Ruger SR1911 45 ACP 8+1 5 in. Engraved Stainless Slide Wood Grips – Superb Reliable 1911

Description

This is a full-size Ruger SR1911 45 ACP built as a presentation piece: a low-glare stainless slide covered in engraving, a black anodized aluminum frame with a beavertail, and custom engraved wood grips. Eight rounds of 45 ACP from a five inch barrel, in a gun that is meant to be looked at as well as shot.

Ruger part number 16706. It is the most expensive handgun on this page and we are going to be straight with you about where that money goes.

What the Ruger SR1911 45 ACP gives you

• 8+1 of 45 ACP from a 5 inch stainless barrel — the full Government-size 1911 format.
• A low-glare stainless steel slide with engraving, serrated for grip.
• A black anodized aluminum frame with a beavertail grip safety, which is a lighter frame than the all-steel 1911s this gun is priced against.
• Custom engraved wood grips.
• A manufacturer part number of 16706 and UPC 736676167067, so you can confirm the exact configuration with us before ordering.

The aluminum frame changes how a Ruger SR1911 45 ACP shoots

• Most 1911s in this format have a steel frame. This one does not, and that is the single most important mechanical fact about it.
• A lighter gun is easier to carry all day and harder to shoot fast, because the same 45 ACP recoil has less mass to work against.
• If you are buying a Ruger SR1911 45 ACP to carry, the alloy frame is an advantage. If you are buying it to shoot three hundred rounds on a Saturday, it is a cost.
• Nothing else about the mechanism changes. It is the same SR1911 action.

Ruger SR1911 45 ACP specifications

• Caliber: 45 ACP
• Capacity: 8+1
• Barrel: 5 in., stainless steel
• Slide: low-glare stainless steel, serrated, engraved
• Frame: black anodized aluminum with beavertail
• Grips: custom engraved wood
• Manufacturer part number: 16706. UPC: 736676167067

Chamber and pressure standards for 45 ACP are published by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute.

Why the Ruger SR1911 45 ACP earns its place

• It is a proper 1911: single action, thumb safety, beavertail grip safety, and a trigger that works the way a 1911 trigger should.
• The engraving is well executed and the grips are matched to it. As an object it is in a different class from a working gun.
• Ruger’s SR1911 line has a solid reputation for running out of the box, which is not something every 1911 at any price can claim.
• The alloy frame makes a five inch 1911 genuinely carryable, which the steel version is not for most people.
• 45 ACP out of five inches is the cartridge doing exactly what it was designed to do.

Here is the honest part, and it is the reason we would rather you read this than a marketing sheet. The money is in the finish work, not the mechanics. Underneath the engraving this is the same SR1911 action you can buy in a plain configuration for a great deal less — the 4.25 inch SR1911 and the SR1911 Commander Lightweight are the same gun without the decoration.

If what you want is a 1911 that shoots, buy one of those and spend the difference on ammunition. If what you want is this one, buy it because you like looking at it, which is a perfectly good reason.

Be realistic about the capacity of a Ruger SR1911 45 ACP. Eight rounds plus one is what a single-stack 45 gives you, and a modern striker-fired 9mm of the same size holds twice that. People who carry 1911s know this and carry them anyway; people coming from a polymer nine should know it before they order.

A Ruger SR1911 45 ACP also wants running wet and wants a break-in. Put two hundred rounds through it with the ammunition you intend to use before you rely on it, and keep the rails oiled. Magtech 45 ACP 230gr FMJ and Sellier & Bellot 230gr are what we hold in depth for that, with PPU 230gr as the third option.

And one point on the finish: an engraved slide shows handling marks that a matte gun hides. Holster wear on a Ruger SR1911 45 ACP like this one is visible. That is worth knowing before you decide whether this is a safe-queen or a carry gun.

If you want a full-size SR1911 in a different configuration, the 5 inch Phoenix is the other five inch gun we hold, though only a few remain.