Rittmeister
Member
I know I'm not at all well-known around here but I thought this might interest some of you.
Cliff's Notes of the situation: I own a full-size Kimber 1911. I have always wanted a GI-pattern 1911 and RIA caught my interest. I've yet to get one (lots of reasons) but I've kept my eye on things. When I heard about the RIA with the light rail, I wondered whether they'd be willing to make some other variations on the 1911 theme - that is, other than the standard size, Officer, Compact, etc.
I started a thread on m1911.org wondering if RIA would build a CCO-pattern 1911. An Officer-sized frame with a Commander-length slide. I've always thought the CCO had a more proportionate appearance than a Commander or Officer; it doesn't have the potential reliability issues of the Officer-length slide, but it still has the shortened grip of the Officer model which makes for easier concealment. I thought since RIA makes an Officer-sized gun and a near-Commander sized gun it would be a no-brainer to Frankenstein together the necessary parts and charge about what they do already for most of their guns - that is, $400 to $450 or so.
I have wanted a CCO for the longest time but it's been outside my budget. Sig, S&W, and a few others make one around $800-$1000, and of course Fusion and the other custom houses will build them but they're $1500 and up. I just can't afford it with my other responsibilities.
So, I started the above thread about the possibility of an RIA CCO. Therein, a member advised me to email Ivan at Advanced Tactical just to sort of put my vote in. I did so. He didn't email me back with any pronouncements about a future RIA CCO model. Instead, he simply advised me to get in touch with Arnel in the shop and ask if he would build me one.
So I did. And he said "yeah, I can do that."
It took a number of weeks but we finally settled on a plan and a price, and I now have it in hand. This is built on the CS/Officer's-sized frame, with an MS length slide. It's not a true Commander size since it's 4-inch instead of 4.25-inch, and it's got the bushingless bull barrel, but I don't really care honestly. As you can see it has the upswept grip safety, combat hammer, standard thumb safety, and GI-type sights. Arnel tuned it to work with hollowpoints and generally slicked it up so it'll work well. The trigger pull feels just about like my Kimber so I'm happy there too.
I got a few Metalform flush-fit mags for it so that's what's pictured. I hope to get to the range next week.
Future plans include grip tape, possible extended slide release, possible sight upgrade, and a bunch of ammo.
I'm not going to divulge the price here but I will say that it wasn't too much more than a Tactical model, and it's a heckuva lot less than a Kimber/S&W/Fusion etc. Considering that it's tuned for reliability I'm pretty happy with the way it worked out.
Comments appreciated.
Cliff's Notes of the situation: I own a full-size Kimber 1911. I have always wanted a GI-pattern 1911 and RIA caught my interest. I've yet to get one (lots of reasons) but I've kept my eye on things. When I heard about the RIA with the light rail, I wondered whether they'd be willing to make some other variations on the 1911 theme - that is, other than the standard size, Officer, Compact, etc.
I started a thread on m1911.org wondering if RIA would build a CCO-pattern 1911. An Officer-sized frame with a Commander-length slide. I've always thought the CCO had a more proportionate appearance than a Commander or Officer; it doesn't have the potential reliability issues of the Officer-length slide, but it still has the shortened grip of the Officer model which makes for easier concealment. I thought since RIA makes an Officer-sized gun and a near-Commander sized gun it would be a no-brainer to Frankenstein together the necessary parts and charge about what they do already for most of their guns - that is, $400 to $450 or so.
I have wanted a CCO for the longest time but it's been outside my budget. Sig, S&W, and a few others make one around $800-$1000, and of course Fusion and the other custom houses will build them but they're $1500 and up. I just can't afford it with my other responsibilities.
So, I started the above thread about the possibility of an RIA CCO. Therein, a member advised me to email Ivan at Advanced Tactical just to sort of put my vote in. I did so. He didn't email me back with any pronouncements about a future RIA CCO model. Instead, he simply advised me to get in touch with Arnel in the shop and ask if he would build me one.
So I did. And he said "yeah, I can do that."
It took a number of weeks but we finally settled on a plan and a price, and I now have it in hand. This is built on the CS/Officer's-sized frame, with an MS length slide. It's not a true Commander size since it's 4-inch instead of 4.25-inch, and it's got the bushingless bull barrel, but I don't really care honestly. As you can see it has the upswept grip safety, combat hammer, standard thumb safety, and GI-type sights. Arnel tuned it to work with hollowpoints and generally slicked it up so it'll work well. The trigger pull feels just about like my Kimber so I'm happy there too.
I got a few Metalform flush-fit mags for it so that's what's pictured. I hope to get to the range next week.
Future plans include grip tape, possible extended slide release, possible sight upgrade, and a bunch of ammo.
I'm not going to divulge the price here but I will say that it wasn't too much more than a Tactical model, and it's a heckuva lot less than a Kimber/S&W/Fusion etc. Considering that it's tuned for reliability I'm pretty happy with the way it worked out.
Comments appreciated.
