S&W 1911, Rock Island Armory(RIA) 1911s & Springfield Armory(SA)
1911s. Well, each company offers different choices.
RIA 1911s are made in the Phillipine Islands with cast steel
frames, slides, & barrels, "for a price point" towards the lower
end of the market. RIA offers: a 1911A1 - similiar to the SA
G.I. model, with the low/small GI sights, original ejector port, etc.
and parkerized finish. Next up for RIA & SA are:
RIA Tactical with Novak style plain sights, a beavertail grip
safety and long trigger. SA offers a "Mil Spec" that has raised
sights lowered/enlarged ejection port, The SAs have a forged
frame, slide, & barrel, and a unique firing pin I don't recall the
detail on that. Next up the line for each are - RIA Match
which is much like the Tactical, but hand fitted and the front
sight is optical. SA has a "loaded" model with the addition of
the beavertail grip safety Generally you'll find
RIA GI for less than $400, Tactical less than $500 and
SA are a bit of a jump for respective models by adding $100
S&W doesn't offer any "GI" or modified GI models,
Forged frame, slide and barrel, and good fit and finish
except for triggers. The base model comes with
beavertail grip safety, long trigger with the three holds
(looks like a videcki trigger) true Novak three white dot
sights, as with SA blued carbon & stainless steel models.
NOte, S&W has the firing pin block similar to the Colt 80
series, and an external extractor which some purists object
to
My expereince?
I have a S&W 1911, with a few changes, it's never failed
to eject rounds, but does tend to eject a bit erratically as to
where they go, which seems a characteristic of the external
extractor. The original internal extractor sometimes needs
'tuning' i.e. it is bent to reliably gain purchase on the rim for
extraction. I've swapped with a SA owner at the range, -
I think he had a loaded in blued steel. Simliar to mine, but it
had more sharper edges, he remarked he liked my sights better.
with my aftermarket grips, Wilson Combat extended slide rel./lock
and a Les Baer SS MSH, some handle it and if they don't notice the
small S&W logo on the LH side of the slide have asked if it's a
Ed Brown or other higher end models. I've also compared my
S&W to a Para Ordnance P14, and the S&W fit and finish is
definitely a cut above Paras. imo. At the time I got my
SW1911 msrp was just over $1,000 and I found one for just
under $800 after S&H & Transfer. There's a couple of proprietary
items on a S&W that may require a trip back to S&W for
modification/customer service so if you plan on a "Build"
Platform with your gunsmith of choice a SW Mil Spec or other
would IMO be a better choice for more options. However, if you
start pricing adding a beavertail grip safety, in the $175 range,
etc. it will quickly add up from that entry level you came in on.
I looked closely at an RIA Tactical, good fit on the frame to
slide, I had a snap cap and the trigger was great, nothing rattled,
and what they call 'parkerized' is a smooth blued not the 'parkerized'
of a WWII 1911A1. Armscor the PI company does use CNC milling
for the RIA 1911s, they also made the Charlds Daly and Ithaca 1911s.
Oh, and all three companies have a very good reputation in
Customer Service, with RIA's being with Advanced Tactical in Nevada.
My $.02
Randall - who got up early on "Fall Back" morning crap...
I'll be taking a nooner nap.
