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Springfield Armory Garrison 1911 finish and rear slide overhang

Darrel60

Darrel60

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I own a blued Garrison 1911 that is 1 year old and never carried. The bluing had developed surface rust that I very gently used a soft oiled cloth to remove the rust and the bluing came off all the way to bare steel. The rear of my slide also overhangs the rear of the frame. The mag release button is hard to press and sometimes gets stuck in the release position. I haven't shot even a complete mag through this gun yet. Are these issues typical or acceptable for a made in USA Springfield Armory 1911?
 

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I don't think this gun is made in the USA. Most of it is made outside of the US. I am sure someone will tell me if i'm wrong or where it is made..There has been some issues with this model and finish has been one of the issues.
 
No, the Garrison is made here in the USA, the SA-35 has frame and slide made outside of US. The rust is pretty much normal if you don’t remove the grips occasionally and lightly oil under them. The overhang you’re referring to isn’t all that much, I have seen worse, it won’t affect the function at all. As for the mag release, it just needs broke in, my Kimber Custom Duel Tone in 9mm has a rear stiff mag release, shouldn’t be an issue, if it does just call Springfield up, they will take care of it.
 
Read through this thread...
www.thearmorylife.com

SA’s warranty and rust coverage

maybe not, but you own the house, or rent that house or apartment, so it's YOUR RULES. if he cannot respect your property, it's time to forbid him to visit. you gotta put your foot down, or up his........ Well said,every man's house is his castle,just because he is related doesn't give...
www.thearmorylife.com www.thearmorylife.com

Your experience and mine with a blued (9mm) Garrison is not uncommon. I found other sites where owners of the blued Garrison pistols complained about premature bluing wear. Springfield had my pistol for several weeks for the issue, only to be told it was "normal wear".
 
Darrel60 said:
I own a blued Garrison 1911 that is 1 year old and never carried. The bluing had developed surface rust that I very gently used a soft oiled cloth to remove the rust and the bluing came off all the way to bare steel. The rear of my slide also overhangs the rear of the frame. The mag release button is hard to press and sometimes gets stuck in the release position. I haven't shot even a complete mag through this gun yet. Are these issues typical or acceptable for a made in USA Springfield Armory 1911?
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cal S/A monday morning, tell them, and hear what they have to say.

maybe they will want the gun back for inspection and "possible" warranty work.

keep us informed as to what they say/recommend.
 
And as for the rust under the grips, this is common occurrence on any 1911, usually due to no oil under them and sweaty hands, also the grip screws on a 1911 is also common. On mine, after any range time, when I clean the gun I always clean under the grips, and occasionally I remove them to lightly oil under them, even on stainless 1911’s, they to will rust.
 
They initially told me that slide fitment was within tolerance. Heirloom quality construction tolerance? I wouldn't do a piece of work and call it finished without the slide and frame fitting flush. If for some odd reason a finger knuckle were contacted with the back of that slide, in battery, it would cut my knuckle. I have tried many Philippines manufactured 1911s and each one of the 8 or 9 I have owned in the past were fit / finished better. Trouble was none of them would run reliably with most jhp. I have been carrying various XD, XDM, and XDM Elites since 2005. I know; they're made in Croatia and are a different gun. I believe some 1911s function as they should and because I have always had great operating experience with Springfield Armory XD, XDM, and XDM Elite guns, I hope I have a similarly good experience with the Springfield Armory 1911. My gun is back at Springfield Armory and I will learn during the next few weeks how they handle these issues. There is noooooooooo way a hot salt dipped bluing job (done properly and at correct temp) will be less durable than a tedious week long cold blue job done at home by me on my revolvers. The Garrison 1911 was stored wet with gun oil. Under the grips, there was more oil in some places than others. The mag release requires me to contort my hand so much in order to put enough thumb pressure on the button to drop a mag and, about 2 out of ten times it gets stuck open. I have sat in our living room many nights pushing and releasing that mag release hundreds of times. Then, I'll pick up one of my XDM Elites and ohhhhhh do those guns run smooth. I pray they'll fix up my Garrison 1911 properly.

The XDM Elites are smooth operators and I'm thinking SA is going to make my 1911 Garrison a smooth operator too. "Heirloom quality construction", and, besides..... THEY'RE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY.
 

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Darrel60 said:
They initially told me that slide fitment was within tolerance. Heirloom quality construction tolerance? I wouldn't do a piece of work and call it finished without the slide and frame fitting flush. If for some odd reason a finger knuckle were contacted with the back of that slide, in battery, it would cut my knuckle. I have tried many Philippines manufactured 1911s and each one of the 8 or 9 I have owned in the past were fit / finished better. Trouble was none of them would run reliably with most jhp. I have been carrying various XD, XDM, and XDM Elites since 2005. I know; they're made in Croatia and are a different gun. I believe some 1911s function as they should and because I have always had great operating experience with Springfield Armory XD, XDM, and XDM Elite guns, I hope I have a similarly good experience with the Springfield Armory 1911. My gun is back at Springfield Armory and I will learn during the next few weeks how they handle these issues. There is noooooooooo way a hot salt dipped bluing job (done properly and at correct temp) will be less durable than a tedious week long cold blue job done at home by me on my revolvers. The Garrison 1911 was stored wet with gun oil. Under the grips, there was more oil in some places than others. The mag release requires me to contort my hand so much in order to put enough thumb pressure on the button to drop a mag and, about 2 out of ten times it gets stuck open. I have sat in our living room many nights pushing and releasing that mag release hundreds of times. Then, I'll pick up one of my XDM Elites and ohhhhhh do those guns run smooth. I pray they'll fix up my Garrison 1911 properly.

The XDM Elites are smooth operators and I'm thinking SA is going to make my 1911 Garrison a smooth operator too. "Heirloom quality construction", and, besides..... THEY'RE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY.
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Ok, for one, the lower end Springfield 1911’s are no way heirloom quality pistols, they’re a working man’s 1911. If your looking for a heirloom 1911, you need to move up to the more higher end Springfield pistol, all my Springfield 1911’s are good pistols, the Defender Mil-Spec and my RO Operator are good shooters, my XDm’s are also good shooters, but my Colt 1911’s will out shoot my Springfield’s and my Sig P320 X-five legion will out shoot any of my XDm’s or any of my Glocks except for one which is my G34. Hope you get yours straightened out.
 
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Darrel60 said:
They initially told me that slide fitment was within tolerance. Heirloom quality construction tolerance? I wouldn't do a piece of work and call it finished without the slide and frame fitting flush. If for some odd reason a finger knuckle were contacted with the back of that slide, in battery, it would cut my knuckle. I have tried many Philippines manufactured 1911s and each one of the 8 or 9 I have owned in the past were fit / finished better. Trouble was none of them would run reliably with most jhp. I have been carrying various XD, XDM, and XDM Elites since 2005. I know; they're made in Croatia and are a different gun. I believe some 1911s function as they should and because I have always had great operating experience with Springfield Armory XD, XDM, and XDM Elite guns, I hope I have a similarly good experience with the Springfield Armory 1911. My gun is back at Springfield Armory and I will learn during the next few weeks how they handle these issues. There is noooooooooo way a hot salt dipped bluing job (done properly and at correct temp) will be less durable than a tedious week long cold blue job done at home by me on my revolvers. The Garrison 1911 was stored wet with gun oil. Under the grips, there was more oil in some places than others. The mag release requires me to contort my hand so much in order to put enough thumb pressure on the button to drop a mag and, about 2 out of ten times it gets stuck open. I have sat in our living room many nights pushing and releasing that mag release hundreds of times. Then, I'll pick up one of my XDM Elites and ohhhhhh do those guns run smooth. I pray they'll fix up my Garrison 1911 properly.

The XDM Elites are smooth operators and I'm thinking SA is going to make my 1911 Garrison a smooth operator too. "Heirloom quality construction", and, besides..... THEY'RE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY.
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Any 1911 you can buy for under a grand is not going to compare to a custom. Almost any 1911 you buy that isn't a custom or high end is going to require some sort of TLC from a smith. Not a hard fast rule, but a general expectation. I have a CD ( Phillipines) that has never given me any problems and runs JHP just fine as long as it's not Hornady with the polymer tip.

My opinion, which is probably less than popular here, this being a SA forum, is that after reading the many, MANY threads involving SA 1911s I would never buy a SA 1911. If I did though I would not be expecting flawless operation out of it without a trip to a gunsmith first.

Comparing XDs to 1911s isn't relevant because as you correctly pointed out, SA doesn't make the XDs. And striker fired plastic guns have much more forgiving tolerances than 1911s. I will say that it is universally accepted that SA has a very good customer service department, but far too many people have unrealistic expectations with regards to their 1911s.


I suspect you will get your Garrison back in the same condition you sent it to them in. Your options will be to take it to a smith or sell it. As for the finish your options will be to re-blue it or live with it.
 
Most of your handguns are mass produced. The higher end handguns are more handcrafted. The Springfield line of 1911s, and most for that matter, are made for carry, use, target practice, etc. There are going to be flaws and imperfections. The higher end line of Springfield would be considered "heirloom". If you want close to perfection, look at companies such as Cabot. And, expect to pay for that "heirloom" quality as well. A little bit of preventative maintenance goes a long way. I am happy with every firearm I own. They each have their little quirks and imperfections. As long as they perform as advertised and as needed, I have no problem with them. Most of my handguns are "plastic fantastics", with the exception of my SA 1911 Loaded. Metal/Steel handguns are notorious for having issues with rust, which is why they require a little more TLC than most. Just being pulled in and out of a holster will eventually wear away that "protective" coating on any handgun. I know that with the cost of everything going up, the hard earned money we spend on a firearm we expect better "perceived" quality. Most require a break-in period. Racking slide, pushing mag release, round count, etc are all part of that. And metal firearms are going to act and break in differently than your polymer ones. Facts of life. I am not trying to minimalize what you are saying, just saying that we cannot expect perfection from things that are not perfect to begin with. Even high end luxury/sports cars are not perfect and have their issues. And JHP has been an issue with a lot of the 1911s, since they were designed and manufactured for ball ammo. A 1911 is an old school, no nonsense tool. It was never designed to be anything more than that. The manufacturers have "improved" on it, and added more bells and whistles to it, but it is still the same old tool. I love mine, with any and all imperfections, and would never consider parting with it. I know that if I need to, I could depend on it with my life. But, it is not my main carry/self-defense. I have others for that role that suit me and my body type. I clean and lube up my 1911 and take it out to the range every so often. Occasionally, when the mood moves me or the weather is more suited for it, I will carry it. It is not perfect, and I don't expect it to be. It is a tool. A very nice looking tool, but a tool.
 
Even high end 1911's have issues. I purchased a Wilson Combat CQB for close to 3 grand. First trip out it had issues and I had to send it back. Turn around was less than a week but "THEY" made up more than good for it. I also had a rather frustrating issue with a SA 35 I bought. 3 times back and forth with the same issues until finally they just gave me a new weapon. So as others have said here there are issues that pop up even with high end weapons but to me it's how a company deals with it and how they respond and treat their customers. Good luck Sa customer service is great to deal with. Just my two cents...
 
Darrel60 said:
I own a blued Garrison 1911 that is 1 year old and never carried. The bluing had developed surface rust that I very gently used a soft oiled cloth to remove the rust and the bluing came off all the way to bare steel.
Click to expand...
If the "bluing" came off to bare steel with a oiled rag then instead of "bluing" it could have been a powder-coating finish which wasn't applied very well.
 
Talyn said:
If the "bluing" came off to bare steel with a oiled rag then instead of "bluing" it could have been a powder-coating finish which wasn't applied very well.
Click to expand...
i was going to say in my posting (#5) but refrained...

maybe he just got a one off factory mishap of a gun, which does happen once in a blue moon.

cuz i was also going to say, in all of my 13, 1911's, i have NO issues at all.

and some are S/A's,

as well as i have some lower priced 1911's and higher end 1911's
 
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