Ruger’s two SR1911 Competition pistols aren’t carry guns, but the Ruger SR1911 Competition Officer sure as heck is. This year, Doug Koenig’s signature guns in .45 ACP were unleashed at Range Day, and I got to shoot both of them.
Just as with the government model, the SR1911 Competition Officer features a hand-fit bull barrel, slide, and frame, for tight lockup and smooth operation. (When well-maintained!) Like many officer size frames, the bushing is omitted.
Controls consist of a beavertail grip safety with memory bump and ambidextrous competition safety levers. The sights are changed to combat set, with an adjustable rear ramp sight and a tritium/white polymer ring front sight for fast sight acquisition in day or night time.
The grips have 25 LPI checkering front and back, with textured G10 grips to give you a nice, tight hold on the pistol. The trigger guard has a slight undercut, giving you a slightly higher grip.
As is customary with officer frames, the grip is also shortened by 0.5 inches for easier concealment. While this does reduce capacity by a round, the Ruger can accomodate 7-round magazines instead of the 6-round units that many other companies are limited to.
The slide has a stainless steel finish, with Ruger’s chevron slide serrations at the rear and front of the slide. The frame has a black nitride finish for a two-tone appearance.
As you might expect, it’s slightly snappier to shoot than the full-size model, but I found it a bit more controllable and a bit more accurate than other officer frame pistols I’ve shot in the past. I’ve always felt the commander or CCO configurations are the best balance between shootability and concealment as far as the 1911 platform is concerned.
Then again, that’s just one guy’s opinion that basically everyone shares anyway. You could also run lower-recoil 185-grain loads and have an easier time of things.
An interesting wrinkle is that the price point – MSRP of $1899 – is significantly lower than hand fitted officer frames you’ll find of similar construction from other brands. Street price of the Ruger SR1911 Competition guns are often several hundred dollars under MSRP, and Ruger’s rep said they can go as low as $1200 in some cases.
That’s WELL worth the price of admission. If you wanted a compact 1911 of very high quality…this is one I’d check out.
