Citadel 1911

[FL-NC]

Who has one of these? Have you put many rounds through it? Is it reliable, or about to fall apart?Thinking about one of the compact (Colt commander) sized ones. What I would really like is one of the older SA Mil-spec champion models, but looking at other possibilities. In 45 ACP, of course.

 

[warnerwh]

Mine has been solid as a rock with two different types of hollow point as well as ball ammo. I"ve probably put 5,000 rounds through so far. They are pretty much the same as Rock Island 1911's other than some differences in cosmetics. There's plenty of good reviews on the Rock Island 1911 which is also made by Armscor.

 

[12Bravo20]

Yup made by Armscor so just as good as a RIA.

 

[Tallball]

Mine is a 9mm that I bought used at the LGS. I've put at least a few hundred rounds through it and it has yet to malfunction. The trigger is decent and the sights are good.

Citadel 1911 9mm

• Tallball
• Apr 6, 2019

 

[lsudave]

Given the price and the overall reliability, combined with the active customer support that isn't going away, I really can't see the reason NOT to have an Armscor or 2, if you like the 1911 platform.
There are nicer, more polished brands, guns that are more prestigious etc. But not any more reliable

 

[nofendertom]

I have a ATI Commander .45---very good pistol---chose it over the Citadel because it has a barrel bushing and the Citadel Commander does not. If that doesn't
matter the Citadels I have seen (1 Commander and 1 Government model) were very good also.

 

[Tallball]

I have three Armscor 1911's. They were all inexpensive, and all of them are good shooters. I am probably not a good enough shooter to shoot an heirloom quality $2,000 1911 any better than my Armscors.

I got this RIA 45acp 1911 for under $400 OTD. It shoots as good as it looks.

RIA 1911 45acp

• Tallball
• Jun 26, 2019

 

[Dudedog]

Probably 2K rounds thru my Citadel 1911, no issues. 2K is not a lot but more than some people will shoot.
Perfectly happy with it for what it is.
Is it as nice as my $1000 Springfield, no, does it seem to work and shoot just fine, yes.

 

[cosh]

Found a NIB about 7 years ago. Has been reliable and over 1K rounds now. At around 800 rounds the trigger was getting very light, under 2 pounds. It was too light for me so had it checked by an armorer. Got the sear and trigger recurved with some more tension and it is now at about 3 pounds trigger pull. Complete takedown and cleaning.

It has fed all the different types of ammo and bullets - 230 FMJ, 230 LRN, 230 CPRN (Berry's) and 200 SWC. I don't run anything ligher than 200 grains so not sure about the 180 or 165s. I have been pleased with it everytime at the range.

 

[Old Dog]

I'd already shot a number of RIA 1911s that really, really impressed me with their quality and reliability, but after watching Michael Bane's two-part episode on show that went inside Armscor, I became a fan of the company. Martin Tuason (and his family) seems committed to producing quality, innovative firearms and RIA is putting out some really nice 1911s. The company is not only a great story, but it's doing all the right things (there's a factory in Nevada now), and of course, it does make me a little nostalgic for the years I spent in the Philippines ...

No experience with the Citadel models, but the "Rocks" I've shot all worked well and I was part of a range session that put several hundred rounds through two models (a full-size "standard" and an "ultra" commander-size) with zero malfunctions. Pretty impressive.

 

[Bwana John]

I got a Citadel 1911 for my nephew, it cost less than my first Colt Combat Commander in 1975.

Other than the big ugly graphics on the slide, and the parked instead of blue finish they compare very favorably. The sights, grip safety, cocking serrations, ambi extended thumb safety and adjustable trigger actually make the Citadel a friendlier platform. I did replace the "hardwood"(?) grips with G10 Gunners, and the pistol did benefit from the first 1k of ammo through it to smooth things out, but overall I consider it a great value for its retail price.

 

[bannockburn]

A few years back a buddy of mine picked up a nickel plated RIA 1911 in .45. He asked me if could do some work on it like replace the hammer, add a drop-in beavertail grip safety, and install an extended slide release. Since the gun was bright nickel we just polished all of the stainless steel aftermarket parts to match the shine of the plating.

First thing I noticed when I disassembled the gun was how tight all of the tolerances were with slide to frame and barrel to slide fit. Also the nickel plating was fairly evenly distributed throughout the gun though there were a couple of places where it was on a little thicker than every where else. Didn't see any tool marks or rough spots internally and I was very impressed with the overall fit and finish of the gun. No problem installing the extra parts and the finished gun looked and ran great.

 

[FL-NC]

Yesterday I picked up a RIA compact 45. I got a decent deal on it, considering. Looking forward to shooting it next week. 3 things I am not 100% "on board" with: 1- the sights. Wish they were dovetailed or taller, but you get what you pay for, and I successfully fired issue 1911A1 pistols with itty bitty stock sights in the mil, so I'm sure I can work with them. 2- the grips that came on it. Butt ugly and slick- I imagine slick as snot on a brass doorknob if wet. Already replaced with some aggressively checkered officer model grips I had in a box-o-parts, so problem solved. I did have to trim a little off the right grip as the mag release was hitting it a little bit on that side and impeding the mag releasing.. 3- the RIA logo on the left side of the slide. Ugly but only a cosmetic issue. If Mrs. Fl-NC can deal with my appearance, I can deal with an ugly logo. Next purchase will be a couple of higher end magazines. Thanks for the replies!

 

[12Bravo20]

I ordered a set of factory checkered rubber grips from Advanced Tactical for my RIA compact 1911. The grips made a big difference for me. I bought my compact used and the previous owner put the huge Hogue rubber grips with finger grooves on it. With my small hands, I just can't use grips with finger grooves. Advanced Tactical is the Armscor/RIA store front for factory parts and accessories.

https://advancedtactical.com/1911-cs-checkered-rubber-grips.html

As far as magazines go, I have had good luck with the Mec-Gar magazines which also happen to be the OEM mags for RIA. The Metalform mags are good to go too.

 

[JFrank]

I have owned the pistol that you are asking about, I don’t recall the round count however the little pistol was pretty darn good for a small gun with heavy springs, I was impressed with the reliability also accuracy surprised me. IIRC had to run the magazines that came with it as others were not happy but as a truck gun I didn’t care as long it went bang.

Who has one of these? Have you put many rounds through it? Is it reliable, or about to fall apart?Thinking about one of the compact (Colt commander) sized ones. What I would really like is one of the older SA Mil-spec champion models, but looking at other possibilities. In 45 ACP, of course.

 

[Geldarr]

I have one in 9mm. It's been flawless in the time I've owned it. I've had more than a few folks comment on how nice the trigger is, and it was very nice out of the box.

I've since added a small radius firing pin stop and a Cylinder & Slide trigger/sear. It's real nice now. Shoots extremely smoothly.

The sights were a definite step up from the government style, as well. I'd say go for it if you're on the fence.