What would you do?

I would try it at shorter/longer range. That seems awfully low but there is probably a reason. If it's truly that it shoots low disassemble and look for trash/tooling issues which might pushe the barrel around in the bushing. Otherwise you may have to install taller sights.

First thing I'd do is to make sure it's not ME. Have another person try to target that gun before you do anything. If it is the gun, Ruger will make it right.

Shoot it off a rest.

Call Ruger tomorrow.

Contact Ruger

If your groups are tight, it ain't you. Call Ruger. If your all over the place could be gun, or you.

I would try again another day, shoot it off a rest, or have somebody else shoot it to see their results. If the problem is you, you'll just waste time and money sending it back because a tech there will just say "well it shoots fine here, nothing wrong"

I would also start much closer than 15 yards next time. Shooting a brand new (to you) gun at that range isn't doing yourself any favors. A slight flinch at 15 yards would easily explain it shooting a foot low

Does this gun have one of the messed up multi-poi sights? Too many guns do nowadays, including at least one type of Ruger. Those get me in just about exactly the way you are describing, depending on lighting.

What I mean by messed up: Three dot sights where the silhouette of the sight, when lined up like a partridge sight, does not agree with the dots. If the gun is correctly sighted in for the dots but the lighting is such that you use the silhouette, you will hit consistently high or low (depending on the specifics of the defect). Alternatively, it can be correct in silhouette and wrong in the dots.

Another example is that some of the "express" sights with a shallow vee and big ball can have two or three "natural" seeming ways to hold the sight depending on lighting. E.g. a big circle silhouette with the light in front, a medium white dot with light behind (that will hit lower than the silhouette), and a tritium dot at night that, if set down into the vee, will hit even lower.

Always try it (and have someone else try it) a 2nd time before you send it back. And try 2 kinds of ammo.

I've seen this situation hundreds of times with young shooters. The best and quickest way to sort it out is to do as mentioned above> Be courteous, ask the assistance of a Bullseye shooter or other experienced 1911 hand who can keep 'em all in the 10 and X ring at 25 yds and let them test fire your 1911. More than likely such an individual will have the tools in his range bag/box if an adjustment is necessary. Bottom line, the older chaps will be honored to help and you will end up making new friends. Ransom Rests work. Sand bags and other rest measures can present their own problems with shooting mechanics and give poor results. Good Luck.

J-Bar, Happy Birthday!!! I just had my seventieth in January so I guess we are at about the same mile marker on the big road.

I'm betting that you are going to like 1911s so much you won't be able to stand it. I've got nine of 'em and usually, manage to shoot each at least every 60 days or so along with the revolvers, Glocks, Sigs and BHP's. I enjoy the different manual(s) of arms, sight pictures and TRIGGERS of each during the same range session. Keeps you tuned up.

Best,