SR1911 'Target Model' shown with Galco Avenger holster. The new stocks are quite appealing as is the "Bomar" type adjustable rear sight.

As the annual break was upon us, I was notified that a package had arrived at the licensee's awaiting a pick-up. New guns have been forthcoming through the fall and this was one of them. I arrived to find a package from Ruger. It was marked "SR1911-AS" – the Ruger 1911 pistol with adjustable sights. Referred to on the Ruger website as "Model Type: Target," the gun is fitted with what Ruger calls "Bomar-Style Adjustable" sights. What that will mean to newly arrived members of the Gun Culture is open to speculation. To those who've shot bullseye, PPC and early IPSC competitions, the term will have a great deal of meaning. The rear sight is capable of fine adjustments and make plenty of sense on a range gun meant for an array of different ammunition. The sight's design is also strong enough for field use. There are no unsightly white dots on the sights, a welcome thing. If you wanted any improvement for duty use, simply get a front sight with embedded tritium from ShopRuger.com. It's unnecessary to mark up the rear sight. For field use and carry, a holster like the Galco Avenger, shown, works just fine. The minor changes in the "Target" SR1911 aren't enough to compromise holstering.

While it's not a classic 'bullseye' gun, a lot of the initial review was done shooting one-handed.

Like the classic SR1911, the gun is primarily composed of stainless steel and has the five-inch barrel. The stocks are a new style, checkered G10, and are quite appealing. The weight is 39 ounces, like steel five-inch 1911s are, with standard length and height figures. There's no add-on firing pin lock but there is a titanium firing pin: weighing less than the steel firing pin, there's less momentum to contribute to firing when dropped muzzle-down on a hard surface from some distance. It's not a bullseye gun: It lacks the post-manufacture slide fit to frame tightening procedures made popular back in the day. Nevertheless, it's more accurate than stock 1911-style pistols of those grand old times due to manufacturing differences. The barrel and bushing, both of stainless steel, are produced from the same bar stock on the same machine to minimize variations. The modern machining process makes a better fit slide to frame than older manufacturing techniques. The mainspring housing is checkered. The trigger is an aluminum skeletonized unit with adjustment for over-travel. The thumb safety is bilateral and extended.

Rear detail photo shows the bilateral safety lever, the adjustable rear sight and the new stocks.

Like previous versions of the SR1911, the plunger tube is made integral to the frame: it will not come loose. No full-length guide rod is used: the standard recoil spring guide and recoil spring plug facilitates field-stripping. Two magazines were in the box: a flat based seven-round stainless magazine and the extended 8-round magazine. The pistol is quite simply a dolled-up SR1911. As the weather was a bit severe and I was at the range early – minimizing the likelihood of crowds – I didn't do my best work, but the Target Model was 1911-ish. It was about 25 degrees and the sun had yet to clear the hills and trees to brightly illuminate the range. I took three loads with me: the Black Hills 230 grain JHP, the Federal Gold Medal Match 185 grain Semi-wadcutter and the HPR 185 grain JHP loads: all were standard pressure. I tend to stay away from +P ammo in .45 ACP. The minor boost in pressure seems to minimally affect performance ballistically while affecting handling in a negative way. I started out with the "least-likely-to-feed" load, the 185 grain "soft-ball" SWC: it's not very powerful and it's a round with a short overall length. Guns meant to shoot this load as a regular diet are set up for this load. Still, the first five rounds went without a hitch. Each struck the steel IPSC-style silhouette fifty yards down range: hardly an accuracy test. As the morning went on, the gun had more difficulty with this load. There was a feedway stoppage midway through the first five-shot group on a B-8 repair center at 25 yards. It wasn't a great group at 3 ½", shot through tearing eyes and numbed fingers. The group was center for windage and only three-inches low for elevation. The HPR 185 grain JHP load went only slightly low with nearly the same performance. The Black Hills 230 grain JHP load printed center for elevation and windage and went into the same size group: consistency was the hallmark for the SR1911-AS. The gun fed and functioned through the hollow-point ammo with no stoppages. If you like action shooting games or if you'd like a field grade 1911, the SR1911 Target Model is a good choice. The adjustable rear sight allows a hard zero with your load of choice and you adjust sights if your source of ammo changes. It's another great deal from Ruger. -- Rich Grassi