Well, I'm getting a little more interested in buying a concealable handgun in hopes that CCW will pass in my area sometime in the near future.

I'm heavily considering an XD-9.  I shot one 6 months ago and found it to be very comfortable and accurate, ESPECIALLY for a double stack gun.  

So I'm throwing the idea around of picking one up.

I will spend MUCH time at the range with it, however, as I said, I'd like to have the option of using it for a CCW.  

First, I know we could argue for hours of 9mm as a defensive pistol, but I'm not quite sold on .40S&W and I'm already tooled up to reload 9mm.  I have a 1911(and love it) but I'm not a particularily big guy (read, harder to conceal), and the thought of having over twice as much ammo sitting in the mag seems like a good idea.  But bottom line, Is there anything SERIOUS I should be considering when buying a 9mm possibly for CCW?

What should I look for in barrel length?  Is 5" still easily packable, or does it start to get combersome?  

Porting???  Never owned a ported gun in my life.  Last pistol course I took, I saw a few littered around in the bunch.  Should have shot one but didn't.  Any opinions there?

Finally, I haven't really noticed, but does finish make a huge difference.  I noticed some have a SS slide, or green frame.  It's probably best to stick with an all matte black finish top to bottom right?  Or is it a null point for the most part?

Much of this I know is opinion oriented, but I'm interested to know what little things I sould look at if in fact CCW does pass here.

Gundraw

The stock XD-9 Service model (4" barrel) will work great for you.  Go ahead and get one.  A longer barrel won't gain anything for what you want, and takes longer to draw.  9mm has seen a revival with hi-cap mags now readily available.  Porting, no.  

XDs have a shitty finish and rust easily in humid climates.  This is easily remedied however by mailing your slide and barrel to Mac's Shooting Iron Restoration (or any comparable gun painter) where Mac will coat your slide and barrel for about $60 with first parkerize then durable epoxy GunKote, and by only sending the slide you don't have to pay the exorbedent whole gun shipping fees, and since this a plastic framed gun all important parts will be coated (only a couple small metal do-hickies remain uncoated and they don't seem to rust, so you'll be good to go for many rust and care free years).  www.shootiniron.com/

As an option, I prefer carrying my SIG P229 over my XDs.  CDNN Investments sells refurbished Police trade-in models (that you can't tell were ever used) for about the same price as the new XDs.  I recommed the refurbed SIGs over the XDs for carry.  

I hope you arre right and you get CCW in KS soon.  I will try to address all your questions in order. I don't have an XD but I have experience with glocks so most of my experience should apply.

1.But bottom line, Is there anything SERIOUS I should be considering when buying a 9mm possibly for CCW?  From my experience, size of the weapon is a big factor. You really have to get used to carrying concealed and it can be uncomfortable at first until you learn how to manage things like bending over and such.  I currently carry a Kahr PM9 simply because it is more comfortable( and polymer with stainless). You have to be really careful in your ammo selection from short barreled guns(i.e under 4").  From what I have read from reputable sources, top performing 9mm defensive ammo is almost as good as top perfroming .45. However, all ammo has a certain percentage of failures to expand. When ammo falis to expand, it behaves like FMJ"ball" ammo. There is a significant difference in the performance of 9mm ball ammo and .45 ball ammo. It appears to be related to diameter, 9mm overpenetration and how much energy is transferred to the target. Take it all with a grain of salt and make your own judgements.

2.What should I look for in barrel length? Is 5" still easily packable, or does it start to get combersome? For me, the 5" guns are harder to conceal effectively and can be a literal pain. I have gone to 3-4inch barrels on my concealment pistols. YMMV

3.Porting??? Never owned a ported gun in my life. Last pistol course I took, I saw a few littered around in the bunch. Should have shot one but didn't. Any opinions there? This is usually a personal preference thing.  Usually, you need your CCW in low light situations. I find that ported guns tend to leave me blinded for a longer time than non-ported. It is also good to check how much flash you defensive ammo has at night. I have changed ammo just to get a decreased flash.

One other note, many people believe the following: reloaded ammo is for practice, not duty(or CCW) FYI

Agree mostly with CGN, however, quality defensive ammo shouldn't flash that much.  The real problem with porting is when firing from retention.  Flings superheated gas and grit at your face.

I have a 4" XD 9 and I really enjoy it.  It is very comfortable in my hand and easy to shoot.  I wouldn't worry about the ported model.  I am 6'0", 175 lbs and it conceals well, even though I don't wear baggy clothes.  

First let me suggest that, if you haven't already, you should visit www.hs2000talk.com. It's a dedicated XD forum full if good info and nice people.
I have owned a few XD's and currently carry and XD9SC and love it.
9MM is a perfectly suitable calibre for personal defense. I have Gold Dots loaded up right now but after much research I'm considering something from the Winchester Ranger line.
If your going to make this primarily a range gun with the option of CCW let le suggest this to you- buy a service model (4" barrel) XD40V10 (ported) then buy a few aftermarket drop in barrels. The XD40 will accept 9mm barrels without modification. So now, on one frame and slide you have 4 guns- .40 ported, .40 non-ported, 9mm ported and 9mm non-ported. You can even turn your .40 mags into hi-cap 9mm mags by slightly bending the feed lips. The 5" model will definitely be too big to conceal, not versatile enough. Note- I would also advise against using a ported gun for CCW but it's right at home on the range or in competition.
Yes, the XD did have some finish problems but I believe it was limited to the first year of production.  Springfield has long since corrected the problem, I haven't seen a speck of rust on any of my guns.
Go spend a few days reading thru the XD forum posted above. The XD is my favorite!


ETA: You can also turn the .40 into .357 Sig
EFK Fire Dragon Conversion Barrel

I strongly recommend not modifying your carry gun as you can comprimise reliability.  If you want a play gun, buy a second gun.

Bah!
I have serious doubts that reliability will be compromised my changing the barrel!
OK, I may suggest that if you want to use your .40 converted to 9mm you go buy 9mm specific mags rather than use modified .40 mags, but I don't think anything will suffer by simply swapping barrels. The trigger is the same, the internals of the slide stay the same...

Yes, the XD did have some finish problems but I believe it was limited to the first year of production. Springfield has long since corrected the problem,

No. They haven't corrected it.  Springfield doesn't even make the gun.  It's made in Croatia.  There is a a whole separate forum on rust issues at www.hs2000talk.com.  But it's easily remedied as I said by having the slide painted or get the stainless slide model.  

Quoted: Yes, the XD did have some finish problems but I believe it was limited to the first year of production. Springfield has long since corrected the problem, No. They haven't corrected it.  Springfield doesn't even make the gun.  It's made in Croatia.  There is a a whole separate forum on rust issues at www.hs2000talk.com.  But it's easily remedied as I said by having the slide painted or get the stainless slide model.

This one? Rust Poll
Yeah there are people saying they have had rust on their guns, but if you read the thread some of them admit that it is their fault or that the rust wasn't on the slide so it's not related to the quality of the finish. Keep your gun clean and oiled and you'll never have a problem.

I own a XD40 4" and its great.  I did it over the 9mm because you can buy conversion barrels for the 40 and turn it into 4 different calibers.  I just bought a 9mm conversion barrel $105 used and now can shoot both.  

I sent mine into MACs to get it redone right when I bought it.  Ive went shooting in the rain and then put it in a foam case and 2 days later cleaned it with no rust except for the takedown lever and beavertail safety.  Oiled it up and everything shined like new.  Great handgun and fits me hella better than my previous G19

XD-9 conceals very nicely with the right holster

Quoted: No. They haven't corrected it.  Springfield doesn't even make the gun.  It's made in Croatia.  There is a a whole separate forum on rust issues at www.hs2000talk.com.  But it's easily remedied as I said by having the slide painted or get the stainless slide model.

It's not stainless, it's hard chrome.  Available in all models except the 5" tactical (which I happen to have).  I'm considering sending mine off to Metalife and having it hard chromed.  You can also do it through their custom shop, but I'm sure it's more.

Getting more confident I'm gonna buy one.  But still interested in the Sig idea.

Do I understand this correctly that you can convert the .40 to 9mm but not vise versa?  That makes sense in the size regards, but I figured they used the same slides etc. just a thicker barrel for the 9mm.  

Also, I do believe this hard chrome would be good, however, what is the general consensus of a shiney slide on a carry gun?  I know I've seen SS pistols carried lots, but just want to have all my cards in line.

Thanks,
Gundraw

the 9mm can not be changed to .40
Go for the chrome finish, if it's a CC gun and you do conceal it nobody will be the wiser so who cares. Worse comes to worse you can temporarily blind the guy with the bling from your gun.

I would recommend either getting the chromed slide version or having the slide painted.  It's more of a personal preference thing whether you like black guns or white.  I like black a bit better, but chrome lasts better.  

XDs are defintely realiable guns.  I took mine to a defensive handgun class and it passed the two days of hard shooting with no upsets whatsoever.  A S&W revolver and a small Glock had some problems.  No one even dared to show up with a 1911 or anything but Glocks, my XD and an H&K.  The instructor (SWAT guy) had a SIG P229.  The XDs a good platform (although I prefer to carry the SIG and am working on getting a CZ reliable and familiar enough to carry).  Stick with the un-ported service model.  If you want to get fancy, get Heinie sraight eight night sights, a bunch-o-mags and a good holster then start saving for a handgun class.  

My XD9 Bitone ran like a top for over 3k rounds. Not a single hiccup.

I've since sold it but not b/c it wasn't a good firearm.

Porting on a 9mm?

Not necessary.  As far as I can tell the recoil from my 92f isn't much greater than my mark II ruger.  

How do you plan on carrying?  Under a coat, or IWB or under light clothing?  How big are you, do you wear jackets or flannels regularly?

Nothing says CCW like one of them photographer's vests.