What's the reputation on Rock Island 1911's? Good guns?

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DustyGmt

DustyGmt

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I got rid of my 1911's years back in favor of condensing the number of cartridges I was buying and shooting and decided to do away with the. 45 altogether, glocks went with em too. I still sometimes kick myself for it but I was taking a more practical approach to owning guns for practical use vs collecting guns, honestly I've gone back and fourth on that, sometimes I find myself wanting to downsize to 3 or 4 guns and sometimes I want to add more.

If you couldn't tell, I'm conflicted, lol. Anyway, the long and short of it is I want a 1911 in my life again and I just found an RIA 1911 9mm and I can justify it to myself pretty easily at the moment. How are they, anybody have good luck with the 9mm's in terms of function, accuracy and reliability? I'm a lil more inclined/comfortable to work on my own guns at this point and wouldn't mind taking on a project in terms of upgrades, etc. I just want to know if they are good to go or if they're a temperamental janky headache. I want it, I just want out of the box reliability and don't mind putting a few bucks into it over time to make it a lil better. Yay or nay?
 
RIA is serviceable quality. I like them, I have a couple. I also have a couple expensive 1911's. You'll never confuse the two. Fit and finish aren't great. But function is. One of my RIA guns is a CCW that feeds anything that will fit in the magazine. On the off chance you get one with hiccups, their customer service (I've never had to use it) gets rave reviews from those who do use it.
 
I had one, it was an extraordinarily bad pistol, I was more disappointed than I was in my Sundance .25 Saturday night special. Customer service was bad, refused to fix. It needed the frame replaced, they told me "better luck next time".... Next time was a Springfield.
I told Arnell from RIA I would bring this up to every person who mentioned RIA from that day on, so that's why I am.

I have had Springfield, Remington, and AO 1911's, and every one was better made, even beyond the casting defect (magwell/feedramp angle 4° off, and not enough room to recut), in areas like finish, material hardness. The chamber was also out of round (not cut fully square), but that could be worked around with a Lee factory crimp die. AO is in the same price range, Springfield is slightly higher, but close. The Turkish models are in the price range of RIA.

To be fair, the RIA was extremely accurate, even with the tight, not quite fully cut chamber, one of the most accurate handguns I have ever seen. It had a very good frame to slide/barrel/bushing fit. I ended up cutting the feedramp as shallow as possible, and selling it as a wallhanger to a guy who shoots it every few years, and he's happy with it.
 
DustyGmt said:
If you couldn't tell, I'm conflicted
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I'm in the same boat as you, but more like a tortured soul. A couple of years ago I had decided that I was going to thin the herd and within 18 months I bought a 686, a 617 as an understudy for my 686, a Pedersoli Sharps 45/70 , just recent Springfield TRP 10mm and even more recent a SW Model 41 I am going in the wrong direction.
 
I have a RIA 1911 in 9 mm and have had no serious problems with it. One mfr mags won't drop freely but I know which one it is so I use that at the range. Feeds lead and jacketed factory and handloads religiously.
 
My 9mm RIA GI has been 100%. Only shot ball ammo so I can't comment on its reliability with hollow point. It's a basic 1911so don't expect more. Armscor has an excellent rep as far as service.
 
There’s good and bad.
The good is that it’s a basic Series 70 1911 so if you need to upgrade or get replacement parts it’s easy to do.

The bad is that RIA warranty only covers FMJ. Firing hand loads, for example, voids the warranty. And, for some odd reason, many RIA pistols won’t fire Armscor ammo. I have a 10 mm that has double jam feeds with Armscor hollow points. It feeds FMJs and SWC/FP with no problems.

I’ll switch out the barrel once ammo comes back and that should solve the problem.
 
I've owned four.

I bought the 40 caliber double-stack NIB and it had to go back to the factory twice. It's still picky about ammo, but accurate and reliable with most factory ammo. The dark finish is not much good and scratches easily.

I bought a 9mm Citidal (rebranded RIA) used for $300 or a little more. It has functioned perfectly with the original mag and with the spare mag I purchased. Fit and finish are modest. It's accurate and reliable. I like it a lot.

I bought a used little Baby Rock 380. It functioned just fine, but the trigger was horrible for a SA and I traded it towards something else.

I bought a 45acp NIB. I was going to get something used, but won an auction on the new one for around $350. It has given me zero problems. The finish isn't high-quality, but it's two-tone and looks nice. It's a better shooter than I am, and my shooting buddies highly approve of it.

RIA 1911 40 caliber double stack

RIA 1911 40 caliber double stack


Citadel 1911 9mm

Citadel 1911 9mm


RIA 1911 45acp

RIA 1911 45acp

 
It seems like they get good reviews overall. I’ve heard of some magazine m-related issues for the non-.45 variants.

I’d consider the Tisas/SDS Imports 1911s as a competitor. I recently picked up one of their US Army variants and am impressed. Fit and finish are excellent. I have not had the opportunity to shoot it, but the vast majority of reviews have been positive. They also make more modern variants with rails, front serrations, etc.
 
My RIA 45 is in my EDC rotation. It has been ultra reliable through 10,000 rounds and one spring change (preventative). The black finish is super tough. It’s tuned to manually cycle empty cases, and took very little work to get it there. I paid $305 for it, so if lost / taken, not a huge deal.

Shown here with an XDs 45 Mod 2 tritium, Bodyguard 380 laser. A single action, striker and DAO.

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1911 guy said:
RIA is serviceable quality. I like them, I have a couple. I also have a couple expensive 1911's. You'll never confuse the two. Fit and finish aren't great. But function is. One of my RIA guns is a CCW that feeds anything that will fit in the magazine. On the off chance you get one with hiccups, their customer service (I've never had to use it) gets rave reviews from those who do use it.
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This has been my experience as well. Fit and finish leave a lot to be desired, tool marks, sharp edges, awkward fitment.

But mine runs well and is very, very accurate.
 
I have read that Armscor/RIA manufactures more 1911 pistols than any other company in the world. Sure there are fit and finish differences between a $500-600 RIA and a $1500 gun. But reliability or durability is not an issue. It is interesting how many believe 1911s are supposed to be expensive so a $500 RIA must be low quality while that is the same price of Glocks or M&Ps.
 
Tallball said:
I've owned four.

I bought the 40 caliber double-stack NIB and it had to go back to the factory twice. It's still picky about ammo, but accurate and reliable with most factory ammo. The dark finish is not much good and scratches easily.

I bought a 9mm Citidal (rebranded RIA) used for $300 or a little more. It has functioned perfectly with the original mag and with the spare mag I purchased. Fit and finish are modest. It's accurate and reliable. I like it a lot.

I bought a used little Baby Rock 380. It functioned just fine, but the trigger was horrible for a SA and I traded it towards something else.

I bought a 45acp NIB. I was going to get something used, but won an auction on the new one for around $350. It has given me zero problems. The finish isn't high-quality, but it's two-tone and looks nice. It's a better shooter than I am, and my shooting buddies highly approve of it.

RIA 1911 40 caliber double stack

RIA 1911 40 caliber double stack


Citadel 1911 9mm

Citadel 1911 9mm


RIA 1911 45acp

RIA 1911 45acp

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Now I don't know if I can buy the one I'm looking at, I really prefer the wider cut slide serrations (like the ones shown in your pics), that and the front serrations really do alot for the overall look of the pistol. Same with glocks. Now I have to hunt down one of those. I don't really care for the very narrow, thin cut serrations unless it's on a true GI model like was on my Springfield GI. My Sig 1911 had really nice serrations. I'm not usually picky on stuff like that but idk. I'm doubtful he can order what I want, I may just have to suck it up. I'm definitely not in the market for any more glocks but if I found a RFTF2 model I'd have to buy it.
 
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RIAs (current generation) flat-out run. Good guns for regular use.
They are not all “pretty” though some models look nice—not in the way more expensive guns do.
You’ll find it solid should you choose to purchase one.
 
I just got back from the range and happened to shoot my 45acp RIA while I was there.

It ate about 50 mixed rounds that were in a sandwich bag in the bottom of my safe: aluminum, old factory FMJ, RNL that my FiL had reloaded, etc.

Zero malfunctions and much more accurate than I am. Same as always. :)
 
I have a compact FDE. It’s been flawless, eats hollow points and my sometimes dubious COAL reloads without issue. I don’t like the allegedly Parkerized finish at all.
 
If anyone knows where I can find a Tac Ultra FS HC IN 9mm I’d appreciate a shoutout.
 
1KPerDay said:
I’ve had good luck with mine. The GI is my favorite 1911 to shoot at the range. The FS Tactical has been great also since I installed a FO front sight and filed down the sharp thumb safeties.

videos for any interested




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I respect the skills on the 3 gun run. I want to participate at the monthly meeting at our gun club and see if there is any interest and/or funding to set up a course and build the range up a lil bit. There is alot of potential for the place but it's kind of looking a lil run down and isn't maintained the way it could be.

I'm guessing the range won't be as busy this summer due to "the situation". That and, not to spread gloom but my employer just ordered 20,000 feet of 12&14 GA Romex wire because he was told copper is going up 20+% in the coming months. Probably not gonna help the "situation".
 
Ive got 2 double stack 10s (ones actually a 40 with a barrel added) my buddy has 2, a 10 and a 9/22tcm, and our other buddy is probably going to get one shortly.....Zero issues, decent triggers, and excellent accuracy. The only copper jacketed ammo any of ours have seen recently is the rare factory box that gets run thru them. The steady diet has been coated lead bullets from MBC.
My guns are running with the slides swapped, and have had zero issues. My buddies 9mm is also a double stack so next time were out im going to try put HIS 9mm slide on my frames and if that works ill be adding a couple more slides and barrels for 9, 38 super, and .22tcm.
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LoonWulf said:
Ive got 2 double stack 10s (ones actually a 40 with a barrel added) my buddy has 2, a 10 and a 9/22tcm, and our other buddy is probably going to get one shortly.....Zero issues, decent triggers, and excellent accuracy. The only copper jacketed ammo any of ours have seen recently is the rare factory box that gets run thru them. The steady diet has been coated lead bullets from MBC.
My guns are running with the slides swapped, and have had zero issues. My buddies 9mm is also a double stack so next time were out im going to try put HIS 9mm slide on my frames and if that works ill be adding a couple more slides and barrels for 9, 38 super, and .22tcm.
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Those are both quite good looking too!
 
I just traded a Rock Island 1911 that brought me nothing but joy. The trigger was acceptable and the accuracy showed it. It devoured any .45acp put through it, including all of my semi-wadcutter and crazy short OAL 160gr RN reloads.
I also have a RIA in 10mm and it too is an accurate and reliable 1911 that also enjoyed my reloads.

I purchased a Tisas to replace the .45acp RIA only because I stumbled upon the Tisas that was selling at a pre-covid price.
 
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