[Bonk]

I finally own a Ruger semi auto centerfire pistol. Seriously. Of the hundred+ guns I've owned in my life I've never owned a Ruger centerfire semi auto pistol until now. I got it in a trade. Supposedly I'm the 3rd owner. The guy I got it from claimed he hadn't fired it. He took it in trade for something else. As far as I could tell it's never been fired because it was spotless and there's zero wear on the rails, barrel or magazines. I field stripped it, ran a patch through the barrel and liberally greased it up.

I was short on time so I loaded 3 mags with a mixture of ball, JHP and some HydraShoks. I just wanted to check functioning so I intentionally mixed it up to try and see if it had any feeding issues. I did a few double taps and a string of 5 as fast as I could pull the trigger. No problems at all. The last magazine I put some effort into seeing how accurate it was. I was shooting at a spot on a big rock about 15 paces away. All 7 rounds grouped about 3". Not too shabby.

I have to admit that so far I'm impressed with this pistol. I plan to use it as an EDC but I'll need to run another few boxes through first to make 100% sure there aren't any functioning issues. I thought that because of the alloy frame it might be a bit of a handful but it was very pleasant to shoot. I like it a lot. Good job Ruger.

I replaced the stock red wood grips with this pair of black wood ones I took off a Sig. I'm going to order some black G-10 grips for it.

Obligatory pic:

 

[Shooter69]

Nice pistol! Have fun.

 

[Skyhunter308]

Nice pistol - You are gonna love it!

 

[bwinters]

Ruger 1911s as almost all ruger guns are a great value and good shooter.

 

[RemoteDoc]

Congrats

Congrats! They are beautiful pistols. I have the same one. I hope yours is of better quality than mine. Mine has some problems.

 

[alayonruger]

Congrats on acquiring a fine looking Ruger!

 

[Bonk]

I finally shot this 1911 again yesterday. I put a bunch more rounds down range and I'm very pleased with the results. I again tried to induce some sort of stoppage by mixing ball, JHP, and HydraShok ammo. I also added some +P Critical Duty to the mix. I even intentionally limp wristed it trying to get it to fail. No luck. It just kept working no matter what I did. The only criticism I have is that it ejects the empties all over the place.

Accuracy isn't super critical in a SD weapon but it put five rounds into a sub 2" group at 25 feet from an elbow rested position. I'm gonna call that good.

This pistol has been functionally perfect and has excellent accuracy. It's earned my trust and I'll begin using it as a carry weapon starting today.

 

[moakes58]

I finally shot this 1911 again yesterday. I put a bunch more rounds down range and I'm very pleased with the results. I again tried to induce some sort of stoppage by mixing ball, JHP, and HydraShok ammo. I also added some +P Critical Duty to the mix. I even intentionally limp wristed it trying to get it to fail. No luck. It just kept working no matter what I did. The only criticism I have is that it ejects the empties all over the place.

Accuracy isn't super critical in a SD weapon but it put five rounds into a sub 2" group at 25 feet from an elbow rested position. I'm gonna call that good.

This pistol has been functionally perfect and has excellent accuracy. It's earned my trust and I'll begin using it as a carry weapon starting today.

Glad you got more range time & it's a nice looking pistol. I would like to add 1 & it's on my list for commander size 1911's.

Using 4 different ammo's is going to make it eject all over the place.
When you settle on your particular carry ammo, fire a magazine & see where they are falling & it may need a different recoil spring (weight in pounds) for optimum functioning.

I change my 1911 spring between 16# & 18.5#(stock on my 5" Para), depending on my reloads bullet weight, either 200 or 230 grain.

 

[Bonk]

Thanks for the tip. I've also found that once a gun has had a few hundred rounds through it the ejecting becomes a little less erratic. Also by that time I've usually settled on a particular ammo and, like you said, that helps with ejection consistency. If it doesn't settle down after a while I'll change out the spring as you suggested.

 

[moakes58]

Thanks for the tip. I've also found that once a gun has had a few hundred rounds through it the ejecting becomes a little less erratic. Also by that time I've usually settled on a particular ammo and, like you said, that helps with ejection consistency. If it doesn't settle down after a while I'll change out the spring as you suggested.

Most suggestions are to change the recoil spring every 1,500 to 2,000 rounds.

In my particular pistol (5" barrel), it is closer to 1,500 using 230 grain plated Berry's bullets.

 

[dakota1911]

Congrats. I bought a new one last year and still really like it.

 

[mcoe74]

Congratulations on your "new" SR1911.

 

[smithnframe]

Nice......It only weighs 7 ounces less than the steel framed commander model.

 

[paul105]

I have one and really like it. I personally like the lighter weight and don't find the recoil noticeably greater than a full sized 1911.

Shot the following groups at 25 yds, rested over my range bag when I first got it. Left is Rem Factory 185gr Golden Saber. Middle is Fed Factory American Eagle 230gr FMJ. Right is a specialty handload I was trying. The gun shoots a bit high for me (have a higher front sight but haven't got around to installing it).

FWIW,

Paul

 

[Bonk]

Nice......It only weighs 7 ounces less than the steel framed commander model.

I don't have an all steel Ruger to compare it to but I do have an all steel Sig Carry 1911. The difference between the two pistols in felt weight is very noticeable even though the Sig only weighs 6 ounces more. I'm not sure why 6 ounces makes such a difference but it does. YMMV.

 

[Pointblank]

Nice pistol. I changed the grips on mine also.