osteodoc08
July 12, 2005, 07:53 PM
As promised I am posting my experience with my new RIA Officer.
As with all gun purchases, it began innocently enough on July 2 as I strolled into my local gun shop to kill some time. I chatted with the guy behind the counter about wanting a 1911 style pistol.
We chatted some more as he took out a RIA Officer model. I inquired about his experience with it and others experience with it. He said that he hasn't had any problems with any of the RIA's that they have been selling. I was interested in the piece and told him I'd do some research about it before taking the plunge.
After I got home that afternoon I researched it and decided that it was a good buy. I took the Mrs with me on the return trip to get her approval. Once all the paperwork was done, I had to wait out the waiting period, which was very long. I was able to pick it up on July 12.
Well, I finally. took possesion of it today. After I arrived at the shop I did a quick field strip and wiped it down with some RemOil. After paying for some cheap 230gr ball ammo I proceeded to the firing line.
Previous to picking it up I bought some Chip McCormick Shooting Star mags from Midway. I hoped that they fit as I forgot to check the fit while cleaning it. Before loading anything I checked all magazines for function. All of them inserted fine and ejected fine. Cool, so far so good. I proceeded to load 5 rounds into all three magazines. The factory ACT-MAG magazine seemed to have the smoothest follower and action. The Chip mags needed to be broken in a little as the first round was a little difficult to slide in due to the design. They also had the stiffest spring.
I placed the target to 10 yards. Before starting up I rechecked all the safeties and made sure that everything functioned. I placed the factory mag into the well and slapped it home. I pressed the slide release and sent the first round into chamber. Quick and positive lock-up. I then concentrated as best I could on the cheap target I bought. It was a little hard to focus the factory black sites on the black background. I squeezed the trigger and Bam! Cool first shot down range. The trigger was better than expected. I am used to a SA/DA trigger on my P89. This was a dream. It was creep free with a crisp break of around 5 1/2lbs or so. A little heavier than I like, but less than I expect from most guns these days. I proceeded with the next 4 rounds. Slide was left open as to be expected. They were all centered top to bottom on the x ring, but were about 2-3 inches to the left. I then went through the next 2 magazines in no time at all.
I then loaded the mags to max capacity of 7 for the Chips and 6 for the factory and focused all shots on the center target. I quickly proceeded to tear a solid hole about 2-3 inches to the left of center with an occasional flier.
Overall, I shot 100 rounds of cheap 230gr ball ammo. No malfunctions whatsoever. All rounds fed, went boom, and were extracted. I need to play with the extractor tension a little as the cases would go up and hit me in the head from time to time. Accuracy was better than I hoped for. I think with a better target, lighting, and a drift adjustment I will be able to tear the center out of the x ring. The only thing I'll probably change is to swap out for a beavertail safety as I had some hammer bite.
When I get some better ammo and better shooting conditions, I'll go for some accuracy testing. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away.
As with all gun purchases, it began innocently enough on July 2 as I strolled into my local gun shop to kill some time. I chatted with the guy behind the counter about wanting a 1911 style pistol.
We chatted some more as he took out a RIA Officer model. I inquired about his experience with it and others experience with it. He said that he hasn't had any problems with any of the RIA's that they have been selling. I was interested in the piece and told him I'd do some research about it before taking the plunge.
After I got home that afternoon I researched it and decided that it was a good buy. I took the Mrs with me on the return trip to get her approval. Once all the paperwork was done, I had to wait out the waiting period, which was very long. I was able to pick it up on July 12.
Well, I finally. took possesion of it today. After I arrived at the shop I did a quick field strip and wiped it down with some RemOil. After paying for some cheap 230gr ball ammo I proceeded to the firing line.
Previous to picking it up I bought some Chip McCormick Shooting Star mags from Midway. I hoped that they fit as I forgot to check the fit while cleaning it. Before loading anything I checked all magazines for function. All of them inserted fine and ejected fine. Cool, so far so good. I proceeded to load 5 rounds into all three magazines. The factory ACT-MAG magazine seemed to have the smoothest follower and action. The Chip mags needed to be broken in a little as the first round was a little difficult to slide in due to the design. They also had the stiffest spring.
I placed the target to 10 yards. Before starting up I rechecked all the safeties and made sure that everything functioned. I placed the factory mag into the well and slapped it home. I pressed the slide release and sent the first round into chamber. Quick and positive lock-up. I then concentrated as best I could on the cheap target I bought. It was a little hard to focus the factory black sites on the black background. I squeezed the trigger and Bam! Cool first shot down range. The trigger was better than expected. I am used to a SA/DA trigger on my P89. This was a dream. It was creep free with a crisp break of around 5 1/2lbs or so. A little heavier than I like, but less than I expect from most guns these days. I proceeded with the next 4 rounds. Slide was left open as to be expected. They were all centered top to bottom on the x ring, but were about 2-3 inches to the left. I then went through the next 2 magazines in no time at all.
I then loaded the mags to max capacity of 7 for the Chips and 6 for the factory and focused all shots on the center target. I quickly proceeded to tear a solid hole about 2-3 inches to the left of center with an occasional flier.
Overall, I shot 100 rounds of cheap 230gr ball ammo. No malfunctions whatsoever. All rounds fed, went boom, and were extracted. I need to play with the extractor tension a little as the cases would go up and hit me in the head from time to time. Accuracy was better than I hoped for. I think with a better target, lighting, and a drift adjustment I will be able to tear the center out of the x ring. The only thing I'll probably change is to swap out for a beavertail safety as I had some hammer bite.
When I get some better ammo and better shooting conditions, I'll go for some accuracy testing. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away.