As much as I love my S&W round guns the 1911 has been my main pistol for 5 decades. I recently picked up the new Springfield Armory Garrison 4.25" in stainless. What a pistol. I did swap the thin grips for some standard width from Wood Caliber, had Novak's install a Megadot front night sight and I added a 10-8 rear.

It's a nice compliment to my Baers and a custom build I have.

Just over 300 rounds and it's flawless, though I did have an issue with one older SA magazine that has also given me issues in my other 1911s.




Today I ran 200 rounds through it with all the mags as I figured out which one was the problem child. It works perfectly with my preferred Wilson 8 round mags.

Target shows the shots at 8 and 10 yards. I recently had cataract surgery in my right, dominant, eye and it'll be the end of March before my Rx is set for my glasses. I've never been a bullseye shooter and look forward to having my vision dialed in then.

I believe Springfield is building quite good guns.

I;ve never liked their grips. I definitely do not care for thin grips, and I find Springfield's standard grips are a bit thicker than I like, so grip changes come with the territory for me and Springfield 1911's.

I've generally heard good things about the Garrison, and your experience looks to agree.

Nice looking gun, love the rear U notch and big round front site. Wish they made a set like that for revolvers, Larry

I told myself years ago that I would never buy another 1911 that didn’t have a checkered front strap… but these new Springfield models are tempting me. I like your sights. The rear is a vast improvement over the “other design,” which in my opinion now belongs on the proverbial ash heap of history. And being the junior dinosaur that I am, I still prefer a standard length trigger with arched MSH, but those are just personal preferences. What a nice looking pistol you have there. Congrats on your new .45! I hope I don’t see one of those the next time I visit the gunshop.

Steve, clean looking 1911, I like it.

Very nice. Springfield makes an excellent 1911 at a reasonable price point. I have a TRP, and have been looking at picking up a Loaded Target in 9mm.

Like S&W Fan, 1911s are my main interest other than S&W revolvers. My most recent 1911 is a Colt Gov't pre-'70 series, and it's a birth year gun for me: 1967.



The original Coltwood grips were showing shrinkage, and I plan to shoot the gun, so I swapped them out for some medallion stocks. And like the OP, I prefer a long trigger and flat mainspring housing, so I swapped those out as well. This particular 1911 will get no further modifications.

Rodan....Did you know that because of shrinkage of the Coltwood grips if you leave them off very long they will never go back on.(holes will not line up)..................................................M*

Yes, I'm aware. This gun took a long time to find, and will be among the last to go, if ever. I'm much more interested in my enjoyment of the gun than any future collector's...

I do also have a set of the 1950s Colt stocks that do not shrink. While not technically correct, they look the part. And of course, I'll be keeping the Coltwood stocks as well. Any future owners will have to be satisfied with that.

Just trying to help!!.................................................M-

My similar preferences for a flat mainspring housing and longer trigger were one of the main reasons I bought this Colt 1991 in 9mm.

My latest 1911 is a Colt, 45ACP full size Gold Cup Trophy. Shopped a lot and found at a decent price. Took off the plastic grips. Bob

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Nice. I like the current Gold Cup Trophy, but I'm thinking 9mm. Trying to decide if it's worth nearly twice the price of an SA Loaded Target... Then there's the Trophy Lite...

My latest is a v-bob....

This is the first Springfield I bought 35 years ago. It started its life as a new parkerized GI spec 45 and was transformed into this. I had it built for USPSA competition and took home a number of prizes with it.

I’m not certain how many rounds have been through it but it’s been in the tens of thousands with no issues at all. I almost exclusively use Shooting Star mags and have never had a problem with them even after dropping them in the mud, gravel and walking in them.

Probably most shooters wouldn’t like this but I like a really aggressive checkering on the front strap. It has a Bomar rear sight, created top front creations, beautifully blended magwell, hard chromed, extended safety, extended and large mag release and the trigger is about as good as it gets at around 2.5 pounds. Actually there’s not much about the gun other than the frame that’s original.

Almost forgot, the grips are Altamont and really fill your hand.

I’m too old and arthritic to compete now but my Springfield keeps on going.

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The only Springfield I own, in 10mm…..probably not the last. Lot of gun for the money.

Nice grips, huntsman22 ! Can you offer some details about them?

Great pics!!
Were the sights challenging to change out? I've heard Springfield 1911 sights are notorious for being a BEAR to push out?
I've owned a Garrison Govt Model, but never did change the sights.
I'm hoping that Springfield adds a CCO model to the Garrison lineup, now that they have gone the Commander route.

I have two Springfield 1911s and would say they are right on par with the other quality makers. Both mine are very accurate and totally reliable. I am not biased as I have Colt, Kimber and Wilson Combat also.
A compact 9 mm Range Officer Elite (4 inch slide with lightweight officers frame) which is my EDC with Wilson Combat mags. I sent the slide to Novaks for a big dot night sight. Kept the rear sight plain.
An early Trophy Match which was assembled by their custom shop according to their Customer Service. However, unlike .38 super man above I found the front strap checkering too aggressive and had gunsmith knock down the points. So sharp I had to wear a glove when running a course at Sig Academy with it. Mostly a range gun I run Ed Brown mags in it.

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I just faced this with my Garrison. It shot left for me. I double-checked that with a buddy and it shot the same for him. For the life of me, I couldn't move that rear sight. And yes, I loosened the set screw . . . .

It took my buddy's MGW sight pusher and a breaker bar on the t-handle to break the sight loose. It gave way with a loud pop and we could move it. It appears there was a film of Loctite or similar in the dovetail. It did not want to move! Thanks to the MGW design, there was no damage to the slide whatsoever.

The good news is that it now shoots to point of aim for both of us. However, the rear sight is clearly off to the right in the dovetail. It makes me wonder what's not quite in line to begin with. Still, the gun shoots accurately enough and to point of aim.

I sent the slide to Novak's for the front-they received it on a Thursday morning and it was on the way back to me Thursday afternoon! The rear was installed by my friendly neighborhood gunsmith in about 20 minutes, they are perfect, no marks on the sight or slide. He didn't mention it being very difficult.

Hmm, unable to post another photo. Apologies