Opinions on Rock Island Armory

[SteelersFan]

Thinking about getting a RIA compact tactical and wanted some opinions.

 

[karlsgunbunker]

I have a Full size RIA 1911.
Great pistol, goes bang everytime.

 

[walt o]

r.i.a.

I have 2 ,a compact and a full size tact.,both are great shooters right out of the box.Wish i could have found the compact in the tact. just checked at the gunsmith and he wants $125 just to cut the dovetails for a Novak rear & front . The customer service from rock island is great .look up the rock island arms section on the 1911 pistol org. site.plenty of other happy people, Don't know if I would sink lots of bucks in it to try to make a super custom ,just buy it and shoot and enjoy it .Armscore makes the R.I.A.in the Philippines they also make High standard 1911's and supply frames to S.T.I. On another note they are comming out with a 1911 in 9 mm compact sometime this year I can't wait to get one.

 

[SteelersFan]

Im not real crazy about the Philippines part but for the price what can I say. Walt O do you ever CC your compact?

 

[NateIU10]

Im not real crazy about the Philippines part but for the price what can I say. Walt O do you ever CC your compact?

Why not crazy about the Philippines part? I've heard nothing but good things about them.

 

[SteelersFan]

I like to try and support American labor when I can.

 

[NateIU10]

I like to try and support American labor when I can.

Ah, I can see that. At least they're an ally though, and they're fighting Communist rebels. Better than giving it to China or Russia IMHO

 

[BE Mike]

I've seen some that shot good, and others that had problems. The magazines seem to be questionable. They are cast, rather than forged, like the Springfield Armory 1911's. I'd like to see a true pistolsmith give a review, checking how well the holes line up and hardness of the metal, etc.

 

[dblagent]

I do not own one, but I would like a compact tactical like you are looking at. I have shot a semi compact and a full size and the owners of each of those love them and I had zero troubles while shooting them.

I would buy one, and go to this this site to read up on them more, though I bet you already have.

The M1911 Pistols Organization Forums Site - Armscor/Rock Island

 

[jrogers]

RIA guarantees that their weapons will function (barring incompetent amateur gunsmithing attempts and similar abuse). Their reps are always available over on the m1911.org forums. You can't go wrong with an RIA, because if something does go wrong they'll fix it for you with a minimum of hassle. Mine had no issues at all, though.

Edit: I'm convinced that the Tactical model is the best value for the money. Swap in night sights and a proper guide rod and you've got one hell of a shooter/carry weapon.

 

[SteelersFan]

jrogers what is a mater with the guide rod?

 

[Josey Wales]

hey NateIU guy, i like the idea of IU concealed carry on campus, i think that faculty should certainly be able to have some sort of protection device throughout the country. I graduated from Indiana State last year and i certainly would have liked to carry a handgun due to all of the METH HEAD idiots and wanna be gang bangers on and off campus. seems to me that IU is a bit safer, in my eyes, than ISU, from my experiences at both schools, but i think it should be legal, but unfortunately there would be some moron wannabe thugs that would ruin for the rest of us good folks, by lighting up some guy who just banged his old lady

 

[muncie21]

I've had a couple of RIAs. Never a problem! Thinking of getting a compact version and/or a long-slide next.

 

[wilderness_wanderer]

I've got a compact tactical. It did have go back to the mothership for repair though. I was having FTF and FTRB way too often, even considering the "break-in period." It works great now. The factory supplied magazines are Novak and work great. I put slim alumagrips on mine and it conceals pretty well in a Milt Sparks Summer Special II. Note that it came with a GI style thumb safety, the extended one is an STI I added.

 

[jrogers]

jrogers what is a mater with the guide rod?

I don't care for full length guide rods. Some things JMB did can be improved upon (sights, beavertail, ambi safety for southpaws like me), but the guide rod/spring/plug system he designed works great without modification given a properly dimensioned pistol.

 

[SteelersFan]

Thanks everybody never had a 1911 and the RIA seem like a good starting point.

 

[zsm]

The GI is a good pistol, but the best deal right now is the tactical.

 

[Patient Zer0]

Their CZ 75 clones are top notch, never fired their 1911 though.

 

[muncie21]

If someone has a RIA compact/commander version they would like to sell, let me know.

 

[mospeada]

I've got a compact tactical. It did have go back to the mothership for repair though. I was having FTF and FTRB way too often, even considering the "break-in period." It works great now. The factory supplied magazines are Novak and work great. I put slim alumagrips on mine and it conceals pretty well in a Milt Sparks Summer Special II. Note that it came with a GI style thumb safety, the extended one is an STI I added.

I can't tell from your pics, is the front sight dovetailed? I have a compact that came with the tactical trappings, but has milspec sights. It shoots fine.

I've got two RIAs, one compact, one Government. Both shoot fine, the only problems I've had were minor and I've corrected them myself. The Government had a soft firing pin that peened and stuck on the firing pin stop. The compact had some rough edges around the slide stop hole that caused the stop to come out when firing. I replaced the firing pin with a tooled steel version on the govt and cleaned up the roughness and replaced the slide stop on the compact. Both pistols have over 500rnds now.

That said, I think if you're going for your first 1911, go with a Springfield Armory or other higher end gun until you get used to the platform. Obviously, if I had purchased these guns as my first 1911, I might be less than enthused with the platform, especially if I had to send it back to RIA or pay a gunsmith.