Ruger SR1911

[alacharger]

Bought a Ruger SR1911 yesterday.  Fit and finish are great.  I will update the post this evening when I get time to put a few rounds through it, take some pictures and do an evaluation.

The gun shop I bought it at(Larry's Pistol and Pawn, Huntsville AL) was sold out of them by the time I arrived.  But one of the countermen said he had laid one back for a customer.  That customer had said he would be in the store by noon to pick it up, and hadn't showed.  So the counterman called the customer, who said he wasn't going to make it by the store and to remove his hold on it.  15 minutes later, I was out the door with a brand new SR1911 .

[alacharger]

Didn't get as complete a testing as I wanted due to a meeting I had to attend, but I got to shoot a box and a half through the SR1911. 

The SR1911 came with two magazines.  One is an 8 round mag, with an extended base plate.  The other seems to be a 7 round mag.  Both fed reliably, and had very stiff magazine springs.  I disassembled the gun prior to the trip to the range, and noted that it had a light film of oil in the area of the frame rails.  I reassembled it, and headed to the range.

I shot a mixture of factory hardball, lead round nose and jacketed hollow points.  The gun fed everything I threw at it, with no failures to feed at all.  Even some of my grungy 200 grain lead loads I made up for Wild Bunch matches went through it without a hiccup.  Brass was ejected smartly, and landed four to five feet behind me and to the right.  It wasn't quite piled up, but most of it was in a 5 foot circle. 

The trigger pull was a bit crisp, but quite manageable.  The non ambidextrous thumb safety was a pleasure to use.  It was easy to move from on to off positions, and clicked into position very positively.  The three dot sights are typical Novak style, and easy to see.  The recoil spring seems stout..probably 18 pounds or so. 

All rounds were fired from 20 yards, offhand.  They were well centered, just a mite to the left of actual aiming point.  This could indeed be the shooter...I have a tendency to pull a couple of inches to the left, especially with 1911's. 

All in all, it shot well, and felt great.  I'm convinced it's a keeper.

[Savage]

Pretty much what I expected out of the Ruger. A good gun at a good price! If it's not too personal, what is the "Real World" retail?
Savage

[alacharger]

$699 plus tax.  $756 out the door.

[williamlayton]

Good gun & good price.
The pulling could be helped with a short trigger---but looking a the pics, I don't really see much to cry about. I could not have done that well at 10 yards.
Blessings

[Savage]

I don't really see much to cry about

Me either! Great 20yd offhand group!!
Savage

[Swampman]

There are a lot of nice clones for less money.

[tguil]

There are a lot of nice clones for less money.

...but they are not Ruger and (except for the Remington R1) made in the USA.

[Swampman]

...but they are not Ruger

All the more reason to buy one.

[Savage]

There are a lot of nice clones for less money.

I'm generally not a fan of Ruger Centerfire pistols. Just personal preference due to design. This pistol is based on a proven design by a reputable American company. In my eyes, that puts it miles ahead of anything I've seen coming out of the Pacific Rim or South America.
Savage   

[simplicity]

I did some trading this weekend (got rid of my ps90 and made $200 on it to boot) I ended up picking up a glock 20 and one of the SR1911. $649 tax and all. I'm a machinist by trade and I set the SR1911 next to a smith SW1911 and I tell yuh the machineing quality was just as good. The fit and finish on the SR1911 is awesome. i got to the range and well my story is quite similar to alacharger. I have nothing but good things to say about it. I had a Taurus pt1911 when they first hit and it was a POS shot great when I first got it but after it worn down all the chatter marks in it's machineing you were lucky if it would stay within 8 inches at 25yd. for the same price the ruger Sr1911  is so far beyond the taurus it's rediculous and it's a damned good looking 1911 to boot.

[03A2]

I haven't seen one of these in stores yet, but hope they come out with one in commander length.  My impressions from reviews is that it is almost everything I have decided I want after bubba'ing my springer over the last several years.  Dovetailed sights, no front slide serrations, strong side safety only, no internal safeties, no KEY LOCK, no magazine safety, stainless steel, and the plunger tube is integral with the frame like a $3,000 nighthawk.  Are all of these impressions correct or has rugers lawyers gotten ahold of it? Thanks for taking the time to tell us about it.

edited to add: I am also under the impression that it is 100% american, correct?

[cnTndr85]

edited to add: I am also under the impression that it is 100% american, correct?

Yes, that is correct, everything is made here in the USA except for the little zippered case that comes with it, just picked mine up this afternoon and it is just as nice as I had heard, Ruger sure did a nice job on these.

Mark

[williamlayton]

I don't care who made it or where---I like a Smith to put his fingers on mine.
I know, but I am an anal sumbitch.
Blessings

[1911crazy]

My new AO from wooster,mass and my new SA from brazil are running flawless.  I can't say that with my two new 1911 colts that were made in the usa. And my new colt python. (timing problem)  So far the made in the usa surely took a bite out of my wallet with there poor quality which still continues to this day. I just can't afford to keep on getting  bad quality brand new guns over and over.
Now i'd like to see a new 1911 come from japan.  If the chinese @ norinco can do it i'm sure that japan can do better.

Wait one minute my local dealer has them for $649 I believe the last time i looked.   Guys the sr1911 is in stainless so the price is very affordable for a new 1911 in stainless right?  Plus its got some goddies already with it,  trigger,  skeleton hammer, already flared port(i'm not sure if its lowered too?),  beaver tail and the larger sights.  Plus it sounds like it functions and cycles right out of the box.  I'm not shouting off the roof tops yet because i don't have one nor shot it yet but right now for a new 1911 in stainless along with some goodies already on it from the factory it looks and sounds like ruger has done us right so far. When i have a window to oppertunity to get one i will.  It doesn't sound like a bad price to me. There are plain jane cheaper 1911's but then your going to add the goodies right after you purchase the cheaper 1911 right? Again i'm a pia too and nit pick everything but this one doesn't look like a bad buy.  I know on one forum one sr1911 purchaser did a lot of rework on his to make it exactly correct.  It became more accurate too.  Now if it functions correctly right out of the box to me does it need this rework or can we live with it the way it is in its out of the box form.  If i'm going to do all the rework and upgrade it maybe i should buy a better quality 1911 to begin with. I just don't get it nor understand it for $700 it is what it is and if it functions right out of the box i think we did ok with it.  There are other 1911's to fit anyones budget too.  And with any 1911 sometimes we don't even get what we pay for too.  The bottomline is we still have other 1911 choices.  I just want one in stainless that functions flawlessly.   I think its got more pro's than con's.  So am i right or wrong?          CZY
I'm sorry but all the made in usa stuff isn't cracked up to what it used to be.  We have made some junk in the past too. I've been there a few times with it too. I want the best quality bang for my buck which doesn't buy much nowadays, at the lowest cost too so sometimes made in the usa is out of the question. I have to go for the best quality product no matter what. With the well known brand name and the higher price doesn't mean we have a top quality product if it says made in the usa. I'm scorned for life with our free trade system its screwing us and has screwed me many times over too.

I went to purchase one and seen he had a savage and a wards pump rifle in 22cal that are very old and were a steal at the price he had listed I also picked up a taurus model 94 in 22lr too i blew my wad ($$$) so again i did a "U" turn and got those figuring i'd get the sr1911 at a later date.

[1911crazy]

I don't care who made it or where---I like a Smith to put his fingers on mine.
I know, but I am an anal sumbitch.
Blessings

I understand you William you like to make it your own and i respect that.  You want it better than it is.  Way to go we only pass this way once so do it right.  Your on a roll.    CZY

[Swampman]

I'd like to get an R1.

[simplicity]

I got my sr1911 here about a month ago was 649 tax and all. It did have a creep in the trigger so I stoned rugers factory burn off the sear, and everything was good no creep. The fit and finnish other then the sears  is awesome. I'm a machinist by trade so when I sat fit and finish I look at tooling marks and she's pretty well machined. As far as claimed accuaracy it's a honest 2 inch at 25yard gun with right load (I'm still exsperiementing) it might do better.  Swampman the R1 seemed to have a better trigger out of the box of the three i've held but bang for buck I honestly feel the SR1911 is heads and shoulders above the rest in it's price range bar none. I've owned one pt1911 and it shot great out of the box after 200rnds you were lucky to keep it on a paper plate at 25yd. once all the chatter marks on the rails had worn each other down and the external fit and finish was honestly pretty horrible. Just my 2 cents on the SR1911  it's a keeper.