sacairsoftsn00py Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 I'm not going over the history of the real steel version nor am I going to go over where, how much, and my experiences with regard to obtaining the TM XDM .40. The XDM functions like any other GBB pistol. I'm heading straight to what people need to know. The Marui XDM .40 uses the newer type cylinder/piston assemblies like those found on the TM 5-7, Desert Eagle, and PX4. This means that the cylinder and piston head diameter are significantly larger than those found on the TM Glocks, M9's, 1911's, Sig's, and hi-capa series. The larger diameter means that the cylinder has more room for gas to expand which results in a snappier/ harder kicking gbb pistol. Without a doubt, the XDM .40 is one of the hardest kicking Marui GBB around. I'd only put it second to the TM Desert Eagle in terms of perceived recoil. The XDM is very loud and it kicks. As far as FPS goes, it shoots up to 310 FPS with .20g BBs and green gas. Also, FPS depends on the temperature at the time the gun was chronoed. My XDM chronoed in the low 300 FPS range with .20g BBs at about 70 degrees. Range wise, this gun shoots effectively up to 150 feet with .25g BBs. It will however shoot past that range. The little things...or not so little things: Safety Switch- designed like the Glock's. You slide the fake serial number plate under the railed frame to enable it...slide it back to disable it. Firing Indicator- Just like on the P99, a pin protrudes out of the back of the slide to indicate that the hammer is pulled back and the gun is ready to fire. At rest, the pin rests flush. Hop Dial- adjusts the amount of hop you have on the gun. Located just behind the inner barrel right under the gun's chamber. You need to take off the slide to gain access to this. The PX4 has a clever design where you can access the dial through the breech...but if you have a big finger, you'll need to take the slide off of the frame anyway. A tad annoying at first but as the catch phrase goes...set it and forget it. Recoil Buffer- cushions the impact of the slide from hammering into the lower frame. THERE IS NONE. This is a contributing factor for how hard the gun kicks. The slide comes into contact with the metal lower rail on the frame of the gun. If you're using higher pressure gasses like green gas and propane, the longevity of the gun will be in question. Then again, you're really not supposed to use those gasses to run the gun stock in the first place. A metal slide will keep your gun shooting reliably. At this time, only Detonator makes them (There are a few versions to choose from but at $240+ a piece...its a little hard to swallow). Slide Catch Reinforcement - Allows for reliable slide catch (on empty). Guns like the TM M9, TM Hi-Capa 4.3 and Hi-Capa 5.1 do not have these. As a result, those guns wear the notch on the slide which in turn keep the gun's slide from locking back after the last round has been fired. For those guns, you'll need a new metal slide to get the slide lock feature. Notice on the picture above how the notch on the plastic slide sits farther back compared to the metal reinforcement the slide has for the slide catch. Plastic does not come into contact with the metal slide catch...the metal reinforcement does. Lower Frame- It is well built. The metal rails for the slide are secured with more than just a screw. It is held in place by two pins, plus a screw. The metal rails are also secured from back and forth movement as it is keyed into corresponding slots molded on the frame. Inner Barrel- Has a more open cut than on previous models. The XDM, PX4, and 5-7 have a more open cut out on the inner barrel which allow for better hop adjustment. Most TM GBB pistols (except the m9 series as those have a fixed hop) loose some hop over time. This is because the hop arm which is made of folded metal gets bent off spec. The reason for this is that the hop bucking's tension bends it out of spec. The more open cut on the inner barrel (for the hop) decreases the tension from the hop bucking pushing against the metal hop arm. This means that you can keep your hop setting longer. Trigger Reset- Is medium. Its more like a glock than a 1911. 1911's have a very short trigger reset which allows for quicker follow up shots. Trigger pull is also on the heavier side. Compared to the trigger pull of 1911's, almost everything else is heavy really. Unlike the Glock trigger or the M9 trigger, there is no pre-travel before the guns sear starts disengaging the hammer. Holsters- I'm currently using a Black Hawk SERPA Holster for the XD. The XD and the XDM have different specs. However, they are close enough for the XD holster to work with the XDM pistol. Out of the box, fitting is on the looser side. You need to add material on the face of the trigger guard area as well as the insides of the holster. I used pieces of rubber which I glued into place to minimize the in-out movement of the pistol. Attaching some velcro on the inside reduced the side to side movement of the XDM in the XD holster. Also, note that the .5" of the gun is sticking out of the holster. It may or may not be a big deal. There are other holsters specifically made for the XDM. However, its the SERPA holster that I ended up using as it works best for general skirmishing. ----------------------- There's more to the pistol than what I've written down. For now, this is most of what I have to say about the pistol. Maybe I should look into making video reviews instead of typing things up. If I did video reviews though...there wouldn't be any cool pics. HAHA! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bladerunner168 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Good concise review. Just to add my experiences with holsters, I bought the IMI one and it's a bit tight and doesn't lock unless you really shove it in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uscmCorps Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Great review dude. But wouldn't it have been better to add your review to the pre-existing XDM review thread and consolidate all the information all in one place rather than generate a whole new thread? I understand you took the time and effort to write a well documented review of the piece, but since the other thread is well on it's way as the main hub of information pertaining to the XDM, your review thread is most likely going to either splinter off and get reconsolidated into the main one later, or end up somewhat forgotten after several more reviews are written for other guns that bump this review off the main page. There's some good content here, I'd like to see it stick around for others to enjoy in the future rather than pushed to the side to make way for others. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wingman Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Nice job on the review. Cannot understand why TM wouldnt put a recoil buffer on this as they did with the PX4 (still my favorite) as it would just seem to be common sense and help the longevity of the pistol whether using duster or green gas. These things aint cheap and after all the issues with the Five Seven, I would have thought TM might think something like this through a little better. And now WE puts one of these on the market with a metal slide. Metal slamming against metal without a buffer ?!?! It should be interesting to see how long that holds up as we've already seen the slide issue on their P226. As I know I'll end up with the TM version sooner or later, I hope I'm not looking at worrying more about possible damage to the pistol shooting it than enjoying it (as is now the case with my 2 Five Sevens). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sacairsoftsn00py Posted May 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 You also have to keep in mind that these pustols are meant to be used with 134a gas which has a substantially lower pressure than green gas/propane. At the moment, i have found out that the gun light strikes at 80+ degrees. Using duster gas (134a/ 152), the gun functions well. Shooting at 230-240 fps with .20g bbs...range is still excellent. Itll reach out to 120+ feet still...but obviously, itll lack the punch. Power is more than adequate for people to feel it at 50 feet. No fear of the plastic slide self destructing with use of duster gas. Imo...light striking is not an issue. Its actually a safety measure as over pressurized gas might push the gun past its tolerance as far as durability goes. Cast metal will crack...cnc aluminum is more resistant to breakages. Nineball has released a smooth spring set for the xdm. If anything though...id think that they would be softer than the stock marui springs. If the stock springs can punch the valve using green gas in lower temps...they might view this as having more than wnats necessary to run it with 134a....thus...the lighter spring set. Not 100% sure about this...but it makes sense. Nine ball seems to make parts for efficienc anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
deacon31 Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 I will definetly be getting one of these....soon hopefully. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrooklynBorn Posted May 19, 2012 Report Share Posted May 19, 2012 Redwolf posted something about this not being able to handle Green/Propane well (because of the new nozzle) on one of their videos. Any truth to this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sacairsoftsn00py Posted May 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 Its possible. There have been accounts of nozzle failures on the TM XDm's. The two XDm's I have however are still going. The one thing I noticed is that the operation of the nozzle isn't smooth out of the box. I found it especially true when I fitted my TM XDM with the Detonator metal slide. I ended up filing down some parts of the nozzle for smoother movement when moving the nozzle with the slide off of the gun (using my finger...applying pressure on one side...then the other). That may or may not be a contributing factor. The hammer spring on the XDm's remind me of the glock type springs. They're wound up hammer springs and not coiled. They are on the soft side...enough to reliably punch a mag filled with green gas in 60 degree weather...but when the temp gets higher..light striking occurs. IMO...its a fail-safe. Not being able to open the valve to shoot means that the slide won't be put through stress its most likely not able to handle.With that said...there's XDm nozzles available...just in case. Also, redwolf might be saying that TM's cant take green gas to sell the WE version. Maybe its both. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrooklynBorn Posted May 20, 2012 Report Share Posted May 20, 2012 In all fairness to Redwolf, they are very open about the fact that the WE is a subpar replica, but that the price reflects that. They're also talking about an Airsoft Surgeon enhanced nozzle being released within the next few weeks, so that may solve your issue as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
deacon31 Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 I thought it wasn't advised to use green/propane in any TM pistols, as it could cause the slides to break. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ballistic Tsunami Airsoft Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Nice review Snoopy, I'm really surprised about the lack of a recoil buffer. BTW I used to Airsoft with when I went to Davis. Glad to see you're still passionate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sacairsoftsn00py Posted May 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Some marui gbbs take green gas/propane like a champ. Even at summer time...the only thing youll need are guarder recoil and hammer springs. The plastic slides hold up on some...but not in others. Not quite as passionate about airsoft games...just particular on some things like the mechanics of airsoft guns. But thanks dude its wierd running into people ive met over the years on forums like this...haha Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sacairsoftsn00py Posted May 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2012 Purchased a set of Nine Ball Smooth Spring Set for the XDM 40.. These springs are softer than the stock hammer/trigger springs. It comes with two hammer springs (one for below 25 degrees Celsius ...one for up to 35 degrees Celsius/ 95 degrees Fahrenheit.). I found this the hard way as I was looking for a spring that would punch the valve harder with green gas/propane at 70+ Fahrenheit. I ended up just swapping lower frames. One of my XDM's has a Detonator XDM .45 metal slide (that's the one that I wanted a harder hammer spring for) and one is still bone stock. Since the stock hammer spring punches harder...I ended up using the metal slide on it. The one with the NB hammer spring in the lower ended up with the plastic slide. Seeing as the NB smooth spring set for the XDM is rated for 134a, Using duster gas (152a) would be ideal as it is weaker than 134a gas. I ended up using the hot weather spring that came with the NB smooth spring set. The kit is more of a tune up piece than an upgrade. IMO, this spring set is worth having if you're using duster gas as it'll reduce resistance for when the slide blows back which results in smoother cycling (thus the nomenclature). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Voodoo1 Posted June 2, 2012 Report Share Posted June 2, 2012 Mine has has detroyed the nozzle today - its only 4 days old too! Was running in 14 degrees (maybe colder due to windchill) and on green. This was about 6 mags in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sacairsoftsn00py Posted June 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2012 I have heard of one other reported case of such damage from someone from Airsoft Extreme. I had inspected the slide/blowback assembly and found that when you're pushing the nozzle forward...there is some resistance where the nozzle tapers (the area where the nozzle breaks off). It happens on my stock Marui XDM, but with my Detonator slided XDM, the nozzle slides freely. I'll have to take off the nozzle assembly on my other one and see if theres anything that I could trim off on the nozzle or the slide which prevents free movement of the nozzle when it goes forward. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sacairsoftsn00py Posted June 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 I proceeded to sand down/ taper off contact points on the blowback chamber and nozzle as well as the slide to improve the movement of the nozzle. The main thing is tapering part of the slide where the nozzle catches. After doing so, the forward movement of the nozzle when pushing down on it and sliding forward becomes smoother...as in, it doesnt get stuck back. Instead, the nozzle slides off of the tapered off part. You still feel it blocking some but it slides off of where it would normally catch. I have a few pics on hand but im on my mobile phone. Will post up when its convenient for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sacairsoftsn00py Posted June 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 Contact point of the loading nozzle. It needs to be tapered off some so the loading nozzle glides off of it and not catch on it. Taper as needed. I tapered mine more than whats pictured. You get the idea. Contact point. I tapered both the nozzle and blowback unit using a hobby file. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sacairsoftsn00py Posted June 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 Before After Before After Contact point. Adjustments made. --------------- You get the idea. Anything around the area that catches...gets tapered to varying degrees to allow for better nozzle movement. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Voodoo1 Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 Interesting issue/fix - unfortunately seen this too late as I've destroyed my second xdm this weekend. This time the slide actually jumped off the frame and jammed back. No obvious signs of damage just seems to be warped and doesn't run on the frame properly anymore. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mimesis Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 I've destroyed my second xdm this weekend. This time the slide actually jumped off the frame and jammed back. What gas were you using? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kenxin Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Jesus how hot was the magazine for the pistol to do that? And the nozzle? even after that no signs of damage? post pictures please.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Voodoo1 Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Green but only in about 12 degrees. I've not had chance to do more than cursory glance at it, as left it in lockup at end of day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mimesis Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 The new generation of TMs, the 5-7, the PX4 and the XDM, are designed to work with duster, and TM have improved these models to work particularly well. For this reason, when you start putting green gas in them, nasty things can happen. I'm sure people have plenty of stories about using these models for 1000s of rounds on green gas. If you put a heavy metal slide on, and perhaps a metal barrel, things change a bit too. In addition to which it appears that the XDM is not as well buffered as the PX4. At the end of the day, though, you can get excellent performance using a stock TM XDM on duster. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wingman Posted July 1, 2012 Report Share Posted July 1, 2012 I must agree with the above. I've purchased 2 Five Sevens, a G18c, a G17 and the PX4 and other than the G17 which was given a PGC metal slide kit (excellent quality), I've only used duster in the others with very good results. I can live with 260-270 FPS from a pistol. I still get hits and range and accuracy are just fine. At the same time I'm not blowing up my investment. If I feel the need for FPS over 300, I go to my metal slide KJW G23, TM G17, HFC G17 (not great for looks, but works like a champ. Very tough) or my KJW 1911A1. I'm considering the TM XDM but will wait to see more about it, especially from those who are using duster or 134A. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blobface Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 I've pretty much used my XDM as my main at the mall as it performed really well.. especially with the help of the Tritium sights, and I ran it on propane :-S, now that I've read so many threads of people's xdm blowing up, quite worried it's going to happen to mine at any point, I'm sure soon enough someone will make a reinforced nozzle for it though, it's just so much snappier with green I'd hate to go duster after getting used to that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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