Springfield Armory Garrison 4.25: Blued, Stainless Models Added

Bruce DalyJanuary 26, 2024

490 3 minutes read

Ever since John Moses Browning invented the iconic 1911 and the U.S. Army adopted it into service on March 29, 1911, the world has seen hundreds if not thousands of different 1911s come to market. Nearly all those different guns have had the exact same design with some minor changes here and there. The classic design lately has seen a resurgence thanks to new double-stack models and fancy hand-built pistols from some of the top companies in the firearms industry.

Springfield Armory Garrison 4.25 Details

Sometimes, you just want a nice, classically designed pistol that shoots well without sacrificing the 1911 design and won’t break the budget. Unfortunately, that sometimes is hard to find in today’s market. Luckily, one company has always stayed true to the classic design and just makes nice quality 1911’s for pretty much any budget. That company is Springfield Armory, and they did it again with the release of the newest variation of their budget friendly Garrison 1911’s, this time with a shorter 4.25-inch barrel.

The Garrison line is not new but stays true to the classic design. It features a forged steel construction offered in either hot salt blued carbon or stainless, depending on which of the two models the shooter decides on. The Garrison models stand out from the competition because of this forged steel at cast steel pricing. The new 4.25-inch barrels are machined from forged stainless steel and designed to offer competition-style accuracy.

The Garrison pistols’ grip panels are made from thin wood with the classic double-diamond pattern. They also have the Springfield Armory crossed cannons logo cut into both sides, which I personally love that logo in the grips. They are ultra-thin and feel incredibly comfortable in my hands. These pistols are really what a 1911 should be. On the left side of the frame, you get a single safety lever. If you are a lefty, you can always swap that out for an ambi safety instead, but unfortunately it doesn’t come standard from Springfield.

Built to Run

The serrated hammer is skeletonized for faster lock time, plus it just looks fantastic. Under the hammer is an extended beavertail grip safety. The extra length to the beavertail helps prevent hammer bite incidents, and a raised memory bump helps ensure instinctive full engagement by the shooter’s dominate hand every time. The trigger sports a skeletonized design that matches the hammer and has a very crisp, clean, light pull with a short reset. The little bit of creep in the trigger is also very smooth with no grittiness like some 1911 triggers have. It honestly feels fantastic.

On the top of the slide, you get a simple set of irons with two white dots on the rear and a single dot in the front. They are standard 1911 sights and can easily be upgraded in the future if you want some nicer irons. But it is a 1911, so the three-dot sight system works just fine for me. The side surfaces of the slide are polished, while the rounded top of the slide is matte finished to reduce glare as you are looking down the sights. The front strap of the grip is also matte finished; the finish provides a nice surface to hold.

Blued Steel Springfield Armory Garrison 4.25.

Range-Ready Package

Included in the package is one steel magazine with each pistol: a seven-round in the .45 ACP models and a nine-round magazine with the 9mm chambered guns. I would really love to see two magazines in the box, but I get that Springfield is trying to deliver a premium 1911 at an affordable price, so only including one magazine is an easy way to cut a little cost. The magazine that comes with each gun matches the finish of the pistol, so your blued pistol has a blued magazine, and your stainless pistols have a raw stainless magazine included.

The Garrison line is one of the least expensive 1911s that Springfield makes with an MSRP of only $868 for the Blued models and $917 for the Stainless pistols. An absolutely insane price when you look at what you actually get for that price. You get a lot of pistol for the money with the Garrison. The barrel is match grade. The trigger is fantastic. The fit and finish is good, not the best I have ever seen, but not bad at all, and the finish is flaw-free. If you want a really nice 1911 but you are concerned about the budget, look no further. You won’t go wrong with a Garrison 1911 from Springfield Armory. For more info on the entire line of 1911s, check out springfieldarmory.com.