Keeping a good maintenance schedule will ensure your pistol is running at its highest potential for accuracy and reliability.
Luckily, its quite easy to field strip and clean the XD-S 9mm OSP.
Also, the steps are identical to the XD-S .45 pistol as well.
You have a near infinite number of choices in cleaning supplies and tools when it’s time to care for your Springfield XD-S Mod.2.
Prepping
There are a few items youll need when youre ready to clean and lubricate your handgun.
First and foremost, you will want to have a surface to work on.
Youll also want to invest in a quality gun cleaning kit.
A high-quality cleaning kit like this Gun Boss Pro from Real Avid, is affordable and saves you from the frustration you might experience with flimsy cleaning tools.
The main purpose of this kit is to provide you with a rod, bore brush and patch jags.
Having some larger rags of the same or similar material is great for wiping things down.
Now, youll need a good cleaning solvent for the bore.
There are a wide variety of cleaning solvents on the market, each with different cleaning properties.
Its also always a good idea to have safety glasses on hand when working with chemicals like bore cleaners.
For lubricants, again, there are many choices.
Some prefer to use grease, while others use only oil.
The Takedown lever is shown in the down (assembled) position. Rotate the lever toward the top of the slide to move it into the disassemble position.
In my experience, the XD-S is not picky.
Lastly, I recommend keeping some paper plates and paper towels handy for easier cleanup.
The paper towels are good for wiping your hands or the mat.
The slide is shown with the recoil spring assembly and barrel removed. This is as far as we’ll disassemble the upper for general field stripping/maintenance.
This step is extremely important as you will have to pull the trigger during disassembly.
Inspect the chamber to see to it it is completely clear of ammunition.
From here, well begin the disassembly.
After field stripping the XD-S, begin cleaning with wiping down the slide with a clean cloth.
Rotate the takedown lever upwards towards the ceiling.
This is the front-most lever towards the muzzle-end of the frame.
Next, bring the barrel forward, up and out of the slide.
Pushing the bore brush through the barrel’s bore will help loosen up and scrape off fouling.
We now have the three main components that make up our slide assembly separated.
Begin wiping down all the surfaces of the slide and barrel with the rag.
After wiping down the slide and barrel, inspect the recoil spring assembly.
Slide rails are an obvious location to apply lubricating oils. When properly applied, the lubricant reduces wear and improves reliability.
If there is any visible debris on it, its a good idea to give it a wipe.
Now, wipe off the metal portions of the frame assembly in the same manner.
Spray the bore cleaner down the bore, making sure solvent covers all surfaces inside the bore.
Adequate lubrication to high wear areas can greatly reduce the pace of wear during the lifetime of the pistol.
Next, attach the correct caliber bore brush to the cleaning rod.
fire off the bore brush smoothly through the bore from chamber to muzzle several times.
In any case, be mindful while scrubbing the bore.
When it comes to lubricating a firearm after cleaning, there are many lubricants from which to choose. Needle nose oilers make oiling tight areas much easier.
Spear the patch jag through a patch.
If using thin patches, you may need to double up.
trigger the patch through the chamber and out the muzzle as you did with the cleaning brush.
If heavy fouling persists, you may need to brush the bore with solvent again and repeat.
Next, its time to identify the wear points of the XD-S 9mm and oil accordingly.
This applies to nearly all handguns.
These are all spots where oil is needed.
Adequate lubrication to these areas should reduce the pace of wear going forward significantly.
Begin by inserting the barrel into the slide.
You will be able to feel when it is placed correctly against the slide.
At this point, you will reinstall the recoil spring assembly.
The slide assembly is now complete.
With the trigger in the rear position, take the completed slide assembly and slide it onto the frame.
Bring it all the way rearward; you should feel spring tension at this point.
Bring the slide release upwards to lock the slide in this rearmost position.
Push the takedown lever downwards to lock everything in place.
Now let the slide travel forward by pushing down the slide release.
If at any time during reassembly you experience undue resistance, STOP!
Do not force anything or you may risk damaging parts inside your firearm.
The last step of the process is to function check your XD-S.
Check again and be sure that there is still no ammunition in the gun and the magazines.
Bring the slide back, checking again that the chamber is clear.
Point the XD-S in a safe direction and pull the trigger.
Rack the slide and repeat the previous step.
Check that the trigger reset is working as well by holding the trigger back while racking the slide.
Then, insert an empty magazine into the XD-S.
Pull the slide back and double-check the gun locks open on the empty mag.
If these functions are normal, you should be good to go.
If you take good care of your XD-S, its sure to serve you well for years to come.
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