Posted: 8/27/2012 4:11:39 AM EDT
|
Every once in a while I see something inferring that Rock Island 1911's are made of inferior steel. Personally I like Rock Islands and think they are a fine 1911, you get a lot for your dollar.
Any truth to this about inferior steel? I know the frames and slides are cast, but that doesn't mean the steel is inferior. |
|
IMO, the two things people like to rip on RIA about is MIM parts and the price. There are some machine marks where the frame and slide are turned down but as others have said, you'll almost never hear a complaint from those who own one.
I have a 1911A1-FS that has been very reliable from the start. In about 500 rounds, I had 2 rounds fail to fully go into battery, the slide fail to lock back a few times and one round get in front of the extractor. I narrowed the problem down to one mag and haven't had any problems with other mags. The frame/slide have smoothed out nicely and its my EDC. As far as MIM goes, almost every 1911 manufacturer uses some MIM parts. Properly done, there is nothing wrong with the process. If it bothers you that much, you can buy tool steel parts, install them yourself while learning about the 1911 and you'll still have a cheaper pistol than buying a high end. |
| I wish I knew it was inferior before I put 5,000 rounds through mine. That could have been extremely dangerous. I've had one since 07 a few hiccups but they were most certainly operator error. Great gun for the price and at the risk of being flame I willingly choose this gun over a Kimber, everytime. |
|
Quoted:
If it bothers you that much, you can buy tool steel parts, install them yourself while learning about the 1911 and you'll still have a cheaper pistol than buying a high end. Doesn't bother me a bit, just wanted to know if there is any truth to inferior metal in the Rock Islands. As far as learning about 1911's I have been packing 1911's for over thirty years now, not saying I'm an expert, but I'm certainly no novice either. I have owned/still own quite a few 1911's, including Colt, S&W, Dan Wesson, Para Ordnance, Springfield and in the last eight years three different Rock Islands. All the Rock Islands are fine pistols,but doesn't mean there couldn't be something wrong with their metallurgy. I have a Government model Rock Island 9mm that I just bought, this pistol is very tight, very smooth and is quite accurate and reliable, Only 250 rounds through it so far, it shows no indication of quitting! |
|
Back in the 70's there weren't many 1911's on the market and a few bad ones made it hard on the rest of the non Colt manufactured 1911s. I would shy away from the old Auto Ordinance, Llama, AMT, and some of the Safari Arms. Fortunately RIA is head and shoulders better than the afore mentioned pistols. RIA are manufactured in the Phillipines where labor cost is not as high. Any pistol can have an inferior or poor quality part. Very few manufacturers make every part in their gun the same with automobiles or any mass produced product in this world wide economy.
Main thing is RIA strives to provide a value priced reliable product with good customer service. I own a 1911A-1 and am completely satisfied. RIA generally have a good reputation. |
My only gripe was the plastic trigger. Bought an A1 for my grandpa and put some cocobolo grips on it in place of the cheapy wood originals, turned it into a much more expensive-looking gun 
Of course, I broke it in for him at his request, didn't have the first hiccup... |
|
There is, IMO, a small, (very small), grain of truth to the charge of inferior metallurgy. The RIA frames are not quite as hard as most newer guns. Big deal, the first Colts were plain, non-heat treated steel.
The frame doesn't take much of an impact anyway. It is not some thing that I worry about. RIAs offer tremendous value for the money. |
|
I like Rocks.
Actually, I think if you're like me and you're not 100% sure you'll like a 1911, a RIA Tactical is a great buy. Even with tax/transfer you can be into one for under $500, and it has all those neat upgrades over the GI model for only something like $60 or so increase in price. And if you decided you didn't like the 1911 platform, you could always turn around and sell it, and it'd be gone in almost a heartbeat. As far as the inferior steel bit, I suppose it's possible. Given my budget though, I'm fairly certain even it if were weaker, I'd never fire enough rounds through one for it to become an issue. My only real problem is trying to decide between a GI or a Tac and if I want to go classic .45 or stick to my already established 9mm.
Maybe I should take that bit of ARFCOM advise; get both. A 9mm GI and a .45 Tac. Or, a .45 GI and a 9mm Tac. CHOICES. 
|
|
Quoted:
I don't know if this is true or gun shop talk, but I heard that Armscor bought the Norinco tooling from the chinese when they stopped importing their 1911's. If this is indeed true, Armscor, RIA and Citadel 1911's are very close to the original specs. I would say it's not true since Norinco still sells their 1911s everywhere else in the world, including Canada. That being said, the RIAs are still built per the original drawings and their dimensions are very damn close to the originals. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I don't know if this is true or gun shop talk, but I heard that Armscor bought the Norinco tooling from the chinese when they stopped importing their 1911's. If this is indeed true, Armscor, RIA and Citadel 1911's are very close to the original specs. That being said, the RIAs are still built per the original drawings and their dimensions are very damn close to the originals. I remember buying my first Rock Island 1911 in 2004 for $300.00. The day I bought it, I took it home and without cleaning first, fired 300 rounds through it as fast as I could. Not one malfunction! I have been sold on these ever since. The other Rock Islands I have have similar stories, though I haven't done a fast shoot with them like the first one, wouldn't be any problem though. I believe the pistols are built per specification as far as dimensions go, but what about the metallurgy? Really not a worry for me, because these pistols just work, just want to know is all. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I don't know if this is true or gun shop talk, but I heard that Armscor bought the Norinco tooling from the chinese when they stopped importing their 1911's. If this is indeed true, Armscor, RIA and Citadel 1911's are very close to the original specs. That being said, the RIAs are still built per the original drawings and their dimensions are very damn close to the originals. I remember buying my first Rock Island 1911 in 2004 for $300.00. The day I bought it, I took it home and without cleaning first, fired 300 rounds through it as fast as I could. Not one malfunction! I have been sold on these ever since. The other Rock Islands I have have similar stories, though I haven't done a fast shoot with them like the first one, wouldn't be any problem though. I believe the pistols are built per specification as far as dimensions go, but what about the metallurgy? Really not a worry for me, because these pistols just work, just want to know is all. Well, they are cast rather than forged but I have yet to hear of one having fatigue cracks, etc. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I don't know if this is true or gun shop talk, but I heard that Armscor bought the Norinco tooling from the chinese when they stopped importing their 1911's. If this is indeed true, Armscor, RIA and Citadel 1911's are very close to the original specs. That being said, the RIAs are still built per the original drawings and their dimensions are very damn close to the originals. I remember buying my first Rock Island 1911 in 2004 for $300.00. The day I bought it, I took it home and without cleaning first, fired 300 rounds through it as fast as I could. Not one malfunction! I have been sold on these ever since. The other Rock Islands I have have similar stories, though I haven't done a fast shoot with them like the first one, wouldn't be any problem though. I believe the pistols are built per specification as far as dimensions go, but what about the metallurgy? Really not a worry for me, because these pistols just work, just want to know is all. Well, they are cast rather than forged but I have yet to hear of one having fatigue cracks, etc. I think the recent batch of USMC Colt guns have had more frame issues than all the RIA's I've seen online lol |