Rock Island Armory 1911's?

[Steelharp]

I stopped at my local haunt today... there's a Rock Island Armory rollmarked 1911 there. Very military looking, small sights, greenish park... had to handle it. Slide was so smooth in movement on the frame... I was surprised. Long trigger with no creep at all, nice clean break, no overtravel, safety snicks on and off like it should... I field stripped it, no tooling marks, ramp nice and shiny... looks as good as any 1911 I've ever messed with. Novak mag, says something about Philipines on the bottom of the dustcover. They wrote on the tag, "Armscor 1911-A1, .45 ACP, $349.00."

$349.00? Is there a piece of junk inside that I can't see? It's not used, it's new.

 

[joegerardi]

If you do a search here, you'll find a lot of posts on the RIA. There's 2 schools of thought: Those that own them and love them, and those that (generally) have never owned them and hate them, Ther reason it that it is not a forged frame, but a cast one, and the debate over whether they'll last.

I have about 6,000 rounds through mine. It's never hiccoughed once, except the time I used a crappy mag in it, that messes up any of my 1911's.

Buy it. You'll love it.

..Joe

 

[wally]

Use the search. I'm very happy with my Armscor made guns.

Around here the basic RIA "milspec" GI 1911 can be found for $290 at most gun shows.

I think its a lot of gun for the money.

--wally.

 

[Ala Dan]

Wally's price of $290 is an excellent one, as I sell 'em NIB for $329.

 

[shoot870p]

nothing fancy but they work and work fairly well to boot.

 

[wally]

$330 is a good store price. Houston has tremendous competition amoung 1911 gun show vendors. Glocks OTOH seem high here.

--wally.

 

[Shootcraps]

They go for $299 here and it's a deal you can't beat. Awesome gun for the money. Buy it, and I bet you'll like it.

 

[White Horseradish]

I like mine. I had a couple of FTFeed with hollowpoints, but it ate up ball.

 

[brm3601]

I really like my commander model paid $367 for it. Great little gun for the money. If I had the money I'd buy one of the gov. models.

 

[mauser98]

My one and only 1911 is an RIA. Here is a link to a web page log I've put together of my experience with this pistol.
RIA 1911A1 Web Log

 

[2nd Amendment]

Was just getting ready to ask what people thought of these things. Picked one up at a show a couple weeks ago. Swapped a beat up old Taurus PT99AF and hoped I got the better end of the deal. So far I am well pleased. Hey, handy site there Mauser.

 

[trickyasafox]

god i want one. can i ask who had em for 300 buy it now on gunbroker?

 

[Shootcraps]

My gun store has raised the price to $329.

 

[ulflyer]

Tricksasafox, look up ClassicArms in Indian Trail, NC....he sells them for $289.
Don't have his web page, but his phone is 704 684 0650. Been meaning to call him to see if he has the more compact version.

 

[RoyG]

I have the mid-size (commander). After a fluff and buff of the throat and 500 rounds to break in no FTF or FTE with everything I've tried.

I do have one mag it doesn't like. My other 1911 is a SA wide body so I don't know if the mag works in other 1911s or not

 

[lee n. field]

I saw one in MC Sports today. It was just a bit over $300.

 

[mattw]

a good friend of mine bought one a few years back for $390, tax included.

i shot it a few times when he first got it and saw about 200 round put through it but i have not spoken to him for a while and am not sure what ever became of that pistol.

my impression: for the money you can not find a better deal. no-frills, all business 1911, i never saw it malfunction except with crappy Wolf ammo (it didn't like the laquered casings, but then again neither does my Springfield Armory 1911), and that only happened a couple times out of 4 boxes. you can't beat it for under $400.

it seems reliable, workmanship was about what you can expect for the cheapest 1911 made other than crap like llama or firestorm (but can we really disgrace Mr. Browning by calling them 1911s?). fit and finish were satisfactory. nowhere close to bad but not the "slicker than snot on a door knob" feel you might get from a kimber.

 

[RevDisk]

I paid around $260, $270. Good weapon, never had a problem with it. Circa 2k rounds through the weapon. Not fancy, but it gets the job done. Sarco has 'em, price has gone up slightly.


http://www.sarcoinc.com/rockislands.html

Are there better 1911's? Yep. For that price? Nope, not NIB.

 

[Steelharp]

Well... I couldn't stand it anymore... went by today and put it on layaway...

 

[Bob F.]

Sorry, guys, but I've got the Compact Model. Nice look, (NICE look!), good trigger, good accuracy, but the darned double recoil spring has caused major problems! The outer, larger, non-captive spring has poked out of the guide rod bushing and cracked the bushing, forcing the hole a tiny bit out of round. Finally got a replacement bushing and had the spring poke out again, 2 nights ago it poked out the other end, not sure I can fix that. The spring's still locked up inside the breech end of the rod. Haven't had time to mess with it. Can't swear I'm not part of the problem, but seems the outer spring needs a re-design. I'd like to replace the whole spring assembly; any suggestions?

The compact has no barrel bushing, and a full length guide rod with an inner, captive spring and an outer loose spring. The full size and Commander may well be great guns.I really like the compact, I just wish it would work!

Stay safe.
Bob

 

[Zach S]

There's 2 schools of thought: Those that own them and love them, and those that (generally) have never owned them and hate them

I've never owned one, and I dont hate them. As a matter of fact I'm considering one. I say "considering" because I cant afford one at the moment, and may change my mind by the time I have money to burn.

They're aruond $330 at the store I hang out at.

Bob, is yours a 3" or 3.5"? Other than the 5" mil-spec I'm not to familiar with what they offer. Anyway, if its a 3.5 couldn't you swap in a guide rod from another 1911 and use a single spring setup?

 

[RyanM]

Ther reason it that it is not a forged frame, but a cast one, and the debate over whether they'll last.

That's kinda dumb. I don't see anyone saying Ruger revolvers won't last because they use cast frames...

With most manufacturing techniques, it comes down to how well it's done and how good the QC is, not the manufacturing method itself.

 

[ulflyer]

Bob, can you post some pics of the problems you are having with your spring?
Wonder if it will use the Defender or Colt Officer spring system? Sounds more like the Defender system with its "captive inner spring". Heres my Defender:

 

[Bob F.]

Zach: 3 & 7/16 measured along the bottom. Probably 3.5" at the top.
ulflyer: Been trying for months to lear to post pic! Can't be THAT hard! Working 12's w/ 1.5hr travel this weekend. Maybe Monday. I really l;ike the gun and every time I take a newbie to the range they wind up coming back to the .22 auto and the .45.

If they ever outlaw JHP's I GOTTA have a .45. They won't shrink!

Thanks, and stay safe.
Bob

 

[glocker1911]

The RIAs I've looked at seem nice enough, but personally for a few bucks more, I would get a Springfield GI or Mil SPec model. A lot nicer 1911 for a little more money.