Anyone take a Ruger sr1911 through a class?
- Thread starter Polinese
- Start date
I believe 2000 rounds between stoppages was typical in the 30s and 40s but now the rate is over 6000. Even 500 rounds of FMJ ammo is not all that much for a service pistol. That changes when you start substituting lubed lead bullets that are much more dirty and will gunk up your gun more quickly.
As this is a class, do bring and have a spare gun (not because it's a Ruger 1911 as the primary), just in case something does break and can't be repaired during the class.
I had a Ruger CMD .45,
https://ruger.com/products/sr1911CommanderStyle/specSheets/6702.html
While I had it for ~11,800 rounds there were a few breakages:
-front sight fractured two times while shooting. Approximately 1.5 weeks turnaround each time after sending it back to Ruger for warranty repair.
-adjustable rear sight broke while shooting with parts not to be found. The sight was aftermarket, although it was a Novak adjustable which Ruger sells/sold on its website.
-side-stop lobe broke off. This does happen eventually with most of my 1911s, often ~10,000 rounds but could be sooner or later than that estimate.
-I thought my extractor hook broke off which could have happened sometime after 5,000 rounds, but that's also normal from my experience with any brand. I don't always keep good notes on each and every gun and may have just mixed up which of my 1911's extractors broke.
Most folks I've read have been quite satisfied with their Ruger 1911s. That specific gun just wasn't for me, mainly I wasn't accurate enough with it to my liking.
I had a Ruger CMD .45,
https://ruger.com/products/sr1911CommanderStyle/specSheets/6702.html
While I had it for ~11,800 rounds there were a few breakages:
-front sight fractured two times while shooting. Approximately 1.5 weeks turnaround each time after sending it back to Ruger for warranty repair.
-adjustable rear sight broke while shooting with parts not to be found. The sight was aftermarket, although it was a Novak adjustable which Ruger sells/sold on its website.
-side-stop lobe broke off. This does happen eventually with most of my 1911s, often ~10,000 rounds but could be sooner or later than that estimate.
-I thought my extractor hook broke off which could have happened sometime after 5,000 rounds, but that's also normal from my experience with any brand. I don't always keep good notes on each and every gun and may have just mixed up which of my 1911's extractors broke.
Most folks I've read have been quite satisfied with their Ruger 1911s. That specific gun just wasn't for me, mainly I wasn't accurate enough with it to my liking.
Steve in Allentown
New member
I don't question your experience.
However, in my experience as well as that of some very high end 1911 'smiths, a properly fit, quality extractor in a properly fit 1911, using quality mags will have service life measured in tens of thousands of rounds. The mags (specifically the mag springs) are important to avoid inertia feeds which can result in the extractor hook having to snap over the case rim which leads to a greatly decreased extractor service life (the hook breaks off or the extractor won't hold tension).
bigboredad
New member
You should be able to coast thru 500 rounds. The first year I owned my sr1911 I shot 5000 rnds a month and more than once I got lazy and wouldn't clean my gun for a couple months. Thats with cast bullets and my lube. At times when I did clean I couldn't believe it would even function but it always did. Use a quality lube and have it with you. If it feels sluggish. Lube it up and you don't need to field strip it to do that
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Shane Tuttle
Staff
Mine sang without missing a note. I'm typically a Springer/Les Baer fan. My Ruger, though, hasn't ceased to impress me.
Four or five years ago, I took my SR1911 (5" bbl.) to Front Sight in Pahrump, NV for their 4-day, 600 round Defensive Handgun Course. I had no stoppages with it, whatsoever. The gun was new with less than a 50 round box of ammunition through it. I used Federal and PMC 230 gr FMJ for the course & managed to shoot Distinguished and placed 2nd overall in the steel challenge match. I couldn't have been more pleased.
In daily fire, ~125 - 150 rounds per day, I started with a clean gun, freshly lubed, then cleaned it up after the day's shooting. I used two Ruger magazines, one 7 and the other an 8 count, plus several GI mags from the CMP. All performed equally well.
Overall, I like the gun and it's safe-mate, a commander length CMD, equally well, but both are just a little too heavy for me to carry daily. As range and practice guns, they're just fine. Both will hold groups to 2" at 25 yds from a rest with selected target grade LSWC's and just under 3" with PMC 230 gr FMJ's.
Given my druthers, I'd choose the CMD model for its shorter bbl and equal accuracy...also because I have Colt Combat Commander uppers in 9mm and .38 Super which fit & function just fine on it, plus a Ciener .22 LR Unit; making it a 4-caliber CMD!!
1st Pic...my SR1911 with faux ivory stocks & my usual carry holster...home made. 2nd Pic: the CMD with my Colt .38 Super slide/bbl. mounted...it's actually a hair more accurate than the original .45 ACP Ruger upper.
Regards, Rod
In daily fire, ~125 - 150 rounds per day, I started with a clean gun, freshly lubed, then cleaned it up after the day's shooting. I used two Ruger magazines, one 7 and the other an 8 count, plus several GI mags from the CMP. All performed equally well.
Overall, I like the gun and it's safe-mate, a commander length CMD, equally well, but both are just a little too heavy for me to carry daily. As range and practice guns, they're just fine. Both will hold groups to 2" at 25 yds from a rest with selected target grade LSWC's and just under 3" with PMC 230 gr FMJ's.
Given my druthers, I'd choose the CMD model for its shorter bbl and equal accuracy...also because I have Colt Combat Commander uppers in 9mm and .38 Super which fit & function just fine on it, plus a Ciener .22 LR Unit; making it a 4-caliber CMD!!
1st Pic...my SR1911 with faux ivory stocks & my usual carry holster...home made. 2nd Pic: the CMD with my Colt .38 Super slide/bbl. mounted...it's actually a hair more accurate than the original .45 ACP Ruger upper.
Regards, Rod
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Shane Tuttle
Staff
Let's put it this way:
Most earlier models that manufacturers put out seems to have bugs to work out until they dial in a great gun. Springfield, for example, imported the HS2000 and launched their XD line. In the beginning, they had corrosion issues. Once the XD45 came out, they switched to melonite as their treatment process. Since then, the entire lineup took off.
Ruger's SR1911? It launched with a vengeance. They had very few issues since Day One and only gained momentum from there. They built it right from the get-go with loaded features and a reasonable price point and never looked back.
Most earlier models that manufacturers put out seems to have bugs to work out until they dial in a great gun. Springfield, for example, imported the HS2000 and launched their XD line. In the beginning, they had corrosion issues. Once the XD45 came out, they switched to melonite as their treatment process. Since then, the entire lineup took off.
Ruger's SR1911? It launched with a vengeance. They had very few issues since Day One and only gained momentum from there. They built it right from the get-go with loaded features and a reasonable price point and never looked back.
UPDATE:
Class went great. Pistol ran great. On the second day I had 2 malfunctions one of which was fixed with a simple tap rack. The other one I tap racked and a live round wedged itself into the ejection port. Had to rip the mag, lock the slide and hammer at it with my hand in the middle of the drill/scenario we were running.
Overall it went great but did have me rethinking my choice of handgun. Obviously I had to reload more than the 9mm guys but I felt like I kept up just fine, but I did have to maintain a slower fire rate and be more cognizant of ammo conservation than they did. Even with 5 spares on my kit.
To that end I already purhcased a CZ P01 to replace my EDC compact 1911.
Class went great. Pistol ran great. On the second day I had 2 malfunctions one of which was fixed with a simple tap rack. The other one I tap racked and a live round wedged itself into the ejection port. Had to rip the mag, lock the slide and hammer at it with my hand in the middle of the drill/scenario we were running.
Overall it went great but did have me rethinking my choice of handgun. Obviously I had to reload more than the 9mm guys but I felt like I kept up just fine, but I did have to maintain a slower fire rate and be more cognizant of ammo conservation than they did. Even with 5 spares on my kit.
To that end I already purhcased a CZ P01 to replace my EDC compact 1911.
Steve in Allentown
New member
Uncle Sugar drummed the tap-rack-bang malfunction drill into my head too.
Being curious about such things, can you describe these two malfunctions? Did the nose of round get into the chamber but the slide failed to close all the way?
One of them that's definitely what happened. The other may have been the same, but I can't be sure. Tap rack is so drilled into me I instinctively did it. It almost seemed like the hammer didn't get cocked on the one where the round ended up wedged into the ejection port. I don't know if the slide didn't come back far enough to fully cock the hammer?
Still the original recoil spring in the gun after almost 10 years so it's probably due for a replacement.
Still the original recoil spring in the gun after almost 10 years so it's probably due for a replacement.
Steve in Allentown
New member
Based only on this information, my first guess is the extractor has excessive deflection and/or too much tension. The common advice for fixing feeding problems caused by the extractor is to lessen the amount of tension on it. However, tension is only one part of the formula for making an extractor function 100%. It is very common for 1911 manufacturers to do a half-assed job fitting extractors. Go to this LINK for a look at what's involved with correct extractor fitting.
Same here.
A weak recoil spring is less able to resist the rearward movement of the slide so it wouldn't cause the slide to stop short of going fully to the rear.
Were you using quality factory ammo? 230gr FMJ or something else?
All the ammo was 230gr FMJ from Fiocchi.
After that last post I took it apart to clean it and the wilson combat shok-buff had actually split almost in half so now I'm thinking that was the culprit.
Or maybe it was just getting dirty and muddy and having trouble from that. Was drizzling and muddy most of the second day.
After that last post I took it apart to clean it and the wilson combat shok-buff had actually split almost in half so now I'm thinking that was the culprit.
Or maybe it was just getting dirty and muddy and having trouble from that. Was drizzling and muddy most of the second day.
FWIW, I found the Shok Bufs could cause their own issues, and that was in a 1911 built by Wilson. If you’re a very high volume shooter and you want to reduce wear, I get it for the range, but from my experience I wouldn’t use them in a defensive role.
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Steve in Allentown
New member
Okay, it's not the fault of the ammo.
Bingo. I agree with @TunnelRat that shok-buffs don't belong in a self-defense 1911. Also, as he says, feel free to use one in a range toy but realize that the buff reduces the distance the slide can move rearward. This can result in short stroking of the slide leading to bolt-over-base malfunctions. This is especially true in shorter than 5" pistols. Chunks of your destroyed buff probably gathered in front of what was remaining of the buff and effectively made it thicker resulting in the slide not moving far enough to the rear to allow it to pick up the next round out of the mag cleanly.
As long as it's kept well oiled incidental rain and mud exposure shouldn't cause it any problems.