Tell me your Armscorp experience

m0par said:

It seems they made quite a few of the rifles with horrendous rifling. Mine is one of them. I'm willing to bet theidahoanshow's homemade rifling is of higher quality.

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This is part of the reason it is on my shortlist and not in my safe. On paper, it looks like a rifle that I will like. However, in the back of my mind, I am concerned that I will get a lemon.

I have a full size and a compact size both in .45. They’re both awesome but after about 1,500 rounds (wild guess) I had to send the full size in for repair. Super fast and friendly return and repair experience. The barrel link pin had worked out enough to keep the slide from going into battery and pretty much hanging up.

Been a few years but I bought a new stainless Armscor (if that is the brand you intended to refer to) 1911 in 45 ACP for $299. It ran fine, not the best pistol ever made but I changed out a few parts and worked it over into a nice pistol for as cheap as it was Even loaded it out to a fellow that finished Nationals one year with it after his STI broke. After the match he wanted to buy it from me.

D.B. Cooper said:

So I'm getting the impression that the autoloaders are relatively good, but the revolvers are somewhat questionable.

I find that interesting as that has always been my experience with Taurus. (good autoloaders, bad revolvers) Speaking of which, I checked prices on Taurus today. Man, those things have gone up. No longer what I would consider "budget" guns anymore.

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I have had no problems with the revolver. Shot well out of the box until now. A few machine marks when I open the cylinder but I never smoothed them out. It comes with an extra set of grips (rubber type) but I left the wooden checkered grips on because they look nicer to me. A great gun for less than two hundred dollars.

I was initially excited about the revolvers, but I handled a few and gave up on them. They were timed well enough so they would be functionally safe, but wobbly, clunky, and felt pretty junky. For the same money a man can buy a much much much better gun in a used Taurus 82 or 85.

WestKentucky said:

I was initially excited about the revolvers, but I handled a few and gave up on them. They were timed well enough so they would be functionally safe, but wobbly, clunky, and felt pretty junky. For the same money a man can buy a much much much better gun in a used Taurus 82 or 85.

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By this time, they should have come out with something a little better, on the level of a simplified Official Police or Police Positive with a reasonably esthetic external appearance.

D.B. Cooper said:

I wondered if it was something like that. Like I'd almost be better off buying a Taurus solely because the enemy you know is better than the enemy you don't know.

I wonder how their M200 compares to Taurus' 66, but more than that I'm interested in their shotgun.

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The Armscor/RIA M200 is a nice, basic, fixed-sight .38 Special revolver that is a decent deal at less than $250 Out the Door. I consider my Taurus 66 in .357 Magnum with Adjustable Sights to be in a different league altogether, but then it also cost quite a bit more.

I have sold eight or so RIA M1911FS pistols as 'entry level' .45 ACP 1911s and every customer has liked it quite a bit. They are well made and accurate, but can be a bit rough looking inside, an issue that has not affected reliability or performance. I wanted to buy one for myself (and still will at some time) but every time I find and get a couple on sale I sell them to someone else. The only upgrade I would make right away is some checkered grips - the smooth wood looks kind of nice but some $15 checkered grips feel better to me.

One customer had his front sight fall off the slide. A call to Armscor CS and I had a prepaid mailing label e-mailed to me. They paid the shipping both ways and installed a new front sight. In ten days I was handing him back his 1911. They did not throw in an extra magazine nor other free goodies, but they took care of the issue quickly, courteously, and professionally up in Utah.

WestKentucky said:

I was initially excited about the revolvers, but I handled a few and gave up on them. They were timed well enough so they would be functionally safe, but wobbly, clunky, and felt pretty junky. For the same money a man can buy a much much much better gun in a used Taurus 82 or 85.

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I also own a Taurus 85. I prefer the Rock Island. RIA also have a lifetime warranty. Neither is going to cost a fortune. perhaps borrow from a friend and try for yourself.

D.B. Cooper said:

I saw a M200 (the 4" barreled 38 revolver) in a box store today. Single action trigger pull and lock-up at full cock were both decent. Double action trigger pull was like rubbing two rocks together - a lot of grinding feeling. What really stood out was how light the gun was, but then, I've been shooting a Redhawk 44 so, by comparison, a cement brick would feel light. $245. I guess the question would be, do you go for that, or those Italian trade-in Beretta 92S surplus guns at $300 (+75 shipping and transfer fee).

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Beretta bro, hands down!

Armscor make some really nice Firearms under names like Rock Island, Firestorm, Metro arms and high standardstandard. I've had and still have a few of them like my high standard Crusader officers Compact 1911 and my high standard Mitchell 9111 BL 12 gauge pump and I've never had a problem with any of their firearms. Coincidentally when the original High Standard firearms went out of business here in the US all the original tooling was acquired by Armscor and they're still using it to produce some really nice firearms including the high standard Flite King line of shotguns like my Mitchell .

Since we don't know what your intended purpose is......

But if someone offered to sell me a 92s for $375 or a brand new M200 for $245......I'd go Beretta. The M92 is one of the finest combat handguns ever made.

Bottom dollar on a reasonably reliable handgun would be HiPoint. Used C9s show up on Arms list round here for $150 pretty regularly. As a semi-disposable firearm, they are tough to beat.

If it has to be a bottom dollar revolver, I would think you can find a Charter Arms Bulldog new or lightly used for under $300......
There's always the Heritage Arms single actions too.....I see them on sale locally for $150 all the time.

I've fired several hundred rounds normal pressure rounds in a M200 in a snubby to break it in. It is accurate enough at 7-10 yards with decent sights, a bit ugly on the exterior, and as DB Cooper noted above, a bit rough in its trigger pull in DA. I had no misfires, cylinder hangups, nor problems in firing the revolver. Single action is ok but not really what you should be doing for self defense type firing. If you have to have a new firearm and need it really cheap, then the Armscor will do.
Charter and Taurus are a bit of a step up in quality and price.

However, you can find S&W snubbies used (the model 36 is blued an cheaper than the stainless steel model 60) for a bit more and you can also find people to work on them. The Bodyguards or the internal hammer S&W's are also quite good but not as common. K-Frame snubbies exist but are pretty rare to find and usually pretty pricey compared with regular K-Frames. Compared with S&W's larger revolvers which bring quite a bit more, the J-Frames are plentiful and can be had in nearly new condition. Colt snubbies have the advantage of one more shot but finding parts or people to work on them can be difficult as well as being pricey (aside from the new Cobra).

Rugers are built like tanks and do quite well especially when broke in. Compared with other makes, Rugers are revolvers that can take substantial abuse but still perform which often makes them a good buy on the used market. The older Security/Service Six models are more rugged than their K-Frame counterparts in the same envelope, the Ruger GP-100 and larger are tanks, and the SP series are really overbuilt and heavy for a five round snubbie which makes them one of the few tolerable snubbies to shoot magnum rounds.

I have shot and handled several Taurus revolvers and they have either been decent or horrible which seems to be the story with Taurus service the last time I checked.

Haven't shot the Rock Island/Armscor 1911's so I have no opinion on them apart from seeing them and handling them in a store.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Since we don't know what your intended purpose is......

But if someone offered to sell me a 92s for $375 or a brand new M200 for $245......I'd go Beretta. The M92 is one of the finest combat handguns ever made.

Bottom dollar on a reasonably reliable handgun would be HiPoint. Used C9s show up on Arms list round here for $150 pretty regularly. As a semi-disposable firearm, they are tough to beat.

If it has to be a bottom dollar revolver, I would think you can find a Charter Arms Bulldog new or lightly used for under $300......
There's always the Heritage Arms single actions too.....I see them on sale locally for $150 all the time.

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I like Beretta's but ironically do not like the M92. Our unit transitioned from S&W Model 15's to the M92 and I did not fire the Beretta as well as the pistol was just too darn big for my hands and the distance from the back to front on the trigger did not let me use my power crease to fire. A few of the new (at that time) firearms in our unit had some teething problems as well. The Smith revolvers had better trigger pulls in DA due to being well broke in and the K-Frame is classic in that people of different hand sizes can pretty much all shoot a K-Frame. Not true of the Beretta 92 but for those with sufficiently large hands, the Beretta is a fine firearm. Concealing a 92 (there are compact variants) would be an issue due to the Beretta's size as a 1911 would be easier to conceal or even a K-Frame.

If you do want a Beretta but have smaller hands, the PX4 Storm is a fine firearm and readily available in compact and sub compact as well. Only downside is a relative lack of accessories.

boom boom said:

I like Beretta's but ironically do not like the M92. Our unit transitioned from S&W Model 15's to the M92 and I did not fire the Beretta as well as the pistol was just too darn big for my hands and the distance from the back to front on the trigger did not let me use my power crease to fire.

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I would buy an Armscorp revolver over ANY Beretta 92 EVERY time.

The Beretta feels like it was designed for people who can palm a regulation basketball.

The second worst trigger pull I EVER saw in a handgun was on a friend of a friend's 96D. The only thing worse was a friend's Colt All American 2000.

There's no reason why Armscorp couldn't come up with the equivalent of the Llama S&W clones, only Colt based. I don't know about the quality, but the '60s and '70s era Llamas were decent looking guns.

Deanimator said:

I would buy an Armscorp revolver over ANY Beretta 92 EVERY time.

The Beretta feels like it was designed for people who can palm a regulation basketball.

The second worst trigger pull I EVER saw in a handgun was on a friend of a friend's 96D. The only thing worse was a friend's Colt All American 2000.

There's no reason why Armscorp couldn't come up with the equivalent of the Llama S&W clones, only Colt based. I don't know about the quality, but the '60s and '70s era Llamas were decent looking guns.

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That is exactly how it felt to me trying the fire the darn M92 in annual qualifications but it put me off from other Beretta handguns for awhile. Never even seen a Colt All American other than pictures.

I would like to see those Llama revolver clones too. Handled a .44 Mag Llama once in a store, seem to handle and dry fire pretty well. Heard the same rumors above listed about Colt tooling being sold to Armscor but have no idea about the truth nor have investigated it. I see Llama semi-autos around on the used market but only a couple of their revolvers over the years.

I've always considered Armscor/RIA 1911s to be lower tier. I used to own a RIA 1911 and while it worked, it was definitely low grade. The finish sucked, the beavertail had sharp edges and would eventually rub the skin away on my hand. Heck Tisas 1911s are better IMO.

IMO you're better off buying a Taurus 1911 as I think they are better made.

I’m sending a .22tcm rifle back today for light primer strikes. That’s the first time I’ve had trouble with a armscor product. I have a RIA 1911 .45 and a .22tcm-9mm 1911 with no problems what so ever. A matter of fact I’m in the process of getting a RIA 1911 in .38super. They are good.

My Metro Arms, is my boat gun while on the bridge. Got a good deal on it, $250.00. The original owner was selling it because he couldn't take it apart. He wanted $350.00, from the start. I told him that I might also have trouble taking things apart. We agreed on $250 and I took it home. Metro had to have hammered the slide release into the pistol. I had to use a nylon mallet to get things loose. Took some emery to it, cleaned things up. Went to the range, found a few extraction problems. Put a little more bend on the extractor and I was good to go. I added night sights, it's now a keeper.

boom boom said:

Never even seen a Colt All American other than pictures.

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The trigger pull was longer than the Nile and stacked every bit of the way. At one point, I thought the trigger was going to BREAK before it broke.

boom boom said:

I would like to see those Llama revolver clones too. Handled a .44 Mag Llama once in a store, seem to handle and dry fire pretty well. Heard the same rumors above listed about Colt tooling being sold to Armscor but have no idea about the truth nor have investigated it. I see Llama semi-autos around on the used market but only a couple of their revolvers over the years.

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The Llamas looked like S&W K frames, but with added features, like ventilated(?) ribs. They had some really nice looking premium models with engraving and plating. They remind me of the Browning "Renaissance" handguns.

D.B. Cooper said:

This is kind of where I'm at. For what I want to use it for, I want to spend as little money as possible, but I do want it to work. Reliably. I don't care much about a tool mark or other blemish here and there. I'm just concerned that, if I bought one, it would be crap, and I'd be out money that could have went into a better gun (which I don't want to spend money on.) To add that, I'm mostly interested int heir shotgun, but no one has commented on those. (They may be new enough that they just are prevalent in the market yet. OR...they've already gotten a bad rap and people avoid them. Who knows.)

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Actually, look into picking up one of the High Standard shotguns from Armscor. They're made using the original tooling from the original high standard Flite King shotguns from the original High Standard firearms that was here in the US that went out of business in the late 60s.

I have one of the original Ted Williams 12 gauge pump shotguns from Sears and Roebuck from the early 60's that was made by hi-standard and is one of their flite King shotguns . I also have a high standard Mitchell 9111 BL 12 gauge pump from Armscor and it's just as nice as my vintage high standard and the action is just as smooth and just as fast.