The Rock Island incident (KaBoom)

[ndh87]

I thought I would pick up a Rock Island 1911 as a beater gun, the local store had them for around 400 bucks, so i figured why not. The gun lasted 2 rounds. Now this could have been my fault, if it was, im glad it was this gun, not my Kimber. I was firing 230 grn round nose lead reloads. (yea, i know, everyone is going to say i double charged one, that is possible, but typically Im VERY careful for just this reason)

On the plus side, no where in the Rock Island manual does it say that reloads will void the warrenty...hmm...

















As you can see, most the damage was isolated to the barrel. Im going to get in touch with Rock Island and see if they'll fix the gun. If not I'll just buy a new barrel and see how it works.


EDIT: Both rounds hit the target about an inch left of center.

 

[mgregg85]

No damage to the frame?

 

[Winston_Smith]

Wow. Nice pictures. Glad you are ok.

 

[EvanWilliams]

Tell em you want a new gun or your money back. Preferably your money back.

 

[weisse52]

Does the shell show any signs of excess pressure? Did the case split or the primer flatten?

 

[ndh87]

The frame rails are fine, the front bit is pushed down just a hair.

The case looks like any other empty, no bulge, no cracks, the primer looks normal.

 

[weisse52]

The case looks like any other empty, no bulge, no cracks, the primer looks normal.

I could be wrong, but, to have a defective round cause that it would have had to had some pretty high pressure. You would have seen a split, ruptured case and most likely a flatten primer as well.

So, maybe a defective barrel, not so sure it was a reload.

I could be wrong, may be wrong, and if I am, someone on this forum will jump on it in the next 10 minutes or so....

 

[wditto]

I would bet it was a lite-load ahead of it that stuck in the barrel.....

 

[stoveboltgunnut]

I agree that if your reloads caused that the case would show serious signs of over-pressure. Time to call rock island.

 

[stoveboltgunnut]

I would bet it was a lite-load ahead of it that stuck in the barrel.....

he said both rounds hit the target.

 

[DBR]

From what I can see in the pics it looks like a plugged barrel or defective material in the barrel. If the first round made a hole then I'd bet on defect in the gun.

 

[rbernie]

Glad that you're ok.

I, too, am thinkin' that you had a squib load followed by the shot that split the barrel. That really looks like the kind of damage that you see with a bore obstruction.

 

[ndh87]

Just to clarify. the target i was shooting at was a new target, no holes. The first round made a hole. The second round made a hole also.

 

[DBR]

The "free machining" bar stock steels that are used by some barrel makers can have linear defects in the grain (laminations) that make them weak against radial stress. This makes them subject to the kind of failure you have shown.

Just saying

 

[CountGlockula]

Get a new barrel and you're good to go.

 

[MICHAEL T]

The case looks like any other empty, no bulge, no cracks, the primer looks normal.

2 holes in target and bass looks good Guess leaves a bad barrel

 

[RedAlert]

I think to be on the safe side, that you get the slide and frame inspected with dye-penetrate or magna-flux checked for cracks that are not visible. Also a good check by a qualified gun-smith are in order.

I'm happy to hear you are uninjured and still looking to keep shooting.

 

[weisse52]

I think to be on the safe side, that you get the slide and frame inspected with dye-penetrate or magna-flux checked for cracks that are not visible. Also a good check by a qualified gun-smith are in order.

Maybe a trip back to Rock Island for them to give you the ok.

 

[ndh87]

I'm happy to hear you are uninjured and still looking to keep shooting.

Im happy i still have all my fingers too. After I realized what happened to the gun i set it aside and shot my 625 for the rest of the day.

The gun will be making a trip back to Rock Island, maybe they'll fix it. If not, I might know someone with a spare barrel.

 

[Hoxviii]

I have a RIA that has been flawless so far (about 3K through it), but I was cleaning it last night and saw what looks like a crack in the barrel. Came on here to see if anyone else was having any issues and here's this. Crazy.

I haven't been able to confirm the crack yet; I'll be hitting it with some dye later this week.

 

[DasFriek]

Im no expert with RIA but i have read that in the forum ill link they have someone from RIA that is in the CS dept,mabey a higher position i forget actually.
But ive read he can make things happen fast and without issue.
http://forum.m1911.org/forumdisplay.php?f=17

Glad your ok OP,a .45 kaboom would make my shorts go kasquish.
From my reading i dont think this is a common occurance,mabey just a bad batch hopefully.Its been a good year or so for people to buy decent quality 1911's at affordable prices.

 

[Olympus]

Yes, post this thread and pictures over that the M1911 forum. One of members over there is a frequent poster and works for Rock Island. I believe his name is Ivan, but I could be wrong.

My opinion, get the money back and put it towards something different. I'd be a little worried about the integrity of the cast frame, even if you replaced the barrel. There's nothing wrong with bargain guns like Rock Islands, but when quality is sacrificed for cost then bad things can potenially happen. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Rock Island is bad and they make low quality stuff. That kind of thing is likely a very rare occurence.

Personally, I was on the rail with Rock Island and I think this might have been enough to push the balance.

 

[1858rem]

man you got a serious wear mark on the pin that holds the barrel to the slide(whats this called?)


did the barrel splitting bend the recoil spring like that?

 

[rbernie]

man you got a serious wear mark on the pin that holds the barrel to the slide(whats this called?)

The slide stop. It looks like the barrel is riding the link and not making much contact with the barrel lug, but that seems to be quite common these days. I'm not much of an expert on this sort of thing, and others can comment more intelligently.

 

[1858rem]

i was thinking if only 2 rounds have been fired, along with the two from the factory.

4 shots should not make it that shiney.......750+ through mine have not gotten it that shiney yet...