Ruger is an all-American company when the incentive structures are against it. On top of it, the company not only innovates new products but also brings existing designs full circle. Ruger did not invent the 1911. In fact, it came to the market on the 100th anniversary of the design with its SR1911. Now Ruger offers its SR1911 in calibers including 9mm, 10mm, and .45 ACP from 9mm in both full-size and target models. However, Ruger is also the sole manufacturer to offer a lightweight full-size and commander-size 1911 with its SR1911.
The Ruger SR1911 Lightweight Commander
All-steel .45 caliber 1911s are an acquired taste of mine. They shoot better than just about any other pistol out of the box, and recoil is slow and tame. But let’s face facts that 1911s are heavy to carry, don’t have buckets of bullets, and .45 can get expensive. Only Colt and Ruger offer a lightweight 1911 optimized for carry.
If you want the short answer on whether to look at the Colt or the Ruger for a light 1911 for carry, skip the Colt and get the Ruger. If you want the nuanced answer, follow along as I run the SR1911 Lightweight Commander through a 300-round ringer.
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Quirks and Features: Angry in Anodized Aluminum
Ruger offers several different versions of their commander-size SR1911. Grips and finishes change, but 9mm and .45 ACP rule the roost. So does the choice between a stainless-steel frame or an anodized aluminum frame.
This SR1911 Commander features a standard 4.25-inch barrel rather than the 5-inch barrel found on a full-sized model. Likewise, the hammer is rounded and paired with an extended aluminum beavertail. These features remove snag points and eliminate both hammer bite and slide bite to the shooting hand.
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The Commander features a lightweight 7000-series aluminum frame hard-anodized with a black matte finish. It lacks rails, and the front of the grip is left smooth with a slight undercut of the trigger guard. The grip panels are black checkered rubber that complements the frame’s dull appearance.
Its stainless-steel slide is left polished in stark relief to the frame assembly. The slide itself is marked with Ruger’s roll stamp and has twelve wide triangular cocking serrations—six on each side. The slide wears drift-adjustable Novak three-dot sights.
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Aside from these features, the 1911 in the SR1911 stands out. It has a flat mainspring housing, which is the sole polymer piece on this pistol and a common feature on late model 1911 pistols. The grip safety, magazine release button, extended thumb safety, and slide release are left in a matte stainless finish.
Drop Safe and Series 70?
Outwardly, the SR1911 looks like a Series 80-style pistol with a long and skeletonized trigger. But internally, the Commander has the older Series 70 lock work without a firing pin safety. This gives the shooter the benefit of a lighter, crisper trigger pull. It is reinforced by an overtravel adjustment screw in the trigger shoe itself.
Ruger has kept the pistol drop safe by using a titanium firing pin to prevent discharge when dropped.
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The SR1911 Commander is best set up for carry rather than competition. As such, it is set up with a GI guide rod assembly for best reliability. The pistol comes in a hard case and ships with two magazines. The pistol used in this review is chambered in 9mm Luger and has a 9+1 capacity.
On the Firing Line with the Ruger SR1911 Commander
After cursory cleaning and lubrication, I put the Ruger SR1911 Commander through a three-hundred-round battery of fire to test accuracy, reliability, and ergonomics. I counted the empty ammunition cartons until I was out.
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Initial Impressions
Although the SR1911 Commander does not come optics-ready, the Novak sights are easy on the eyes. In addition, it has an excellent trigger right out of the box. According to my Lyman trigger scale, the trigger breaks at only 3 ½ pounds. Trigger travel is less than two millimeters out of the box. Taken together, the SR1911 should be a shoo-in in the accuracy department. It is.
Accuracy Test
I started with some offhand shooting at seven yards to get on top of the sights and find a favored load. The SR1911 comes with two nine-round magazines. They are essentially .45 1911 magazines that are ribbed for the 9mm round.
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Loading the pistol is as easy as inserting the magazine into the butt. As shocking as it sounds, the SR1911 does not have an interchangeable magwell. In any case, the slide is racked, the hammer cocked, and the thumb safety is pushed upward to render the pistol safe for carry. Thumb down the safety and press the trigger to fire.
I tried a few magazines of Igman 124-grain FMJ to start, and I put nine rounds in a 1.5-inch hole. I switched to Magtech 115-grain FMJ before going to a few defensive offerings. These included Federal Punch 124-grain hollow point, Hornady Critical Duty 124-grain +P FTX, and Winchester 147-grain JHPs.
None matched the Igman’s accuracy, but all clustered inside a two-inch pattern. The only flaw in the slaw is that the Ruger Commander shoots two inches higher than the point of aim.
I stretched the distance to twenty-five yards offhand and tried the Igman load again. For my trouble, I put nine rounds into three inches on target, but four inches high. I am very happy with the accuracy, and the holdover is not much for this pistol’s intended purpose.
However, I plan to replace the front sight with a taller one, as the Novak rear sight has windage but no elevation adjustment.
Reliability: How Good Can a Commander 1911 Be?
1911 purists will maintain that the further you get from the original design, the more reliability will suffer. But the 1911 universe has moved beyond full-sized .45 ACP chambered pistols with traditional GI mechanics. Some users will sacrifice some reliability for accuracy with a bushing-less design. Others want a fuller wallet by shooting 9mm.
No design is foolproof, but the Ruger Commander was a mostly boring performer. I say mostly because I had a single box of the Igman 9mm test ammunition that would give me light strikes. This would occur once or twice per magazine as I shot through my accuracy tests and ergonomic drills.
Out of a box of fifty, I counted nine light strikes that would not fire when recycled. The three other boxes of Igman 9mm ran perfectly, as did the other ammunition I tested.
How Does the SR1911 Lightweight Commander Feel Shooting?
The classic 1911 feels, carries, and shoots a certain way that only those who’ve tried them can attest to. There are more buttons than on a modern pistol, but everything is exactly where it should be for the thumb and the index finger to hit.
The pistols are heavy by modern standards, and shooting .45 ACP is an exercise in exaggerated and slow recoil impulse. The Ruger Lightweight Commander delivers the proven ergonomics and delivers a tamer shooting performance than modern polymer 9mm pistols.
Sights, Levers, Buttons
In terms of shooting, the three-dot sights stand out well enough. I had to wonder how an excellent shooter could benefit from a compact red dot optic. The Series 70 style trigger leaves nothing to be desired. This, combined with the brief recoil of the 9mm cartridge, makes for a platform that is fast to shoot.
The use of an aluminum frame reduces weight. However, not so much as to give the pistol an unbalanced feel that could encumber other pistols. The controls are well set up for a right-handed shooter, and the push-button magazine release is utterly responsive, as is the slide release.
Its enlarged manual safety intuitively sweeps on and off and easily doubles as a thumb rest while shooting. That is cold comfort for a southpaw like me, but I came to appreciate the SR1911 more shooting offhanded.
Recoil and Fitment of the SR1911 Lightweight Commander
The pistol itself is well finished, with no burs or sharp edges to catch on while manipulating it. Its extended beavertail and commander hammer do an excellent job of preventing any sort of bite.
Ruger gets maligned at times for producing handguns that veer on the unrefined in terms of aesthetics. Except for Ruger’s slide branding, I had to ask if that old line of attack was really true. The SR1911 Commander is as refined as can be in a stock handgun.
The Right Mix of Size and Shooting Ability
The 1911 platform seems especially long in the tooth in the age of the micro-compact 9mm. However, the more I shot the latter, the more I realized how hard it can be to control one. At the other end of the spectrum are the double-stack 1911s that have gained in popularity thanks to the platform’s great ergonomics and trigger. But they are not necessarily set up for the most convenient carry pistols.
After putting rounds downrange with the Ruger SR1911 Commander, I got to thinking that this old and new platform yields the best of both.
Ruger SR1911 Lightweight Commander Specs
| Caliber | 9mm Luger |
| Capacity | 9+1 |
| Barrel Length | 4.25 inches |
| Overall Length | 7.9 inches |
| Height | 5.4 inches |
| Width | 0.88 inches |
| Weight | 1 lb. 15.3 oz. (loaded) |
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