RIA 1911s?

Let me start by saying that I'm generally a super practical, defensive minded, striker fired, polymer frame, high capacity GLOCK kinda guy when it comes to handguns.

That being said I've always lusted after a classic styled, bright nickel finished 1911 in .45 ACP with pearl-ish grips just for the hell of it. Maybe it's my inner Jules Winfield or a deep desire to keep my pimp hand strong, but I can't really explain it in practical terms.

The only problem is that the only nickel 1911 I've been able to find are either .38 super or high dollar vintage Colts. I always thought I'd happen across one of those bumper chrome Norincos from the 1980's but, alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Recently, a bright nickel 1911 caught my eye in an otherwise dull and musty gun shop. Turn out to my surprise it was a Rock Island Armory pistol. Until that point I thought all they made were parked guns. It was all I could do not to walk out of there with that beautiful shiny bastard that day.

The only reason it didn't follow me home was becuase I was unsure of the quality. So, how are the RIA 1911s? For the price, I don't expect it to be a Les Baer, but I don't want it to be a jam-o-matic either.

I can't speak of the shiny RIA's, but my parked RIA MS is very reliable, and reasonably accurate.

For the price they are hard to beat. I miss my GI model, very reliable fed every load i could throw at it.

Rock Islands are good guns with life time warranty and excellent customer service.

Agreed!

Buy it and shoot away! Great guns!

I've got a Rock Island GI along with many more expensive 1911's and the Rock Island's track record has been perfect.

Mine is indeed a .38 Super, but it works flawlessly. I'm going to pick up another polished nickle version in .45. They are great shooters, and a good bargain. They got off to a rough start, but RIA listens to the consumer and offers great customer service.

Outstanding firearms. I have a 1911 GI model. And their customer service is outstanding!

For the price you typically get a good working 1911 with mediocre parts quality. It will probably run fine for a couple thousand rounds, the amount the average 45 shooter shoots in 10 years.

A buddy has a Charles Daly which was made by Armscor, and also makes Rock Island. He shoots the gun almost weekly and so far he has replaced the barrel-chrome started flaking off in big chunks, mag catch-wore out at 2K rounds, extractor-wore out at 800 rounds, and all the springs at 800 rounds. The magazines were crap and he pitched those long ago. Another friend bought his son the 9mm Tactical and it is running like a champ through the first 500 rounds.

I am not here to bash on them as I think they are a decent entry level, hobby grade, 1911. Just know that you get what you pay for.

Sample of 1, but the one I worked on recently was very rough and wouldn't extract or eject. Nor would it release the magazine without effort. Required several hours of file and stone work and then I would only really consider it reliable with Ball.

Never owned one, but there are hundreds of reviews on the interweb indicating the example you worked on was a fluke. Their warranty is reportedly quite good too. The owner may gave been well served by sending that turd back to the importer for replacement.

I've always fancied the idea of getting one of the plated models in .38 super. The two features I don't care for though are: the billboard on the slide, and the somewhat blocky frontstrap. If they'd change those I think they'd be a lot more pleasing to the eye.

My buddy was having an issue with the slide catch engaging about every other round. I took it out and it continued to happen about once a mag.

the slide catch was being screwy and was partially engaging when it shouldn't be. looked it over and the top of the back end of the slide catch (sorry for not knowing proper terms here) wasnt slanted enough and the pin wasn't keeping enough pressure on it to keep it down. Could of probably filed it down and it would of been fine, instead he just swapped out the slide catch.

Just my two cents... I did tons of research before buying my RIA Compact .45. I've read lots of great reviews about both the weapon and the customer service. I've only put 300 rounds through mine, but not a single failure. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one if I was in the market for one.

I have the satin nickel version that I really like.

The ACT mag that came with it......not so much.

a-bare

I've only had my RIA 9mm 1911 GI for less than a year but it's always worked and it's accurate, not a cheap gun but a great gun at a cheap price. Only regret is not holding out for a Tactical but it's been the only 9mm I've come across, and the GI is a nice contrast to my slicked-up Colt.

AGREED. Just bought another.

My GI has been a solid gun. Accurate, and reliable.

I own/owned a polished nickel RIA 1911. I had a issue with the finish flaking, sent it in for warranty. Turns out RIA will honor the warranty by replacing my gun with a new one, the only sticking point is they have no idea when the next shipment of them will come in (I have been waiting in excess of 3 months). RIA offered me a replacement of another model, to wait until a new polished model can be sourced (with no difinitive ETA), or a cash refund. Pretty good customer service IMHO.

I was given one as a gift. I admit I was something of a snob and relegated it to BBQ status. Here's the thing: it ain't the prettiest but it hasn't failed yet. Bought another off of a guy at work who was like me and didn't want to "own a POS RIA".

I had a GI and it ran great. Now I have a tactical and it runs like a dream also. I think RIA are over looked by a lot of people.

Nothing wrong with RIA 1911 .45s... I've put thousands of rounds through one of mine with NO problems..
Fairly darn accurate to boot!!

Old pics:

dont worry ,buy if the price is right....they run very well.

I bought a 1911 A-1 a few years ago which had a factory mag which was out of spec and barely went into mag well. The Dealer swapped mags and I haven't had a problem since. I bought it to use with a 22 conversion slide but I liked the 45 ACP RIA so much I bought a stripped RIA frame which I mated to my AA 22 conversion. Only thing I didn't like was wood grips on my 1911A-1 which I replaced with Pearce rubber grips. Now I basically have 2 RIA, 1 in 45 and 1 in 22.

wish they made the tactical in a mid size.

All it takes is some simple parts swapping to have one. I've thought very seriously about converting my mid-size RIA to a "tactical" model. But, then again... Why? My RIA mid-size works so well that I actually am growing to love the simplicity of its' GI form. Great pistols at a blue-collar price. There's nothing not to like about them IMHO.

I have a couple of them. Not had a problem with any of them. Sold the compact to a friend because I found out I just don't care for compact 1911s, but it shot well.

I honestly don't know how they can sell them so cheap!

I have a question for you Rock Island guys.

I am having trouble finding a Rock Island Tactical locally to me, but I keep running into Citadels. I did some research and found out that they are made by Armscor the same maker of Rock Island. Is there a difference between the Citadel M1911 and the Rock Island Tactical?

I have a High Standard Crusader Compact, which it turns out is made by Armscor and essentially the same gun as the RIA compact with different grips. My only complaint is that the grip safety rattles a bit when the gun is in the holster on my waist.

I don't own a Citidel but I have handled them at gunstores. They seem about the same as a RIA. The Iver Johnson in my photo above was also made in the Phillipines and it is rock solid.

From what I understand Colt sent machinery to the Phillipines either before or during World War II to make pistols for the local military and they have been making them ever since.

I have a parkerized tactical which has been very dependable and see no reason not to recommend them.



Centerfire shows a Match 6" Rock in stock.

Thanks for the heads up, but they are now out of stock. The setup is kinda different, with them using their full rail receiver with a 6" slide, but I could get use to it. I chatted with Martin, the CEO of Armscor who responded to my request for longslides by saying

"Armscor/Rock Island Armory We already have 2 models. 6 in match and 2011 6in match. Limited releases though. Very limited. Only about 200 for the year scheduled. Martin CEO"

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