The same slogan could work well for Springfield Armory.
One such man to ask would be John Strayer.
John got his first Springfield XD in 2008, when he opened the gun shop.
He had shot my XD Tactical .45 ACP that I was testing at the time.
It really shoots nice.
That led him to his next personal acquisition from Springfield Armory, the XD-M.
He won so many matches with that one that the gun earned a nickname The Blue Flame.
At matches youd hear one competitor say, Were doomed.
Strayers here, and another reply Its worse than that; hes shooting the Blue Flame.
It has a Dawson adjustable rear sight and fiber optic front.
It was the first custom semi-auto Id ever had done.
It was right around when the XD-M first came out.
I had good luck with that gun, and won a lot of matches with it.
Strayer adds, The Blue Flame has roughly 40,000 rounds through it.
I had no malfunctions with it except with too-light experimental handloads.
Branching Out
For everyday carry, John created a hybrid XD-M.
He explains, I wanted a longer slide with a smaller grip for easier concealment.
At work, I carried in a belly band under my uniform shirt for years.
With a short barrel, the muzzle hit a bad spot on my sciatic nerve.
Arredondo base pads extended cartridge capacity to 22 rounds.
When he got into USPSA, John wanted commonality and went all 1911 for a while.
He used a Springfield Armory 9mm in its less expensive Range Officer format for IDPAs Enhanced Service Pistol division.
He added a right side mag release from Mitchell, Custom Shop trigger, and a TGO mag well.
He has spent a good bit of time with that same 9mm Subcompact as an everyday carry gun.
His petite wife Terri also carries an XD Subcompact daily, hers being chambered for .40 SW. By the time you read this, Strayer says, Ill probably have switched to a Hellcat.
I love the sights, and Ill be able to carry it in a pocket holster.
And I just like the feel of the gun!
Go to forum thread
XD-M4.5"
XD-M5.25"
1911Range Officer Elite Target
