Experiences with Rock Island Tactical 9mm 1911

[possum]

Hello,

I know there are a lot of folks on this board and others that have or have used various RIA 1911's. I have as well, however I have no experience at all with their 9mm tactical 1911. I would love to hear thoughts of those that own(ed) one/ used one in the past. My key question being: how is reliability?

I do not plan to use this as a defensive tool, It most likely will be used as a steel plate match gun, action pistol and in other gun games. Though it is not going to be used in a defensive role, I can't stand an unreliable gun. Thanks in advance.

 

[wally]

Love this pistol, but my wife has claimed it. Great shooter!
Mine ran 100% out of the box although I had a few nose dives with some Metalform mags from CDNN that was easily fixed with Wolf replacement springs. We bought 33 mags and needed four replacement springs.

 

[possum]

wally,

Thanks. How many rounds do you think that you have total through the gun? Also so metalform is the way to go then? If I was wanting to get some 10rd mags which ones would you recommend?

Thanks again.

 

[Dafish2011]

RIA 9mm

If you polish the ramp and any rough spots on the RIA's and put in an adjustable trigger along with decent mags they can be good guns.

I have the 38 super, also have a 9mm barrel for it and the .45 tactical.

Zero problems with either after 1000+ rounds.

I had a friend that had FTF's right out of the box but after some polishing the gun is very reliable.

 

[natgas]

Mine has served me well for about 2 years; hardly ever a failure; used strictly for target shooting; nice trigger and well balanced

 

[possum]

thanks.

 

[ET]

Almost bought one last year. I bought a TCP instead. I'm an idiot! (I hope I don't get banned for calling a member an idiot!) It was one that had a chromed looking frame, black slide with gold lettering, with a polished stainless barrel at a price of $550. The salesman told me it was tuned for competition, but it was at a hardware store, so I didn't quite believe him. Good looking 1911. My TCP is going back to the factory for ejection problems. I'm sure there is a joke here somewhere. Somehow I think it could be me...

 

[wally]

We are well over 3000 rounds through it so far, mostly my hard cast 147gr reloads with some cheap steel case FMJ run through it at the end of every outing.

Only taken it apart for a good cleaning twice so far.

I don't see any need to change anything on the "Tactical" model.

I don't know of any 10 round 9mm 1911 mags. The flush fit standard mags hold 9 rounds, don't see it being worth the trouble to gain only one round.

I've some CMC 10 round .45ACP mags, I rarely use them because I don't like the way they hang down below the grip. YMMV.

As far as I know your only choices are Checkmate (what my RIA 9mm came with), Metalform, or "factory mags" from some other company that makes a 1911 in 9mm like Colt, Taurus, Kimber, etc. These are unlikely to be cost effective and may in fact just be Checkmate or Metalform with a different logo on the baseplate.

 

[w2fnt]

Nice gun for the money!

 

[possum]

We are well over 3000 rounds through it so far, mostly my hard cast 147gr reloads with some cheap steel case FMJ run through it at the end of every outing.

Only taken it apart for a good cleaning twice so far.

This is great to see. Most people say something to the effect of "well I have 200rds through it......." so I am glad to see that you have put a good number of rounds through it.

I don't see any need to change anything on the "Tactical" model.

I don't know of any 10 round 9mm 1911 mags. The flush fit standard mags hold 9 rounds, don't see it being worth the trouble to gain only one round

One add on that I was going to make was to put a mag funnel on, and this is one reason I was looking at the 10rd mags. They would give me the excess out the bottom of the mag-well that I would need for use with the mag funnel.

Otherwise I don't plan to change much if anything, maybe a different rear site (90 degree) for one handed work, and maybe a fiber optic front.

 

[wally]

and maybe a fiber optic front

A fiber optic front works very nicely with the Novak's plain black rear on the Tactical. I've got one on my RIA Tactical .45ACP.

Few places list the sites for RIA, but I used a Dawson FO front for a Kimber and it took only a few strokes of a jeweler's file on the sight to get it to drift in nice and tight. Dawson includes an aluminum drift when you buy their sights and has some videos to show you some tips about doing it yourself.

Just make sure you measure carefully to get the correct height for the sight picture you prefer.

 

[possum]

Dawson FO front

this is exactly what I was planing on going with.

Just make sure you measure carefully to get the correct height for the sight picture you prefer.

I will keep that in mind, thanks for all the great tips and info.

How has the .45 Tactical performed for you so far?

 

[klutchless]

My 45 c model has ran @ 2000 fmj and 200-300 hp only two malfunctions both ftf both my fault didn't have the mag seated properly.tap & rack ready to go.

 

[KingMedicine]

My Rock Island 1911 9mm tac has been great. Never had a jam or missfire. Accurate and a pleasure to shoot. Just make sure you take it apart and clean it up before you shoot it when you buy it. The Trigger and other parts needed to be sanded down smooth...

 

[wally]

How has the .45 Tactical performed for you so far?

Totally outstanding!

My oldest RIA is the standard model .45ACP 1911 which I put a J-Point red dot sight on, its over 15000 rounds. The Tactiacl is realtively new only about 6000 rounds through it, I do almost as well with the FO front as I do the red dot so I've been shooting it and the 9mm the most lately. I suspect the 9mm will catch up fast as its so much cheaper to shoot!

 

[possum]

My 45 c model has ran @ 2000 fmj and 200-300 hp only two malfunctions both ftf both my fault didn't have the mag seated properly.tap & rack ready to go.

thank you.

My Rock Island 1911 9mm tac has been great. Never had a jam or missfire.

how many rounds do you think that you have through it?

Totally outstanding!

My oldest RIA is the standard model .45ACP 1911 which I put a J-Point red dot sight on, its over 15000 rounds. The Tactiacl is realtively new only about 6000 rounds through it, I do almost as well with the FO front as I do the red dot so I've been shooting it and the 9mm the most lately. I suspect the 9mm will catch up fast as its so much cheaper to shoot!

Awesome, those are the kinds of round counts I am looking for. I guess you are a pretty big fan of the Rocks huh?

Thanks again wally for all the great info.