Rock Island Armory 1911's (Read 11737 times)

kala201

Rock Island Armory 1911's
« on: March 10, 2012, 11:34:59 PM »
I was wondering if any of you have any experience or own any of the RIA 1911 models.  The price for one is unbelievable, so I was wondering if this is a case of you get what you pay for.

Pit808

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2012, 01:52:35 AM »
I have a RIA  GI 9mm 1911.  I like it a lot.  RIA 1911's have good reviews and IMHO are a awesome bang for the $$.  I like it enough that I'll probably get the tactical compact at some point in time.
chitty chitty bang bang.......

808shooter

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2012, 12:12:06 PM »
I have a 2 tone tactical 45acp.  Love it.  Had 1 misfeed with JHP in 800 rounds.  More accurate than I am.  Unreal deal. 

Tom_G

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2012, 01:30:32 PM »
I bought one for a class gun, so me "good" 1911 didn't get beat up by new learners.  It has turned out to be one of my most reliable and most accurate handguns. 
The difference between theory and reality is that, in theory, there is no difference between theory and reality.

kala201

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #4 on: March 11, 2012, 02:18:35 PM »
Thanks everyone.  I read a lot of reviews online, but I wanted to hear from actual owners like all of you on the long term life of the gun.  This may be my next purchase.  How about aftermarket 1911 parts, I'm assuming they all pretty much work with the RIA guns right?  :shaka:

Tom_G

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2012, 02:49:29 PM »
The RIA is milspec, so yeah, most parts should drop right in!
The difference between theory and reality is that, in theory, there is no difference between theory and reality.

ren

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #6 on: March 11, 2012, 03:46:35 PM »
made in Philippines
Deeds Not Words

kala201

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2012, 04:20:12 PM »
made in Philippines

mmm...you know boy dat is my feofle dare... my cuntrymen work hard to make dose ones boy.  :shaka:

Tom_G

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #8 on: March 11, 2012, 05:14:41 PM »
made in Philippines

Shotgun News did an article on RIA's manufacturing facility just a few years ago.  It was impressive.. lots of CNC machine gear, very high-tech and clean.  Could be used to manufacture certain space shuttle components.  Seems like they actually got money from one of the big American manufacturers to set it up so that work could be outsourced to them.
The difference between theory and reality is that, in theory, there is no difference between theory and reality.

Inspector

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #9 on: March 11, 2012, 07:29:37 PM »
made in Philippines
Too bad they have not learned to make quality bullets there. I bought some Armscor bullets and they can't even manufacture each bullet with the cannelure in the same location from one bullet to the next!
SCIENCE THAT CAN’T BE QUESTIONED IS PROPAGANDA!!!

Kingkeoni

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #10 on: March 11, 2012, 07:37:02 PM »
my cuntrymen.  :shaka:

Interesting spelling?  :crazy:
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Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.

GZire

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #11 on: March 12, 2012, 07:55:04 AM »
Thanks everyone.  I read a lot of reviews online, but I wanted to hear from actual owners like all of you on the long term life of the gun.  This may be my next purchase.  How about aftermarket 1911 parts, I'm assuming they all pretty much work with the RIA guns right? :shaka:


I dunno man.  A lot of 1911 parts may require fitting.

Infantry H2

Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #12 on: September 25, 2012, 02:51:35 PM »
Are full rail RIAs a common find?

ren

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #13 on: October 04, 2012, 09:43:48 PM »
well, I have a challenge by an RIA owner: his bone stock RIA 45 against my US .gov Colt NM service pistol. $1 per shot
Deeds Not Words

Tom_G

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #14 on: October 04, 2012, 10:01:17 PM »
well, I have a challenge by an RIA owner: his bone stock RIA 45 against my US .gov Colt NM service pistol. $1 per shot

I've been involved in variations of that challenge.  I've shot several high-end 1911 pistols side-by-side with my RIA, and never has one outshot the other in terms of accuracy.  I've also put my RIA in the hands of the owners of those expensive pistols, and still, they weren't able to produce better groups with one over the other.  Even in the hands of a damned fine shot (not me!), the RIA produced the same sized groups as a high-end Kimber and a high-end Colt.

When I got mine, new out-of-the-box, I disassembled, cleaned and lubed it, then took it to the range for a torture test.  I had 1000 rounds of Wolf ammo, because it's cheap, steel-cased, and shoots dirty.  The goal was to shoot all 1000 rounds without cleaning.  The first malfunction happened somewhere around round round 800, a stovepipe.  Another 30 rounds, then another stovepipe.  By the time I got over 900, it was a stovepipe per magazine.  When I took it apart to clean it, I discovered that the channel where the extractor passes through the bolt face was PACKED with black crud, prohibiting the extractor from functioning properly.  So, if you are planning on getting into a 1000 round firefight, you might want to consider another brand, or at least consider using a beefier extractor.

As far as replacement parts, prevailing wisdom is that even with "drop-in" parts made to milspec, you often "should" have a gunsmith do the final fitting.  Meh, I call BS on that. 

If I were an Olympic-competition shooter, or a world-class elite shooter, or actually had to bet my life on a gun, I'd worry about it.  For me, content to be able to shoot minute-of-middle-of-the-chest for 800 consecutive rounds, an RIA with a couple of drop-in modifications (extended beavertail safety, Pachmyer grips) is all the 1911 I need!
The difference between theory and reality is that, in theory, there is no difference between theory and reality.

Bigkahuna808

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Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #15 on: October 04, 2012, 11:18:44 PM »
Hopefully I can get to examine one this weekend at the show.  Would you know if the 1911 .22 kits will work on the ria?

Tom_G

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #16 on: October 05, 2012, 07:24:31 AM »
Hopefully I can get to examine one this weekend at the show.  Would you know if the 1911 .22 kits will work on the ria?

Um, you know, I have no idea!  All of the .22 conversions I've seen have been by the same company that manufactured the gun using them.  But I betcha that someone on this forum has both a .2 conversion AND a burning sense of curiosity, and would help you answer that question at the range!
The difference between theory and reality is that, in theory, there is no difference between theory and reality.

ren

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #17 on: October 05, 2012, 08:30:00 AM »
Tactical solutions, Kimber, and Marvel say their kits will work on any 1911
Deeds Not Words

robtmc

Re: Rock Island Armory 1911's
« Reply #18 on: October 05, 2012, 07:24:24 PM »
Tactical solutions, Kimber, and Marvel say their kits will work on any 1911
Will work does not equal, no fitting required.  I fit a Kimber conversion to my Series 70 Colt, but it took some work. 

Disclaimer: the Colt had been subjected to my amateur gunsmithing frame tightening 30 years ago, and most issues were due to that.

Slide was too tight on the rails, needed lapping compound to loosen up.  Still has a tight spot, but do not want to loosen more and lose the tight .45 slide fit.

Slide lock cutout too small, had to be relieved with a half round file to pop in and out of the frame/slide.

Safety would not engage.  Hit the front of the cutout in the slide.  More relieving.  After some thought, I recall the original barrel is gone, Wilson and original link are in there now.  Could be a small difference in lockup detail that did not let the slide go as far forward so as to not let the safety slip into the slide notch.

Magazines a joke.  Top of mag lips interfered with the slide so bad the thing could not be locked up in place.  Trimming was required.

Still a small hitch when the slide goes into battery right at the end.  Comes from the extractor camming on the ramp on the barrel.  I polished things for a bit of improvement, maybe more wear-in will fix the rest.  I think it causes an occasional misfire with barely hit primer.

Would be interested in just how much of a drop-in it is on a Kimber frame.