Rock Island 1911, They any good ?

fuze · Post by **fuze** » Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:12:47

I picked up a 1911 finally. I have no experience with 1911's so I figured I would see what their hype was all about.

Rock Island Armory GI 1911 .45ACP

Anyone ever owned one ? How reliable are they ?

I have put a 50round box through it so far and it was very accurate, no jams or malfunctions of any kind.

grumpyMSG · Post by **grumpyMSG** » Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:01:12

Congratulations on your new "Shootin' Iron". I won't tell you "You got the worst gun in the world" or "It's so good that your grand kids will never have a problem with it". dorminWS would be the guy on here that probably could tell you more about the various 1911 manufacturers and what you may want to do to tune yours up.

I will offer the advice that next time you are looking for a firearm, post the question on here or other firearm type sites and you will get a wealth of knowledge and hear of experiences. For example, like the 1911,there are dozens of AR type rifle manufacturers out. Some of us could steer you in the right direction for what you want there. Others could tell you every thing you could ever want to know about sound suppressors.

jrswanson1 · Post by **jrswanson1** » Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:47:21

I have one. I've only put fifty rounds through her. It's a GI style, but nickeled. If you want to run FMJs, they're great! If you want to run JHPs, get different mags.

dorminWS · Post by **dorminWS** » Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:11:05

I've got one 4" RIA that appears to be in good condition without excessive wear or obvious damage. I bought it used and have fired it one time - a few magazine loads - a total of less than 50 rounds. It ran PMC 230gr FMJs without malfunction and accuracy seemed about average. Some people say RIA uses cheaper components. I couldn't say. Haven't stripped it down yet and I'm neither a student nor a great judge of the quality of components in any case. Maybe that will be an issue with reliablility or service life in the future if you shoot it a lot, but right now the used RIA I've got performs to the mid-to-higher end of my normal expectations of a 1911.

As Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I know 'bout thayut."

Hpancho · Post by **Hpancho** » Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:12:24

I own two RIA's. Both Tactical 1911's. One chambered in .45 and the other 9mm. No major issues with either. Sent my .45 in to have the barrel throated and tuned by their master gunsmith, Arnel. Martin (the CEO) promises that it will shoot everything and anything (including hollow point ammo) when they are done with it. I have had personal communications with the company's CEO. How many companies will standby their product 100% and offer to buy it back if you are not happy with their firearms? The warranty extends to the firearm regardless if you are not the original owner. You can tell how important customer satisfaction is when the CEO will reply to you personally. My $.02

widefat · Post by **widefat** » Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:45:49

I have a Commander - for the first 100 or so rounds I had 2 or 3 FTFs, and received brass in the forehead occasionally. After 200-to 300 rounds, no more. Runs smooth now. As accurate as it can be with me behind the trigger - it compares favorably with my M&P.
I replaced the grip with a Hogue wrap around, retrofitted an ambidextrous thumb safety, and added a set of white dot sites.

CCFan · Post by **CCFan** » Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:55:21

Have a 9mm tactical RIA - it's under the "Show off your hardware" section somewhere...

Haven't had any issues with mine, although I did purchase some Tripp magazines for it and change some parts on it, I'm extremely happy with it. Congrats on yours! Enjoy it!

ratherfish · Post by **ratherfish** » Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:57:39

That's the 1911...

No hype.

Been doing what needs to be done for 100 years!

fuze · Post by **fuze** » Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:37:12

Lots of RIA owners here, good to know !

I had purchased it for my fiancee on a spur of the moment decision... I asked her multiple times, you sure you want the .45 ?

Needless to say after shooting it she didn't want it anymore, so I took it and bought her a Sig P225 9mm to replace it.

I like it enough that I didn't want to sell it, glad to know so many have one and no major issues. Also good to know their customer service is top notch !! Thanks

LawyerwithaGun · Post by **LawyerwithaGun** » Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:35:33

I've carried an RIA .45 Compact for a couple of years. It's reliable and does what it's supposed to do. Mine is showing holster wear, but I think that it just adds character.

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