rock island 1911

[safetyshot]

recently got to try a rock island 1911 and it worked flawlessly. have any of you tried one? comments please.

[Detritus]

haven't owned one but got to look at one today adn am so far favorably impressed. anyone know if they have a website?? all my searches only turn up links to info ont he original Rock Island Arsenal as in the US army arsenala dn depot at Rock Island..

[SFC Rick]

This is my reply to your question.https://www.1911forum.com/forums/show...threadid=39760

[Ryder]

They used to have a website. Pretty sure the link has been listed in this forum before. Search this forum for "ria". You'll hit about three pages worth of topics to choose from.

Mine is still 100% reliable (since replacing the magazine with a Wilson) even after having performed some modifications. I got this as a "project gun". Thought I'd screw it up as a learning tool. Well I am definately learning a lot, but the gun just keeps on chugging along. Haven't broke it yet.

[lanyard_loop]

Rock Island = Armscore = Charls Daly = Made
in the Philippines.

The following absolutely applies to 1911A1 guns:

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

With the exception of maybe a Norinco (which
can be a little rough, but is made from good
steel), you can usually tell the quality of a
1911 by it's price. Anything priced much below
a Springfield Mil. Spec. is really not worth
having. The Armscore's LOOK good but have
soft steel. Soon after you start shooting the
Armscore, the slide stop notch will begin to
peen and deform.

In the moderately priced guns from about $500
to $900, they are all about the same. Pros
and cons to each brand such as Colt,
Springfield, S&W, Dan Wesson, Kimber, STI,
etc. Truth be known, they are all pretty
good.

At the high end, say >$1,200 or so, some
comparative shopping can really pay off. For
example, many people say a Valtro at about
$1200 is as good as guns costing twice that
price.

People will probably respond to your question
and vigorously defend Armscor as being a good
value for the money. Ignore them! The price
for one is really not that much less than a
Springfield but the quality is MUCH less.
People who use the Philippine made guns
(Armscore) in the shooting sports where the
gun is shot several thousand rounds a month
quickly find out about the soft steel and
upgrade.

Don't go cheaper than a SA MilSpec or you
will probably regret it.

Lanyard.

[AZ Husker]

Hey Loop, Well said! I'd heard they closed shop. There was a scam artist around Phoenix recently trying to sell Rock Island .45's as Rock Rivers!!! Wonder how many suckers he found? As said above, for the price of a RI, add a couple hundred and buy a decent pistol! Can anyone say "Kia"?

[labuyo]

..I guess not! Surprisingly most people who say negative stuff about this gun never actually owned one.
I now have more than 7k rounds through my CD and it still works great. I use it mainly for IPSC competition. As for the steel being soft, I don't see any sign of it, as it's still as tight as the day I got it.
'bout the price and how it relates to quality, two of my friends got an SVI guns, each worth close to 3k and both were unreliable out of the box (FTE's and FTF's big time!) . Both required trips back to the factory to make it run decently and sometimes they are still quirky. I have a Colt Combat Elite that I paid close to $700 prior to acquiring the CD and it too had some feeding problem and the front sight fell off after only a couple hundred rounds . So much for the high dollar pieces.
Price doesn't always dictate quality, IMO.
I am not defending ARMSCORP products, I'm sure their product is not perfect all the time (as w/ any manufacturer). But, as had been said, you get what you pay for (conducively), and most times with a pleasant surprise like we, as actual owners had experience. Cheers!

P.S.
S.A. milspec has two piece barrel last time I checked, a deterent to good accuracy, IMO.

[tlohern]

"You get what you pay for" not any more!An educated consumer gets what he or she pays for.Most major companies sell a product that does not have the big NAME but has the same quality,research is the best guide to getting a quality product. I don't own one but have seen them and handled them,so I can't help on their quality,but an old cliche won't either.

[akapennypincher]

Originally posted by lanyard_loop
Rock Island = Armscore = Charls Daly = Made
in the Philippines.

The following absolutely applies to 1911A1 guns:

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

Saw one the the PHX GunShow NIB $350.00 last week.......

[SFC Rick]

There are going to be "experts" who can tell you, that you should of bought something else. I have had no problems out of mine and I even have a couple of Colts. As far as the metal goes, I haven't noticed any peening or wear, and I have worked in engineering designing products at a metal foundry. But the fact is, RIA's are low cost for someone to get into 1911's, which doesn't make it a bad product, in fact it's a great product!

[Gary D.]

I have engraved over 100 RIA guns and also many Colts, Kimbers and a few Springfields and I'll tell you the RIAs are as hard as the Kimbers and Springfields and HARDER than Colts. Also the RIA are better machined than Colts. RIAs don't vary in size and shape whereas Colts vary in both from SIDE TO SIDE! Give ma CNC machining any day.

Of course nothing is as hard as a Glock.

[vega]

Originally posted by lanyard_loop
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
Lanyard.

True, true, true....
I just came over from STI forum and one member is complaining about his pistol, not locking back. For a piece worth a grand I should get what I pay for. He sent the pistol back to the company and when he got it back...still the same problem. I feel sorry for that guy, he should get his money's worth. I have nothing against the company and I haven't shot an STI yet.

safetyshot - just enjoy your 1911 and dont let anybody make you feel bad about your decision. You might want to change your extractor with wilson.

rgds,
vega

[Viking 42]

I've had one almost a year now.

Once I replaced the crappy magazine they ship with, I've never had a single failure to fire or failure to feed. Metal isn't showing *ANY* signs of being "soft".

Like was said...almost all those who complain about this fine firearm have never owned one.

2000+ rounds through mine, and nary a hitch.

[Outback]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by lanyard_loop
[B]Rock Island = Armscore = Charls Daly = Made
in the Philippines.

The following absolutely applies to 1911A1 guns:

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.


Lanyard,

They said the same thing about Japanese cars in the 70's. Beside, SA are made in Brazil. Sometimes you do get what you pay for but to the buyer, it's all they need.

The Filipino's have been the only country that consistently place high in Major IPSC matches. You just don't see them glorified in Magazines (Have you ever heard of the "Jet"). I would think they would know how the make guns. The 1911 is highly respected in that county.

Later,

Outback

[DHart]

I saw some Rock Islands in a local shop and at first thought they were Rock River... I asked the salesman if these weren't the high quality brand (RR) selling for really cheap? I was a little confused at first. Then realized they were a different brand. I must say that for $350 or so, they looked like they might be a really good value. And the mags looked really nice! They must have upgraded their mags considerably. I'm not an economy gun kind of guy, but if I were, I could see buying one of these and giving it a go.

[lanyard_loop]

Check out the following link. Scroll down to
the article posted by 'jaredr'.

Thread from jaredr:
https://www.1911forum.com/forums/show...threadid=39696

Tread about soft slides:
https://www.1911forum.com/forums/show...threadid=22959

There are many threads like this. Did you
bother to do a search before you bought?

Do I own one? NO! I do my homework before
buying what is basically a bomb that you hold
in your hand. If that makes me a snob, then
so be it.

Do I know what it is like to be bit by a
rattle snake. NO! Do I need first hand
experience to know that it's not a smart
thing to do? NO!

Lanyard.

[SFC Rick]

That second thread looked almost like an endorsement of CD guns? That first thread which illustrated a frame from I think from "Century Arms" was horrible, But nowhere did I see anything about exploding CD's or RIA's? I'm sure they don't meet the "name tag" test, but I am sure of ONE THING and that's I like mine and I've heard of many other owners who like theirs. So this internet thing must really work well to let owners discuss what their experiences are good or bad. What about that rattlesnake thing when that Springfield blew off the front of the slide? So I'm sure consumers will find a lemon in any brand, thats business! So thanks for the input lanyard loop, I can always learn more.

[Rocklobster]

So, I guess "machined from ordnance-grade 4140 steel" notwithstanding, I'd better use my .460 Rowland kit on another gun, hey?

[glock35ipsc]

One thread seemed as if the poster was praising his CD, and the other depicted a 1911 other than a Rock Island Armory. Century didn't import them, and it's really hard to miss the left side of the slide that says "ROCK ISLAND ARMORY".

I have 2 Kimbers and a RIA. Other than price, they all shoot equally.

[groovyash]

FWIW, Compared side by side, the machining quality, fit and finish on my RIA makes my Mil-Spec Springfield look like junk...not an overstatement. It's tighter than any of my Colts...lacking that famous slide rattle, but functions flawlessly with whatever ammo I run, even after my crappy handloads foul it up. All in all, I'd say it's possibly the best no frills(most of which I don't want anyways) 1911 on the market. I don't hesitate to carry it as my duty gun either.
Dan

[SFC Rick]

All RIA owners have stated that they love their pistols, those of us who carry as a duty piece, and those who shoot for sport. Even those of us who have other"high" quality pistols, appreciate the quality of the RIA's. So is it just me, or have I missed a point?

RIA's are pretty much the best 1911 for the buck out there. I will buy more RIA's just to get them while they are still reasonable priced.

[Gary D.]

Originally posted by SFC Rick
All RIA owners have stated that they love their pistols, those of us who carry as a duty piece, and those who shoot for sport. Even those of us who have other"high" quality pistols, appreciate the quality of the RIA's. So is it just me, or have I missed a point?

RIA's are pretty much the best 1911 for the buck out there. I will buy more RIA's just to get them while they are still reasonable priced.

You know Rick it doesn't seem to matter that us RIA aficionados sing the praises of this brand of 1911. The boo birds just keep popping up. Seems like every week a new thread comes up about RIA guns and the people that don't like them, for whatever reason, keep telling everyone how rotten they are even though they have no real idea of their quality. This is a very familiar tactic used by people to try to influence others... "KEEP REPEATING THE SAME CRAP LONG ENOUGH AND PRETTY SOON IT BECOMES TRUE!". Oh well, I guess that'll never change.

BTW- I can't believe I read stuff on this forum like "you can tell the quality of a gun by the price" or "it can't be any good it's made overseas" or "you get what you pay for, there's no such a thing as a good deal". HUH?? SHEEZ!!!

[SFC Rick]

I don't know how, or who, arranged the casting and CNC machining of the Rock Islands, and I don't really care. I don't care that Sarco and other distributors have some contractual problems with getting enough of the RIA's to the market place. I do know and appreciate the work and labor those foreigners put into the construction of the RIA's. Someone on that little Pacific island must like the 1911 and it shows.

[tlohern]

Earlier in this thread I stated I did not have one but I thought they were a good buy.I bought a Charles Daly,basically the same gun,and I really like it.I've put 400 rounds through it no problems,Fiocchi,Blazer,even Wolf.I did replace the recoil spring with an 18.5 Wolff,not sure I needed too.Shoots well and functions fine every time so far.No problems and don't expect any.Routine maintenance and cleaning are very important to me. Performs as well as the other 1911's I shoot,Para and Springfield.

[jjflash]

Greetings, followers of Brother Browning...

I recently bought a RIA 1911A1, brand new in box, for around 350.

I'm satisfied as can be, so far. (About 300 rounds of Wolf and Blazer FMJ and ONE failure to feed in the first magazine)

I have considerable experience with GI .45s in another life...used to work in an arms room that had exactly one thousand m1911A1's...and 350 bucks is about what the pick of that litter would have been worth to me. The RIA doesn't suffer at all in the comparison and it subjectively seems to be more accurate than any of the mismatched bunch I ran across in that other life.