1911 shooting quality

[OliveDrab]

my friend had a springfield mc operator that i tried and i was amazed at the recoil and tirgger feel.

i know you get what you pay for, but how does the feel of shooting a RIA 1911 compaire to a high end 1911?

[stand125]

According to the mass amounts of threads regarding RIA 1911's they shoot just as well as the high end models. I have a Springfield Mil Spec and love it.

[railroader]

I have a ria tactical. It has a very good trigger at about 4 and a half pounds and it is very accurate. The 1st time my wife shot it she had all five rounds overlapping on the target at 10 yards.It has been totally reliable and it has shot mainly 200 gr swc handloads. It's not as pretty as a high end gun but it shoots. Mark

[Black Majik]

I'll state that I notice a difference in feel when shooting a plane jane 1911 and a higher end 1911. Everything just feels much more exact and precise. From the crisp light trigger to the recoil of the gun, you can feel the precision of a well fit 1911 over a looser fit 1911. But, that may just be all in my head.

[9mmepiphany]

The upper end RIA 1911 don't compare to the high end production 1911s at all (in fit and finish), however it is very comparable to the Springfield MC Operator

But, that may just be all in my head

It isn't, the higher end 1911s run smoother and the timing is more precise...it's like fine wine, not every one can tell the difference...there is a learning curve

[NiteQwill]

There is clearly a difference between a custom (high-end) 1911 and all others.

[jak77]

Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. A RIA will not feel the same as a Les Baer unless you drop A LOT of coin into the RIA. It would probably be ceaper to get the Les Baer from the get go.

[SamSung]

my friend had a springfield mc operator that i tried and i was amazed at the recoil and tirgger feel.

i know you get what you pay for, but how does the feel of shooting a RIA 1911 compaire to a high end 1911?

If you are talking about high end, then you mean high end like Wilson Combat , Ed Brown, Les Baer, because Springfield is not considered a high end gun, by the way RIA shoots as good as the Springfield MC Operator.

[CHS]

i know you get what you pay for, but how does the feel of shooting a RIA 1911 compaire to a high end 1911?

There's a general feel to shooting a 1911 that you will always get with any 1911, including a RIA. But even so, there's still a big difference between high end 1911's and something plain and simple like a RIA.

It's hard to explain or quantify, but there is absolutely a difference.

When I'm shooting my RIA, I know I'm shooting a 1911 and I feel like I'm shooting a 1911, and I love it.

When I'm shooting something more high-end like the Operators, I still know I'm shooting a 1911, but it feels like a 1911 on steroids and more "ferrari-like".

I'm not much of a car guy, but I suppose it would be like comparing a BMW 3-series to the same model year BMW M3. Same basic car, right? Same basic road feel right? But totally different driving experiences.

[BamBam-31]

I could tell the difference between my Springfield Loaded before and after I got the Bar-Sto barrel installed (noticeable), and the difference between that and my Les Baer PII Supertac w/ 1.5" guarantee (slight). Speaking mainly in terms of pure accuracy, though. The Baer does indeed feel much nicer in terms of fit and finish, and it has a very nice trigger OTOB. The Springfield needed smithing, but it, too, ended up with a very nice trigger.

Don't have any experience with the RIA's, but if you go to a shop and hold one of the semi-customs in your hands, I'm sure you'll notice the difference, too.

[i1800collect]

If you are talking about high end, then you mean high end like Wilson Combat , Ed Brown, Les Baer, because Springfield is not considered a high end gun, by the way RIA shoots as good as the Springfield MC Operator.

Springfield makes a wide variety of 1911s. The SA MC Operator may not be "high end", but any model 1911 out of their custom shop certainly is (ie. the Professional, Custom Carry, etc.).

[SamSung]

Springfield makes a wide variety of 1911s. The SA MC Operator may not be "high end", but any model 1911 out of their custom shop certainly is (ie. the Professional, Custom Carry, etc.).

Well, the way the OP said is he shot a Springfield Operator which definitely is not a high end model.

[CHS]

by the way RIA shoots as good as the Springfield MC Operator.

Lots of guns "shoot as good" as all kinds of other guns. But it doesn't mean that the shooting experience is as nice.

An RIA will shoot as good or better than a lot of guns out there, even ones that feel better to shoot than the RIA. But I'll still ENJOY shooting a nicer gun more

[Honeydos]

There's a general feel to shooting a 1911 that you will always get with any 1911, including a RIA. But even so, there's still a big difference between high end 1911's and something plain and simple like a RIA.

It's hard to explain or quantify, but there is absolutely a difference.

When I'm shooting my RIA, I know I'm shooting a 1911 and I feel like I'm shooting a 1911, and I love it.

When I'm shooting something more high-end like the Operators, I still know I'm shooting a 1911, but it feels like a 1911 on steroids and more "ferrari-like".

I'm not much of a car guy, but I suppose it would be like comparing a BMW 3-series to the same model year BMW M3. Same basic car, right? Same basic road feel right? But totally different driving experiences.

I think this just about nails it. While I haven't had the pleasure of shooting a Baer, I own an RIA (nice), I have shot a few Kimbers (better), and I shot a really pretty Wilson (VERY NICE!) That being said, I think the best bang for the buck is the RIA hands down. And yes I tried the Springfields too. If I had the scratch, I'd probably go for a Wilson, but I just didn't feel enough of a difference to justify the huge cost discrepancy between the RIA and the Kimber, IMHO.

[9mmepiphany]

If you are talking about high end, then you mean high end like Wilson Combat , Ed Brown, Les Baer, because Springfield is not considered a high end gun, by the way RIA shoots as good as the Springfield MC Operator.

Well, the way the OP said is he shot a Springfield Operator which definitely is not a high end model.

While the MC Operator certainly isn't at the upper end of the Springfield offerings, the Professional is IMO a better gun to use, as opposed to looking at, than the Wilson or the Brown. I rank it slightly below the Baer, certainly below a 1.5" Baer at the high end production/semi-custom level