rwish
9th July 2012, 23:49
Hi all. I’ve had my new SR1911 for a little over two weeks now and have about 400 rounds through it, so I thought I’d share some thoughts and observations. Before get started, I should say I am not a gunsmith, competitive shooter, or Ninja. I’m just a simple guy who likes to hunt, shoot, and reload his own ammunition. So on to my review:
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p599/tenderfoot3/IMG_0599A.jpg
The evening prior to my first range visit, the pistol was field striped cleaned and lubricated. After getting the pistol disassembled to its various parts, the overall fit finish and workmanship seem to me to be on par for a pistol in this price range. As many know, the slide is CNC machined and the frame is cast stainless steel. One thing I did notice that struck me as peculiar, was the outside edges of the frame rails. They were very rough with an almost sandpaper like texture. As the frame is cast stainless steel, I did not expect to see the rails in this condition. Possibly this was a result of the fitting process and someone forgot to polish them prior to sending the gun out the door at Ruger? Who knows? Anyway, aside from the rail issue/non issue the rest of the dissembled pistol was fairly unremarkable, standard 1911 fair. On the plus side, the barrel to bushing fit was nice and tight and I hoped would make it a fairly accurate shooter. The wood grips were a nice touch, however they didn’t stay on long and were replaced with a pair of VZ Recons Hyena Brown G10s. I own several 1911s and all wear VZs. As far as I’m concerned, grip wise, VZs are the only way to go.
Before reassembling the gun, I also replaced the MSH with an Ed Brown Maxiwell and the slide stop with a Wilson bulletproof. I believe the Ruger slide stop is an MIM part. I have no hate for MIM parts, and I know the Ruger has a bunch of them. I had the Wilson lying around, so I figured what the heck. With my gun cleaned, lubed and now “way cool” because of my aesthetically pleasing replaced parts, it was off the range the next morning.
At the range I fired a total of 200 rounds. Half, factory American Eagle 230 grain ball (read Federal) and half my own reloads. (230gn Hornady FMJ over 6.4gns Unique, CCI large pistol primers). I generally only shoot hand loads from my 1911s and the above load has worked well for me for many years. In my guns it has proven both accurate and reliable.
During firing, the Ruger never once experienced any malfunction. It fed all ammunition flawlessly from the supplied eight and seven round magazines. I also brought along two additional Wilson mags which produced the same results. With the air temp in the high 90s , the gun was fairly hot to the touch after 100 rounds. I did let the gun cool down between 100 round sets and it gave me a chance to pick up my spent brass.
As for accuracy, all I can say is that my gun is a shooter. From the 25 yard line offhand, I could easily keep my shots within an 6 1/2 inch diameter circle. Again, I’m no gunsmith or competition shooter. I do shoot about 200 handgun rounds a week not including qualifications. I’ve been doing it for a fair amount of time, about 30 years or so. (Really I think its due to those aesthetically pleasing replaced parts.) The trigger pull was a little heavier that my other 1911s but certainly not a deal breaker by any means. Over time and another several hundred rounds or so, I expect it will lighten up a bit. Anyway, I can say that I am quite pleased with Ruger’s entry into the 1911 market. Also as a side note, while cleaning the gun after my first trip to the range, I noticed the outside frame rails seem to have smoothed themselves out.
The second range trip the following week pretty much mirrored the first, remember the 400 rounds from the beginning of my review. This pistol continues to shoot well and happily thus far, there are no real reportable issues. At the range several people have come over to inquire about my Ruger believing it to be a much higher priced semi-custom something or another. Those aesthetically pleasing replaced parts will fool ya every time. Also it’s hard to be sure as I do not have a trigger pull scale, but I believe the trigger has lightened up a bit. That’s pretty much it. I hope this helps someone who is sitting on the fence about this pistol. I will note that every gun is not the same. However two of my friends also have SR1911s and after comparing notes, their experiences are very similar to mine.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p599/tenderfoot3/IMG_0599A.jpg
The evening prior to my first range visit, the pistol was field striped cleaned and lubricated. After getting the pistol disassembled to its various parts, the overall fit finish and workmanship seem to me to be on par for a pistol in this price range. As many know, the slide is CNC machined and the frame is cast stainless steel. One thing I did notice that struck me as peculiar, was the outside edges of the frame rails. They were very rough with an almost sandpaper like texture. As the frame is cast stainless steel, I did not expect to see the rails in this condition. Possibly this was a result of the fitting process and someone forgot to polish them prior to sending the gun out the door at Ruger? Who knows? Anyway, aside from the rail issue/non issue the rest of the dissembled pistol was fairly unremarkable, standard 1911 fair. On the plus side, the barrel to bushing fit was nice and tight and I hoped would make it a fairly accurate shooter. The wood grips were a nice touch, however they didn’t stay on long and were replaced with a pair of VZ Recons Hyena Brown G10s. I own several 1911s and all wear VZs. As far as I’m concerned, grip wise, VZs are the only way to go.
Before reassembling the gun, I also replaced the MSH with an Ed Brown Maxiwell and the slide stop with a Wilson bulletproof. I believe the Ruger slide stop is an MIM part. I have no hate for MIM parts, and I know the Ruger has a bunch of them. I had the Wilson lying around, so I figured what the heck. With my gun cleaned, lubed and now “way cool” because of my aesthetically pleasing replaced parts, it was off the range the next morning.
At the range I fired a total of 200 rounds. Half, factory American Eagle 230 grain ball (read Federal) and half my own reloads. (230gn Hornady FMJ over 6.4gns Unique, CCI large pistol primers). I generally only shoot hand loads from my 1911s and the above load has worked well for me for many years. In my guns it has proven both accurate and reliable.
During firing, the Ruger never once experienced any malfunction. It fed all ammunition flawlessly from the supplied eight and seven round magazines. I also brought along two additional Wilson mags which produced the same results. With the air temp in the high 90s , the gun was fairly hot to the touch after 100 rounds. I did let the gun cool down between 100 round sets and it gave me a chance to pick up my spent brass.
As for accuracy, all I can say is that my gun is a shooter. From the 25 yard line offhand, I could easily keep my shots within an 6 1/2 inch diameter circle. Again, I’m no gunsmith or competition shooter. I do shoot about 200 handgun rounds a week not including qualifications. I’ve been doing it for a fair amount of time, about 30 years or so. (Really I think its due to those aesthetically pleasing replaced parts.) The trigger pull was a little heavier that my other 1911s but certainly not a deal breaker by any means. Over time and another several hundred rounds or so, I expect it will lighten up a bit. Anyway, I can say that I am quite pleased with Ruger’s entry into the 1911 market. Also as a side note, while cleaning the gun after my first trip to the range, I noticed the outside frame rails seem to have smoothed themselves out.
The second range trip the following week pretty much mirrored the first, remember the 400 rounds from the beginning of my review. This pistol continues to shoot well and happily thus far, there are no real reportable issues. At the range several people have come over to inquire about my Ruger believing it to be a much higher priced semi-custom something or another. Those aesthetically pleasing replaced parts will fool ya every time. Also it’s hard to be sure as I do not have a trigger pull scale, but I believe the trigger has lightened up a bit. That’s pretty much it. I hope this helps someone who is sitting on the fence about this pistol. I will note that every gun is not the same. However two of my friends also have SR1911s and after comparing notes, their experiences are very similar to mine.