Have been looking at the XD and XDM and am leaning towards the XD Subcompact. Seems to fit my hand and feel better. Any opinions on the XD? How does it shoot?

It shoots fine. I still say you will enjoy a 9mm much more

Are you saying that purely because of the recoil difference between the two?

I have an XD in 9mm and it's probably my favorite semi-auto to shoot. I had an XD sub-compact 40 that I thought I'd love and ended up selling it. Just seems the 40 cal and XD didn't mix all that well. I am able to stay on target with my 9mm much, much better than I ever was with the 40. And I just didn't like the bulk of the XD subcompact series all that much either. Very difficult to carry compared to other 9mm pistols.

I have a 4-inch barreled XD-357, not a subcompact. I shoot .40 ammo in it too, it shoots fine. I like the take-down lever on the XD. It gives you something to hold on to with your left thumb while shooting and helps keeps the muzzle down.

^ I'm hoping you have a barrel conversion? I had a 4" 9mm with about 30,000 rounds through it that always did fine. A .40 in any of the plastic pistols it's going to kick like a mule.

I have a 40 S&W Taurus 24/7 that's fantastic. I got it on the cheap, and the trigger is better than my XD. It handles the 40 cal recoil fine and I can be back on target pretty quick. I'm not sure why the XD handles it so poorly.

To be fair, the Taurus is a little bigger and heavier, so maybe that's it. But it's always been kind of a weird comparison in how each model handles 40 cal recoil.

I've owned and carried XD sub compacts in the 9mm and 40. The 9mm was an awesome gun, but I did not like the 40 due to felt recoil.

I love XD/XDM pistols. The feel good in my hand, I shoot them well. I have a XDM 40 that I am considering selling/trading, only because it is the only 40 cal I have and keep thinking I should consolidate my pistols to 9mm and 45. Or, just by some more 40 cal pistols lol

I have an XD-40 and love it. Does it kick? Yes, it is a .40 cal. Does it kick too much? No.