Springfield Armory Garrison Target: Upgraded for Precision

Springfield Armory reached out to me about reviewing the new 1911 Garrison Target handgun. So, I went full send and chose the .45 ACP version instead of sticking with my usual 9mm. I am so glad I did, as it pushed me out of my comfort zone and was surprisingly fun to shoot. My friend TC also joined me at the range to review this handgun, as he’s a big .45 ACP 1911-style handgun guy. He enjoyed getting his hands on this gun just as much as I did.

The Springfield Armory Garrison Target

The new Garrison Target 1911 handgun features additional modern upgrades, including an adjustable rear sight tailored for competition shooters. It is available in 9mm as well, and both guns come with match-grade 5-inch barrels. Aesthetically, the hot salt-blued carbon steel and wood looked excellent. Both the slide and the frame are made of blued, forged carbon steel. Let’s dive into the details of the Garrison.

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Thinline Grips

The Garrison Target pistol has checkered thinline wood grips with a double-diamond pattern. Its thin design makes it easy for smaller hand sizes to grip the gun and maintain a proper grip while shooting. The benefit of a 1911 is that if you want a different texture, color, or style, the aftermarket offers endless options for 1911-style grips, which are easy to swap out.

7 Round Capacity

The Garrison comes with a blued 7-round magazine, allowing it to hold 7+1 rounds. The textured magazine release button is perfectly sized, in my opinion. It extends just enough for easy release without protruding so far that your grip unintentionally releases the magazine.

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Adjustable Rear Sight

The main benefit of the Garrison Target is the adjustable rear sight. The elevation and windage adjustments can be found on the top and side of the rear sight. Using a simple flathead screwdriver, you can make fine adjustments to change the elevation or windage.

I always recommend zeroing a pistol with the ammunition you plan to use primarily, whether it’s defensive or competition ammo. It’s a good idea to zero the pistol using a shooting bag, a plump pillow, or some other support to provide your hand and wrist with stability.

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Once you’ve sighted the gun in, I recommend confirming the zero by shooting the pistol offhand, without any support. This confirms the zero with your body mechanics and how you’d usually shoot the gun.

The rear sight is fully blacked out with serrations for added texture. Correspondingly, the front sight features a single white dot. The dot is generously sized, which makes it easy to pick up when shooting.

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The Garrison Target on the Range

TC and I spent quite a bit of time on the range with the Garrison Target .45 ACP handgun. At first, I did a “rough zero” with the pistol with full metal jacket American Eagle 230 grain ammunition to get the gun as sighted in as possible.

When you zero a handgun with one type of ammunition, it doesn’t mean that zero is the same for any other type of ammunition. So, I wanted to test the Garrison pistol with five different loads of .45 ACP. This included jacketed hollow points as well as full-metal-jacket ammunition. In addition, I tested with rounds loaded with 135-grain bullets to 230-grain bullets.

The “rough zero” allowed me to get the gun sighted in as close to the bullseye as possible, knowing each load would have a zero shift.

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For each load, I shot 5 rounds at 10 yards from the bench using a Caldwell Tack Drive Shooting Bag. I always use Orange Peel targets from Caldwell because they make it easy to see shot groups. Because .45 ACP is much larger than 9mm, I used a single 8-inch Bullseye target for each load.

The Fiocchi Defense Dynamics shot the best group of all five loads, just under 1 inch. It was also the second-slowest-velocity ammunition I tested, which made recoil management that much easier. This would be a good carry load, as the 230-grain jacketed hollow-point ammo is designed for carry and defensive use.

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Ringing Steel with the Garrison Target

Once I finished testing the specific defensive loads, TC and I started shooting steel targets with the Garrison Target. I was impacting a 33% AR500 IPSC steel Target at 50 yards constantly without issue. TC and I also enjoyed shooting the AR500 Dueling Tree target from Caldwell with .45 ACP.

The felt recoil on this gun was surprisingly less than I expected from a .45 ACP handgun. The total weight of the gun is 39 ounces. As a result, the heavier weight of the gun helps reduce felt recoil.

Once fully loaded, the total weight of the gun made for even better shooting. I was genuinely impressed with how well the gun tracked sight-wise when its muzzle returned after firing. Overall, this was a really fun and easy gun to manipulate and shoot.

A Match-Grade Barrel

The Garrison Target pistol is outfitted with a 5-inch stainless steel match-grade barrel with a 1:16 twist rate. This barrel definitely delivers on accuracy. After testing on paper and steel targets, I felt very confident shooting the gun and using various types of ammunition.

This match-grade barrel is a non-negotiable for competitive shooters. I think it delivers the accuracy required to be a competitive option for shooting sports. If you’re someone who likes to reload their own competition ammunition, I’m sure you can dial in your loads to shoot even tighter groups through the Garrison Target pistol.

The Included Garrison Target Case

Springfield Armory includes a double-zipper case with each handgun. This soft-sided shell protects the firearm. In addition, an interior pouch within this case can hold an additional magazine as well.

Proper Range Clothing

Having the proper gear and clothing on the range is just as important as wearing good hearing and eye protection. 5.11 Tactical makes excellent clothing for the range, whether it’s hot and sunny or freezing and rainy.

While shooting the Garrison Target pistol, I was outfitted with 5.11 Tactical clothing. The Sulli UV Hooded Long Sleeve offers UPF 50+ protection, has thumbholes in the sleeves, and a hood. It is made of 100% polyester pique, weighs just 4.1ounces, and has a wicking and anti-odor finish.

The Athene Leggings, designed for women, have been a game-changer for me as a competitive shooter. These leggings have loop elastic that makes it easy to thread regular or competition-style shooting belts through. They’ve supported a lot of weight (holstered pistol, loaded pistol magazines, loaded rifle magazines, and loaded shotgun magazines) with no issue.

They are also equipped with thigh pockets for storage. These pockets are designed so thick that they support clipping on a multi-tool and a knife.

The shoes I cannot live without are the 5.11 A/T Mid Waterproof Boot. These boots feature an Ortholite insole and are designed with the All Terrain Load Assistance System to help keep your feet running longer and with less stress. They are waterproof and feature a full-rubber outsole with ASTM slip resistance.

These also have a Dual Density PU midsole with 5.11 Echo foam in the forefoot and 5.11 Force foam in the heel. I have worn this same pair of boots for over three years now, and they still look and feel brand new. I’ve shot and hunted in them all over the country, and I absolutely swear by them.

If you’re looking for great gear for any environment, 5.11 is my recommendation.

Springfield Armory 1911 Garrison Target .45 Specifications

Performance