I finally got my Rock Island Officer's 1911 today!
Before I get into the meat and potatoes of it I'd like to make it clear that the handguns I have the most experience with are Glocks in various calibers. Naturally this is my best basis for comparison, however, I have shot many different handguns including 1911s.
So now that we're clear on the fact that I don't feel like a 1911 expert, here we go!
I picked this bad boy up for about $450 OTD including price, shipping, taxes, and FFL fee. I feel that this was a pretty good deal since the lowest I've seen them online is $399 before all the fees and taxes.
It came in a surprisingly nice case with 1 magazine. My first impression was that it seemed like a solid piece of steel. Granted, I'm used to my glocks but this thing feels like a tank. There are definitely no frills, which is a plus for me. The finish leaves a little to be desired, but I bought this to be a defensive pistol and nothing more. After clearing the globs of grease from it and getting the gun cleaned and lubed, the entire action seemed incredibly smooth. The stated trigger pull was around 5lbs if I remember correctly, very similar to a glock's trigger pull weight. It feels a lot lighter to the the lack of travel. The trigger does feel a bit gritty, but it seems to be smoothing out rather quickly.
After cleaning, I promptly headed for the range. I shot at 35ft (because someone marked it recently
). The RIA seems to hit where I point. I found the trigger fairly easy to master, and soon I was getting 2inch groups.
I spent most of my time practicing drawing from concealment since the SA trigger and safety aren't what I'm used to. After doing that for awhile I think it's a fairly common misconception that it takes longer to bring a 1911 into the fight because of the necessary safety, I found it very easy to sweep the safety down as brought the gun onto target. The military sights are also fairly easy to use, I actually like having them for CCW since they're fairly low profile.
Long story short: I'm very happy with my purchase. I can't see the use in making glock vs 1911 threads since they're so different from each other. Both guns were 100% at the range today, both are more accurate than I am. Ergonomics are different than what I'm used to but they're certainly not any worse.
The RIA CS seems to be an outstanding choice for concealed carry. This thing is small and slim, but it still has enough grip and weight to it to make shooting a .45 fun. IMO it's best to have CCW gun that you love to shoot (if possible) Once you get up past 9mm it's difficult to find a compact handgun that can reduce recoil like a steel framed 1911.
Sorry for the lengthy post! I hope this will give someone a different perspective if they're considering a RIA CS, or another compact 1911.
Before I get into the meat and potatoes of it I'd like to make it clear that the handguns I have the most experience with are Glocks in various calibers. Naturally this is my best basis for comparison, however, I have shot many different handguns including 1911s.
So now that we're clear on the fact that I don't feel like a 1911 expert, here we go!
I picked this bad boy up for about $450 OTD including price, shipping, taxes, and FFL fee. I feel that this was a pretty good deal since the lowest I've seen them online is $399 before all the fees and taxes.
It came in a surprisingly nice case with 1 magazine. My first impression was that it seemed like a solid piece of steel. Granted, I'm used to my glocks but this thing feels like a tank. There are definitely no frills, which is a plus for me. The finish leaves a little to be desired, but I bought this to be a defensive pistol and nothing more. After clearing the globs of grease from it and getting the gun cleaned and lubed, the entire action seemed incredibly smooth. The stated trigger pull was around 5lbs if I remember correctly, very similar to a glock's trigger pull weight. It feels a lot lighter to the the lack of travel. The trigger does feel a bit gritty, but it seems to be smoothing out rather quickly.
After cleaning, I promptly headed for the range. I shot at 35ft (because someone marked it recently
). The RIA seems to hit where I point. I found the trigger fairly easy to master, and soon I was getting 2inch groups.I spent most of my time practicing drawing from concealment since the SA trigger and safety aren't what I'm used to. After doing that for awhile I think it's a fairly common misconception that it takes longer to bring a 1911 into the fight because of the necessary safety, I found it very easy to sweep the safety down as brought the gun onto target. The military sights are also fairly easy to use, I actually like having them for CCW since they're fairly low profile.
Long story short: I'm very happy with my purchase. I can't see the use in making glock vs 1911 threads since they're so different from each other. Both guns were 100% at the range today, both are more accurate than I am. Ergonomics are different than what I'm used to but they're certainly not any worse.
The RIA CS seems to be an outstanding choice for concealed carry. This thing is small and slim, but it still has enough grip and weight to it to make shooting a .45 fun. IMO it's best to have CCW gun that you love to shoot (if possible) Once you get up past 9mm it's difficult to find a compact handgun that can reduce recoil like a steel framed 1911.
Sorry for the lengthy post! I hope this will give someone a different perspective if they're considering a RIA CS, or another compact 1911.
