Tricking out a "starter" 1911 (RIA)

[Slugz]

New to the boards and this is one of the sparking interests that got me here Good to meet all of you and I look forward to learning from you all.

I recently purchased a Rock Island Armory 1911 Tactical from the local shop (still havent picked it up yet.. gotta wait till the 15th.. god I hate waiting... lol) and I have heard tons of good reviews on them, read plenty online as well. I hear they dont really "need" much of anything to make them better, but I hear in general 1911's have some trouble spots and being a "lower end" model of the gun, the RIA could probably use a little sprucing up in those areas as well.

I hear lots of good feedback on the Wilson Combat line of parts, but being that this is my first 1911 I have no idea which parts would be a good idea to have and which would even make for a nice and easy "drop in" addition. Some of the parts I have been rolling around in my head are as follows:

Extractor
Guide rod (full length or short?)
Recoil spring (should I mess with increasing the resistance or just go for quality?)
Sear
Barrel
Magazines
Barrel bushing

So these are most of the parts I have considered getting from Wilson Combat over time to trick my gun out a bit and increase its reliability. Does anyone have any input on some good mods for these guns? What kind of problems can I expect to run into when trying to fit the parts? How much of this will need to be done by a gunsmith? Lots of questions i know lol but I want to know as much as I can about the platform and how to improve on it. I have always wanted a 1911 primarily because of all these little goodies you can add to it to make it your own contraption. I just want it to be reliable, because its going to double as a defensive backup if my shotgun runs out of ammo

[Brandon04GT]

Pretty much everything you listed except for the guide rod, recoil spring and magazines will very likely require extensive fitting and not something that should be attempted by a novice.

I would just maybe get a new coil and mainspring as well as a GI/short guide rod if you'd like. That is all you really need along with ammo to break it in.

There are things you can do to smooth out the internals that doesn't cost money and that alone can produce some noticeable difference if you're really inclined.

The bottom line is, just get ammo and shoot the thing. It aint some high end R/C car or something that needs a whole bunch of upgrades out the box.

[JoefromPA]

I bought the same gun as my first 1911 and had the same ideas about upgrading it. My suggestion is to shoot it a lot before you jump in and start replacing parts, don't just replace them for the sake of doing it. Use the RIA to learn the platform and change out parts that you feel could use some work.

I've had mine for close to a year and have slightly more than 1000 rounds through it and the only thing I did to it that I had on my list was grips. I'm planning to change out the full lenght guide rod, but only because of preference.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do anything, but start throwing unneccesary parts at it and you'll quickly negate the lower price that probably made you pick the RIA in the first place.

[IVth Horseman]

I have the full rail model myself.

I wouldn't start changing out parts until you shoot it and determine what NEEDS to be changed. The factory barrel, extractor, and guide rod should remain stock as long as they work correctly from the beginning. The average shooter won't benefit from changing those parts.

The only things I replaced were grips, magazine (Wilson 10rd), and barrel bushing with built in comp.

[Mr. Gillious]

IMO

I would break the gun in first and see what you like and don't like after you've shot it enough times. It's a 1911 and "if it aint broke, don't fix it"

1.You can upgrade the magwell with the clip on wilson combat magwell. It works great, is cheap, and easy to install.

2. Polish the feed ramp and get it throated if you want to feed more types of ammo

3. checker the front strap for a nicer grip

4. get night sights

5.change the grips

6. get an extended slide release

7. install a shock buffer

8. you can change the mainspring housing to a nicer one. maybe one with even a lanyard loop if you like or one that comes with a magwell. But that will usually involve fitting.

[sholling]

Pretty much everything you listed except for the guide rod, recoil spring and magazines will very likely require extensive fitting and not something that should be attempted by a novice.

I would just maybe get a new coil and mainspring as well as a GI/short guide rod if you'd like. That is all you really need along with ammo to break it in.

There are things you can do to smooth out the internals that doesn't cost money and that alone can produce some noticeable difference if you're really inclined.

The bottom line is, just get ammo and shoot the thing. It aint some high end R/C car or something that needs a whole bunch of upgrades out the box.

+1 the extractor, sear, and barrel all need fitting and a trigger job should only be tackled by a very experience gunsmith with genuine 1911 expertise and my advice is don't go crazy. I suggest just shooting it as-is or dress it up with some pretty grip panels and once you've mastered it as-is get a good gunsmith to do a 4.5-5lb trigger job but no lighter.

http://www.esmeralda.cc/

http://www.thefinergrain.com/

[myk]

Like everyone else has said shoot the gun to a reasonable break-in point and then decide what the gun needs; it's possible your gun won't need anything at all. My opinion is if the gun performs reliably then don't change a thing. What I've noticed, especially with studying people's experiences with 1911's, is that these guns are finicky and become even more so once you start trying to trick it out to make it better-sort of like a car.

On my RIA 'Tac, I've only put 200 rounds through it and I'm still experiencing malfunctions, but if everything settles down I will leave it alone except changing out those worthless wanna-be Novak-style sights...

[ExtremeX]

I have shot a couple RIAs and think it’s a pretty decent gun out of the box.

I was thinking of getting a RIA as well… but only to have a project where I was going to refinish it…

I wouldn’t start changing all these things just for kicks… with all the money you spend on upgrade it may have put you into a nicer 1911 from the get-go…

[Q619]

Imo, shoot it/enjoy it as it is. If you want a better gun, save up and buy a better gun. You'll get more for your money. More resale value if you should decide to sell the other gun.

[redcliff]

Unless you can explain a need to change any of the parts you mentioned on your pistol, leave it alone.

All a 1911 really NEEDS is reliability, good sights and a good trigger. Your RIA Tactical probably has all three and is a good value for the money spent.

Spending money replacing parts that aren't broken, aren't likely to break, and are coverred by a lifetime warranty even if they did is probably not the best course of action.

[Slugz]

Solid advice from everyone here, and thank you all. The biggest concern I had was with the extractor. I have read a lot of people have had problems with the cheaper extractors. The rest was more of an optional thing to have done over months, if not years of ownership. But I guess ill just stick to magazines, grips, and a few other aesthetic tweaks like a stainless barrel bushing and some nice sights. Thanks guys

[soakedntorment]

I have some stuff added on mine, wilson guide rod,recoil spring,egw bushing,front dawson precision fiber optic sight. Out of those things the bushing and front sight have made a big impact specially the sight, going from just looking at a plain black front sight to actually having something i see is way better and improved my shooting. I will probably go back to the original spring but keep the wilson guide rod in.IMO the trigger is awesome and if you want to get a trigger job done to it then maybe you should shooting something else. Get some reliable mags you should be fine, some guy on the 1911 forum has like 20,000 plus rounds through his RIA and has not had a single problem and its all stock besides his sights just a fyi.

[polo.45]

They're nice guns... Congrats!!! Don't need change anything... But you'll hear a rattle noise... But if you change the recoil spring that rattle will go away....

[luckystrike]

you listed a few parts that I would swap out. 2 things that really stand out to me:A little bit heavier spring (17.5-18.5lbs) and defiantly some better mags. Wilson or chip mccormic. other stuff should be alright for now, aslong as everything is fitted/tuned correctly. check extractor tension, makesure your mags dont make contact with your ejector. two other things I would do out of personal pref is get a wilson extractor and ejector. thats just me.

[Sheldon]

I got the Tactical so I wouldn't have to change anything on it. It pretty much has everything on it that I paid extra to have installed on my Colt 80 series Gold Cup. One could debate the quality of the parts versus the non-MIM versions made by the big name accessorie suppliers like Wilson and Brown, but personally I would shoot it till something proves to me it needs changing.....I think you'll save money that way. Got my son the RIA Match and it has been great with no parts swapping needed after over 1000 rounds now. I still have not put a round thru my Tactical yet.