Ruger vs. Remington 1911's....
- Thread starter jaughtman
- Start date
Rock Island
While I do hear good things about them, I was mostly just curious about the differences between the Ruger and Remington as they appear to be built/priced to compete direct with each other. Just curious if anyone with experience with them had one they preferred over the other and why.
J
While I do hear good things about them, I was mostly just curious about the differences between the Ruger and Remington as they appear to be built/priced to compete direct with each other. Just curious if anyone with experience with them had one they preferred over the other and why.
J
Remington has the price advantage if you want a classic 1911 without the extended beavertail, commander hammer and long trigger. The advantage was huge the first half of this year when there was a $75 mail in rebate. (expired now) And there were $75 off sales in addition. You could buy the $550 R1 for $400 and the $600 R1S stainless for $450.
If you want the modern additions (maybe suffer from hammer bite in the classic) then you have to look at the Remington R1 Enhanced which raises the price and maybe then the Ruger has the advantage.
I prefer the classic R1 and R1S stainless to the Enhanced and the Ruger. I love a classic 1911 and especially like the short 1911A1 trigger matched to the pre-A1 flat mainspring housing and double diamond wood grips as Remington serves up the R1. The stainless R1S just looks better than the stainless Ruger to me. I like them so much that I took advantage of those sales above and got an R1, R1S and R1 Commander!
If you want the modern additions (maybe suffer from hammer bite in the classic) then you have to look at the Remington R1 Enhanced which raises the price and maybe then the Ruger has the advantage.
I prefer the classic R1 and R1S stainless to the Enhanced and the Ruger. I love a classic 1911 and especially like the short 1911A1 trigger matched to the pre-A1 flat mainspring housing and double diamond wood grips as Remington serves up the R1. The stainless R1S just looks better than the stainless Ruger to me. I like them so much that I took advantage of those sales above and got an R1, R1S and R1 Commander!
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I have shot the Ruger and was satisfied as to it being a quality firearm, i bought an R1 and R1 stainless in GI configuration and enjoy shooting them very much. The Remington is not adorned with BS lables directing us stupids to read the instruction material, funny but Uncle Sam did not give me a book of instructions on my weapons when posted on the DMZ.....i could have hung a sign around my dog's neck saying "warning big teeth". But i digress.....either pistol will give you long and trouble free service.
I second everything Quentin2 said regarding the Ruger vs Remington and different models. Basically. If you want a GI type pistol, go for the Remington, if you want some extras like the beaver tail and a longer trigger without such a plain GI look, then go for the Ruger.
I also did what Quentin2 did and bought one of each when they were on sale for $75 off with an additional $75 rebate. However I didn't buy a commander! I wish I had!!! I saw one in stock, handled it, liked it, but didn't have the money for a 3rd, lol.
I've shot both the Ruger and Remington. I like both. For me the only deciding factor would be which style you are looking for or prefer... or possibly price. Which was why I got the two R1's
Another thing. I experienced slide bite from both of my Remingtons, so I filed down the hammers one notch or so and smoothed them out. That took care of it. I also prefer long triggers vs the short ones they come with. So I've ordered a couple long replacement triggers and will be installing them sometime in the near future.
I also did what Quentin2 did and bought one of each when they were on sale for $75 off with an additional $75 rebate. However I didn't buy a commander! I wish I had!!! I saw one in stock, handled it, liked it, but didn't have the money for a 3rd, lol.
I've shot both the Ruger and Remington. I like both. For me the only deciding factor would be which style you are looking for or prefer... or possibly price. Which was why I got the two R1's
Another thing. I experienced slide bite from both of my Remingtons, so I filed down the hammers one notch or so and smoothed them out. That took care of it. I also prefer long triggers vs the short ones they come with. So I've ordered a couple long replacement triggers and will be installing them sometime in the near future.
I think they are both quality pistols. I have looked over the Ruger, but never fired one. I own a Remington R1 which is the plain Jane model to most of us. It has been a very good pistol without any issues.
My R1 looks very similar to my Colt M1911 which was delivered to Uncle Sam in 1918. Side by side it is hard to tell them apart from twenty feet. The R1 is tighter than the M1911, but the M1911 is almost a hundred years old.
My R1 looks very similar to my Colt M1911 which was delivered to Uncle Sam in 1918. Side by side it is hard to tell them apart from twenty feet. The R1 is tighter than the M1911, but the M1911 is almost a hundred years old.
I have gotten quite familiar with both of these and I do believe that either is a quality pistol for the money but if I am choosing, it is the Ruger for multiple reasons.
IMO:
Ruger has better features.
Looks much better.
Ruger has LONG experience in casting & has done countless work for OTHER pistol makers.
Out of the box, better trigger on the Ruger.
But far more than any of the above reasons...
Ruger is a legendary American gunmaker with a stellar reputation for service and a quality product...
Remington, on the other hand, is an historic name that has been defacated on by the Freedom Group. Even conjuring the name of that corporate conglomerate has made my stomach turn. I wouldn't trust those dingleberries any farther than I can throw them.
IMO:
Ruger has better features.
Looks much better.
Ruger has LONG experience in casting & has done countless work for OTHER pistol makers.
Out of the box, better trigger on the Ruger.
But far more than any of the above reasons...
Ruger is a legendary American gunmaker with a stellar reputation for service and a quality product...
Remington, on the other hand, is an historic name that has been defacated on by the Freedom Group. Even conjuring the name of that corporate conglomerate has made my stomach turn. I wouldn't trust those dingleberries any farther than I can throw them.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
Ruger.
Unless Remington has revised their production line, they can't even machine the receivers correctly.
Unless Remington has revised their production line, they can't even machine the receivers correctly.
I would tell you to spend a little more @$760.00, and get an SW1911 E-Series. I have an older SW1911 that still has the Swartz Firing Pin Block safety, and it is a terrific gun. S&W did away with this FPB safety on the E-Series, and it probably has the best external extractor design of any 1911. Now I have a Ruger SR1911 Commander, and it's a nice gun, but "IMHO" the S&W SW1911 E-Series is definitely one of the best 1911's at its price point.
Bought a Ruger 1911 when they first came out. I liked it so much I picked up the Commander size when it became available. I looked over the Remington and didn't think it was as tight as the Rugers.
My Rugers have both been flawless. Are they the same quality as a Dan Wesson or Kimber? No, but neither are their prices. I think Ruger makes one nice entry level 1911 and would recommend it to anyone wanting a first 1911.
My Rugers have both been flawless. Are they the same quality as a Dan Wesson or Kimber? No, but neither are their prices. I think Ruger makes one nice entry level 1911 and would recommend it to anyone wanting a first 1911.
Early R1s did have problems but I think that's been resolved. The R1 I recently bought had sat around two years, I was surprised it had the lowered grip safety hole that plagued people going to the wrong beavertail replacement. And it has a very faint mold line from the dust cover, trigger guard to front strap. I was surprised to learn it was manufactured in July 2013!
My R1S and R1 Commander are later models and don't have these issues. I don't plan to replace the A1 style grip safety on any, I don't suffer hammer bite with any of them. Mellow_c's tip of bobbing the hammer should take care of hammer bite. (Mellow, ya got to get the R1 Commander!)
Fitting a replacement grip safety can be tricky, the job is easier if you get one that doesn't require major fitting and blending.
It's wise to buy a 1911 with the features you want out of the box. If you're going to upgrade a classic R1 you can spend more than the extra $200 for the R1 Enhanced or Ruger.
It's almost like being in an alternate universe now - S&W, Ruger and Remington 1911s? !
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It's the buyers prerogative to spend their money where they want. As I said I have an older SW1911 and when I got this gun 6 yrs. ago, it came with at least 3 features that I didn't like, the Swartz Firing Pin Block safety, a full length guide rod, and MIM fire control parts. I took it to my friend the Master Gunsmith and I told him to fix all that. He did a reliability tune on it, told me to stick to good aftermarket magazines (Wilson 47D's), and then he told me to avoid using the cheap aluminum & steel case ammo that my Glock 21 shoots very well. And this gun has been a total winner since, with the Swartz Firing Pin Block safety, the full length guide rod, and the MIM fire control parts that I wanted to change, all left intact. I just want my guns to shoot as well as I can possibly shoot. Is this one as good as my DW Valor - no, but it really isn't that far behind the Dan when I'm doing my part range shooting both of these side by side. I'm no NRA Bullseye shooter, so I can't shoot either one of these up to their capability. So I do the best I can and try & have fun in the meantime.
Quentin2, It's too late for me now
I should have bought the Commander while I had the chance! There is no way I can pay full price for one now after getting such a good deal on the other two. (I'm still waiting on my rebates too. I sent them in around Memorial day and it's almost Labor day, I'm sure they will show up eventually)
Bobbing the hammers was pretty easy. I used a pretty coarse file to remove the majority of the metal, then a fine file to add angles and remove the sharp edges, then I cleaned it up with progressively finer sand paper. I used a cold blueing marker on the black one and they both look great! I felt a little bad because I didn't remove the hammers from the guns when doing this, so I was putting some unnecessary sideways pressure on them with my filling, but everything is ok. They dont even look much different, and it solved my problem with hammer bite.
My factory mags were not totally reliable, so I switched to Chip McCormick shooting star mags and everything has been good since. My R1S was shooting low, so Remington sent me a shorter front sight for free to bring up the point of aim. I've installed that but have yet to test fire it. And Like I said, I will also be adding long triggers to them soon. Then for the final touch I will polish the flats of the slide on the R1S just to make it stand out a bit, and I'll have a real nice matching pair of slightly modified R1's for about $1000. I'm excited to finish this little project!
All that being said. I still think I'd be pretty happy with an SR1911 or two!
I should have bought the Commander while I had the chance! There is no way I can pay full price for one now after getting such a good deal on the other two. (I'm still waiting on my rebates too. I sent them in around Memorial day and it's almost Labor day, I'm sure they will show up eventually)
Bobbing the hammers was pretty easy. I used a pretty coarse file to remove the majority of the metal, then a fine file to add angles and remove the sharp edges, then I cleaned it up with progressively finer sand paper. I used a cold blueing marker on the black one and they both look great! I felt a little bad because I didn't remove the hammers from the guns when doing this, so I was putting some unnecessary sideways pressure on them with my filling, but everything is ok. They dont even look much different, and it solved my problem with hammer bite.
My factory mags were not totally reliable, so I switched to Chip McCormick shooting star mags and everything has been good since. My R1S was shooting low, so Remington sent me a shorter front sight for free to bring up the point of aim. I've installed that but have yet to test fire it. And Like I said, I will also be adding long triggers to them soon. Then for the final touch I will polish the flats of the slide on the R1S just to make it stand out a bit, and I'll have a real nice matching pair of slightly modified R1's for about $1000. I'm excited to finish this little project!
All that being said. I still think I'd be pretty happy with an SR1911 or two!
Mellow_c, there's always Black Friday! Or maybe Remington will do another rebate later. The did the $75 rebate in 2014 and of course this year. Sportsman's Warehouse had the R1 Commander for $550 minus military/veteran discount of $27.50 and of course the Remington $75 rebate so I couldn't walk out without it.
I got two of my three rebates, the ones I mailed around Memorial Day. I'm waiting on the last which was mailed the end of July, so another month or so. Hopefully yours will be there soon. The Remington logo is very prominent on the outside so you won't think it's junk mail like other rebates I've seen.
Have you used Remington's rebate tracker to check the status on your rebates? https://remington.rebateaccess.com/status.php
Nice work on the triggers! The only work I've done on mine is fit black barrel bushings on the two black guns. I didn't like the look of silver on them. I haven't done a thing to the stainless R1S. (Well, I have swapped slides to get reverse two-tone twins for pictures but wouldn't fire them with swapped slides.)
Is your R1S is finished smoother than the R1? Mine certainly is compared to the two black R1s. And the trigger is a crisp 4 pounds while the R1 is a little creepy and 5 pounds. The R1 Commander is 5.5 pounds but fairly crisp.
I got two of my three rebates, the ones I mailed around Memorial Day. I'm waiting on the last which was mailed the end of July, so another month or so. Hopefully yours will be there soon. The Remington logo is very prominent on the outside so you won't think it's junk mail like other rebates I've seen.
Have you used Remington's rebate tracker to check the status on your rebates? https://remington.rebateaccess.com/status.php
Nice work on the triggers! The only work I've done on mine is fit black barrel bushings on the two black guns. I didn't like the look of silver on them. I haven't done a thing to the stainless R1S. (Well, I have swapped slides to get reverse two-tone twins
for pictures but wouldn't fire them with swapped slides.)Is your R1S is finished smoother than the R1? Mine certainly is compared to the two black R1s. And the trigger is a crisp 4 pounds while the R1 is a little creepy and 5 pounds. The R1 Commander is 5.5 pounds but fairly crisp.
Quentin2,
Guess what.......
I got my Rebates in the mail today Now I've got another $150 to spend on who knows what.
Military discount as well on the Commander? Way to go! And thank you for your service
When I bought both of my R1's I chose between about 4 of each. I tried to find ones that had good consistent triggers and smooth actions with tight slides. The slide on my Black R1 is not as tight as the R1S and has just a bit of play, but it's good. Otherwise they feel about the same, other than the fact that the oil I use might give a bit of a different feel when working the slide due to the two different finishes if you know what I mean.
I think cosmetically they are both about perfect. No issues what so ever! I have not tested the weight of the triggers. I haven't bought a gauge yet
Like I said though, I had the luxury and time to pick out two that felt like a good quality match to me... So far, so good. I'll probably do a review of the two of them in total once I've finished working on them and shooting them.
Guess what.......
I got my Rebates in the mail today
Now I've got another $150 to spend on who knows what.Military discount as well on the Commander? Way to go! And thank you for your service
When I bought both of my R1's I chose between about 4 of each. I tried to find ones that had good consistent triggers and smooth actions with tight slides. The slide on my Black R1 is not as tight as the R1S and has just a bit of play, but it's good. Otherwise they feel about the same, other than the fact that the oil I use might give a bit of a different feel when working the slide due to the two different finishes if you know what I mean.
I think cosmetically they are both about perfect. No issues what so ever! I have not tested the weight of the triggers. I haven't bought a gauge yet
Like I said though, I had the luxury and time to pick out two that felt like a good quality match to me... So far, so good. I'll probably do a review of the two of them in total once I've finished working on them and shooting them.