Ok guys heres the deal I am looking for a new carry gun. I want some thing in .40 currently I am between the Walther PPS and the SA XDm 3.8 compact. Willing to listen to other suggestions. Thanks guys
I would personally go with the XdM, first off because of the ability to have a larger capacity of ammo, as well as the match grade barrel that comes standard, the only downside I see is that it is a much thicker gun and a little harder to conceal than the PPS would be.
I have shot both (9 mm), and here are my thoughts:
XDM - Suprisingly accurate, not a fan of all the safties, but it did have a ton of rounds which is nice. On the downside, it is about as wide as it is long, so concealment might be a bit of an issue. Side note, the XDMs do have some of the nicest boxes (with holsters and whatnot) that I have ever seen
PPS - It was a bit snappy as a 9, so a 40 would be a bit of a handful, but out to 15 yards with the 9 I didn't have a problem. I was looking at one for appendix carry, as it is so thin, which I love. It thought it felt quite solide when I held it, and I prefered the extended mag so I had somewhere for my pinky to go
I was impressed with both guns, not as accurate as my M&P9L, but both were still good. Really, it comes down to double stack versus single stack. For deep concealment, I think the PPS would be a dream. But the XDM could also double as a defensive gun due to the high cap.
Me personally, I would go for the PPS, as single stack poly guns are hard to fine, but nice to have.
I have not shot the XDM, but I have had the PPS .40 for a year and a half now. I posted a review and range report when I got it with some updates over time, it's here somewhere.
The gist: Even with abuse it's been a reliable gun. I have over 2k rounds through it now and it started having some issues with failure to go fully into battery after about 1800 round with no cleaning. I cleaned it thoroughly and it's been trouble free again since. I have a new recoil spring/rod on order as well just in case.
It is snappy, but I find it very controllable. The caveat there is I am a 10mm shooter for my EDC and target guns, so the .40 recoil in this gun was not a surprise.
It is VERY concealable. I like it's size for when I need to be more discreet.
For me the only downside is that it doesn't fit my hand very well so I don't shoot it as accurately as I do my larger guns. I tried both backstraps and the best I can do consistently is about a 6" group at 50' where I can do 2-3" with my Glocks.
I love my XDm 3.8, 9mm. i agree that the 2 guns are apples and oranges. It comes down if you want to conceal carry or OC? If you are a big guy then it won't stick out too much, but if you're scrawny like me, good luck carrying this baby concealed without a custom IWB holster (which I'm going to get). The paddle holster that comes with it is fine for tactical practice, but it fails miserably to be even remotely discreet....
As a woman, I bought a PPS in 9mm for carry. I carry IWB and find it easy to conceal. I was a little diasppointed with it at first, because I expected it to recoil less than my 1911. I think the recoil is similar to the .45, but once I got over that surprise and started firing it more often, I love it. When I bought it, it had only been available for a short time, so holsters were difficult to come by, if you wanted a good one. Now, there should be more choices...I carry with a Kholster. One other thing with the mags...there's a small black piece that sits in front of the mag. on the floor plate. It helps hold the floor plate onto the mag...I have one the fell off somewhere (presumably while I was carrying it in my pocket as a spare) and now my floor plate is loose and useless. I haven't called Walther yet, but plan to give them a call to see if they'll fix / replace it. Overall, I like the gun and it's comfortable to carry, even for a woman. It is a little snappy, but it's a good solid gun.
Don't have any first hand experience with the PPS buthave carried an XD 45c and love it. The XD platform is just so versitile....compact can be fullsize with a different mag, rails, and just darn reliable.