Rock Island Armory 1911...any good??

[1911 guy]

Update!

The handgun I mentioned earlier in this thread has finally malfunctioned on me. When I got home I installed another recoil spring, the old one (third for this pistol) was over 1/4" shorter than the new one. I'm willing to bet this fixes my FTRTB problem.

 

[craigs380]

Does anyone know if the compact version of the RIA 1911 is available in 38 Super? I have seen the full sized version in a couple of places (Sarco for one). The Twin Pines main site shows them but I don't know if they were imported to the USA. Thanks for any information!

 

[mrcpu]

Currently .45 only... But that may change. Rumor has it there might be a 9 rolling down the pike sometime soon, but who knows.

 

[Grayrider]

I thought hard about getting on of their Supers for a 9x23/rimless .38 project, but ended up going Tanfoglio instead. The Witness's 18 round capacity won out. However, if RA does a 40 or 10mm I will take the plunge. I would love an inexpensive 1911 in 10mm to tweak a bit.

John

 

[Linkinlog]

My RIA Tactical has been excellent since day one. Over 600 rounds and still performing flawlessly. I also have a RIA 38 super but I sent it off to have a 9mm barrel fitted, so I haven't even shot it yet. I love the Rock Islands. For the money, they can't really be beat.

PS - Check out Bellshire on Gunbroker for good deals on RIAs.

 

[rondog]

I have two of them, and I'm not giving up either one. Zero problems with either one, except for hammer bite on the GI.

 

[SAS Mayhem]

I got my TACT ROCK .45 last week, All I can say it a superb pistol.

 

[CptGonzo]

Out of all my firearms, my RIA and my CZs are the last ones I'd part with. Strong words, but true. I love this 45 and have never had a failure and it's been fed the cheapest WWB to the most expensive stuff I could find around here. Highly accurate for the price, completely reliable and after the little bit of work I've put into it, I think it's kinda purty.

 

[CWL]

I am currently working on both a RIA and SA MI. I have to say that the SA is closer to specs and I have not encountered any fit problems with upgrades.

The RIA has a few items which are not machined to Colt Govt. specs and which need some hand fitting if you want to swap or switch parts. I found that the slide rails are off by less than 1mm so it won't fit onto another frame, it either needs to be sanded down, or you need to sand the slide. The diameter of the extractor hole is slightly off as well, neither of the 2 aftermarket extractors will drop in and will need to have their diameters precision sanded down in order to fit.

Lastly, some of the fit of the RIA ia not as nice as comparable SA, namely the barrel muzzle. It is sharp and probably needs to be crowned as compared to my SA which has a machine-rounded muzzle.

None of these things will affect function of a complete RIA gun, but it is just slightly less finished than SA.

 

[kansas45]

I have done quite a bit of work to my RIA GI. It was good from the first round, & didn't need anyting done to it. But you know, I just had to add that beavertail & the hammer & trigger & new sear & disconnect & sear spring & mag well. Next is a new barrell. I'm having good time working on the thing!


I also ordered a new RIA 38 Super & will pick it up this week. As far as I'm concerned, Rock Island Armory pistols are worth the money!

 

[gi-rene]

Sorry for the resurrection this thread but I was wondering if the RIA "GI" .45s can accept 7 round magazines. I'm a WW2 re-enactor and I'd like an economical 1911A1 as a backup for my unit's BAR (since I'm the only young buck that wants to hump it around). I'm hearing great things about these .45s and being a Filipino, why not get a gun from my mom's country?

 

[3fgburner]

If you mean standard Colt 1911 mags, as compare to the 8-round extendo that came with it, you betcha. All of my extra mags are standard ones. That's right down to the Colt logos on the floorplates.

 

[Mainiac]

Bought one last month and love it. It will feed anything I put in the mag. As accurate as any of my Kimbers.


Linkinlog

Neat grips, where did you get them, who's the maker.

 

[OcelotZ3]

I bought one from Bellshire on Gunbroker. So far ~75 rounds through it without a single problem.

Also put a Marvell .22lr conversion unit on it and ran another 50 rounds through it without issue.

Love the RIA...

 

[exdetsgt]

Just got a NIM parkerized RIA M1911A1. Came with a beautifully made 8 round Made-in-Italy mag. Apparently Armscor decided to ward off mag complaints. Took off the handsome wood grips and replaced with black, rubberized Pachmayer wrap-arounds, as the RIA will replace my Glock 17 as a duty gun (never fell in love with Glock triggers) and thus, in a few months, will look fairly beat-up. Took it out of the box, didn't clean/lube it, and shot several hundred rounds with groups that looked just like those of my Kimber.

There may be better buys out there for the money. Presently I don't know of any.

 

[smartshooter.45]

The Tactical is a nice shooter. quite accurate and has most the bells and whistles. the only issue ive had with mine (which was disappointing) was that the rear sight came loose and had to be remounted in the dovetail
got that fixed and its been 100% since. some custom grips and a belt clip have been added.

 

[[email protected]]

Ria 1911

I own one and love it. I paid my local smithy to smooth out the trigger, install beavertail grip safety, & refinish the exterior. A great pistol, takes any & all ammo I've tried with no FTE's or other problems.

 

[spd1303]

I love mine. works perfect

 

[[email protected]]

Ria 1911

I purchased one and love it. I had my local smithy install a combat hammer & beavertail grip safety, smooth out the trigger, and install CT laser grips. It's very accurate & dependable. I have put a number of boxes of differing ammo through it with no FTE's or other malfunctions. I did the CT laser grips due to the small iron sights. It's a great buy, and with what I've put in it, I still got a great 1911 clone at a great price. I recommend it highly ti all 1911 shoppers.

 

[Glock Holiday]

This old generic Armscor has worked fine for me.
I tend to shoot my nines (Glocks,Sigs,CZ 75) much more often but this old gun runs fine and it was pretty cheap.

 

[LWGN]

Have seen two of these recently with defective parts straight from the factory that allowed hammer to fall when releasing the slide. Armscor didn't seen surprised when the gunsmith contacted them about this, so I'm thinking this may be a known issue. I'd advise that if you are going to get one, start by replacing the mainspring, and go through extensive function testing with snapcaps before you put live rounds through it.

 

[BushyGuy]

My RIA is a piece of mother-lovin ****! 150 rounds thru it FTF after FTF, i am using ACT mag that came with it i still cant figure out why its jamming wiht ball ammo.

if it doesnt improve within 100-200 rounds it going up for sale.

 

[Strahley]

I think they are awesome guns, and the best value 1911 on the market

 

[Lvl21nerd]

But you can get a Springfield for like $100 more!

 

[BushyGuy]

MY RIA seems to feed ball ammo better now but they wont feed GDHP's i filled the mag they wont feed one round. It starts to feed the last 3 rounds out of the 8 round mag i am puzzled???