Price Check on Citadel Compact

[Olympus]

I'm looking for a price check on NIB Citadel compact. From what I understand, Citadel is the new RIA brand name? But I like the looks of these little guns. I was a gun show today and I saw one that I would consider high priced, the I saw another one at a different table for what I would consider a really high price.

What are the going rates for these little 1911s?

 

[CPshooter]

My local Gander Mt. store has one in the $500 range. I don't remember the exact price, but I want to say around $540. They had a 5" model too. They looked like very nice 1911s for the money, but I don't really know much about them. The guys that worked there knew nothing about them either.

Where can I find more information on these 1911s?

 

[lexjj]

The m1911 Armscor forum has useful information on the Citadels: http://forum.m1911.org/forumdisplay.php?f=17

I've seen them priced locally for about $520.

 

[CZ223]

Bud gunshop

has them for $482. That is about the best price I have found on them. They are made by Armscor which also produces the RIA guns but they are being sold under the Citadel brand name. I think the finish on the Citadels look a little better than the Rocks but that might just be me.

 

[Olympus]

Thanks for help everyone. I saw one at a guns show for $499 and then another one for $573. I think I may try to talk them down. I think the finish looked a little better on the Citadel as well. I liked the looks of the trigger better than the RIA too.

We'll see. I'll check out the 1911 forums and see if I can learn anything more about them.

 

[Olympus]

Bought it!

 

[SG1]

Congrats on the purchase. I saw the compact (commander?) size Citadel at a recent gun show and wanted it so bad. The guy had it for $480 and I tried like heck to talk him down from there. I ended up with another purchase, but I do like the looks of these guns. Please give us a range report when you get a chance to put some rounds through it.

 

[Olympus]

Alright, everybody needs some pictures. I think I got a pretty good deal on this little gun. I haven't seen anyone so far that has paid less than I have. The gun is really surprisingly well put together. The slide is very tight on the frame and the trigger breaks very crisp. I'm surprised at the quality for the price. I can't stand the finish, but I knew that going into it. It's going to be Duracoated this week. Pictures will follow.





And here she is playing a litttle dress up...

 

[Olympus]

I finally made it to the range today. I left having mixed feelings. I ran 50 rounds of cheap Blazer aluminum and 50 rounds of 15 year old ball ammo and everything went smoothly. No fte's or ftf's. The gun did shoot about about an 1 1/2 to 2 inches left, but I don't know if that was just me or the gun. I bought some hollowpoints too and tried to shoot a clip of those, but the gun wouldn't shoot a single one.

I put a full magazine in the gun and pressed the slide release and it wouldn't come close to chambering a round. I tried with the magazine not completely full and it still wouldn't. Then I thought I would leave the magazine out and just drop a single round in the chamber by hand. I did that and pressed the slide release and the slide wouldn't go fully into battery. Even a little bump on the back of the slide wouldn't make it go fully into battery. I tried the same thing with a few other bullets just in case, but it did the same thing.

So I'm a little let down because I bought the gun as a defensive pistol, but it won't even shoot hollowpoints. I ended up reading in the manual that Armscor states that the gun isn't even designed for flat nosed bullets and that a certified gunsmith would have modify the feed ramp in order to feed them correctly. I guess I just would have liked to have known that before I bought the gun.

This may be because the gun is still not really broken in, but it sends brass flying all kinds of places. Sometimes it throws cases totally forward, sometimes to the side, and sometimes straight back. I took a few cases in the face, but I had safety glasses on. I also took a few in the ear. They hit my left side ear muffs. After I got done shooting, I noticed that the front of the slide had some shiny spots where brass had hit the slide and took the finish off. I already have plans to Duracoat the gun, so that didn't bother me. But for someone who liked the finish the way it was, I would consider this to be a significant cosmetic flaw. Here are some pictures of the slide nicks.

 

[stevemis]

Are those actually nicks in the slide, or just deposits of brass from the ejected cases? Regarding the ejection issues, have a peek at the stickies in the Gunsmithing forum here on THR. It should be a simple fix involving fixing the angle on the extractor with a file..

 

[smartshooter.45]

Olympus,

i recently picked up a new Citadel Officers model, same as yours and had some of the same issues.

The biggest and worst of them being that the slide would not go fully into battery after ejecting spent brass leading to a FTF. This happens on average 2 times per magazine with quality factory FMJ's... after the first trip to the range i took it home and thoroughly cleaned it and took it out the next day. on about the 3rd magazine it started failing to go into battery again. SO FRUSTRATING!!!

it was also throwing brass all over the place- mostly forward...? i also have the same little scratch marks on the top of my slide from spent brass being thrown forward into the recoiling slide. i did like the finish until it got all scratched up.

like you i baught this pistol as a no nonsense carry gun. it is FAR from being carry ready...

 

[ljnowell]

You SHOULD NEVER drop a round in a 1911 and then drop the slide on it, not if you like the extractor in one piece. I have the exact same gun, only the RIA CS version. It shoots xtps, gold dots, even SWCs. I would try different hollowpoints.

 

[Olympus]

Yes, those nicks are actually places where the finish was chipped away. It is not deposits of brass. I got out the old Flitz and worked it over, but nothing happened. I looked at it with a household magnifying glass and you can easily see it's the finish that got chipped away.

smartshooter - I'm sorry to hear that yours is having the same difficulties as mine. Mine had no problems with regular ball ammo though. I'm like you though, it's got a long way to go to prove itself. Keep us informed of how yours turns out. I've been thinking of buying a Wilson or McCormick magazine, just as an extra. So I'll be curious to see if a change in magazines helps.

And dropping the round in the chamber by hand was purely experimental. It's not a common practice. Seeing as how the extractor was throwing brass all over the place and wouldn't allow the slide to go into battery, at that point a broken extractor might have been exactly what I needed.

 

[orrwdd]

It appears that a trip to the gunsmith is the only option for you guys with the Cidadels. I know that many of the original 1911 and 1911A1 barrels had FTF problems with anything other than full metal jacket, round ogive ball ammo.

There is a procedure to polish the ramp and throat the barrel to correct this. While it is there, a good smith MAY be able to do something with the extractor, either tuning it or replacing with a high quality one to help with the ejection problems. Wouldn't hurt to have the ejection port lowered and flared either.

Come to think of if though, by the time all this is done, you will have almost as much $$ into it as some of the more expensive brands.

Good luck with your mods, I hope you can eventually get what you wanted out of the Citadel.

Bill

 

[Olympus]

Where's all the Armscor guys now? Post a thread about Taurus 1911 vs Armscor 1911 and they'll come out of the woodwork to say how crappy Taurus is. They'll trip over each other to see who can post first about how awesome Armscor 1911s are and how much more reliable they are than Taurus.

All I hear now is crickets....

 

[j21blackjack]

I'll say that I never had any problems with either of my Armscor guns, one a full size RIA and the other a 3.5" High Standard. Shot all kinds of ammo with them, everything from reloads to hollow points, never a problem. It does suck that you guys are having problems, but it in no way defines the company in the way Taurus has defined theirs.

 

[Olympus]

These Citadels are relatively new to the market. Give 'em time and we'll see how many other people have these issues. I know there are quite a few on other forums that I've read.

 

[tfields]

mine has been fine but everyone makes a lemon from time too time. call the guys at armscor in nv they will fix it for you!! i havent used them but everyone says they have top notch service and arnel is a great smith.

 

[DasFriek]

A 3" barreled 1911 is known for having issues feeding HP's and flat nose ammo, This is nothing new.
Some people have gotten around it by using Powerball and Glaser ammo which has the nose filled and rounded like a FMJ round. The new Hornady Critical Defense may work if you can find it.

You most likely will need a gun smith to tune the gun with a new mag and some feed ramp work as well as adjust the extractor. This could be done yourself with some Internet help and patience.

I own a Taurus PT1911 and the day they make a 3" 1911 is the day the gun forums will be jambed with people complaining about it not feeding and what happens when they try and have it shipped to Taurus and tuned to work correctly.
Very few companies can get a 3" 1911 to work perfectly out of the box, And if it doesn't you better pray the CS and warranty are easy to deal with.

 

[FoMoGo]

I am carrying a High Standard Compact Crusader, same as your Citadel.
Replace the stock recoil spring with a Wolff 22# spring, polish the ramp... dont take any material off or reshape it, just polish it up.
As it gets more rounds thru it it should function better, mine did.
If it doesnt, give Ivan with Armscor a call.


Jim

 

[Olympus]

I finished the Duracoat project this weekend. So far, my only complaint is the slide. I chose HK Black which is a semi-gloss color. The sheen actually makes it easier to see all the imperfections in the metal and the tool marks. It it just a little too glossy for my taste. But I'm going to wait and see how the durability is before I decide to change the color to a more flat black. I'm super pleased with the stainless steel color though. It looks really good. The HK Black was quiet a bit thicker and was harder to get to spray evenly. I didn't think I would need any reducer so I didn't buy it, but next time I will thin it down a little and it will spray more evenly. Here are some pictures...

 

[ljnowell]

I have an Armscor 3.5" 1911, and its been a great gun. Feeds any HPs I have tried and also feeds LSWCs without a problem. Accurate and reliable.

Why would anyone be so upset to accuse the "Armscor Guys" and bring up Taurus in thread that absolutely does not concern Taurus? Sounds like flame baiting to me.

 

[tfields]

that finish looks good, nice job!!

 

[lexjj]

That refinish looks great.

I've got a Rock Island Tactical full size. It feeds hollow points and semi-wadcutters just fine. One thing to keep in mind is that different 1911 magazines are made to feed different types of ammunition. Magazines can have ball ammo feed lips, wadcutter feed lips, or hybrid feed lips. I haven't seen the magazines that ship with the Citadel compacts, so I don't know what type you have.

I am thinking about buying a Citadel compact. The one I looked at had a polished feed ramp and the barrel to frame fit looked good. My Rock Island Tactical came with a polished feed ramp. It wasn't like a mirror finish, but it was definitely polished.

Does your gun have a polished ramp, Olympus?

 

[Olympus]

Yes, it has a polished ramp. Like you said, it's not a mirror shine, but there has definitely been some polishing done to it. I took some Flitz and rubbed it down real good with an old piece of tshirt and it looks like it might have helped a little. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess.