SR1911 10mm Journey

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Sal1950

Blackhawk
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Sep 14, 2010
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SR1911 10mm Journey
Thought I would chronicle my journey with my new SR1911 10mm.
I been a Ruger guy for 40 years and have many in my safe. I'll disclose right off the top here that overall I was more than a bit disappointed in this one, at least more so than any other Ruger I've purchased over the years.

Part 1
OTB the trigger itself is very poorly fitted to the frame, with tons of up & down and side to side slop. This makes it impossible for the trigger feel and break to be consistent from shot to shot with the bow contacting the sear/disconnector at a different angle each time, unless a conscious effort is made to apply a consistent compensating pressure with each pull. OTB trigger break was horrid, with a ton of creep step to it, dry and gritty with a 5 1/2+lb break. Also the grip safety is very poorly fitted to the frame, very sloppy side to side so when you squeeze it, as it contacts the frame, it will make a click and a jump to one side. On the good side of the ledger the overall finish on the gun is great and the slide is as reasonably tight as I guess you can expect from a production gun.
After a field strip, clean and lube, and a lot of dry trigger firing, the trigger break dropped to 4 1/4 - 4 3/4 lbs, a little less gritty but still highly inconsistent and with that big creep-step before breaking.

Part 2
Next up was my first trip to the range. The good news is it cycled all my 180g FMJ handloads without a malfunction except for the slide stop locking the slide open on two occasions. I think it may have been operator error with me hitting it with a thumb during recoil, only some further range time will determine if it's me or the slide stop/magazine interface at fault. The sights only needed a couple clicks up to center shots on target at the 15 yard line and though I didn't do any serious bench resting, the accuracy seemed more than good enough at that point. Then about round 170 things went BAD wrong. The slide jammed and when I went to clear it, I noticed the from half of the slide lock with the pin laying on the bench and the rear half still captured in the gun. BIG BUMMER. End shooting day.

Part 3
Called Ruger about the issues, top of the list was the broken slide stop pin. Nice lady never questioned it and offered to send a replacement, or I could send the gun in for repairs. Not that I don't trust Ruger repairs but I'm not so sure I would get my other areas of concern addressed in a manner that would satisfy me. The sloppy trigger and grip safety fitments are probably SOP for off the shelf part spec's on a low to mid price gun. For now I opped to have them send me a new pin and list my other areas of concern. Since with my smaller hands I found the factory trigger a bit long for comfort anyway, I've ordered a medium length Nighthawk Custom trigger from Midway. They have pre-travel adjustments and should come a bit oversize for custom fitting. She's now totally disassembled and waiting for parts. I've completed a light touch-up on the hammer and sear interfaces and a little polishing here and there. I'm looking at a couple ideas to tighten up the grip safety, the way it ends it's travel is very aggravating to me, will post what I do at a later time. Hoping to end up with a competition quality trigger break somewhere in the 3 lb range.
More to come
 

se3388

Bearcat
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Oct 7, 2011
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SEMO
I don't think anything was wrong with the gun (after all it's a Ruger) I am thinking you did something wrong. LOL, just kidding, the amount Ruger churns out some bad parts are bound to make it out sometimes. At least they are taking care of you. Let us know how the new trigger works out.

Steve.......
 

hittman

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Sal1950 said:
the trigger itself is very poorly fitted to the frame

tons of up & down and side to side slop.

impossible for the trigger feel and break to be consistent

trigger break was horrid

a ton of creep step to it, dry and gritty with a 5 1/2+lb break.

the grip safety is very poorly fitted to the frame

Kinda makes a fella wonder why you bought it.
 

Sal1950

Blackhawk
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Sep 14, 2010
Messages
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Central FL
hittman said:
Kinda makes a fella wonder why you bought it.
Understandable point.
Thing was I bought the gun on a hell of deal off Gun Broker sight unseen.
If I'd had a chance to look the piece over I probably would have passed on it.
The weakness of buying a gun that way, but never expected this. My other Rugers are much much better.
I'm curious to handle some other SR1911's to see how they compare in fitting.
 
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hittman said:
Kinda makes a fella wonder why you bought it.

Seems like a reasonable question, and it would be, if a feller had a chance to fondle one in a store.

There is almost nothing I can buy from a local store if it's not black and/or polymer. I've owned 5 different SR 1911's including my 10mm. None of them were available from a store when I bought each model. Took my chances and bought them mail-order, sight unseen. I was fortunate that they were all nicely finished and fitted. Can't say that about some other very recent Ruger products, bought sight-unseen. I've owned two revolvers very recently that were returned. Now I'm getting off my point...I don't know if it's peculiar to my area, but the stocking dealers around here just will not stock anything that they think is out of the ordinary, including many Ruger firearms.

I think there is a common denominator surfacing here. Many folks profess as I do, that the latest and greatest Ruger product is not available and in stock at their local dealer. So we just don't have the opportunity to inspect our purchase til after we've bought it off the internet. Maybe, just maybe, this Ruger QC trend is well enough known that the dealers don't want to take a chance ordering a batch of guns either, that just might not pass a customers inspection.
 

Sal1950

Blackhawk
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Sep 14, 2010
Messages
827
Location
Central FL
Part 4
Got a couple packages in the mail this morning, the Nighthawk Custom Medium trigger I ordered from Midway, and a envelope from Ruger with a couple guide rod retainer clips but no slide stop pin? Wonder if they forgot the important piece or it's coming separately, whatever I'll call them on Monday.

The Nighthawk trigger turned out great, it was just enough oversize in all dimensions to require hand fitting and now glides in and out like glass with no noticeable slop. Also the Medium length fits my finger/hand size perfectly putting the center of my index finger pad square and centered on the trigger. The adjustable pre-travel pads are a nice extra also.

After that I went back and did just a bit more work in the sear primary and secondary. Also polished the contacting faces of the trigger bow, disconnector, and sear to a mirror a dremel and Blue Magic metal polish.

I got the click and movement out of the grip safety by squaring the stop pads on the back of it. One side was contacting the frame before the other and then jumping to the other side when squeezed.

I borrowed the slide stop pin out of my government 45 to get the gun together for now, want to go to the range on Monday and do more break-in.
The trigger now breaks right between 3 and 3 1/2 lbs, sometimes glass clean, sometimes showing a bit of creep. (I'm anal about my triggers). The pull weight is fine but I'd still like it to be more consistently clean. I'll put 500 down range next to see how it comes in before I do any more tinkering. I do have a Ed Brown Perfection sear in reserve I can prep and try if necessary.

Lastly, speaking of Ed Brown, I also ordered one of his 10mm dedicated forged slide stops which should permanently cure any further breakage in the future. Part should be here this coming week.

I've also got some customizing plans in my mind but will wait till I get the basics where I want them. Thinking of a fiber optic front sight, Cerakoting the slide black, a few other small cosmetic details. Time will tell.
 

Sal1950

Blackhawk
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Messages
827
Location
Central FL
Sal1950 said:
Part 4
Got a couple packages in the mail this morning, the Nighthawk Custom Medium trigger I ordered from Midway, and a envelope from Ruger with a couple guide rod retainer clips but no slide stop pin? Wonder if they forgot the important piece or it's coming separately, whatever I'll call them on Monday.
Good thing I had another 1911 to steal the slide stop from. I talked to Ruger today and explained what happened. They said there was no record of a request for the broken slide stop, only the guide retainer clips? Said they'd send one out ASAP and I would have it in a week or so. Glad I went ahead and ordered the Ed Brown, should have it in a couple days.
 

Sal1950

Blackhawk
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Sep 14, 2010
Messages
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Central FL
Careful what you ask for, I suck as a photographer.
Let's see if this google share link works, never did this before.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8varPoqs5PDMHpHdTkxNjBMcm8/view?usp=sharing

OK, link works but not to insert the photo. Late tonight, I'll try more tomorrow.
Anyway, still a work in progress. If I keep this one I may cross drill it a couple times strictly for looks and then get it finished black to continue the two-tone effect. Or I may replace it with a STI black plastic one? Need to get the gun shooting to my standards first. ;)
 

se3388

Bearcat
Joined
Oct 7, 2011
Messages
97
Location
SEMO
I tried to drill a solid trigger one time but ran into a vertical piece that is where the trigger bow is attached to the trigger shoe or pad (whatever you call the part where your finger pad goes). Maybe you'll have better luck than I did.

Steve...........
 
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