[clone]

whats the good the bad and the ugly on these pistol's. what should i look for when im looking at the gun to tell if its good or not. im new to 1911's and im looking into geting a RI 1911 for a plinker, a HD gun and a carry gun for stalking the woods. please keep it to first hand knowledge.

[SpiderJohn]

My first hand experience?

The highlights:
1. $300 out the door.
2. 2500+ rounds so far no fail to feeds, no fail to fires, no fail to ejects.
3. No modifications required. No ramp polishing, etc.

the downsides:
1. Don't much care for the finish. Doesn't seem to like IWB carry too much.
2. The sights are functional, typical Mil spec type. Could be better.

My only gripe is more about me than anything. I get bit by the hammer a bit more than I would like. Thinking about putting a beaver tail grip safety on.


I do like them and will get another or two when I can justify the need. Great guns for the price.

[whm1974]

1. $300 out the door.
2. 2500+ rounds so far no fail to feeds, no fail to fires, no fail to ejects.
3. No modifications required. No ramp polishing, etc.


I may get one myself then. I want a 1911 but not to pay close to $1000 for one.

-Bill

[clone]

will 1911 parts and mags from other brands work with RIA 1911's?

[MarineTech]

will 1911 parts and mags from other brands work with RIA 1911's?

Depends on which parts and mags you're speaking about and which model RIA you get.

The RIA's are a cheap way to ease into the 1911 world and see if they're for you.

As far as magazines are concerned, standard 1911 magazines work in the RIA. How well they work depends on your particular gun. I've owned 6 different 1911s in my life and each of them preferred magazines from a different manufacturer. Get a few different types and find out what works for you.

When it comes to parts, it's anybody's ball game. Cruise the Gunsmithing forum and you'll see that even parts marked "Drop in" do not necessarily do so for every pistol out there. That's part of the charm about the 1911. Think of it as the muscle car of the gun world. It's made to tinker with and thanks to the huge number of parts out there, you can tinker to your hearts content and customize the gun exactly how you want it.

[Kramer Krazy]

I currently own three Colt 1911s, and just picked up a RIA 1911-A1 as my "tinker/plinker/stinker" 1911 (and picked one up for the wife - paid $295 each). I can't really put in too much opinion here, as the wife's RIA and mine only have about 200 rounds, each through them, so far.

Mine - Has functioned flawlessly and is quite accurate at 15 yds. Didn't like to release the slide with the supplied empty mag (even when using both thumbs with a lot of force), two "el cheapo" mags that work wonderfully in all my Colts won't work with the RIA, and my metalform "Colt" mag that came with my 1989 Government model Colt works well. The sites aren't too bad, but I painted the ramp flourescent green and did a goal-post outline of the rear one in white. The finish seems to scratch a bit easily. Hammer-bite almost seems to be more than my Colts, but I didn't shoot them side-by-side. I also added some Hogue, finger-groove rubber grips. Thinking of installing a beavertail.

Wife's - Had the same magazine issues that mine had. The gun had two FTF, as the round didn't go completely to battery. This was solved with more oil on the rails. Painted the sites the same as mine. She has shot both guns and says hers shoots better for her. I haven't shot her RIA, yet.

* The slide release got much better the more I played with them. Also, both guns have only eaten WWB 230 gr FMJ, so far.

[wally]

So far the RIA parts I've needed to replace are bone stock. Out of the box mine worked 100% with the included magazine, but many others from my motly assortment (enough to pre-load 500 rounds for an attack on the plate rack) wouldn't lock the slide back. A quick call to Armscor had a replacement slide lock in my hands three days later which solved the problem. My Kimber BP Pro was also having problems locking the slide back reliably so on a lark I took the RIA slide stop I'd replaced and tried it in the Kimber BP Pro and problem solved. Tolerence stack up is a funny thing.

Yesterday I had the link break into two pieces right smack at 90 and 270 degrees on the hole that the slide lock goes thru turning the gun into a single shot. POS had barely 3500 rounds thru it :) I had a Wilson link in the parts bin from when I was playing around with their "Group Gripper" guide rod years ago in my Norinco (didn't do anything worthwhile so I removed it). Link was a perfect fit after I broke the front edges of it so it'd swing free, was binding a tad (fingers could force it) as it rotated up so the barrel would be pulled down. Put 250 rounds thru it this morning without issues. I'll be cleaning it carefully later for another inspection, I hadn't cleaned it for probably 1500 rounds when the link broke. I didn't see any wear on the inside of the broken link or the slide lock lever. Nor did I find any extra wear or "peaning" of the frame or underside of the barrel and lugs. At this point all I can say is stuff breaks, maybe this one didn't get the right heat treatment and was brittle.

I still think they are very good for the money, but if you don't want the "GI" configuration don't get the RIA, get the Armscor Enhanced 45 for $50-75 more which has Novak's sights, ambi safety, bevertail grip safety with skeletonized hammer and IMHO better finish and grips.

I got the RIA because I wanted a gun to put a J-point red dot sight on and the small GI front sight would be out of the way. "GI dovetail" J-point mounting plate was a perfect fit after removing the RIA rear sight. I don't have a problem with the GI safety or standard grip safety and spur hammer and prefer the flat mainspring housing. Did I mention that the out of the box triiger was so close to as good as my 2X+ more expenisve Kimbers that it was scary. As to the finish, it may not be pretty, but mine has proven to be very durable and scratch resistant.

--wally

[Thrash1982]

Mine has worked 100 % barring a goofy magazine borrowed from a friend. I bought it as a project gun to upgrade and switch out parts as I have money. Unfortunately I haven't yet because my AR has been taking most of my attention. I really like the parkerized finish on mine. Very even. Maybe not very durable though. I'm seeing some holster wear on the frame dust cover but haven't been using it in a holster very long. Eventually i'm going to Duracoat it anyway. The sights are the typical, tiny GI sights (those are getting replaced to). Being GI spec it also has the standard grip safety which doesn't protect much from hammer bite (again, replacing that along with hammer). The trigger pull on it is great. Overall, great guns to get into 1911s with. They are accurate and reliable and are suprisingly smooth for their price range.

[SpookyPistolero]

Just to give you another option that's well below the 'high grade' 1911s in cost, you should look at the springfield mil-spec and GI. The GI retails for just a bit over $400 I believe, and is pretty close to original specs (the search function would be invaluable to find out more about these). The mil-spec is a bit different with a lowered and flared ejection port and some better 3-dot sights. I believe these are around $500. They also make a better 'base' if you're looking to mod the pistol later.

Anyway, springfield has a good reputation for customer service and makes a good product. Just another option.

[Spot77]

Good thread - I was looking at thee yesterday. My local shop has them for $359 ( I know......that sounds high, but this is MD after all) and since I'm a member of that particular range I might be able to swing a better deal on their annual one night members only sale coming up.....

[clone]

yea tinkering with it is a given, after all isnt that what guns are for? ;) after a while i figured it would end up a project gun, but im hopeing that these are good out of the box and are ok about accepting parts from other brand's. i have the dremel part covered so minor fiting isnt a problem.

[Longbow]

I have an Armscor (parent company of RIA) with close to 8k now with no failures of any kind. Some members here www.1911forum.com , share my experience. I'de say go for it. I consider it to be one of my best buys.

[clone]

no one has any bad experiences to report?

i went to the local gun shop today and they tryed to talk me out of geting one, said they were hit or miss. that i should get a Springfield GI instead. :rolleyes:

[BluesBear]

and they tryed to talk me out of geting one...that i should get a Springfield GI instead.Lemme guess what they had the most of in stock? :scrutiny:

[WillBrayJr]

The RIA used to be a good deal until the climbed to $450.00 Now Springfield's GI is the best deal on basic 1911A1s.

[Longbow]

The RIA used to be a good deal until the climbed to $450.00 Now Springfield's GI is the best deal on basic 1911A1s.

They're still <$400 in my area (South Texas). More like, $315 before fees.

[MarineTech]

The RIA used to be a good deal until the climbed to $450.00 Now Springfield's GI is the best deal on basic 1911A1s.

You might want to start shopping somewhere else. That's definately well above the normal price for them.

Picked mine up 2 months ago for $325 out the door.

[Kramer Krazy]

The RIA used to be a good deal until the climbed to $450.00 Now Springfield's GI is the best deal on basic 1911A1s.
I bought two of them, two weeks ago, today, for $295 each ($309.75 OTD each).

[Seraph]

Prices obviously vary a lot per region. Around here, in Knoxville, TN, I've seen them from $379 to $419. :eek: A couple of years ago, they were in the $339 range.

Compare one side by side with the Springfield GI. I won't say the RIA is crap, but the Springfield is easily worth the price difference.

[MrAcheson]

I bought mine for $320 a few months ago. I may have had one round fail to feed on the first mag. Nothing since and I've been shooting it a lot. The trigger was great out of the box.

I think I'm going to turn it into an experiment on how cheap I can go with a 1911 and still be reliable. I've put a pair of $20 Navidrex grips on it and bought a bunch of $14 McCormick mags that work just fine. I'll probably either paint or serrate the front and rear sight for improved visibility. The GI spur hammer bites my brother so I'll fix that by taking a little off with a dremel.

[Terminus]

I bought my RIA about six months ago at a gun show for $289 and it's functioned flawlessly over about 2,900 rounds. It rattles and the finish dosen't wear well, but it's reliable and more accurate than it's owner.

I've swapped the trigger, grip safety, hammer, and sear to Wilson and CMC with relative ease for a newbie. At some point, I'll do a GunKote refinish.

[chuck pullen]

I agree w/ everything SpiderJohn said. They are excellent bargains. I own, or have owned, a Colt1991 Commander; a SW 1911; a kimber Ultra Carry II, and a RIA 5". The only one that was unreliable (and is now gone) was the Colt. The RIA clicks right along.

[Spot77]

Woohoo!

I just bought an RIA 1911 tonight for $329 new!!!!

That's about the best price I think I could hope for here in Maryland.

Unfortunately, y'all will have to wait another 8 days to get a range report.

:banghead: :cuss: :fire: :banghead: stupid waiting period!

[horge]

You're complaining about an 8 day waiting period, Spot?
Pfffhhhh... in my country, we are made to wait 3-6 weeks. Sometimes longer.
:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Converted from Philippine pesos, retail for a RIA here is around US$ 325,
before licensing fees and whatnot. The rollmark-is-the-only-difference
Armscor "GI" pings about US$255, but they're getting real scarce.



horge

[1911Tuner]

I had the opportunity to eyeball a pair of RIAs Sunday, belonging to Kramer and wife. I was duly impressed at the fit and finish. hers had a little issue returning to battery, but I think we got that nailed.

Inside story:

Cast small parts, (not MIM) which was expected. No obvious bad castings noted, but with castings, one never knows.

Wally...on that broken link...that might be bad news at some point down the road. Since the link unlocks the barrel and gets it out of the slide's way...
and yours probably didn't do that, the barrel and slide probably crashed pretty hard when the slide cycled. Keep an eye on the junction of the lower lug and the barrel at the rear corner. It may crack soon. Also watch the
locking lugs for signs of impending failure at the front junctions. When a gun crashes like that, it generally shears off a lug (or lugs) within about 2500-3000 rounds. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings...

[Spot77]

You're complaining about an 8 day waiting period, Spot?



My sympathies go out to you, but even a one day waiting period is wrong (especially since I already own more than a dozen guns.....is THIS going to be the magic gun that I use in a murdering rampage? *)

None of my bordering states have this (except DE perhaps?)


But hey, you're right, a little bit of oppression and government people control is certainly more acceptable than a lot of it :rolleyes:


Interesting though, that we still pay the same price for the gun even though it gets shipped half way around the world so I can buy it.









* Analogy stolen from another poster somewhere

[horge]

...even a one day waiting period is wrong (especially since I already own more than a dozen guns.....is THIS going to be the magic gun that I use in a murdering rampage? *)Some feel that our waiting periods come close to inducing a 'murdering rampage'.
Hah.


Interesting though, that we still pay the same price for the gun even though it gets shipped half way around the world so I can buy it.
What's really interesting is that Armscor ammo costs nearly twice as much over here as it does there: "gun control" via gun-specific taxes.
Once in awhile Armscor does gunshow super-sales, and then you can pick up,
say, a 1911 in 9mm for only about US$150, so I guess things arent all bad.

[Spot77]

Hmmm..... I don't ever recall seeing Armscor ammo here, but I'll keep an eye out for it.

One would think that their ammo would work well in the RIA 1911's. ;)

[Onmilo]

I'm going to throw my two pennies in the pot here,,,,
RIA, Armscor, Auto Ordinance, the 1911s Kahr was putting out, all these guns are Phillipine versions of the 1911.

I have worked on a heck of a lot of .45 pistols in over twenty years and this is my observation on these guns.

All are investment cast frame and slide, all are quite good castings.
All of them come with suprisingly good barrels.
ALL of them leave a lot to be desired in internal part quality, it varies from fairly good to atrocious with no real rhyme or reason to the pattern.

All of these guns are good starter points for someone interested in .45 automatics and all can be made into fairly spectacular guns.

All of the frames and slides blue and plate well.
If your solution is clean you won't get a suprise purple or copper colored pistol.
All sight dovetails have been well cut and the slides are easy to machine and they do not work harden or become soft after a pass or two of the cutting tool so sight changes are an option to consider.

These aren't bad pistols, we here in the states have just become accustomed to really excellent .45 caliber 1911 pistols right from the American made boxes.

[1911Tuner]

Onmilo,

Thanks for the input. I haven't seen many of'em, and can't make a call on how good or bad they are based on the few that I've seen. The two that I had here Sunday were the only ones I've looked at closely, and only one was opened up.

Also note that they have the blocky frontstrap instead of the standard radius cut. May be an issue for some...not for others. I prefer the standard cut, but can live with the squarish ones if the gun is reliable.

[mpthole]

If you haven't already, run a search on Rock Island Armory in this forum and the gunsmithing forum. If you're going to shoot many 1k's of rounds, plan on replacing certain items: extractor, ejector, recoil spring plug, barrel bushing and (maybe) the front site. All of those items were replaced on my RIA due to breakage.

After having similar problems with more expensive 1911's, I'd still buy a RIA and just plan on upgrading some of the parts.

[Arch]

check out the "gun tests magazine" web page. They did a report on the Rock Island 1911s a while back, that is available on their web page.

In synopsis, they said it was a cheap gun, with sloppy tollerances.

[BluesBear]

The Thompson 45s are Phillipine guns?

:confused:

[MrAcheson]

check out the "gun tests magazine" web page. They did a report on the Rock Island 1911s a while back, that is available on their web page.

In synopsis, they said it was a cheap gun, with sloppy tollerances.The problem with Gun Tests is that they do all their testing on a statistical sample of one. They buy a single firearm, assume it is representative, and then say whether that whole model line is good or not. If you have a lick of sense, you can tell something is wrong with that.

If you want to pay good money for Gun Tests, then fine. I wouldn't pay money for it, but I know people who do. But their results really shouldn't carry a lot of weight. They are hardly definitive. Especially after you read the letters to the editor in the back of the magazine which says how much they screw up every month. A good thread on this board, where many knowledgeable owners of a firearm make comments, is worth far more than any issue of gun tests.

[wally]

Wally...on that broken link...that might be bad news at some point down the road. Since the link unlocks the barrel and gets it out of the slide's way...
and yours probably didn't do that, the barrel and slide probably crashed pretty hard when the slide cycled. Keep an eye on the junction of the lower lug and the barrel at the rear corner. It may crack soon. Also watch the
locking lugs for signs of impending failure at the front junctions. When a gun crashes like that, it generally shears off a lug (or lugs) within about 2500-3000 rounds. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings...

Was over 3500 rounds thru it when it broke. I was worried exactly for the reasons you mention as its been so reliable I'd not cleaned it in over 2000 rounds. But I could find no evidence of any peening or finish wear on the frame. Got ~500 rounds on the replacement link so far and I still see no peening or signs of abnormal wear or impact on either the barrel or frame. If anything crashed hard, sure left no evidence of it.

It was interesting slide didn't cycle. Got the full recoil, and nothing when I pulled the trigger again. Noticed the hammer was down and when I went to tap-rack-bang I couldn't pull back the slide! Dropped the mag, thumb cocked the hammer and slowly cycled the slide and out popped an empty. Curious, so I put in the mag and chambered a round and fired again. Same result. So I unloaded the gun and put it away until I got home. Broken link was obvious. I'm guessing improper heat treatment so the link was brittle and just broke. Time will tell, I'll be watching it carefully the next few thousand rounds.

What impresses me most about the Armscor made guns I have is the great crisp trigger pull -- compares very favorably to my much more expensive Kimbers out of the box.

--wally.

[BluesBear]

I also noticed the nice trigger pulls with the few Armscor guns I have fired.
The first one I ever fired (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=1471491) was right out of the box and the trigger was very nice.

I guess they decided to spend more time on the trivial stuff like getting the sear/hammer/safety arrangement right and less time on the more important stuff like polishing the inside of the dust cover. :rolleyes:

[1911Tuner]

Wally,

The link probably broke because it was stopping the barrel instead of the vertical impact surface, and was being stretched, and reached the point of no return. Do a quick test. Recoil system removed, and the slidestop inserted through the frame and link with the arm hanging vertically...Pull the slide back and hold it while you push the barrel down and back firmly. Will the slidestp swing freely, or is it in a bind? If it gets into a bind, you may have a problem with the location of the vertical impact surface. If the barrel is hitting the frame bed before the impact surface, the stop will probably swing, but the link will still be stretched, just not as bad as it will if the impact surface is too far rearward. This condition sometimes results in the stop getting into a very light bind. It will move with a light flick of your fingertip and stop. That won't really hurt anything. If it's being stretched so badly that the arm is hard to move, it can not only stretch the link and break
it...it can actually pull the lower lug off the barrel or even crack the chamber floor. I had a Colt NRM on the bench yesterday that did just that. Owner noticed strange U-shaped bulges in the middle of his brass and brought it straight from the range. I'd guess that another 200 rounds would have
finished the job. Bad JuJu for sure. Keep an eye on the lower lug/barrel junction and the chamber. The crack may be hard to see...so you'll have
to get it clean and look hard.

[wally]

Replacement Wilson Link seems to pass this test. IF I really lean on the barrel the lever won't move by its own weight, but it sure isn't binding taking only a light touch to rotate it. With the barrel out of the slide but linked to the frame, while pressing the barrel against the impact surface I can easily pull out the slide lock lever.

I'll be cleaning it and inspecting it after every time out for next few thousand rounds.

--wally.

[Spot77]

Time to revive this thread from the dead for a minute.

I picked up my new RIA 1911 last week and finally got to try it out today.

Loaded the factory mag with 8 rounds and fired the first 7 with no problem. Accuracy sucked, but I've always stunk with 1911's and figured I needed to warm up a bit anyway.

The 8th round didn't feed :(

I was a bit disappointed, but then I remembered a lot of people saying that the factory mags were not as reliable as the high quality mags. So I loaded up again and...........all 8 fired and fed properly. After a while, it became difficult to chamber the first round though.

On about the 4th mag, accuracy was improving pretty decently, getting 4" groups at 25 feet with an oddball flyer every once in a while. The ammo was Georgia Arms 230 grain reloads, which all fired and fed perfectly in my Ruger P97 and eventually in my new 1911.

The sights on the gun seem pretty decent, and I love the way it feels in my hand. I can definitely see myself falling in love with 1911's once I have a lot more range time under my belt.

The finish is about like what previous posters have stated: marginal, and it seems like it will burnish pretty easily. But I knew that ahead of time, and it is only a $329 pistol. It should work fine for its intended purpose (for me at least): a low cost 1911 that will go bang every time and be upgradable if I figure out what I want to do to it. I'm not too concerned about the finish.

Oh, the trigger was pretty decent. Short pull with little slack in it. I would say the trigger is above average for a gun in this price range.

Hope this helps to all who are considering buying one of these guns.

[Kramer Krazy]

Since I last posted on this thread, I've added a Wilson Combat "drop-in" beavertail grip safety and a Wilson Combat lightweight combat-style hammer. The hammer required some work and a helpful phone call to 1911Tuner. I really like shooting the gun and have 400-500 rounds through it without any problems. The painted sights make shooting it a lot better.

Missashot's FTF with her gun was cured with a "look-see" from 1911Tuner and a little work on it to cure a stem-bind that was causing the FTF's. I guess the wife liked the gun so much, that she went out and bought a stainless S&W 1911 that already had everything done to it that she was talking about doing to the RIA (beavertail, hammer, trigger, extended safety). She's tickled with both of them and will use the RIA as a plinker/tinker/carry gun. The S&W will be a range toy. Now, I just need to remind myself to quit outshooting her with her own guns. ;)

I also need to buy a reloading set-up to be able to afford shooting these as much as we have been. :D

[Longbow]

I also need to buy a reloading set-up to be able to afford shooting these as much as we have been. :D

Go DILLON! 550B to be exact.

[1911Tuner]

I always do extra-special tunin' on pistols for pretty ladies.:D