Range Report on new SR1911

[Prof Young]

I've been looking to get a better 1911 for a while now. As noted in previous post the search is over as I found an SR1911, stainless steel, 45 acp at Ron and Jo's Firearms in O'Fallon IL.

Picked up the gun a last Thursday. At home I read the manual and lubed the slide and the barrel.

Friday went to range. Was shooting some Winchester "white box" with flat nose and some Seiller and Belloit (sp?) with round nose. All 230g bullets. First range trip I ran about 120 rounds. Only glitch was fail to feed four times on the initial "racking" of the slide. First seven shots, at seven yards, were in about a six inch group.

Yes, seven shots. Advertised as an 8+1 gun, both the magazines that came with it were flush fitting seven round mags. (I'll be calling Ruger to see what they have to say about that.) And those mags had about an 1/8 inch of up and down play when fully loaded and inserted. That may be normal for a 1911. I don't recall it on my Rock Island.

Second range trip no fail to feed, but one unintentional double tap. I had those with my previous 1911 45, a Rock Island, and I thought it was the gun. Apparently, it's me. There must be something about shooting the traditional 1911 in 45 that is different from other guns as they are the only place I've experienced this unintentional double tap phenomena. Could the configuration of the trigger have something to do with that? Most 1911's have a trigger that is not like a lever, but more like a slide. Is there a reason that might lead to my unintentional doubles?

At the end of my second range trip the grips needed some tightening.

The gun came with two mags, a wrench to help field strip, the manual and I think there was a cleaning brush in there but I'm too lazy to go down to the basement and confirm that. Plus the mandatory cheap cable lock, all in a hard sided very nice carrying case. Got it for $949.99, a good deal less than the MSRP suggested on the Ruger web site.

I think this is a gun I will have until I head off to the "shooting range in the sky." The kind of gun you can pass on to your kids and they can pass on to the grandkids.

Pics below.

Thoughts and comments welcome.


Life is good
Prof Young

[mk70ss]

Congrats. You can never go wrong with a quality 1911/

[Steve in Allentown,]

Originally Posted by Prof Young

Only glitch was fail to feed four times on the initial "racking" of the slide.

Which ammo were you using when these four malfunctions occurred? The flat point or the round nose?

Advertised as an 8+1 gun, both the magazines that came with it were flush fitting seven round mags.

If Ruger says the flush fit magazines that came with the pistol will hold 8 rounds, I would advise you to never load them with more than 7 rounds. Here's a LINK that explains why.

And those mags had about an 1/8 inch of up and down play when fully loaded and inserted.

With that much free play your pistol may benefit from dropping in an EGW Higher magazine catch. It will hold the magazine slightly higher in the frame and often times will fix first round failures to feed without having to incur the cost of machining the feed ramp to the correct depth.

. . . one unintentional double tap.

I would do a simple diagnostic test to determine if this is the pistol's fault or your fault. We all know that dropping the slide on an empty chamber is a big no-no but in this instance I suggest you do this 4 or 5 times. If the hammer follows even once, adding tension to the middle leaf of the sear leaf spring will, hopefully, fix it.

To be clear, lock the slide open. No round in the chamber, no magazine in the pistol. Push the slide stop down smartly to allow the slide to come forward on its own. Repeat this 3 or 4 more times.

Of course, you can always ask Ruger to take the pistol back and fix all these problems under warranty.

[Prof Young]

Steve thanks so much for all the advice. I'll read through your post carefully a couple of time and then take action.

I didn't pay attention to the particular ammo I was using when I had the fail to feed. But on the 2nd 100 rounds it never happened.

And there is no way those magazines will hold eight. Simply not possible. They are clearly seven round mags.

Life is good.
Prof Young

[totaldla]

8 rounders have an extra witness hole.

I'm guessing you rode the slide when racking, which caused the hangups.

[Rob228]

I wouldn't put it past a gun shop to have swapped the magazines out and sold the eight rounders. I've been shopping for a SIG Legion off and on, and they are supposed to come with three magazines from the factory, the majority of offerings I see online only come with two. Given the price of Sig magazines these days I'm pretty sure I know what is going on.

No experience with the shop you mentioned, so if it isn't something they would do by all means see what Ruger says.

Are you inserting the magazine with the slide locked to the rear or with it forward? If forward, try inserting with it locked to the rear then slingshotting the slide.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

7 round magazines are generally accepted as more reliable. They use a thicker spring and was the original design.

[totaldla]

Originally Posted by Super Sneaky Steve

7 round magazines are generally accepted as more reliable. They use a thicker spring and was the original design.

The world went to 8 rounders about 50years ago. I own a bunch of both. And most of the old 7 round have a follower style that I don't like - mainly cause I struggle to tune them correctly and end up tossing them in the junk drawer.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

I have 8 round Wilson Combat mags for the range, but if I need to depend my life on it I would only trust a 7 round magazine, especially if it's flush fit.

https://rangehot.com/1911-7-round-magazine-vs-8-round/

[TunnelRat]

The 8 round magazines I have from Wilson Combat have been flawless, as have the 10 round magazines. Of course these are extended magazines and not flush fit.


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[Cirdan]

I have the same gun in Commander size. It came with 7 round magazines, but I was able to buy some flush fit 8 rounders as well, and have a mix. I also made the mistake of buying some really really cheap ones at a gun show and had one literally fall apart when shooting it (bottom plate fell off).

The grips used to loosen up on me too, but that seems to have stopped.

This is a great long-term gun. Solid, accurate, and will last.

[Aguila Blanca]

Grip screws backing out when shooting is a common occurrence with 1911s. Don't give in the temptation to just torque them down more. It's an extremely fine thread, and very easy to strip.

There are two possible solutions. One is that there is a small rubber O-ring (available at Lowe's and Home Depot in the plumbing aisles) that can be put on the screws under the head. I don't remember that O-ring number, but if you can't find it by trial-and-error I can look it up.

The other solution is to put a drop of purple Loctite (not blue, and NOT red) on the threads. Purple is "light hold," so you won't need a torch or an impact gun to take the grips off, but it provides just enough tack to resist backing out.

[veprdude]

I bought a SR1911 (lightly used) and it was a Jam-O-Matic. Tried different mags including the factory ones it came with. Most rounds rammed straight into the feed ramp. When it did cycle it did stovepipes and everything else. I sent it back to Ruger and they sent a brand new one to my FFL stating that the frame was grossly out of spec. I have not shot it since getting the replacement.

[rodfac]

they sent a brand new one to my FFL stating that the frame was grossly out of spec.

Gotta wonder at that...used gun...sold for what reason....overloads? But Ruger, to their everlasting credit, sent you a new one...my friend, that's CUSTOMER SERVICE plus one. Rod

[BWstickman]

I’ve got the 10mm version and that gun will put em in the Bullseye... it’s my Big Woods bear defense gun

[BILLG]

6inch group at 7yds is actually pretty poor accuracy. Try shooting it from a benchrest and ck the accuracy again.

[Prof Young]

Bill - I'm sure it's me, not the gun.

Life is good.
Prof Young