Rock Island quality

[brokencowboy]

Several months ago I was pondering a purchase of a Rock Island 38 Super. However, a friend of mine, who is a licensed gunsmith, advised against making the purchase. He said that the overall quality of the brand was at best "ify".

I was wondering if any of the forum members have had any experience with the Rock Island 1911's & what the general consensus was about this brand.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[Eric F]

Well I own 2 RIA 38 supers. 1 for the gi look 1 I modified into my game gun. I have no Idea what your friend has seen but every last one I have seen is of high quality. If they built junk STI would not have gone to them to make the spartan line up. I say buy one before they go up in price again. Another good source of info for these is www.m1911.org look under the armscor-RIA section

 

[MJZZZ]

I'm as happy as can be with my RIA .45 and I know alot of others who own several of them and are happy. Best gun for the money, the service is outstanding too. MIke

 

[hksw]

A long time ago (in the '90s), the guns from the Philippines certainly were at best iffy. Today, however, they are of good quality, IMO from the samples I have.

 

[Quoheleth]

It's not the prettiest gun in the stable, but it's adequate and - from what others say - it shoots very well. I can't shoot mine worth a durn, but that's software, not hardware. It's not as pretty as, say, a tricked-out Smith, Colt, or Kimber, but it's also a fraction of the cost. It shoots - reliably, accurately, and economically.

Definitely check out the m1911 link, above. The Armscorp rep is always on-line and quick to chime in on questions, concerns or problems. From what I've witnessed over there, any problems are taken care of with Smith & Wesson speed and accuracy (as a point of comparison for another manufacturer known for good customer service).

Q

 

[wally]

In general, over the years I've found the quality of local gunsmiths to be below iffy. If I can't fix it myself its back to the Manufacturer.

Over 11000 rounds (mostly Wolf) thru my oldest RIA with only a $5 part breaking at ~3500 rounds says to me the quality is very good for the price.

--wally.

 

[strat81]

Here's a very good review: http://ezine.m1911.org/RIASuper38.htm
Most folks at m1911.org hold RIA in pretty high regard, relatively speaking.

 

[brokencowboy]

Thanks

Thanks to all of you who responded to my inquiry. My friend is very good at working on guns, but he does have his favorites. Guess I need to re-think my decision.

 

[alucard0822]

I have a plain jane parked RIA in 38 super, and have never had a problem of any kind, it is a little ammo picky as far as accuracy, but will eat anything. I also have a kimber target in 45, and it has gone back to the factory twice for cosmetic defects and jamming ( tight extractor/loose ejector), my colt, only once for what was an overly tight extractor causing jams. The colt is the prettiest, the Kimber is the most accurate, but the RIA makes the most trips to the range, and is definitely the best buy of the three.

The RIA have the "bull barrell" that is of uniform thichness, and not reduced in the middle like older colts, doesn't have the trigger or drop safety, and has no MIM parts. It is about the closest thing available that is true to the original 1911A1 design, and that is readily available new, and accepts just about all mil-spec parts. The only downside are the standard sights, and lack of an actual stainless model, but for the price, who cares, You can buy a RIA, have new sights staked and pressed in, put in a couple high speed low drag parts, buy some extra mags, and ammo, all for the base price of a high volume MFG's copy and their "improvements" on the original design.

 

[schmeky]

Get yourself a new/different gun expert. I have a RIA in .38 Super and is an excellent gun for the money.

 

[MICHAEL T]

has no MIM parts.

I don't think thats a true statement. At that price it has to have MIM along with cast parts. Frame is cast if I remember right. RIA is a nice pistol but a Colt or DanWesson its not.

 

[JP from Phoenix]

People talk very high of Rock Island guns around here, makes me want to check em out. The Tactical 1911 they put out is a sweet deal

 

[Triphammer]

QUOTE]I don't think thats a true statement. At that price it has to have MIM along with cast parts. Frame is cast if I remember right. RIA is a nice pistol but a Colt or DanWesson its not.

IIRC Dan Wesson's frames are cast Brazil. An RIA may have some MIM but it's a top buy for the price.

 

[alucard0822]

An RIA may have some MIM but it's a top buy for the price.

they are almost entirely cast, mine (4/06) has no MIM parts, I am not 100% sure newer ones don't.

 

[JP from Phoenix]

what does MIM mean?

 

[HM2PAC]

This is from http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=128370:

MIM: Stands for Metal Injection Molded. This is a relatively new process of making small parts for less cost than machined, while making them denser than cast. There are four primary steps to the metal injection molding process (per www.phillipsplastics.com):

1. Feedstock Formulation – very fine metal powders are mixed with polymeric binders.
2. Molding – parts are molded in specially-equipped injection molding machines. These as-molded components are known as "green" parts.
3. Debinding – 90% of the binder material is removed from the green part. These parts are then referred to as "brown" parts.
4. Sintering – brown parts are sintered using controlled temperature and atmosphere profiles for final densities between 96-99% of theoretical.

In other words, the end product results in no more than a 1% variation in its final size. Done correctly the resulting part is nearly as dense as one made from forged steel, yet is much cheaper to make. Done incorrectly the process can leave small voids in the metal, creating a weak part.

 

[Constantine-p89]

From what ive heard they're great guns. I am getting one this week.