Glock 23 vs. Rock Island "Compact"

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I have both a Glock 30 and a Rock Island compact and I love them both. I also have a Springfield Loaded 1911, full size Rock Island, Colt 70 series 1911, and a couple Ed Brown 1911s. I believe you will be satisfied with either one. The Rock Islands taught me a lesson. You don't have to spend a lot of money on a 1911. On both my Rock Islands, the slide to frame fit is tighter than on all my 1911s, even my Ed Browns. They do have more machine marks though, but it's just as accurate as my Springfield Loaded and my Colt. I only have 1000 rounds through them, so it'll be interesting to see how tight they're after a couple 1000 more rounds. I have seen very few bad reviews on Rock Island 1911s. Plus, if you read around you'll find Rock Island has one of the best customer service depts in the industry.
 
Calling an RIA a "low-end 1911" is an insult to JMB. RIA are made very close to the original design, and are leagues more reliable than any Kimber I've ever seen.
 
I wouldn't recommend a 23C for CC. IMO, a CC gun shouldn't have holes cut in it. While it's still a glock and will almost certainly function no matter what, it wouldn't be my choice due to the possibility of debris getting into the open spots and possibly compromising reliability. I've shot 22c's and they shoot great, but I wouldn't want to have one to carry.

With that said, I carry a 23 everyday and love it. I have an "in the waist" holster, but have carried it in my waistband with no holster before, with no problems. I can also stick it in my pocket when I have to tuck my shirt in, but I wouldn't recommend carrying it like that all the time.
 
I have a 30 and a 23, I like the 30. If you are comparing a 45 to a 40, why not get the G30. You would have the better of both ideas. Smaller than the 23, and a bit more power.
 
I'll hand it to you RI guys, after posting a number of polls, it does seem that most Rock Island owners are pleased with their RI 1911's. I know that I heard negative comments on the RI 1911's. However, those comments certainly do not seem to represent how most RI owners feel. Regardless, I would still advise the Glock since it is what I have first hand experience with.
 
The negative feedback that some people on this thread may have heard might have been from a couple of years ago, when RIAs seemed to have something of a reputation for being finicky; indeed, I remember reading an article entitled, "making the Rock Island reliable." This is not the impression that one gets more recently, though.
 
Im always reading negatives about the .40 Glocks. I own a G22 and have 800 flawless rounds through it and it shoots right on. I have zero complaints and dont plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. Everybody has an opinion on what they like and the experiences they have personally had. Mine so happens to be great with my GLock along with thousands of others, so I have no problems with it. Other gun owners have had negative experiences with all other brands as well in any caliber as well, it just seems once a problem arises with a Glock it is blown way out of proportion, simply because it has a strong following of "fanboys". IMO they are a semi ugly, rugged, reliable, accurate, middle-road priced handgun, of which is probably of the same quality of its competitors. This is all just my opinion so dont light me up to bad fellas.
 
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Im always reading negatives about the .40 Glocks. I own a G22 and have 800 flawless rounds through it and it shoots right on. I have zero complaints and dont plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. Everybody has an opinion on what they like and the experiences they have personally had. Mine so happens to be great with my GLock along with thousands of others, so I have no problems with it. Other gun owners have had negative experiences with all other brands as well in any caliber as well, it just seems once a problem arises with a Glock it is blown way out of proportion, simply because it has a strong following of "fanboys". IMO they are a semi ugly, rugged, reliable, accurate, middle-road priced handgun, of which is probably of the same quality of its competitors. This is all just my opinion so dont light me up to bad fellas.
Click to expand...

Well put.
 
I have both a glock 23 and a rock island compact. They are both great guns. Both have been perfectly reliable. The RIA is smaller, thinner and heavier. I prefer to shoot the .45 RIA, so I carry it (iwb-you could carry it in your pocket, but you would need a good belt and suspenders). Also, the quality of the RIA is as good or better than any 1911(or any other handgun) I have owned. I think their reputation will only get better.
 
When I was looking for a new pistol, I looked at both Glocks and RIA. I chose the RIA because I read good things about them, got some positive feedback about the RIA on THR (along with some great feedback about the asking price and ways to easy check functionality).

I chose the 1911 because it fit my hand better, and I recommend that may be your guide. Try to shoot each one. I have never owned a Glock, but they do generally have a good reputation.

As for the used RIA 5 inch "government" model I bought, it is absolutely flawless in function. I have well in excess of 500 rounds through it, and it has always run like a champ. Ammo variety is not an issue, whether FMJ or hollow point. In fact I just picked up a box of Blazer, which will be the first time I shot steel cased ammo, and I am very confident it will eat that too.

I changed the grips to some WWII style rosewood and looks ok too. You will not mistake it for a beautiful Colt, but if you want a solid 1911, go RIA.
 
I have 3 Rock Islands, the only finicky feeding problems I have had are when breaking in the Tactical it had some feeding problems in the first couple of hundred rounds and the Compact when the recoil spring wore out. The Tactical is fine now. All short 1911 recoil springs have a relatively short life span, 2000 rounds or so, but they are cheap. My GI Rock Island has about 5000 rounds through it and has fed everything from day one. I had some 20 yeart old reloads that the step kids did when they were learning to reload, and you can guess what they looked like, that ran through that gun just fine.
They are all accurate and reliable guns.
Some denigrate the cast frames, but I blew up the compact a couple of years ago. Squib, overload or other, I don't know but parts of the top of the slide and barrel ended up in the ceiling of the range. Recoil was intense and the wood grip split and cut my left palm. I sent it to Armscor and they rebuilt it for $200 on the original frame and it is still chugging right along today. I don't know what you'd have to do to wreck one of those frames, but I don't want to be holding it at the time.
 
I've owned a Glcok 19 and a RIA (full sized). I no longer own the Glock. The RIA has had no failures due to the gun in over 1000 rounds now, and I have no problem trusting it for carry. The first day I dropped it into the crossbreed I knew I would never carry the Glock again. Even though the 1911 is heavier (I talking about a 5" at almost 3#), it is worlds more comfortable and concealable to carry for me. I have since started carrying a 3" Detonics Combat Master, but the Rock still gets plenty of range time. Plus if you shoot alot, the .45acp is a very easy round to reload. I got started with just a hand press kit ($30) and now I've reloaded about 1000 rounds, very cheap with lead bullets (I've read you can't do that with a Glock). I've read about people having problems with their 3" 1911's, mainly comlaints about Kimbers. If it were my pick, I would say go with the Rock, but like everyone else, I pretty biased to them.
 
Having had the opportunity to shoot both extensively, it's no contest! Glock 23 without a doubt. The "Officer's" size RIA is like carrying a brick. The 23 is lighter with twice the capacity of the RIA. Plus you have legandary Glock reliability. The RIAs are hit are miss on reliability. I just bought a used "Tactical" for cheap. It suffers from an improperly fitted barrel, the slide to frame fit is rough. Both can be fixed with just a little labor. The breechface was the roughest I've seen, but due to the really soft metal was easy to polish. After adjusting the extractor and polishing the breech face it will feed and cycle as it should. There are other areas that need a little attention, which I'll do before I sell the gun. If you find one that's reliable, it would be an ok carry gun, but IMO only in a good belt holster due to the weight. Good luck in your quest!
str1
 
Another +1 for the Rock. Owned both, shot both, sold the Glocks with my Berretta's years ago, Now my 1911's are RIA's and SA Milspec's. Good luck with your choice.
 
as you can see from the posts it appears that both guns are the best and worst ever built. if you can pick up the glock and it feels right with no figiting then get the glock. the same goes with the RIA. but just remember, in time when your hands get older, what felt great might change. with the glock it will still be the plastic grip with non adjustable finger grooves that do not fit my hands for crap. the RIA you can change to fat or skinny panels. front strap or plain. all kinds of choices for the 1911 style.
 
Have both, shoot both. Both are reliable, but the RIA compact is my first choice for CCW.

Would'nt pocket carry either of them.
 
I'm probably the guy with the RIA problems mentioned earlier. It's certainly possible I got an abnormally bad firearm. I have an officer model. Since purchase, I've had to;

Replace the sear. Shot doubles and triples.

Replace the guide rod and spring. The recoil spring would overtake the guide rod cap, preventing the weapon from returning to battery.

Shave the front sight down to nothing. Shot 3 inches low at 10 yards.

Perform some percussive maintenance on the ejector after it bent up and prevented the slide from sliding back during recoil.

And it's been bit by the rust bug, hard. The finish provides no real rust prevention, and if I don't oil it after every time I wear it the safety rusts badly enough that it's hard to break open with one finger. Conversely, my kel tec carried in my pocket is rust-free.

But hey! I'm just one data point. Can't count on that for accurate statistics. I'm glad my problems are unusual.
 
I'm probably the guy with the RIA problems mentioned earlier. It's certainly possible I got an abnormally bad firearm. I have an officer model. Since purchase, I've had to;

Replace the sear. Shot doubles and triples.

Replace the guide rod and spring. The recoil spring would overtake the guide rod cap, preventing the weapon from returning to battery.

Shave the front sight down to nothing. Shot 3 inches low at 10 yards.

Perform some percussive maintenance on the ejector after it bent up and prevented the slide from sliding back during recoil.

And it's been bit by the rust bug, hard. The finish provides no real rust prevention, and if I don't oil it after every time I wear it the safety rusts badly enough that it's hard to break open with one finger. Conversely, my kel tec carried in my pocket is rust-free.

But hey! I'm just one data point. Can't count on that for accurate statistics. I'm glad my problems are unusual.
Click to expand...

Question - Did you ever send it in to Advanced Tactical for them to check out? They handle all the warranty work, you know.
 
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