Posted: 3/12/2009 12:52:50 PM EDT
Are 1911 made by Rock Island any good. Thanks
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There are a lot of people that like them. Even one high end maker using them for their entry level gun. STI markets the Spartan as their entry level 1911. It is the RIA match with a few changes. It has a single sided safety and STI internals, otherwise it is the same gun.
I picked up the STI because I found it being sold cheaper then I could find the RIA match, otherwise I was going to buy the match. |
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I have an RIA compact. It's my daily carry gun.
Reliable, affordable... Honestly you get more than you pay for IMHO. I also have a Springer Mil Spec. Love it too, but the Springer had extractor issues out of box. I have never had a single FTF/FTE in my RIA.... YMMV. |
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It really depends upon what you want. It is not a "yes/no" question.
1) If you want a low-cost gun to just shoot and not mess with, it works well. 2) If you want a gun to later build-up into something different and modify over time, it won't work well as it will have dimensional differences and lower steel quality than almost any domestic (or the Chinese Norinco) 1911 clones 3) If you want to buy a quality US gun, it won't work as it's a cast piece from the Philippines, so the bulk of your purchase price heads over seas, not supporting the US economy or gun industry, just like the lower-end Springfields. 4) If you don't care about origins and want a gun to build up, consider a pre-ban Norinco (still only about $400 for excellent examples unmodified) as your base gun. |
I have the compact with the better frame safety, sights, and such. I have about 130 rounds through it (both reloaded SWC and WWB 230RN). I have not tried any hollow points yet. For the money spent, I think it is worth it. I have had a number of failure to return to battery issues with my SWC reloads but not one jam or issue with the WWB. In my hands, it will tear out a 2.5 inch ragged hole at 15 - 20 yards. In your hands it might be better.
The ramp on the frame has an obvious tooling mark and the slide has a few tooling marks on the rail but it did not suprise me for the money invested. |
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I have an RIA compact. It's my daily carry gun. Reliable, affordable... Honestly you get more than you pay for IMHO. I also have a Springer Mil Spec. Love it too, but the Springer had extractor issues out of box. I have never had a single FTF/FTE in my RIA.... YMMV. I've had mine with less than 1000 rounds using basic hardball have failures to go back into battery. Nothing was changed out except a King's grip safety and bigger sights. |
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2) If you want a gun to later build-up into something different and modify over time, it won't work well as it will have dimensional differences and lower steel quality than almost any domestic (or the Chinese Norinco) 1911 clones I'd love to hear your source on that one. I won't disagree that Norinco's are a pretty good bang for your buck starter platform for mods, their 1911's frames are surprisingly good considering they came from China. |
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2) If you want a gun to later build-up into something different and modify over time, it won't work well as it will have dimensional differences and lower steel quality than almost any domestic (or the Chinese Norinco) 1911 clones I'd love to hear your source on that one. I won't disagree that Norinco's are a pretty good bang for your buck starter platform for mods, their 1911's frames are surprisingly good considering they came from China. He'll have a real hard time citing a source seeing they have been proven to be as good if not better steel then some US Makers. Combat Handguns Dec 2008 - STI Spartan (Rock Island Armory) One of the knocks against Philippine guns has always been their metallurgy. They have been notoriously soft, which rapidly accelerates wear. Not long after I had bought the Spartan I was talking to a friend that builds 1911 parts domestically. He told me that someone had brought a Spartan into their facility and tested it for hardness and they found that the frame was every bit as hard as a Colt frame. That caused him some sleepless nights. Skinner chuckled when I told him that story and said, “We shoot for a hardness of 28 HRC on the frames.” I completely forgot to mention.....about a year ago my girlfriends father picked one up at a local fun show and has been his truck gun ever since. I believe its the Tactical. Last I talked to him he stated he has about 4k rounds through it and only replaced the guide rod and recoil spring. |
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He'll have a real hard time citing a source seeing they have been proven to be as good if not better steel then some US Makers. That's why I asked.... We all damn well know that ARFCOM is a great source of info, but there's a metric shit load of brand biases which a good bit of aren't rooted in truth and more in the "I paid $XXX for this one, you paid $YYY for that, since I paid more it's of a higher quality" |
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I have an RIA compact. It's my daily carry gun. Reliable, affordable... Honestly you get more than you pay for IMHO. I also have a Springer Mil Spec. Love it too, but the Springer had extractor issues out of box. I have never had a single FTF/FTE in my RIA.... YMMV. I've had mine with less than 1000 rounds using basic hardball have failures to go back into battery. Nothing was changed out except a King's grip safety and bigger sights. Sorry to hear that. Have you contacted Ivan at Armscor in Nevada: 775-537-1444. He'll make it right. Also, as to RIA's being made in the Phillipines... Heck, my Springer is made in Brazil. Norinco's are made in China. At least the Phillipines are an ally! |
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He'll have a real hard time citing a source seeing they have been proven to be as good if not better steel then some US Makers. That's why I asked.... We all damn well know that ARFCOM is a great source of info, but there's a metric shit load of brand biases which a good bit of aren't rooted in truth and more in the "I paid $XXX for this one, you paid $YYY for that, since I paid more it's of a higher quality" Yup. Have nothing but good things to say about all the Rock Islands I have had the chance to shoot. (I include the STI Spartan in that bunch) While I personally would rather buy a Springfield basic to build from.....I wouldn't steer anyone away from buying a Rock Island. They are good to go in my book. As to the replacements my girlfriends father made....there was no problems with the original parts he simple wanted to replace them with better parts. Don't think he likes FLGR's but then again.....neither do I. 
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I have never had a problem with my RIA GI model, but i would suggest spending the little extra on the RIA "Tactical" model, as it has all the extra doodads at a minimal price increase.
RIA GI - $359 RIA Tactical - $399 (both are sold out/backorder...) |
| I bought the compact model at last weekend's gunshow. Wiped the external oils off it, loaded it with 230 grain handloads(Rainier Ballistics bullets). Functioned fine for the 20 rounds I tested,. Switched to my 185 grain handloads(bullets cast by a local hobbyist) and it functioned just as well for a full box. This is with no polishing, just take the gun out, inspect for visible defects, load and fire. I bought the gun based on what a friend of mine has experienced with his fullsize. Several thousand rounds with no problems. Daily carry for two years of that. Just recently it is starting to wear out the barrel link, but considering he bought it new for $300 the year the RIAs caught on it's done pretty well, and a link is an easy fix. For the money you can't go wrong(unless you expect a Caspian or Baer) |
