Stopped in a local shop to get my hands on a Rock Island 1911 in 9mm. They also had an American Classic that looked pretty solid and had a nice light trigger pull. I haven't heard much about them. The salesman said they were built on Rock Island frames, but I haven't seen that in my Google searches. Anyone have any experience with them?

They are all the same Philippine made low grade cheap 1911's. They may work, but personally I would not expect them to go to a high round count without failing. Cheap is cheap for a reason, especially for a 1911.
IMHO. I am sure that others will be along to tell me I am stupid and they are on par with a Dan Wesson.

First of all rock islands are not low grade. Read the high round count pistol thread by Henderson defense. According to them ria was holding up first or second best.
Second, american classic is not built on ria frames, or built by ria. I can't remember the details, but there are 2 or 3 big 1911 manufactures in the Philippines.
I have an american classic. It seems very well made. I haven't found a single flaw.

Well if you say so I will sell my Les Baers and Dan Wessons for a couple of RIA’s asap!

+1. They're the Walmart quality gun marketed to the Walmart population who only care about price, not quality.

There are several 1911 pistols imported from the Philipines currently along with American classic such as Llama and M.A.C..  These 1911’s are supposedly manufactured in different factories than the Armscor/RIA.   I think the other two main manufactures of 1911 in the Philipines is M.A.C. and SAM.   I think the pistols manufactured by SAM are sold by American Tactical Imports (ATI).  It’s been a while since I researched this but several of the pistols are sold under different brand names like in the link below and these company supply a lot of parts.



https://americanclassic.eagleimportsinc.com/americanclassic/firearms/

I saw Underworld Inc on NatGeo a guy in the Philippines making a 1911 in his shed.

It depends what you're looking for at a given price point. Labor isn't prohibitively expensive there. I've seen RIA guns that obviously had quite a bit of fitting work with the barrels, in contrast to guns made stateside in the same price tier which were assembled from parts with minimal fitting. A low-end Colt will have better quality parts but the RIA will exhibit better workmanship. YMMV.

The CNC machines and MIM parts are different in the Phillipines. ??

They are if you are a gun snob.


I currently have nine 1911's, the majority are Colts with a couple of non-Colt US Property examples (1914 Springfield Armory, 1944 R-R, 1943 Ithaca) along with a RIA compact. Quite honestly, the RIA is finished better than the WWII guns and maybe not quite as nice as my two post war Colts. So far that compact RI has digested every type of round run through it with zero (0) malfunctions. That includes not only hardball, but several different hollow point brands and some 25+ year old 180 and 200gr lead semi wadcutters that I put together back in the mid 1980's and recently found while cleaning out my storage shed. I can see no real wear on any of the bearing surfaces and it is as accurate as any of my other factory stock guns. The stock trigger is decent enough as-is and I have left it alone.

Is it as accurate as my early 70's Gold Cup? No it isn't, but then I only paid $430 for it and at that price point I am more than satisfied.

I also had a Rock Island GI model that I gave to my son on his 21st birthday many years ago, and he also has had zero problems with it.

So if you think that the value of something is solely based on how much you pay for it, then the Rock Island 1911's are not for you. But, if you value things based on their utility, then the lowly Philippine 1911's will no doubt be just fine.

I've got an American Classic commander 45 in hard chrome that I have had 8 years or so.  I have between 3500 and 4000 rounds through it.  It is a good shooter.  American Tactical is not made by RIA.  I've had many RIA pistols and the American Classic definately has a better fit and finish.  None of these Phillipino 1911's can compare to a $1500 to $2000 dollar pistol but for an entry 1911 they usually work and they don't come in a cardboard box.  

If I was to decide between the two I would look at the RIA. The company has a great customer service rep.  David

Does it have the Pony stamped on it somewhere, hmmmm?

If not, it's a one-off cloney.   That said, it might run fine outta the box, ... or maybe not.  

Save your cash and get a Colt. At least you'll have the original 1911.

Do you see a bunch of threads asking "how do I get my Philippines 1911 to run"?
I can't recall seeing any in a long time. I own RIAs and one American classic, never had any issues.

It's hilarious people bust into a thread and start comparing them to Dan wesson & Les Baer saying they aren't as good........... Hell they shouldn't be they are 1k~2k cheaper.

I'd bet a 10$ bill their have been more threads about Dan Wesson pistols not running in the last year on this forum than RIA ....

I own exactly zero RIA or any Philippine pistol.

Ya know what is funnier? People who cannot read and comprehend what they read! Any gun can be made with tolerances so loose they will feed with gravel inside. If you want accuracy and longevity I personally don't think the cheap 1911's are the best candidates. Oh and please link some of the "many" threads on Dan Wesson and Les Baers not running right. Now I do recall one or more threads where the bottom of the barrel on a RIA fell the fuck off!

Philippines 1911s are often more tightly fitted than low priced Colts.

The Philippines 1911s are made on CNC machines with MIM parts and hand fit. Same as any Colt under like $1500.

They work. And like any other 1911 can have better parts hand fit to them.

Have shot a couple RIA guns, Springfields, etc and currently own an ATI GI model which is tied for tightest 1911 I've handled and it only cost $350.

Chief don't spout about reading comprehension............ I didn't say a word bad about Les Baers.
I don't feel like looking for them but i can recall three about Dan Wesson's not running just off hand.......... and one still not running 100% after coming back.

Guy didn't ask about peoples opinions on what 1911 is the best for accuracy and longevity. So maybe you need reading comprehension skills as much as anyone.

I don't know anyone who honestly thinks a 500 ~ gun is supposed to be the same as 1k ~ 2500 pistol.

On the other hand I think any pistol that cost over a 1k damn sure should run out of the box.