Ruger 1911

[NHlever]

I had my new Ruger 1911 45 ACP out yesterday for a shake down flight at the range. I was pretty pleased. I'm not shooting as well these days as I used to because of some medical issues, but the gun shot where it looked, and shot good groups for me anyway. The trigger pull on mine is just over 4#, and the sights are excellent. Offhand with modest 200 gr boolit loads it is an easy gun to shoot. I think fit, and finish are very good for a gun in this price range, and the modifications that I would make to a mil spec 1911 are standard from the factory. All in all I think Ruger has done a good job on this one. I did have 3 failures to feed out of 100 rounds yesterday. but in each case I think it was due to mixed brass, and not enough taper crimp to feed smoothly......... my fault. In all cases the top of the case hit the top of the chamber, and raised a small bit of brass on the case. I cleaned up the bit of raised material with a small file, and checked for other raised material around the case, and shot all of them from one magazine load, and they fed, fired, and functioned just fine. It's been quite a while since I have loaded much for semi auto handguns, and I just didn't have the die set up right. I hope this might help anyone who is thinking about buying one of these.

[dragonrider]

Wish I hadn't read this, not I am just one step closer to emtying my wallet again.:drinks:

[MtGun44]

Good report. I have handled one but not shot it. This is what I would expect from the
handling. Good news, another good 1911 on the market.

And, IME, insufficient taper crimp with the exact roof impact that you describe is about
80-85% of handloading FTF problems in .45 ACP.

Bill

[thegreatdane]

I had mine out this weekend. Very pleased.

[ColColt]

Boolit seating depth is very important with the 1911. I had a SF 1911 that would not give 100% dependability regardless with 200 lead boolits. I'd get 2-3 out of 100 that woiuld failk to feed. I sent it off to Springfield and still had problems. A guy that did IPSC shooting told me to seat the boolit to 1.252" and it solved the problem in that particular gun.

[MtGun44]

Yes, LOA short enough to let the shoulder clear the throat in the chamber is the second
most critical dimension, although it was rare 25 yrs ago to find a gun which was very
picky on this dimension, as more "match chamber" barrels are hitting the streets, it
has become a significant issue. My std load for 26 or so years had to be tweaked
back a bit to fit my Dan Wesson 1911. I had been using 1.260" LOA for H&G 68 for several
decades plus and it worked in everything . . . until the Dan Wesson. I had to push it
back to 1.250 for the DW Pointman 7. So that is my new LOA for all my std .45 ACP (not
match grade) ammo.

Bill

[NHlever]

I got my 1911 cleaned up........ no leading at all after the first 100 rounds without cleaning. I put another 100 rounds through it yesterday, and the trigger is nicer now though I was more than satisfied with it as it came in the box. This won't be a carry gun since I have a lightweight commander sized 1911, or other lighter, and smaller guns for that. I wanted to get a comfortable gun that I could use to improve my shooting. I've been shooting too much from the bench for too long. This gun seems to ask "just one more magazine before we go home? :D :D :D

[9.3X62AL]

These Rugers hit the market about the same time I scored a LNIB Colt Series 80 GCNM, the price for which demanded action. Well, you know......I had my eye on a Commander XSE, but those things seem only to exist in catalogs--SHOT Shows--and Fantasyland. Ruger is rumored to have a Commander-series under consideration, and it is my hope that they resist the idiot temptation to shorten the barrel past 4.25" and/or "Bobtail" the mainspring housing. I can live without tool rails and Byzantine beavertails, too--the Colt XSE is about perfect as-is, and Ruger would do well to dupe it. Oh, and make enough of them to actually sell an example or two to end users--that would be a nice touch also.

[Bass Ackward]

There is a big possibility that Ruger is going to find that it has underestimated it's market here.

They could decide the business model is better to sell a few for more profit than run flat out at this price level and saturate the market. If they eliminate some competition, the pressure is going to be even worse.

I handled one of the earliest offerings and it was more precision than this last batch the store got in. So Ruger may still decide to hold price and simply speed up production.

Clearly, the SR1911 may never be cheaper or better quality than it is today.

[keeper89]

Hmmmmm........do I really NEED a fourth 45?

Hmmmmmmm.....does NEED have a damn thing to do with it?

Uh oh........:bigsmyl2:

[MtGun44]

I agree exactly with Al.

Bill

[NHlever]

I sure haven't seen many of them around here yet, and I have seen one "used" one, and that kind of bothers me. It could be that the gun shop got one in, and kind of passed it around for everyone to shoot. The clerks there all seem to have an opinion of the gun, some good, and some not so good.

[Changeling]

Is this posting just going to "DIE", a lot of people are really interested as to HOW it stands up to the competition! Most of us don't have a place to go and test these pistols, however a lot of you experts do! Whats UP!

Can't you please take the time to do some comparsions between the other major manufactuers comparable models, if not what good is the post?

[buck1]

I have yet to see one yet. My gun shop has got three in so far and the no sooner put them out and they are gone.

[buck1]

Hmmmmm........do I really NEED a fourth 45?

Hmmmmmmm.....does NEED have a damn thing to do with it?

Uh oh........:bigsmyl2:

YES YOU AND I BOTH NEED ONE ! I am a expert on " I got to get one of those".
:bigsmyl2:

[NHlever]

I don't have much semi auto experience so I didn't try to compare guns. My Ruger 1911 has a slightly heavier trigger pull than my S&W lightweight 4" gun does, and the magazine springs are a bit heavier too. It also is a bit fussier feeding Lyman's 452460 than the Smith, but it goes bang every time when I have the rounds crimped right at the proper length. The Ruger is a bit easier to shoot well, probably because of the greater weight. The sights are very good on the Ruger (Novaks I think), and easier to see quickly than the Smith though I'm not sure why. The trigger pull is light enough at a bit over 4#, and crisp enough too, certainly much nicer than any of the striker fired guns I have, or have tried. It's a 1911 pretty much through, and through, and much nicer than the one I carried in the Army. I only have about 200 rounds through it so far, but it is going well. The lighter Smith will probably win out for carry purposes, but I probably will carry the Ruger instead when I'm banging around in the woods, and want a semi auto. (rabies is more of a threat than big brown bears around here though we do have some pretty good sized black bears) A .45 ACP is not too much gun for any critter with rabies, although a guy just down the road did kill a rabid raccoon with a shovel a few years ago. Let's just say that the guy was "motivated". My 45 Colt Blackhawk is certainly much more powerful, and a couple of ounces lighter when I want something easy to carry with some real punch.