Rock Island vs Rock Island Tactical

I didn't know they offered a Standard 9mm, but I'm not surprised, just haven't seen one. I have a 9mm Tactical, and it has the upgraded hammer, trigger, dual safeties, beavertail, and better sights. It's a helluva deal compared to a Standard 1911 model, considering the minor difference in prices. RIA's are a great value.

RIA's and other Armscor-made brands are ALL cast frames, not forged. Don't sweat the cast vs. forged frame "controversy", it's not likely you'll EVER shoot a 1911 enough to wear out or break the cast frame. Generally considered a non-issue except with the ultra-anal/ultra-snobbish.

JBrady555 said:

I know that the regular is a cast frame, does the tactical have a forged frame?

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It is a non issue.

You know those super nice Caspian frames frequently found on custom raceguns?

Cast.


CZ are cast.
BHPs have been cast for decades.

nicer sights
nicer trigger
nicer hammer
bigger grip safety
sights are more easily changed out (dovetail slots)

same frame - and you're unlikely to wear out a modern cast frame. If you do, Armscor will fix it, probably by giving you a nicer new gun tuned up by their excellent 'smith department

Essentially, you'll be getting a gun that you'll be less likely to want to modify, and if you do modify it, it will be easier to do the sights. (I am always amused at the "custom" guns that have a new safety lever, new trigger/hammer, super-duper grips, a silly magwell ... ... and the stock GI sights sitting on top

He who hesitates or vasilates, finds the pistol has been bought by someone else. A choice of neither one may be yours if you waited until now to decide. A quick search of three online sales websights shows both pistols are not available, but it may be at a local gunshop. I have 2 - 9mm 1911s and they are amazing shooters.

The only reason I'm telling you this is because I can't buy one here in CA (not on our "big boy toy" DOJ list). Sarco has the Tactical 9mm in stock. Have fun.

the sights alone are worth the money
not getting hammer bite alone is worth the money (matters on your hands)

IME: the not getting hammer bite is the biggest advantage for "relatively new handgun shooter"
The sights alone are also worth the difference.

Sarco is good to deal with. Shipping is very reasonable.

it would be MUCH easier to fit an upgraded adjustable rear, and it would work with the larger front (might not with the little bitty GI front)

a drift adjustment would still be possible, a front sight swap to raise/lower POI would be easier

most Armscor guns shoot fine out of the box anyway, and you're unlikely to be needing super-fine adjustment as a newer shooter (don't take that as an insult, I just see a lot of new shooters get all worked up about mechanical accuracy when they have not yet mastered the fundamentals of pistol shooting ... hell, I've done it myself a few times, only once was the problem the gun and not me)

Is the differences in the standard vs the tactical worth the extra money to a relatively new handgun shooter with little experience with the 1911 platform?

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IMHO worth it for the better sights alone, the other stuff is basically just cosmetic, but unless you are in your 20s the GI sights can be pretty hard to use effectively.

...to the tactical, which uses a dovetail very close to a Novak cut

Here's the deal, with details, in layman's terms:

Tactical models have front and rear dovetail cuts in the slide, which the sights mount to. Those tactical sights are larger from the factory, and a closer match to more aftermarket sights.

GI models have a smaller dovetail for the rear sight, and the front sight is staked on, essentially the front sight is on a post that goes in a hole in the slide, then the post is deformed to keep the GI front sight in place.

You can change sights on a GI gun, but it will require more work. I have a GI 4" slide mounted to an officer frame, Arnel @ RIA mounted night sights to it using the smaller dovetail and the front stake-on point. With basic tools, I (or you) could swap Tactical sights, if needed. It takes more specialized parts&tools for GI sights. Given a choice, get the easier to upgrade setup, having dovetails milledin your GI slide is expensive ... unless you have a mill at your disposal it will be more expensive than getting the Tac model over the GI model is.

This doesn't mean the GI isn't a good gun, it is just a bit more challenging to shoot well.

awesome dave thanks. Things are starting to stack up in favor of the tactical for sure.

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didn't see this until I posted the big one above

you're welcome, and I was right where you are not too long ago as far as 1911s go

My first 1911 was an Armscor gun (Citadel) and I bought it because I liked it and wanted something like it. At that point I didn't know an officer size from a government size, and actually bought the Citadel compact (about the same as a RIA CS Tac). That little gun was the start of a lot of reading and research, and was also something of a "gateway gun". The Armscor 1911s keep multiplying, I'm at 4 and will probably order #5 after the holidays.

I will point out that if you want a doublestack 9mm 1911, the TCM pistol is a superb gun in either caliber, and I finished out last fall shooting mine in competition as a 9mm gun. The trade-off is that you end up needing special magazines from Armscor and it is rather wide for carry (oh, and an afterthought, it doesn't take standard grips and the stock plastic grips are sort of minimal)
But you'd get all the upgrades of the Tactical line and a pretty good capacity increase.

Unless you want a re-enactment gun for zoot shoots/wild bunch shoots (or unless you're making a "tribute gun" to match an issued sidearm from family history)... get the Tactical or TCM - it has most of the modern upgrades you'll want in the long run.

For the price difference, the Tactical is the best buy.

I had the Tactical, but sold it to buy a GI Colt.

1) Tactical functioned perfectly, never had a FTF of any kind.
2) It was actually very accurate and comfortable to shoot.

but

3) Its fit and finish were not that great--i.e., it had a lot of rough/sharp spots that really needed dehorning. But unless you are pursuing higher end pistols, that really doesn't matter compared to the important things.

4) My Colt is GI, and although very happy to have it, I missed the upgrades on the Tactical, and ended up having to pay to retrofit them. The biggest thing is the beavertail--if you have big hands, the beavertail tang is NOT a luxury. There is something to be said for having a factory-blended beavertail vs. the gaps that you invariably get with aftermarket drop ins (unless you are willing to pay $$$ for a gunsmith to blend one).

Get the Tactical, shoot it, and be happy!