time with the XD 9, the opposite turned out to be true. While the trigger wasn't as good (kind of "squishy" is how I would describe it) and the group sizes definitely weren't as tight as I could see they were with the XDM 5.25, I really enjoyed shooting the XD 9--it felt very comfortable during shooting and seemed more "natural" to hold than the XDM (to be fair I don't know what backstrap size was on the XDM)  I was really surprised by this to be honest.

Another weird thing was I had handled both in a shop about a week or so before, and just handling them in the shop I could have sworn the XDM felt more comfortable in just about every way--the serrations on the slide, the grip texture, etc. I recall thinking that I didn't like the serrations on the XD 9 as much as the XDM's, but when I actually got a chance to use and shoot both, I think I got to like the XD 9's slide serrations and simplified grip texturing better. Odd.

So am I an oddball or something for preferring the plain jane XD 9 over the full size XDM 5.25 9mm? There wasn't an XDM 9mm with 4.5" barrel to try, otherwise I would have liked to have tried that, I'm not sure if my experience would have been different with that one instead of the 5.25 XDM.  

At any rate I'm glad I got to shoot both of them, because if I do get one of these it'll definitely be an XD 9. Man if I could only try out every gun before I bought it!

Ergonomics are very personal. I've also noticed that what is more comfortable doesn't necessarily perform better during use.

No handgun has ever felt better in my hands than my XD9. It doesn't give me match precision but it is simply a joy to shoot.

I could see the difference in accuracy right away when I began shooting the XD 9 after the XDM, but I agree it was very much a joy to shoot, I could've shot it all day. The somewhat diminished accuracy was still plenty acceptable for me and the less refined trigger didn't bother me either. I guess I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that a $450(ish)-$500 gun can be more comfortable and enjoyable than a similiar $650-$700+ gun by the same manufacturer. I didn't expect that at all, but I'm glad I tried the XD 9, hopefully I can get one soon.  

This is how I feel. I can still hit my target every time. If I want to shoot paper for groups I will shoot my rifles.

I prefer my XD45 over my XDm9 while different calibers it's the same kind of comparison. One of these days I will pull the trigger on an XD9, replace the trigger and probably never shoot the XDm again.