Ruger SR1911, Springfield Armory Loaded

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JamieC

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Saving for a 1911, (wanted one for a while), at the moment, I've narrowed my choices down to either the Ruger SR1911 and the Springfield Armory Loaded. Seems the 'Loaded' is a few bucks more, I think that's due to less MIM parts? From what I read, pretty much even. Any thoughts to help or make my decision harder, LOL?
 
I have a springer loaded.. LOVE IT..
heard good things about the SR1911..

I vote Springer.. but I am biased.
 
Orion8472 said:
meanmrmustard, what kind of issues where you having with the Ruger?
Click to expand...
FTF, extract, stove pipes, double feeds. With ball.

Used magazines that work in my R1 AND Rock Island wouldn't function, nor factory Ruger mags. Factory mags from the Ruger worked in my other 1911s, so I chalked it up to the gun. I'm a little emotional with guns, so I sold it.

Two of my coworkers bought a full size, another the Commander. Full size has similar issues, the Commander is running like a champ. Those examples I've witnessed. Guy with the full size is buying the R1 Enhanced. Smart man.
 
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I considered a SR1911 when they came out and noticed a much looser slide to frame fit than Springfield and others. You can make them rattle a bit, side-to-side, like the P-series I've owned.

I've been told it improves reliability, at the expense of some accuracy. But my tighter Springfield has never had a failure.

I know Ruger has good customer service, but Springfield has a better lifetime limited warranty (to the original owner).
 
To be honest, I haven't heard many positive reviews of the SR from guys who really know how to build a 1911 (that certainly does not include myself). A few complaints I've heard have to do with barrel fit at both the chamber and muzzle. While the slide to frame fit is tight on most I've handled, the barrel has been a different story.

The bushing to barrel fit is loose on most. That's not a deal breaker but it's not ideal. The chamber end is a bit of a deal breaker. On all of them that I've handled you could push the chamber straight down most of the way out of the locking lugs. This is something I wouldn't accept. My first instinct (which was wrong and shows my lack of understanding of the 1911) was to get a bushing link that was longer to tighten things up when in battery. That was explained to me as a bad fix. It ended up basically requiring a new barrel with longer lower lugs to properly fix those pistols. I'm glad I asked before I bought as it would have been expensive.

Neither the Ruger nor the SA would be my first pick, but of the two I'd be far more likely to buy the SA sight unseen. If the Ruger passed the few big issues that I've heard reported commonly, it seems like a good enough gun. So far though I haven't come across one that didn't have barrel fit issues. I've only handled a half dozen or so though right when supply was just starting to catch up. If they have had a chance to catch their breath from demand those issues may have cleared up with time.
 
Well, I have the SR1911 and after a few thousand rounds, not one problem, not one. Shooting almost all my reloads but had no problem with factory ammo ether. Both HP, FMJ, and plated. Barrel and bushing could not be any better fit. Just my 2 cents worth.
 
I have both the full size and the commander SRs, and I have had not one "fail to" problem with either one with both ball and XTP bullets. Good shooters, the both of them.
 
Well, I vote the SR. I am not a 1911 expert nor do I plan on becoming one anytime soon, so the guys that build custom guns have a higher standard than I have. What I do know is that I have yet to have a single issue with mine, regardless of ammo type, and it is accurate enough for me to be happy with it. But, like others, I am biased. I like Rugers and am a fan of most of the stuff they put out. Still, it does what I want it to do and has done so over enough rounds that I feel comfortable putting some trust into it, so there you go.
 
Comparing a SR1911 to a custom 1911 isn't really apples to apples. I've had zero issues with mine. It's a great pistol for the money.

That being said, I've seen some great deals on the Loaded lately. I think it's the nicer of the two.
 
1911 choice

It is really hard to consider the Springfield like, cause thy all are direct, although more spendy, versions of the Glock line up. Ruger is proven, and warranty is great.

I chose a Para GI Expert .45 then recently got a Para Expert .45. Different pistols all together...I prefer the new one, the Para Expert. Feels just a tad more comfortable.

Fuzzball
 
I have no experience with the Springfield but I own a SR 1911. I only have a few hundred rounds through it but it has not malfunctioned at all. Which is best I have no idea but the SR works & I have faith that if it didn't Ruger would make it right.
 
KTXdm9 said:
Comparing a SR1911 to a custom 1911 isn't really apples to apples. I've had zero issues with mine. It's a great pistol for the money.

That being said, I've seen some great deals on the Loaded lately. I think it's the nicer of the two.
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What "custom" 1911? The Loaded is a factory built pistol.
 
Specifically he and I were responding to this part of his comment:

I haven't heard many positive reviews of the SR from guys who really know how to build a 1911 (that certainly does not include myself
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I guess he doesn't say the word "custom", but if you are a guy who really knows how to build a 1911, it stands to reason that you are talking about custom guns as opposed to off the shelf pistols.
 
For the record, I didn't state it had to be a custom pistol. What I said was, "I haven't heard many positive reviews of the SR from guys who really know how to build a 1911". That simply meant what it said. There were others in the same price range that came recommended, but the Ruger SR1911 wasn't one of them based on the samples available at that time. If things have gotten better, that may be. I only was in the market for that pistol for about 6 months.

I'm also not stating you have to buy a full blown custom. I sure haven't. I respect the choice if you do. I will ask anyone who currently owns an SR1911, how tight is the barrel fit at the muzzle and with the slide forward, can you push the chamber down towards the frame? As I said, I handled 6-7 of them as different shops got them in calling my name on the waiting list and they ALL exhibited the same barrel fit issues. I would have lived with the bushing fit but being able to near push the barrel out of lockup with the slide fully forward isn't an acceptable situation. I would have bought one on the spot if one didn't show a problem. I ended up with a different brand after that. I also wasn't blown away with the trigger, especially since there is no FP safety. It was no better than most all other FP safety equipped 1911s. While easily changed to a different trigger, it still was a big draw that didn't quite pan out how I had hoped. The SR1911 on paper was the 1911 I had been hoping for. The first 8-9 months of production (didn't see any the first few months after release) were shaky at best. Hopefully things have gotten better as I do want that pistol and Ruger to do well.

Again, to follow up with the post that seems taken out of context:

"Neither the Ruger nor the SA would be my first pick, but of the two I'd be far more likely to buy the SA sight unseen. If the Ruger passed the few big issues that I've heard reported commonly, it seems like a good enough gun. So far though I haven't come across one that didn't have barrel fit issues. I've only handled a half dozen or so though right when supply was just starting to catch up. If they have had a chance to catch their breath from demand those issues may have cleared up with time."
 
I bought a Springfield Loaded used a couple of years ago and it has never given me not one issue, great gun. Know nothing about the SR.
 
As a matter of my own preferences I would go:
1) Colt
2) Springfield Armory
3) Ruger
 
KTXdm9 said:
Comparing a SR1911 to a custom 1911 isn't really apples to apples. I've had zero issues with mine. It's a great pistol for the money.

That being said, I've seen some great deals on the Loaded lately. I think it's the nicer of the two.
Click to expand...
Tell me where I can get one of those "deals", I'd like to have a Loaded (in 9mm, that is)
 
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