We have a limited number of guns to look at, touch, and shoot here in the wild wild east. I like the ruger Commander and the upper end Remington. Anyone have advice on which to buy?
i consider the Ruger SR1911 both the full size and the CMD to be pretty much exactly the same as the Remmy R1 Enhanced for fit and finish and quality.
ive got both the Ruger SR1911 and the Ruger SR1911 CMD and if i didnt already have a dozen 1911's id pick up a R1 Enhanced - BUT i told myself no more 1911's!
as far as the difference between the 2 the R1 Enhanced has more bells and whistles, so ambi safety and extended slide release and safety and such.
like mentioned above i too prefer the smaller version but that is because i shoot left so those bigger controls get in my way more and stuff like the extended mag release then at that point get in the way of a proper grip on the gun.
as to the difference between the 5" and the commander size i was always all about the 5" until i picked up 2 commander sized guns and i must admit for comfort in the hand for weight and such i prefer the commanders.
they just feel a bit better, more balanced.
but for actually shooting in the hand i prefer the 5" as they just shoot better im my opinion.
at the end of the day for 1911 you cant go wrong with either of the 2 you mentioned.
they are not the bottom of the pile and they are not the top, they are right in the middle which makes them affordable and fun to shoot and quality all at the same time.
now as a fella that has a nice sized stable of 1911's i would put this forward to you for consideration;
have you looked at the SAM 1911 from Wolverine?
im getting tired of ringing the SAM bell because there are a lot of nice 1911's out there but for price and quality right now on the market they really cant be beat.
i would recommend you have a good look at the SAM line up before you commit to a ruger or a R1 as you would easily save yourself 2-300 $$ that you could put towards ammo or even another gun. i would use this as an example of price, the ruger SR1911 CMD will run your between $7-800 at most places, for the SAM tactical commander its prices at $450 right now i think.
so youd save $300.
the R1 is pretty much exactly comparable to the SAM Thunderbolt the price differences being the R1 Enhanced will run you $800 for the plain jane and $1250 for the fully dressed and compare that to the SAM Thunderbolt that is currently running $550 for a blue and $6?? for the stainless. again 300 + in savings.
here is a video i made...... 12 months ago? and i compare my Ruger SR1911 CMD to my SAM Tactical Commander (and a Norc), it will show you how much alike they are in fit and finish and quality.