rock island 1911s

[Shootin 4 Fun]

It's a 1911, one of the sexiest guns ever, but if you expect any 1911 to not have failures out of the box, your expectations are too high.

With that being said, I really like my RIA 1911 in 9mm. Here's a tactical model with the adjustable sights and beaver tail safety. http://e-sarcoinc.com/pist-rockisltacticalm911a145pistol.aspx

 

[HackerF15E]

I own several different 1911s, from high end to low end...and the RIA is as good as any of them.

You have to be careful when you evaluate the RIA -- they're an exceptional pistol for the money, but you have to still understand that this is a base model pistol. Many on the internet rave about them, and certainly mine (a pre-2006 model with the cast slide) is certainly as accurate, well made, and fun to shoot as any other 1911 I've ever owned. Be careful to not get swept away in all the praise and go thinking you're going to be getting a Les Baer for $400 -- again, above all it's still a budget 1911.

The frame is cast, but if your RIA was made after 2006 the slide is forged barstock. Although some make a big deal of that fact, the reality is that quality cast 1911s (like Caspians) have been on the market for decades without significant quality problems or breakage. The same goes for the MIM parts; of course MIM parts are more prone to breakage than tool steel parts, we're talking about slivers of percentages in quality difference. For the average shooter, you're not going to ever shoot enough rounds to ever see the difference between a RIA with a cast frame and MIM parts and another 1911 with a forged frame and tool steel parts. If you're Rob Leatham, maybe it matters. For the rest of us, it's mostly a bunch of internet hot air that a lot of people get needlessly caught up in.

I put together a photo-comparison of the RIA 5" and the Springfield GI, since those two are often compared. IMHO, the RIA comes out the 'winner' based on quality of the individual parts and fit-and-finish, but judge for yourself.

http://www.thehighroad.us/showthread.php?t=414414

 

[grwd]

Nice photo essay, but did you do anything to compare the dimensional specifications? Measure any stuff like barrel lockup, bushing tolerances, frame hole relationships?

 

[JD8]

It's a 1911, one of the sexiest guns ever, but if you expect any 1911 to not have failures out of the box, your expectations are too high.

Yeah yeah yeah and you can't shoot a Glock .40 without it blowing up your hand. Internet cliches are cool.

Nice photo essay, but did you do anything to compare the dimensional specifications? Measure any stuff like barrel lockup, bushing tolerances, frame hole relationships?

You mean there's a reason Springfields are used as base guns and RIAs are not?




To the OP, RIAs are neat little guns for the money. However just like Olyeller said, if you want to do mods the Springfield is definately the way to go.

 

[GUN DOG]

I bought a used very little 5 in tactical. It is alot of fun & eats anything I feed it, gold dot, golden sabers ball & swc's. It did choke on some reloads but the brass was out of my p90 & the chamber on the RIA is alot tighter, it was not the guns fault. I did not know how I would like 1911's & they are fun. I will hang onto it & shoot it but I will probably get a higher end one in the future. My son loves to shoot it.
The parkerizing is a little week It would be a good candidate to duracoat for fun one day in the future

 

[Glockwork1987]

thanks to all for the feedback... still debating on it... idk so many flavors out there.lol.

 

[whlsdn]

I recently bought a RIA Tactical. Fairly plain jane with the basic upgrades. I really like it. No failures of any kind yet. Probably haven't shot more than 200 rounds through it so far.

 

[Glockwork1987]

I recently bought a RIA Tactical. Fairly plain jane with the basic upgrades. I really like it. No failures of any kind yet. Probably haven't shot more than 200 rounds through it so far.

what kind of "basic upgrades did you do?

 

[NikatKimber]

He didn't do them. The RIA Tactical includes them. The Tactical is the "plain jane" model with a few basic upgrades.

From memory, they include:
Beavertail grip safety
Extended thumb safety
Low profile sights
Commander hammer
Skeleton trigger

 

[n423]

I own several different 1911s, from high end to low end...and the RIA is as good as any of them.

I put together a photo-comparison of the RIA 5" and the Springfield GI, since those two are often compared. IMHO, the RIA comes out the 'winner' based on quality of the individual parts and fit-and-finish, but judge for yourself.

http://www.thehighroad.us/showthread.php?t=414414

very good comparison.