rock island armory 1911s?

I am curious about these same things with the RIA 1911's. Saw one for the first time at a show a few weeks ago and it perked my interest up in them. I am looking for a second 1911 that I can basically leave in the bedstand and keep my SA 1911 packed up in my range bag.

I know the finish is ugly

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I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what do you find ugly about it? The slight two tone (slide vs frame), the fact that it is parkerized, or do you think its a bad park job?

I've asked the same question about ria and have received possitive feed back. I'll let ya know my opinion the end of february.

I don't know if it's a bad parkerizing job or not, but it certainly doesn't look as, I dont know, durable as the parkerizing on the SA 1911's.

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I see. I have an RIA and a Glock, and both look poorly finished if they are bone dry. If I let them soak up some oil then wipe them down, they both look great.

What's the verdict on these pistols?

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First rule of RIA Club, don't talk about RIA. I own and shoot two of them regularly. Great guns, especially the 'better' models. Mine shoot hollow points with out a blink. I think you'll find most owners love theirs.

Jeez guys, where ya been? There's TONS of reviews out there on all the gun forums about RIA's, they're great entry level 1911's for the price! I have three, and I prefer the word "affordable" over the word "cheap". They're not "cheap". Buy one and find out.

I almost got one. The GI RIAs are about as close to a GI-spec 1911a1 as you can get. Loose, reliable, heavy creepy trigger, a finish you don't have to baby, and a lot of potential. I ended up going with a Springfield Mil-Spec because it had a few features that saved me some custom work (lowered port and a barrel my gunsmith likes).

If I was going to leave the pistol stock, and if it was my first 1911, I would have picked up the RIA and pocketed the $150 price difference.

I might still get one of their GI Officer's size pistols.

I think if you want a very plain 1911 and don't care about match-quality accuracy or prestige, then it's a great gun. If you're getting a basic 1911 that is going to have a lot of work done on it, then it's also a great gun.

If you really want a Kimber or a Colt or a Les Baer, and you think you're getting something similar for a fraction of the price, then you're going to be very sad with a RIA.

-J.

Oh, and as for upgraded parts, I'd put checkered grips on it, probably get some nice aftermarket magazines, and then to the gunsmith for a trigger job.

-J.

I've read a lot of good reviews and very few negative reviews, I kind of fell in love this weekend at a gun show fondling a RIA 1911 compact. She felt so good in my hands and for $400 and supposedly a reliable lil 1911, I couldn't help but wanna take her home..... lol I'm about 99% that will be my next gun purchase.

I bought one just for fun at to my suprise its a good gun!!!! Good .45 for the money, they ave different finishes. I had my powder coated anyway so its a dual tone grey and lighter grey.

I have never owned a RIA 1911. But i do own several springfield products and they have amazing customer service. According to wikipedia the reese family owns both companies so i would expect the same quality service.

I've got a SA Mil-spec, and a Bi-tone RIA Tactical, Love shooting them both. Both are just as accurate, they eat the same, no FTFs or FTEs. RIA's are a hidden secret. As the only guys who know are their owners. PS. Just bought another one (Bitone Tactical) on GunBroker this week. (for my son).

I'm pretty happy with the Rock Island Tactical I have. Sure, it's bit plain but it works.

I just purchased one at Gander Mountain a week ago. I was skeptical because of the low price but after running several hundred rounds through it, I'm very pleased with it. I actually seem to be more accurate with it compared to my Glock 19 or Springfield .45.

The only problem I had was when I went to clean it. It is my first 1911 and certainly a little more complex than the other two mentioned above. A little time spent on YouTube fixed all that.

I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone, albeit my "Test Drive" is still somewhat limited.

Ugly? I dont think mine is ugly...
It is also reliable, accurate, and very well made.
The RIA is a great buy.



Jim

I know the finish is ugly...

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Not on all of them

I see. I have an RIA and a Glock, and both look poorly finished if they are bone dry. If I let them soak up some oil then wipe them down, they both look great.

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And at least with parkerizing, such as on the Rock, lightly oiled-up is the state in which you are supposed to keep it, right? If so, it doesn't matter how it looks bone-dry, since you aren't supposed to have it that way anyway.

There is no relationship between Springfield Armory, Inc. and Armscor/RIA. Armscor is owned by the Tuason family of the Philippines.

When you are looking for a 1911 for practical purposes, Handsome is as handsome does. The RIA Tactical does handsome well. Mine had a super trigger right out of the box. It had a few teething problems, all solved. With the addition of Pachmayr grips it has become the pistol I'm most accurate with. Shooting it off a rest is a real eye opener on how accurate it is... 30' - one ragged hole.

I'd still like a Baer or a Gold Cup someday, in the mean time I'm very pleased with the RIA. It's an excellent buy. How many guns can you say that about today.


Edit: I've never shot anything but ball ammo. I'd keep a spare slide stop lever, or change out to steel ($25??).

"A few M1A rifles were converted to full-auto fire and registered with the ATF by Class II manufacturers like Neal Smith and Rock Island Armory (also owned by the Reese family). "

There is the quote from wikipedia. Its under m1A rifle. someone should edit wiki if it is incorrerct. Thank you for the correction

Love mine and I don't think it is ugly. David

Send us a picture when you get it. Enjoy shooting it!


To David, I also like those grips, Who? Where? and How much?