So, I shot a buddy's new Rock Island 1911 yesterday, it was an eye opener.

[88E30M50]

I'd love to fine one of their 10mm 1911s.

 

[red_zr24x4]

Except on ingo I have heard and seen more negative than positive about the base model RIA. Have no real world experience with the tactical.

Everything I've read on 1911Forum - Powered by vBulletin is just the opposite, go to the RIA subsection and its probably 10to1 for good reviews.

 

[churchmouse]

Everything I've read on 1911Forum - Powered by vBulletin is just the opposite, go to the RIA subsection and its probably 10to1 for good reviews.

My input has been at the LGS and the range from folks who have owned them. Never really looked into them beyond that. Have held a few. Just a little sloppy for my taste.

 

[JAH]

I have the commander size RIA the only mods I have done Ambi Safety Night sights and a laser grip.

I really like this 1911 shoots point of aim and feels right.

 

[KellyinAvon]

RIA 1911A1-C .45 is under the bed. Shoots good, no complaints.

 

[88E30M50]

I have a RIA Compact 1911 in .45 and it keeps up well with the more expensive brothers in the safe from Kimber, Colt, Sig and Springfield. It's only issue is a short spring change interval. I run Wolff #22 (from memory) recoil springs with a 400 round count change interval. I've let those go beyond 500 rounds and do start to get hiccups with tired recoil springs above that. Kimber extended their short barrel recoil spring life to 1500 rounds by going with a dual recoil spring.

 

[worddoer]

Ever try to change the sights on one?

Yes and no. I own a Tactical 9mm and I bought new sights for it. I found out that both the front and back dovetails are not true Novak dimensions. They are too shallow and at the wrong angle.

I worked with Shawn at Armscor (one of the gunsmiths in their custom shop). For $80 he re-milled both dovetails to true Novak dimensions, installed the sights, and test fired the pistol to make sure the sights were properly aimed. Fair deal in my opinion. Since the pistol was $425 when I bought it, I still only have $505 in it at this point. Seems like a fair deal to me.

Ya...it's not a "1 pistol at 50 yards. They were not designed for that. But they tend to be reliable and affordable to the masses. That makes them a viable choice for self defense.

 

[ag563]

I bought the full size RIA tactical 1911, in .45 acp, great gun, was $450 + tax. About a month ago. I have nothing bad to say about this gun.

 

[dhw9am]

It's a better gun.

I looked at these and really wish i had got one instead of my M&P that i picked up friday.

The MP is a better gun and will give you far more years of trouble free service, in my experience.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Curious. While hanging around you lot is making me want a 1911 to play with, They strike me as finicky. Comments about having to do work to get the ramps to like anything but ball ammo (and in some cases feed reliably at ALL), replacing springs after X rounds, etc. I dont hear about stuff like that on other weapons. Whats the deal?

Not trying to start a flame war, just curious. What immediately pops into my head is they were designed well for the times, but have shortcomings that require more frequent maintenance relative to more modern designs with updated tech. Thats not always a bad thing. Classic muscle cars shouldnt have more reliable fuel injection engines for instance...

 

[churchmouse]

Curious. While hanging around you lot is making me want a 1911 to play with, They strike me as finicky. Comments about having to do work to get the ramps to like anything but ball ammo (and in some cases feed reliably at ALL), replacing springs after X rounds, etc. I dont hear about stuff like that on other weapons. Whats the deal?

Not trying to start a flame war, just curious. What immediately pops into my head is they were designed well for the times, but have shortcomings that require more frequent maintenance relative to more modern designs with updated tech. Thats not always a bad thing. Classic muscle cars shouldnt have more reliable fuel injection engines for instance...

There are many new offerings beyond a GI that will eat anything you feed them and run reliably and almost Glock like. Yeah I said it.

Springfield has a few and we have 3 paras that have been very good shooters. They have ate far more ammo than all our other pistols combined with no serious issues coming to mind beyond normal maintenance after 10,000 rounds.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Curious. While hanging around you lot is making me want a 1911 to play with, They strike me as finicky. Comments about having to do work to get the ramps to like anything but ball ammo (and in some cases feed reliably at ALL), replacing springs after X rounds, etc. I dont hear about stuff like that on other weapons. Whats the deal?

Not trying to start a flame war, just curious. What immediately pops into my head is they were designed well for the times, but have shortcomings that require more frequent maintenance relative to more modern designs with updated tech. Thats not always a bad thing. Classic muscle cars shouldnt have more reliable fuel injection engines for instance...

Feed ramp issues on modern quality 1911s is something of a rarity, and usually is an issue with the shortened versions. Gov't sized and most Commander sized will feed fine right out of the box. I've got a Springfield 1911 with over 6k rounds with no hiccups with factory ammo of any kind. A friend of mine bought a Springfield Loaded just before Christmas and it ran like a Singer sewing machine right out of the box.

 

[churchmouse]

Feed ramp issues on modern quality 1911s is something of a rarity, and usually is an issue with the shortened versions. Gov't sized and most Commander sized will feed fine right out of the box. I've got a Springfield 1911 with over 6k rounds with no hiccups with factory ammo of any kind. A friend of mine bought a Springfield Loaded just before Christmas and it ran like a Singer sewing machine right out of the box.

Both my loaded's are sweet operators. RO is a freaking tack driver. TRP is just a machine....period.

 

[1911 mike]

While most people do not give them a fair chance, they are in my opinion the best kept secrets for 1911's. I own 7 of them, all in .45 with the exception to one that is the 10mm. All of them were under $560. One of them is the .45 compact and I sent it too Arnel in Pharump, Nv. and he did all the custom work you could ever ask for on a 1911. I have $480 in the price of the gun with additional parts and Arnel's labor, $644 for a total,=$1124 and I will match this gun with any other firearm at (40 yrds.) With 2000+ fired from it and it is flawless in it's operation. Arnel is the "Master" gunsmith at Armscor and I could not be any happier with his work. 30lpi on the frt. strap that he did, looks beautiful. It is my daily carry and of all my .45's it will out shot all most all of them with the exception of my Ed Brown. Never any problems out of all 7 of them and the 10mm shots as good as most. I say it's one of the best kept secrets in the firearms business.

 

[Squib]

I have had zero problems with my tactical .45 and the accuracy out of the box was surprisingly good.

 

[Radar1503]

I owned one also they are pretty nice
guns. Mine was the commander size.

 

[JetGirl]

Mine was the commander size.

MS?

 

[warren5421]

They are like the old Norco that came out in the 80's or 90's. It was a great 1911 and was used as a base gun for a lot of builds. then the banded gun list came out! No Norco.

 

[calcot7]

I've got 2 of them, a 9mm and a .45 for the money you can't beat them. Both of mine are the tactical model. My only complaint, actually 2, is both shoot about 6" low and I'm not wild about the factory grips

Low's easy enough to fix. Get the file and the Perma Blue out.

 

[Bang-bang]

I bought the full size RIA tactical 1911, in .45 acp, great gun, was $450 + tax. About a month ago. I have nothing bad to say about this gun.

Ditto, (except for I got mine a year ago) Good shooter!!!, just changed the grips and the thing eat my reloads with no Problems, for the price range it's outstanding!

(yes, you cant spend more $$$)