Springfield Armory XD-M Elite Tactical OSP Flat Dark Earth 9mm 4.5" Barrel 22-Rounds - $453.99 ($9.99 S/H on Firearms / $12.99 Flat Rate S/H on ammo)

The XDM Elite series is a pretty overlooked gun and that's a shame because it's pretty decent. The aesthetics are kind of unfortunate but it's got it where it counts. First - the grip texture is really nice - locks into your hand without being abrasive. The grip shape is such that it's very intuitive to hold and as such when you shoot fast the thing is very easy to make track straight up and down in recoil and return to zero. It surprises me on double taps with a second shot within an inch or so of the first pretty regularly. The actual practical accuracy of the gun is very very good - every time I check zero on my optic it's a one hole group at 10 yards. Not 'big ragged hole' but cloverleaf. The thread protector will come loose in recoil - so get an o-ring for it. The backup iron sights work with most sights - except a delta point pro. I have an early model of the gun that they shipped with the 4 plates they make for the optics system - but apparently the new ones don't include it. The grip safety isn't a big concern it's almost impossible to hold the gun and reach the trigger and not put adequate pressure onto the grip safety. The loaded chamber indicator is lousy because it allows gas out of the chamber to smoke your optic lens - which is dumb. The magazines are their XDM 19 round mags with large +3 base plates that do not fit the USPSA magazine gauge for carry optics. The magwell is polymer and removable but is really really big. The gun is a big gun without a magwell and it's ridiculously large with it on there. Controls are ambidextrous. I really like this gun but it gets made fun of in gun communities and I feel like a lot of it is undeserved.