1911 Dilemma

[greg vess]

The main thing I was trying to relay without getting into differences in guns is it's hard to pick up a gun and it feel real good when you've only really used one platform for the better part of your life. It plays a big difference and how a gun feels. Most other shooters will tell you that the 1911 has the best point and shoot feel of any gun out there but if you're not used to it and you've trained with the different gun forever you're not going to feel it. It's going to feel awkward anyway you put it.

 

[greg vess]

What makes you say the Garrison is a "entry level" gun and what does a "Loaded" have that the Garrison doesn't that makes it so much better?

The major difference between the Garrison and the Loaded are,

• Garrison has a GI style recoil system and the Loaded has a full length (which most people swap out with a GI style)
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• Garrison lacks ambi safety although is setup for it. Loaded has an ambi safety (which most people swap out with a non ambi)
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• Garrison is Blued vs Park on the Loaded. Blued is a much nicer much higher-end finish.
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• Garrison lacks forward slide serrations and instead has classic slim slanted on the rear (another big plus for the Garrison)
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• Garrison has slimline grips, loaded has standard (another plus for the Garrison)

They have the same barrel, sights, trigger, hammer, etc.


From where I am standing, the Garrison is a better gun that the old Loaded everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

Please don't feel like I'm knocking the Garrison I'm a fan of all Springfield guns. I hear people knocking Springfield thinking that they're a low-end gun and it's just not the case. If you have the money to have a Wilson Combat 1911 in your safe well good for you but that does not make the Springfield a bad gun. They have been making those guns a long time and they make a great product and they continue to make a great product. Probably one of the only guns that hasn't had the ups and downs and quality during all this horse manure. It just comes down to a few features between guns but if one has been altered then you don't get a fair assessment of either gun and I think that's what happened in my case. The Garrison's a fine weapon and I would own one in a heartbeat.

 

[basstracker89]

I thought the Loaded had a little better trigger of the two I compared. Also the one Loaded I handled had G10 grips and they may have been thin profile. I really didn't take the time to identify each difference. Could have been the grips that made it feel different.

I am a PT1911 fan not for what it is but what it can be. A good work over with Wilson Combat parts and a little stoning here and there and you have a freaking nice weapon. Not camparing the two just pointing out what s good work over can do for a gun.

Sort of like my Remington R1 Long slide 10mm. Hated it out of the box and needed work. After about 500 dollars of Wilson parts and another 100 ,from Brownells and you couldn't pry that gun out my hands with a team of mules.

I wasn't knocking the Garrison it's a fine gun I just though the Loaded had a few more features. Grips are probably what fooled me. I am partial to Stainless and front slide serrations as well.

The Springfield loaded is about like the Colt gold cup. Both fine weapons and trump a standard weapon any day. Unless you go all out for a Les Bear or the like. That said I've shot some nice ole military surplus weapons as well.

 

[HERMET]

Each story is so different with each person. In my case, my outlook on shooting and I guess guns in general changed on the day around 20 years ago when I was at the range with my army Captain son in law to be, and he handed me his S&W 1911. All of the sudden I was a good shot! Since then I have tried 100 or so different handguns and nothing non-optic stays on target like my 1911's. I am not by any means a big time shooter, but that is how it's been for me.

Same here. Nothing fits my hand like a 1911, been in love with them since the first one I shot in the mid-60s.

Nothing and I do mean nothing fits in my hand like a 1911. My dad's was the first pistol I can ever remember shooting and back then they were in abundance.
In the service we qualified with the 1911 and I guess being of a certain generation it's just a natural tendency to gravitate towards what we know.
I've owned a few pistols in my life but if I could only have one to last until the end it would undoubtedly be a 1911 model.

 

[Gunfighter]

Can't speak for everyone, but they've always worked for me!
I've been working on and building them for about 20 years and one of the best from a material, fit, and finish standpoint is the Tisas B45R or B45.



Also Staccato. Definitely get one of those too...

Sent from my motorola razr (2020) using Tapatalk

 

[IceColdEric]

Always been a fan of the 1911. Shooting dots/targets I seem to shoot them better than anything else. Back when I was shooting IDPA I preferred a Glock for running/gunning and firearm manipulation.

 

[cali201]

Back in the late 80's-into the 90's I was heavy into USPSA completion, shooting a 1911 based guns in either .45 or .38 super. At one point I fell into a G17L and tried using it in matches but found the Glock actually pointed differently in my hand. It took quite a while to get used to the different presentation. Eventually I went back to a Caspian 1911 double stack .38 super for the remaining time in the sport.

 

[Braxton1]

Although that's what they're for, using Range Rental guns for test-drives can be tricky. Sure, you can get an "idea" of what the gun is or isn't, but I wouldn't form hard-and-fast opinions solely on Rentals.

Most rental guns that I see are dirty as heck and not maintained at all. They are shot hard, not lubed or cleaned, and put back in the case for the next customer to use.

When I worked in commercial ranges, I tried several times to work out a maintenance schedule on the shop's rental guns. Every time, life got in the way. I'd be on a cleaning binge and more customers than we've seen in a week would all show up at once. I'd be cleaning the DE 50 and that'd be the one gun the customer wanted to rent. Eventually, that priority would fall off the wayside and we'd be back to square one.

 

[Carlos .45]

Point of fact, the 1911 was designed in circa 1911 and has seen America through numerous wars. The high capacity autos of today are computer designed and made of high tech non metal materials, but in fact most have roots with the old 1911. A combat hand gun is for close fighting then and now at 3 to 5 feet. I have a number of auto hand guns in various calibers but always include the 1911 .45 when at the range and it is still a natural shooter to me. Everyone has their favorite hand gun and that is how it should be, let's all enjoy them before the government takes them away...... from my cold dead hands.

 

[NWSharpshooter]

Please don't feel like I'm knocking the Garrison I'm a fan of all Springfield guns. I hear people knocking Springfield thinking that they're a low-end gun and it's just not the case. If you have the money to have a Wilson Combat 1911 in your safe well good for you but that does not make the Springfield a bad gun. They have been making those guns a long time and they make a great product and they continue to make a great product. Probably one of the only guns that hasn't had the ups and downs and quality during all this horse manure. It just comes down to a few features between guns but if one has been altered then you don't get a fair assessment of either gun and I think that's what happened in my case. The Garrison's a fine weapon and I would own one in a heartbeat.

don't feel like you were knocking the Garrison at all, and even if you were it doesn't bother me. I was just pointing out that it is far from an entry-level offering from SAI. In my opinion it's the next best thing they offer after the Professional.