Ruger SR1911CMD Review
Part 5 - Internal Features
April 26, 2013

In Part 5 of my original Ruger SR1911 Pistol review, I covered the internal features of the SR1911 in great detail with 87 photos and lots of commentary.  Since only 9 out of 45 parts that make up a Ruger SR1911CMD (commander-style) are different than the SR1911 (full size), in this part of the review I focus on comparing and showing the 9 parts only.  Please refer to the other review found at this link if you want to see detail for the other parts.

 

The table below was taken from the Instruction Manual "insert" for the Ruger SR1911CMD Pistol and identifies the nine unique parts for this commander-style pistol. 

Figure 1

I have also identified these 9 parts in the exploded view below by putting a red circle around the "key" number.

Figure 2

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Barrel

Other than the differences in length of the barrel and barrel bushing, the barrel link has a different finish and the commander-style barrel also has chamfered areas on the bottom of the barrel to allow clearance between the barrel and recoil springs as the slide moves to its rear position.

Figure 3

The broached barrel is made from 410 stainless steel.

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

The photo below shows the proof mark on the left side of the barrel lug.

Figure 8

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Barrel Bushing

One thing that is unique about the barrel bushing is that it is machined at the same time out of the same bar stock as the barrel which is 410 stainless steel . I can see there may be an advantage to this method. While the stock material is mounted in the machine for the turning operations, they are able to turn the bushing surfaces (both inside and outside diameters) to be concentric with the outside of the barrel which in turn may allow them to hold overall tighter tolerances on the fit of these parts. Ruger then keeps the barrel and bushing together as a matched pair throughout the remainder of the pistol build.

Figure 9

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Recoil Spring

Figure 10

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Recoil Spring Plug

Figure 11

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Recoil Spring Guide

The SR1911 recoil spring guide rod is a one-piece short solid rod made from stainless steel and the SR1911CMD is a shorter hollow rod with a hollow center.

                                Figure 12                                                      Figure 13
  

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Slide Assembly

The slide is machined from 416 stainless steel bar stock and the sights are MIM parts. Although the sights are made by Novak, I believe they are made to Ruger's specifications.

Figure 14

Figure 15

In the photo below you can see how the slide stop notch and takedown pin notch are located rearward on the commander-style pistol.

Figure 16

It is hard to notice in the photo below, but you can see the groove for the ejector is wider on the commander-style pistol.

Figure 17

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Frame Assembly

The frame is a stainless steel investment casting that is made from Ruger's proprietary blend of metal that is somewhere between 410 and 420 stainless steel and the frame is then machined to it's final dimensions. Other that the difference in length and the ejector, I didn't notice any significant difference in the SR1911CMD frame than the SR1911.

Figure 18

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Slide Stop

Since I found this pin to be slightly undersized in the original SR1911, I took a close look at on the SR1911CMD.  The pin was manufactured using the MIM process. The pin diameter measured 0.1955" which appears to be less than the standard 0.1985" to 2.0005". Another feature I found interesting was the flat portion on the bottom of the pin. Maybe I don't know enough about 1911's, but I don't believe it was intended by John Browning based on his drawings.

 

Thoughts

As I studied the parts for the SR1911CMD, I came to a similar opinion as I did for the original SR1911.  Ruger seems to have produced a quality pistol that should appeal to those who prefer the a "commander-style" 1911 pistol.  In my case, this SR1911CMD pistol seemed a little tighter and has a slightly better trigger pull than the my full size SR1911.  This gives me two pistols as data points and so far Ruger is looking good on delivering quality pistols in their SR1911 platforms.

For more detailed photos and commentary, make sure you check out the other parts of this review and feel free to leave comments on my Reader's Comments page.  The following links are provided to help you see other parts of this review. 

• Ruger SR1911CMD Review: Part 1 - Introduction, Specifications and Summary
• Ruger SR1911CMD Review: Part 2 - What's in the Box
• Ruger SR1911CMD Review: Part 3 - External and Operational Features
• Ruger SR1911CMD Review: Part 4 - Disassembly
• Ruger SR1911CMD Review: Part 5 - Internal Features (this page)
• Ruger SR1911CMD Review: Part 6 - Range Test

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