If you were spending $350.00 on your first 1911 pistol, which one would you go for?

The Sistema will be a rearsenal excellent condition pistol.

I am a C&R FFL holder and I kind of like the history aspect of the Sistema, but then again, I also like the idea of getting a new, reliable 1911 such as the RIA with no wear and tear on it.

Which one would you get of these two?

I vote for the Sistema, even history aside. IMO, the steel is better than what the Rock Island has, all things being equal.

So if you add history in to it then that slips the scale over even further.

My .o2

I'm with Bob, the Sistema is forged steel equal to Colts of the time, unlike the Rock Island.

Rock Islands are CNC machined billet steel.

Rock Islands have a warranty, Sistimas, being used do not.

But with a 1911 that isn't much of a concern there really isn't anything that cant be fixed by the owner, its just how you feel about paying for more parts on top of the cost of the gun.

Rock Islands are more likely to feed hollowpoints-if you care about that.

The Systema is a very high quality gun-they show off how far Colts quality has fallen in 40 years.

The Sistema is C&R qualified.