Rock Island Tactical 9mm - Frist Range Trip

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  • mikerccie

    Sharpshooter
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    4   0   0
    Apr 29, 2011
    301
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    Indy - North Side
    Pictures at end of thread

    I've been looking for a 1911 in 9mm for a while and had decided I was going to have to pony up the dollars for either a Kimber or a Springfield.

    After doing some reading here and other online research I thought I'd give the Rock Island brand a try. Their "tactical" model has novak-style sights, a combat-style hammer and a speed-bump on the grip safety. I picked on up at the 1500 this weekend (during the ND event) and took it to the indoor range today.

    I was running 124gr Aguilla 9mm ball ammo - since this gun is 100% for range/fun I doubt it will ever see a hollowpoint.

    All I did before shooting was field strip it, reassemble it and lube the rails.

    With 150 rounds total I had one failure-to-feed in the second magazine and I blame myself for that - one of the rounds just felt funny going into the mag. I forgot to bring the spare metalform magazines I picked up so I did all my shooting with the included magazine.

    I'm shocked how well it shoots - I shoot it as well as anything else I own, 7 yards all the rounds touching. At 50 feet I kept all 9 rounds on an 8x11 sheet of paper - 4/5 were in the 7" circle the rest were out of the black but still on the page.

    The novak sights are big enough in back to give me that target-site feel and the front post is skinny enough to give me daylight on both sides of the blade.

    For my purposes - 1911 that I can hit with at the range that uses cheap 9mm ammo the gun is dead-on exactly what I hoped for. At less than half the cost of what I thought I would have to spend I couldn't be happier.
     
    Last edited:

    88E30M50

    Grandmaster
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    Dec 29, 2008
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    Greenwood, IN
    Sounds like a fun gun. I've been a fan of the RIA 1911s and will have to take a closer look at the 9mm if I see one someday. Thanks for sharing.
     

    Squib

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    Mar 28, 2010
    663
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    Indianapolis
    RIA seems to be a well kept secret. I've had one for a few years now, and it just gets better. Very accurate out of the box and has never failed to fire whatever I've feed it. I also have the tactical, but a .45. It has been just as good as my Colt Series 70.
     

    shooter1054

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    Jan 22, 2011
    1,573
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    South Indianapolis
    didn't happen without pics.


    had to be said.
    I have the RIA 1911 tactical in 45. It has been great for me. I've had a few FTF's but it's a magazine issue. have to tap the mag once in a while.Overall, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
     

    Magneto

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    Dec 6, 2009
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    New Albany
    I would love a 1911, but .45 ammo is so expensive a 9mm would be far better for my pocketbook. I am surprised that there aren't more around.
     

    mikerccie

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    Apr 29, 2011
    301
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    Indy - North Side
    I didn't drag out the good camera but here's enough to give everyone a hint on how this thing looks.

    Here's the Box
    box.jpg


    Here's the packaging
    stuff.jpg


    Left Side
    left.jpg


    Here's the side with the ambi safety
    ambi.jpg


    Here's the Novak-style rear sight
    rear.jpg


    Here's the sight picture - I like the front post being skinny
    site.jpg


    And here's proof that it's not a .45!!!
    itsa9.jpg
     
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