Finally joined the 1911 Club

[JD8]

Yep you are right I don't have experience with premium 1911's. I have only owned a GI spec RIA. But to me that gun was near perfect. My only gripes were the sights. I have been shown real nice Wilson and Les Baer custom 1911's and the first thing I ask them is "When was the last time you shot it?" Most can't even remember, only one person answered that he had shot his within the past year. I'm too poor to own safe queens, everything I own gets shot or it gets sold.

Yeah, anecdotes are cool stories for sure. By the same token the last RIA I saw, spit its recoil spring and broken plug downrange after 50 rounds.

Can't remember the last person I saw with an RIA with any honest wear either.....

As someone who spent a couple of years shooting old government surplus 1911s that you could shake and listen to the slide rattle, the RIA Tactical is a vast improvement and almost as good as a custom 1911 I owned back in the early 80s. If I was into competitive shooting I might feel differently but for my needs as a defensive sidearm and occasional plinker is just fine.

Can't really speak for what you owned but early RIA slides were extrusions.... highly doubtful it would be a step up from something built in the 80s.

Now some people might consider what I'm saying as bashing, but the reality is that if one wants to compare RIAs to custom 1911s then they just don't know any better or don't really shoot that much.

Consider what one looks like after a number of rounds..... such as this Baer....

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=273937

and get back to me...

I will say this though, a Norinco would put up a better round count than an RIA due to better steel, small parts, and a chrome lined barrel and they WERE dirt cheap.

 

[RickN]

Well I now have about 2000 rounds through mine with no problems, well none after I bought some good mags.

 

[JD8]

Well I now have about 2000 rounds through mine with no problems, well none after I bought some good mags.

That's great........... the link I posted shows the wear after 25,000 rounds.

 

[RickN]

That's great........... the link I posted shows the wear after 25,000 rounds.

Good for them. The POS government models I have fired probably had 2 to 3 times that run through them and the RIAs I own are still better. At least I can hit something with them.

 

[JD8]

Good for them. The POS government models I have fired probably had 2 to 3 times that run through them and the RIAs I own are still better. At least I can hit something with them.

It's interesting that you are comparing, by your words, a gun that has 2000 words vs what you say is a 50,000 to 75,000rd 1911. Not that it really has anything to do with what I'm saying about the previous comparison about custom 1911s. Still don't know what you owned in the 80s, but I'd wager it's a far cry from any Les Baer made today.

 

[RickN]

It's interesting that you are comparing, by your words, a gun that has 2000 words vs what you say is a 50,000 to 75,000rd 1911. Not that it really has anything to do with what I'm saying about the previous comparison about custom 1911s. Still don't know what you owned in the 80s, but I'd wager it's a far cry from any Les Baer made today.

I have no idea who made the custom 1911 I owned back in the 80s. I bought it from a former co-worker and all I remember about it was a stripled frame and I think a Bo-Mar rib with target sites. The gun was very accurate but no more reliable then my RIA.

As for comparing the RIA to the government surplus 1911s, it made as much sense to me as you trying to compare a firearm I have owed about a year to a heavily used custom, IE nothing. You are trying to say that modern customs are so much better then an RIA and I am saying that for the average shooter they are not. For the price of some customs a shooter can buy 2 of a lesser brand plus a whole lot of ammo to practice with. I have never been a 1911 snob, I am a shooter.

 

[YakBasser]

Congrats on the Purchase. VERY Nice Piece!

 

[JD8]

You are trying to say that modern customs are so much better then an RIA and I am saying that for the average shooter they are not. For the price of some customs a shooter can buy 2 of a lesser brand plus a whole lot of ammo to practice with. I have never been a 1911 snob, I am a shooter.

Has nothing to do with being a "snob," it's just that a "shooter" has a different meaning in my book or rather, a much higher standard. Say for instance seeing an Ed Brown after 20K+, all the way up to Eric Fuson's Wilson after 80K rounds. Personally, I'm losing accurate round count with my Les Baer but I'd say it's got at least 5-6K through it by my hands and it was bought used and it's barely broken in, as you STILL can't even come close to stripping it by hand.

I actually agree for a good number of shooters they aren't going to make a bit of difference. In the same sense of the criticisms against custom owners leaving their guns in the safe, I've seen a ton of 1911 newbies call their entry level gun good after ~50-100 rounds. Like I said earlier the more experience someone has with the different tiers the more they realize what works and what doesn't and I'm talking about WAY more than 2K rounds through one 1911.

 

[Preacherman]

Congrats on the new 1911. I am a fan of 1911's and I vote as well to see a picture when it comes in.

 

[NikatKimber]

Chill out people. GMThunder isn't saying that the RIA is an awful gun, or not worth what you paid for it, but that it's not equal to a high end custom or semi-custom 1911.