Ruger SR911 or Remington R1? What do you hate and like about them?

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I have a Ruger SR1911, and I too looked at many 1911s before purchasing the Ruger. I absolutely love it, and have had zero problems with it.

There are many things I like more about the Ruger. I do like the stainless steel finish, but that wasn't the most important thing. The Ruger is very accurate, and has flawlessly fired everything I've run through it, factory and reloads. I've been shooting IDPA with it for a few months, and I shoot better with this pistol than any other I have used. Ruger's customer service and factory warranty are far superior to Remington's - this isn't an opinion but absolute fact. Ask anyone.

Another fellow I shoot IDPA with has the Remington. I've shot his too, and we both like the Ruger better. The thumb safety is much easier to actuate, and we like the Ruger trigger more. His Remington has frequently jammed, with a failure to feed the most frequent problem. He frequently has to smack the back of the slide to get it to go into battery. Granted, he only shoots reloads. However, one night we collected all of his reloads that wouldn't feed well in the Remington, and then ran them through the Ruger. Every round fed and fired perfectly. The SR1911 is probably my favorite pistol.
 
Smacking the rear of a slide on a gun that has a live round in the chamber is.....not such a great idea. If it won't go into battery under its own power get it fixed. It will be much cheaper than repairing the broken bones in your hand.
 
My only complaint is surely cosmetic. I'm not a big fan of two-tone finishes on any guns, but especially 1911's. The only exception would maybe be the Kimber Eclipse. Ruger makes great guns though.
 
The plunger tube on my R1 was not installed correctly, it had a visible gap between the frame and tube towards the safety.
Haven't had any functional issues though, and I'm customizing it a bit now.
 
The standard R1 isn't meant to compete with the Ruger, S&W and others. It competes with the standard Colt Government model, the Auto Ordnance 1911, and the imported GI type guns from RIA and Springfield.

The R1 is a well made pistol that retains the form of the original M1911, but with a couple of important upgrades, like the lowered and flared port, stainless barrel and dovetailed big dot sights.

I picked one up for $650 a couple months ago, and I love it. It's reliable, accurate and has excellent fit & finish. It does shoot a tad low at 25 yards, but that is easily fixed with a different front sight and a drift punch.

The Rugers are good guns, but if you're looking at a GI type, they don't offer one. OTOH, the Ruger offers what the R1 enhanced does at a lower price point, so if you're looking for a more modern 1911, the SR1911 is probably the better bet.

Originally Posted by rugerron67
I have one of the first run of the first 500 shipped of the ( Ruger SR1911.)
I have owned many 1911s over the years.
Ruger made a no nonsense series 70 1911 ( 100% made in the USA )
As Ruger advertises every thing you wont in a 1911,
And nothing you dont .

About the only thing I would like to change on the SR1911 is serrations on the front of the grip frame .

The Ruger has a 100% life time warranty for the Life of the firearm .

The Remington has a 2 year warranty for the original owner .
Nuf said .
Click to expand...
Actually Ruger has no warranty. They do stand behind their guns though
Click to expand...

This. They're known for taking care of people, but they offer no express warranty. Per their website:

Firearms that are returned to Ruger for service are evaluated to determine if the service is to be provided at a fee or no-charge basis.

In other words, it's completely up to them whether you pay or not, no matter if the gun is 20 years old or 20 hours.
 
I would love to get a Ruger myself but i guess don't don't build many.. i have looked at the Remington also but i am think the USA made Auto Ordnance 1911 will be my next purchase at $535
 
If Ruger made a 4.25" barreled SR1911 (Commander), I'd buy one in a heartbbeat
Especially, if they'd finish the whole gun with the black nitride finish that they use on the SR9.
 
Txguns, fix your plunger tube before it disables your thumb safety. WCraven, I'd sooner see you and others looking for a GI style 1911 consider the offerings from Springfield Armory if you don't care for the Colt's price tag. They do make lots of Ruger 1911s, they're just catching up with the initial demand.
 
Skylerbone said:
Txguns, fix your plunger tube before it disables your thumb safety. WCraven, I'd sooner see you and others looking for a GI style 1911 consider the offerings from Springfield Armory if you don't care for the Colt's price tag. They do make lots of Ruger 1911s, they're just catching up with the initial demand.
Click to expand...
I did.

Then I did a bunch of other stuff to it....
 
I have a Ruger SR1911, and my father has a Remington R1. I like the entire package on the Ruger - sights, trigger, thumb safety, beavertail, hammer, Series 70 with no internal firing pin safety. The R1 is a little lighter, and seemed to have a lighter recoil spring than the Ruger. The R1 sights seem to stick up higher and had a different sight picture that I didn't like as much as the Ruger. The Remington has a short trigger, whereas the Ruger has the long target trigger - so one may fit your hand better than the other.

The trigger pull on the Ruger is so much cleaner - no creep at all - and the overtravel is adjustable. The R1 has a nice trigger pull, but it seems longer and less crisp with no overtravel adjustment. The R1 is a series 80 gun, so disassembly is a little more complicated, whereas the Ruger is a Series 70 - simpler and that helps with trigger pull. The Ruger safety is also a very positive click to the ON or the OFF position - audible and tactile snap to either position.

I shot about 400 rounds of FMJ through my Ruger, then switched almost exclusively to lead semi-wadcutter reloads, and it has never failed to function. I've run about 2000 lead reloads through it since April and 100% with clean mags (cleaned every 200 rounds or so) sure is a testament to quality. I don't recall my father having any jams with his Remington R1, but that's with Chip McCormick mags, not the factory mags.

The Ruger also comes with better quality mags, I believe. They're made by Checkmate, and have a special follower and hybrid feed-lips. They've never choked on FMJ, JHP's, or swc's - 100% with everything.
 
I handled the Remington R1 in my search for my first 1911. While I did like the feel of the gun I did want to check out a Ruger before purchasing anything. I sort of became obsessed with looking for a Ruger anywhere within driving distance but they were scarce. Rumors of local stock quickly became stories of you should have been here yesterday when it came in. I finally found one online for about $650 so I did snap it up and I do not regret it. While my 1911 experience is fairly limited I do love this gun and it has become my favorite gun to shoot.
 
I have been calling around where I live and up to 60+ miles away.
No one has a Ruger SR1911 available. I called one more shop that I haven't been to a while and he tells me that the Ruger SR1911 is having a manufacturer defects AKA recalls and this is the reason why not one get one. He said he is also been on the waiting list for 6-7 months.

Can anyone confirm the manufacturer defect AKA recall thing?
Heck, He even told me to go check out budsgunshop but I rather buy in person.

My brother owned a RIA Tactical and got to say it was a pretty good shooting gun got $450. I was suppose to it off him but it never happened. I have been thinking about the RIA line and I have seen the Citadel line to and thinking they may be a nice piece to add.

I would really rather have something made in the USA but I am not dead set against it. Shops around here telling me what they have in stock is Colt, Kimber, Springfield, Taurus ETC. These two guns the Remington and Ruger were the ones I really wanted to check about tho....And so far, It looks like I can only get the Remington around here.

And yes, I prefer adjustable sights. I am noy "nostalgic" and going after the GI models.
 
Josh45. I had the same problem in my area, called 5 different places and got 5 different stories, they could order it but probably won't get it. I called Ruger and asked them what the problem was and was told no problem. He asked me for my zip code then gave me the name and phone # for two places within 25 miles. I called the first one and they had 3 in stock and expecting more on the weekend, that was last week. I went in Saturday and bought one.
So you might call Ruger, good luck !

PS: shot it for the first time today, I really like it. Now I need to get some dies so I can afford to shoot it.
 
2bFree,
Thank you very much for that info. I appreciate it. And wouldn't you know it> The LGS 2-3 blocks from me got one in just yesterday and he is asking $749 for it. Beautiful pistol. I was a bit surprised to see he had a Remington R1 in stainless as well there for the same price.

The blued version is $649. Other than finish, The Ruger has a few more bells and whistles out the box and if I could find it for the price of the Remington @ $649, Im pretty sure that is what I would buy....
 
I had a chance to fondle an R1 today. In almost every respect it was just another 1911, except for the trigger. The trigger was absolutely amazing, perfect break and and weight in factory config.
 
I like my Ruger. Shot a guys competition Colt Gold with my hand load and mine was close to as accurate. I am sure his had been improved by a gunsmith. I have only made two changes. I got the black Ruger wood grip panels and had a gunsmith put an Ed Brown beaver tail on because the shape of the Ruger one has points on the side and stabbed my hand when gripping. This one is wider and uniformly shaped like a tongue.
 
Looked at two R1's today. A stainless & a black one.

The stainless had the same issue that most R1's I've seen exhibit. The slide hangs up and stops about 1/4" short of going in to battery. If you just sling shot the thing, it will slam home, but if you're just doing something like checking the chamber, it happens every time.
 
Ruger all the way.A lot of 1911 for the money. I see a lot of the Filipino re-brands in the 500-550 range and for 600-650 I would get the Ruger.
 
I believe with your criteria a Springfield Range Officer would be almost perfect. Im not positive but it may be a shade over your budget. If it is, it isn't by much. I bought mine LNIB $700 OTD.
 
DammitBoy,
That's a nice pair:):)

KAS1981 Looked at two R1's today. A stainless & a black one.

The stainless had the same issue that most R1's I've seen exhibit. The slide hangs up and stops about 1/4" short of going in to battery. If you just sling shot the thing, it will slam home, but if you're just doing something like checking the chamber, it happens every time.
Click to expand...
That certainly has not been the case with my R1S:

Regards,
Greg
 
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