Posted: 7/14/2011 12:44:45 PM EDT
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I recently purchased a RIA tac government model 1911 and am very pleased with the accuracy. My concern is with the reliability after it has been run to the point it is dirty and hot.
In regards to 1911s I do not have much experience to compare this piece to. It is an excellent shooter. Much more accurate than I am. The question I have is about reliability when dirty. I have put exactly 340 rounds through this piece (300 winchester white box fmj and 40 PDX1 hps). From completely spotless clean up to approximately 150-175 rounds the gun cycles fine. Somewhere around that point stoppages begin to occur with consistent frequency. Let me stop here and say that I am running 4 Wilson 8 round 47d mags and 2 chip mccormick 10 round mags. The CMC mags were purchased new on July 5th. The wilson mags are all used but have VERY low round counts. The stoppages are as such: the second to last round in the mag is stripped from the mag and is pushed into the chamber/throat, however the extractor is not on the round (i.e. the slide can be cycled to the rear and chambered round remains in the chamber). Drop mag and lock slide to rear and round falls out. Re-load round into magazine and drop slide on round chambers fine and fires fine chambering the last round. At this point I disassemble the gun and clean it up good. No more issues til the feed ramp area gets black again. Any thoughts? For the dollar amount of the piece is it unreasonable to expect more rounds through the sidearm than that before stoppages begin to occur? I know before anyone starts that RIA isn't top tier. Any and all thoughts would be appreciated. BTW, the pic below is the second 8 rounds fired from 10 yards 
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More likely than dirt is the possibility that the lubricant has gotten cooked off and the gun is getting sluggish. New guns need lot-O-lube while breaking in. It would not be imprudent to add oil during a range session when new.
Don't drop that slide on a chambered round. Gun is meant to load from the magazine only. |
| Mine had issues in the beginning as well. I had similar problems as you do, a hiccup one in a while. I was not happy, but folks said give it to about 350- 500 round and it should straighten out. At about the 400 mark it worked it self out, and I have not had a stoppage in about 700 rounds. yours may be different, but give it a chance. |
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Sounds like weak magazine springs.
During recoil/chambering there is a tendency for the last round or two to move forward in the magazine, making it tough for the extractor to get a proper hold. This will manifest itself as the FTF you describe, or a gradual loss of extractor tension, as on the last round in the magazine the extractor will be forced to snap over the rim and into it's groove. Other than that. . . if you have the inclination, or know a gunsmith, run a finish reamer down the chamber. . . or maybe bring a bore-snake to the range with ya |
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Based on the target, the pistol seems to suit you well. You have a real shooter, especially at that price point.
Definitely worth investing some time and maybe money. If the mags are newish as you say, springs from those two companies should not be the problem. If the pistol has been owned by several guys before you, it may not have a worn recoil spring, but it may have the WRONG recoil spring. It could be too strong, if someone tried to fix an issue by putting in a stronger spring. It could be one of those graduated power springs, where the coils are closer together on one end. Of course, someone may have "underestimated" the number of rounds. I would change the recoil spring, a new Wolff 17.5 standard spring, and run another 300 high quality rounds through a clean/lubed pistol, and see where you are. Next might be polishing the ramp. |
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Of course, someone may have "underestimated" the number of rounds. - this is possible I suppose, however the wear on the frame rails was much less obvious when I purchased the gun than it is now. I would change the recoil spring, a new Wolff 17.5 standard spring, and run another 300 high quality rounds through a clean/lubed pistol, and see where you are. Next might be polishing the ramp. I went to Wolff's site and they show a 17# and 18.5# spring for the govt model. I have no idea what spec recoil spring is in the piece. Would a 17# spring be acceptable to try? At $8 each it isn't as though this experiment will break the bank. Thanks so far for all of the help. |
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Last weekend I ran another 200 rounds of WWB 230 gr FMJ thru this piece. I had the gun dripping wet with Militec1. No issues at that point. My issue I suppose is that I do not want to have to keep this thing dripping like a showroom new Harley Davidson when I carry. I do not wear versace, but still do not want oil stains on my clothes.
I am going to replace the recoil spring. What would be the recommendation? 16# 17# 18.5# By all 3 and see what works best? |
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Quoted:
Last weekend I ran another 200 rounds of WWB 230 gr FMJ thru this piece. I had the gun dripping wet with Militec1. No issues at that point. My issue I suppose is that I do not want to have to keep this thing dripping like a showroom new Harley Davidson when I carry. I do not wear versace, but still do not want oil stains on my clothes. I am going to replace the recoil spring. What would be the recommendation? 16# 17# 18.5# By all 3 and see what works best? 16 IS Browning spec. All 3 can work. Increasing recoil spring weight to slove a problem is not always the best option to take. All your doing is masking the problem and not fixing it. A 1911 should work with recoil springs ranging from 14 pound to 18.5 with no problems at all. OP you could try some grease if you do not want the gun to be dripping wet, any std automotive bearing grease will work just fine. |
| Like others have said looks like you have a good shooter personaly I perfer to use a grease for lubing my 1911s like Wilson's ultima-lube it stay's put and dont ooze out. have you detail stripped your slide and cleaned the extractor and extractor tunnel? there is no way of knowing the ware or value of the recoil spring that's in the gun now so change it for good measures if you are shooting factory hard ball 17# is a good starting point |
| Mine initially had a few issues. A 18.5lb Wilson Combat recoil spring fixed it. Also, I got some Chip McCormick mags just to be sure. It feeds everything now. No issues. I still probably have only about 500 rounds through it, and more than likely a good break in period would have smoothed everything out without changing the recoil spring, but it's the only pistol I have right now so it's my carry piece. Just adding the better mags would have been enough, but I needed it working right then. Now I have fired lot's of different ammo through it with not one failure. 185gr-200gr-225gr LSWC handloads, 230gr Magtech/Federal FMJ, 230gr Hornady FMJ Handloads, 200gr-230grHornady XTP handloads, and Magtech Guardian Gold 185gr JHP. All function reliably. |
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Last weekend I ran another 200 rounds of WWB 230 gr FMJ thru this piece. I had the gun dripping wet with Militec1. No issues at that point. My issue I suppose is that I do not want to have to keep this thing dripping like a showroom new Harley Davidson when I carry. I do not wear versace, but still do not want oil stains on my clothes. I am going to replace the recoil spring. What would be the recommendation? 16# 17# 18.5# By all 3 and see what works best? Use grease, it will work much better for your purposes. |
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Like others have said looks like you have a good shooter personaly I perfer to use a grease for lubing my 1911s like Wilson's ultima-lube it stay's put and dont ooze out. have you detail stripped your slide and cleaned the extractor and extractor tunnel? there is no way of knowing the ware or value of the recoil spring that's in the gun now so change it for good measures if you are shooting factory hard ball 17# is a good starting point I have detail stripped the slide, yes. I have removed the extractor and firing pin and cleaned those channels. I also, tweaked the extractor. I ran 150 down the pipe yesterday with no issues. Thanks! |
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today I ordered from Midway USA a C&S spring steel extractor and Wilson heavy duty recoil springs in 16 and 18.5#. When these come in I will test them using WWB 230gr fmj. I think even though I put a little bend on the extractor it isn't wanting to hold that tension. I figure the spring steel part might be a better part for the kit.
One other question while I am at it. What can I do to add some grip to the front strap? Lately the humidity and combination of sweat from my hands have made this thing hard to handle when practicing multiple targets. |
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I bought a RIA tactical about six weeks ago. To date I have right at 400 rounds through it. Approximately 325 rounds have been 230 grain ball. The rest has been 185 - 230 gr JHP's. I have not had any issues with this little pistol at all.
While waiting for the pistol to arrive at my dealers, I ordered 5 of the Chip McCormick stainless 8 round magazines. All have been flawless as has the factory blued magazine and the stainless Wilson 7 round magazine that I have. I cleaned the pistol the night I brought it home and lubed it per the video above. I could not be happier. |
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today I ordered from Midway USA a C&S spring steel extractor and Wilson heavy duty recoil springs in 16 and 18.5#. When these come in I will test them using WWB 230gr fmj. I think even though I put a little bend on the extractor it isn't wanting to hold that tension. I figure the spring steel part might be a better part for the kit. One other question while I am at it. What can I do to add some grip to the front strap? Lately the humidity and combination of sweat from my hands have made this thing hard to handle when practicing multiple targets. Just an FYI, the 16# spring has rectified all obvious issues. Earlier today I ran 200 rounds of WWB 230gr fmj down the pipe. 100% reliable. I couldn't believe how short the recoil spring which was in the pistol was compared to the new 16# spring. Midway USA did not have both springs in the weights I wanted, so I decided to go with Wolff springs. The new spring tightened this thing up a BUNCH! |