I would like some input

[churchmouse]

Good friend bought the GI looking one after he shot my old remington. He brings it everytime we shoot. Has been great every time.
The trend ive noticed is guys who have invested lots of money into 1911's hate the rock island.
The finish does SUCK.
Do with that information what you will.

You have to get into them to understand. Heck man an old Colt is rough as a cob inside but it is an "OLD" Colt. A new 1911 should not be that poorly made.
Yes they do run. Some are even pretty accurate.
My deal is the handful of friends that have bought them and then want them upgraded. I have used all the Springer parts I have from upgrading every 1911 I have owned. Once I manage to get the parts fit into the frames they end up with some pretty swell pieces. Not custom by any measure but they are a lot more fun to shoot.

But they have improved some of the fitment.

 

[IndianaSoloMcfly]

Im not knocking the high end 1911 crowd. If you think I dont peek at the les baer/ Dan wessons then you are inccorect.
I think you get A LOT of gun for the price of a rock island.
My 1911 has a very old colt slide. It looks like it was cut with a hand drill, and that level of craftmanship shows when I shoot it next to modern firearms... point being, I recognize the importants of fit. Side by side my 1911 (which admittedly is a franken gun made from era-ish correct parts) and my buddys rock island, he has a nicer piece.

My view is very possibly skewed, perhaps because ive never fired a high end 1911 so I dont know the difference, but its incredibly difficult not to recomend a rock island when I look at my own experiences.

 

[wcd]

That person is concerned with a series 70 pistol firing if dropped. Tons of "discussion" on that topic. So no round in the chamber for that 1911poster.

not dogging anyone's decisions but How does dropping it by pass the thumb safety if engaged, and grip safety? Along with other features in a modern 1911

 

[63PGP]

not dogging anyone's decisions but How does dropping it by pass the thumb safety if engaged, and grip safety? Along with other features in a modern 1911

Do a web search and you will find more info than you ever wanted on that topic.

I don't have any issue with any series 70 that I own.

Mike

 

[MrSmitty]

I had a RIA officers model .45, shot like a dream, really nice entry level 1911. If I could find one in 9mm for a good price, I'd get it. I'm into shooters, not collectables, so , while I'd love a Colt, I would have to hit the lottery to ever own one....

 

[BR8818]

I bought a RIA about ten years ago shot nice looked like crap but I didn't care because I was leaving it in my shop as a "shop gun". Well they found it when they broke in my shop so I don't have it any more but I would find a used Springfield if I was you.

 

[pblanc]

not dogging anyone's decisions but How does dropping it by pass the thumb safety if engaged, and grip safety? Along with other features in a modern 1911

The series 70 type model 1911 pistols have a free-floating firing pin and no firing pin block safety. The only thing preventing the firing pin from going forward and striking the primer is the firing pin spring.

The grip safety and thumb safety block the trigger from moving backward and the thumb safety also locks the slide in battery if the hammer is cocked. But neither have any effect on the firing pin itself.

If a series 70 pistol is dropped muzzle down from sufficient height onto a hard surface, at least in theory the inertia of the firing pin could cause it to continue moving forward toward the muzzle with sufficient force to ignite the primer.

A lot of modern series 70 pistols have a titanium firing pin (lower mass and inertia) and an extra-strength firing pin to reduce the likelihood of such an event.

 

[red_zr24x4]

I've had 2 of the tactical models for about 8 yrs now. One in 9mm and one in 45.
Never any issue with them, Both will shoot anything I put in them. My only complaint is the finish, it's kinda rough, and mine are old enough to have the big billboard RI on the slide.
The only other negative I have, which goes for any 1911 I've ever shot is I shoot them about 6" low. I just compensate for it.

 

[HCALREF]

I have one, standard basic model, works fine and I like it.

 

[Dirtebiker]

They have stepped up their game in the last couple of years.
I have been inside a lot of them and I will never own one.
If that is in your budget and gets you into the platform go get one.

But you did say good things about mine after shooting it.

 

[Mgderf]

Bought the basic full size in 10mm last year. Not a whole it of mileage on it as of now, but no issues either.

 

[hps]

I can tell ya, Ive seen MANY RIA 1911's run and MANY high end offerings fail and vice versa! LMAO!! Buy one you'll like it. I wouldnt buy their GI step it up a lil. GO PATS!!

 

[pblanc]

I own what is now called the full-size "Rock" model 1911A1 in .45 ACP. I believe this model used to be called the "Tactical". I had to mess around with mine a bit to get it to where I wanted it, but now it is a very nice-shooting pistol. Some of the changes I made were purely a matter of personal preference and some were done to improve function.

Some of the things I did not like about it: the polymer grips were too thin for my hand size. The wooden grips were better but completely smooth and too slippery. I hated the ambidextrous thumb safety lever. The edges of the lever were rather sharp and the right sided lever dug into my shooting hand. I was not crazy about the full-length guide rod. I personally see no benefit to a FLGR in a model 1911 and they tend to make assembly and disassembly more difficult. Further more, I thought that the recoil spring was binding a bit on the guide rod and resisting the pistol's return to battery. I had some initial feeding issues as well. The machining at the edges of the barrel throat seemed pretty rough to me. The mainspring housing was polymer and the checkering at the edges tended to be a bit sharp and uncomfortable.

Things I really liked: the trigger action was surprisingly good for a budget 1911. I have done nothing with the stock sear, hammer, and disconnector. I did swap the trigger simply because I prefer a long-shoe trigger for my hand size, although the medium length trigger shoe on the pistol was much better than the short GI triggers. The beaver tail grip safety was quite comfortable. The sights were dovetailed front and rear rather than the pinned GI style front sight.

Things that were so-so: The sights were better than the tiny GI types, but they were completely blacked out and the rear sight notch was a bit narrow for my taste. The finish is parkerized and is rather bland. The slide catch lever worked fine but the edges were again a bit on the sharp side.

Things I changed and swapped: I enlarged the notch in the rear sight a little and painted in the two little dimples with white paint to create a two-dot rear sight. I swapped the front sight for a Hi-Viz fiberoptic model. I swapped the grip panels for some checkered wood ones I had lying around and put on a Pearce grip sleeve to provide a bit more purchase on the front strap. I also polished the barrel throat, barrel hood, and feed ramp. The open ended plug for the FLGR was swapped for a closed GI plug and the FLGR swapped for a short GI style rod. The ambi thumb safety was deep sixed and I fitted an extended non-ambi lever from Wilson Combat. This also required changing the sear pin for a shorter one. The trigger was swapped for an alloy long shoe model adjustable for over-travel. I also swapped the polymer MSH for a flat, steel one and swapped the slide catch lever for a Wilson Combat model. I wound up changing out all the springs "just because" because cheap springs is one way that budget manufacturers cut corners.

I got a very good price on the stock pistol so even with all of these parts changes I have less in the pistol than I would have had I bought the Springfield Armory mil-spec model, and there are things on that pistol I would also have had to change. The RIA I have now functions well and fits me very nicely.

I also have a Springfield Armory model 1911. It is the "GI 45" model which was made at Imbel in Brazil and is no longer offered. This was a basic GI replica model. The Springer has caused me no end of trouble with erratic ejection and stove pipe jams and I have gone to much greater expense and trouble getting it to work than the RIA.

 

[Crittersdad]

Thank you for your input.

 

[Injess]

The only one I have experience with is the 10mm tactical model with the full dust cover. The only issues I’ve had with it was just fitting the Wilson Combat parts I put in it, did a trigger job (it had a very heavy trigger out of the box) and the hot reloads I ran in it broke the firing pin spring, put a colt one in it and have no more issues, it does shoot a little high for my liking, I’m just not a fan of a 6 o’clock hold, other than that, it’s a solid pistol.

 

[DFM914]

My wife bought an RIA Ultra Tac in 45 a couple of years back. I was somewhat skeptical but after going to the range, I am convinced it is a nicely built 1911, It shoots as well as my Sig Tacops 1911.