Rock Island 1911

[90runner]

No point to this thread really, Only made it to say that i absolutely love my Rock Island 1911 .45ACP. It just gets better and better the more i take it out. It started as a standard model but i have sense added a beaver-tail safety, hammer and STI trigger with some fine-tuning/polishing. The best thing i did was add the wrap around finger grove grip. So much more comfy.

Thanks for reading.

[Synergy]

Yup- Love mine also!

[90runner]

Thats the only picture i have right now.

[JMP]

I see all these posts about Rock Island 1911s. I don't mean to denegrate anyone's gun since I am sure they are good, but I heard that they were not great in quality as they are a cheap filipino knock off. How do they really compare to the major US brands like Springfield or Kimber?

[90runner]

Every 1911 other than the original Colt is a "knock-off" The quality is fantastic. Its all steel, what could go wrong? Shoots great. I have no issues with it. Magazine works flawlessly. I have no idea why anyone would spend more other than to say they have a "Kimber" or "Willson Combat" yada yada yada. And Springfield isnt even made in America.

[Loubot10]

Needs better sights but serves as a sound base to build up from, here's mine. By the time I'm done, I'll have less than $1k in it.

Before




After

[Synergy]

I see all these posts about Rock Island 1911s. I don't mean to denegrate anyone's gun since I am sure they are good, but I heard that they were not great in quality as they are a cheap filipino knock off. How do they really compare to the major US brands like Springfield or Kimber?

My first 1911 was the RIA, I wanted a inexpensive investment. I paid about $425 OTD. All the reviews from many 1911 owners and 1911 forums rated the RIA/Armscor as top notch for the price. Plus a good warranty and service if needed. The Philippines have been building 1911s since WWII and can build them quite well. They are loose like a GI Colt, but the can run and run. They are not a TRP or Dan Wesson, but they are affordable and introduce many rookies into the 1911 platform.

As for Kimber Series II or Colt series 80, I would never own one! If JMB felt the 1911 was unsafe he would have added an additional safety. In my opinion, those added safeties are not a true 1911. Also I have no interest in owning a 1911 with an external extractor.

[GW]

I have an RIA 1911 and a Wilson CQB
Yes, there is a distinct and definite difference. For the money, the RIA is the best out there. I will say the same about the CQB.

And--From personal experience, RIA customer service is A #1 best out there

[acolytes]

I love mine. Was finally able to snatch a "tactical" up after many failed attempts.

[SocalRichard]

I love my RIA 1911A1 CS.

[ANG Tactical]

I was really close to getting the Rock Island 1911 but have been looking at the Springfield 1911's. I think it might be worth the extra money.

[dem0critus]

Just got one of these too, mostly as a project to get my feet wet in 1911s and gunsmithing them. You can't do much to beat of these for the value. It does have its shortcomings tho. Firstly, hardly any of the edges are dehorned, particularly on the thumb safety, and the tangs of the frame near the top of where the grip safety lands. Since the grip safety isn't that well fit, those tangs sharply dig into the webbing of your hand when you have a tight grip. I didn't want to remove any material from my frame, so I just polished the edges of the tangs a little, and it's not so bad anymore. Still, I plan to fit a new grip safety eventually to properly eliminate those sharp edges all together. Next, my sights where a little bit off out of the box, but easily fixed by drifting the rear sight a hair to the right. Other than that, the finish isn't totally even throughout, the base of the front sight isn't flush to the slide, and the logo is hilariously big, but these are all purely aesthetic, so they bother me none. A springer or a kimber should have none of these problems, though, so that's really where that extra money is going.

I personally wanted something to tinker with and perfect without having to worry about damaging a $1000+ piece. Not to mention the fact that trying to learn how to gunsmith 1911s on a $1k-$2k pistol seems kinda goofy to me because they're so well fit/finished already. A lot of the things you're trying to learn would just be unnecessary. I'd feel like I was undoing more work than I was doing.

My overall impression is that you really can't go wrong for how inexpensive RIAs 1911s are, especially when you're talking about functionality. They're certainly a whole lot more "rough around the edges" than your $1k+ Springer/Kimber/etc, though. Personally, I think those higher end guns are well worth the money, and attempting to compare an RIA to a Springer w/ similar features is really a matter of apples to oranges.

[Gun_Owner_901]

Umm this may piss some of you off lol, I have never shot a 1911 never even held a 1911 lol, can you guys tell me how they work as far as the hammer is concerned, is it a single action or double action, I only asking because I am considering picking up a RIA 1911.

[Synergy]

Umm this may piss some of you off lol, I have never shot a 1911 never even held a 1911 lol, can you guys tell me how they work as far as the hammer is concerned, is it a single action or double action, I only asking because I am considering picking up a RIA 1911.

Single Action. Rack the slide and you are hot. Depress grip safety and pull the trigger.

The legendary guru of the combat 1911, Jeff Cooper, came up with the “Condition” system to define the state of readiness of the 1911-pattern pistol. They are:

Condition 0 – A round is in the chamber, hammer is cocked, and the safety is off.
Condition 1 – Also known as “cocked and locked,” means a round is in the chamber, the hammer is cocked, and the manual thumb safety on the side of the frame is applied.
Condition 2 – A round is in the chamber and the hammer is down.
Condition 3 – The chamber is empty and hammer is down with a charged magazine in the gun.
Condition 4 – The chamber is empty, hammer is down and no magazine is in the gun.

Myself and many here keep our 1911s in Condition 1.

[Furncliff]

I still want the Colt Gold Cup I was searching for when my wife gave me an RIA 1911-45 Tactical for Christmas about 4000 rounds ago. A broken slide stop has been the only issue (that happened in the first month). I shoot a lot off a rest testing loads, this pistol is way more accurate than I am, and it will feed anything. For me it's perfect. It's a range toy I don't have to worry about, do I still want the Gold Cup? Yes, but...

Recently I bought a RIA 1911 - 9mm mid length. It came to me with extraction problems. It took two trips to Nv. to get it right, but RIA paid all the shipping and communication with the gunsmiths and the shipping department was A#1.

RIA's just run, handsome is as handsome does.