I just posted this at 1911forum and decided I might as well post it here also:
Well I posted a couple of months ago about my new RRA EC. I got it on the 22nd of December. I drooled over it and then rushed back to the hospital as my son was born the day before and I was only out to run some errands for a couple of hours.
When I got back home for good I fondled it for 5 min before I realized the front sight could be pushed side to side or completely removed with no effort at all. I called RRA and Chuck said they must have forgotten to loctite it back on after the Black T was applied. He said they would send me some red loctite so I could fix it. I didn't even know people attached their front sight with loctite in the first place. Sounds rather weak to me but I have no experience in this area.
After I got off the phone I searched for my snap cap as I wanted to mess with my EC for a bit more. The next surprise came. When I would drop the slide on a mag with the snap cap the hammer would drop to half cock about 50% of the time. It would do it less often if I released the slide with the slide stop. It hardly did it at all with real ammo. My best guess was the harder the slide slammed the more likely it was to occur. I called RRA and spoke to Chuck. He said it was due to the finish changing the dimensions slightly on the sear or something to that affect (I really don't remember that well). He gave me RRA's UPS account # to ship it back. He assured me it would be fixed the day they got it and sent out that day as well so I would have it back on the 5th as I was sending it in the 3rd of January. One thing he told me that made me uneasy was that I shouldn't release the slide while letting go of the trigger because it would screw up the action job. Now I understand there's a disconnector but I just don't feel safe about that especially since I planned to carry this gun. I don't think I could chamber a round at my house in this manner and feel very safe about it.
Two weeks had passed and I heard nothing. I called and spoke to Scott and he didn't know what was going on but assured me the problem was being taken care of. I called again within a couple of days to try and figure out what the hold up was but was unfruitful. The first week of February I called and left a message with Ulanda for Chuck to call me back. He did and said that basically it wasn't the finish and some parts had to be replaced. One of them was the trigger which meant it needed to be sent to Walter. I explained to him I wasn't mad I really just wanted to know what was going on since I was told it would be back on the 5th of Jan. He said he would go ahead and fit 2 triggers and send the gun back while he sent one of the triggers to get Black T finish. He would then send the Black T'd trigger when it was finished. I expected the gun within a couple of days because of what he told me. I just got it today (well technically yesterday since it's 12:58AM here. At least it has a Black T'd trigger already. Everything seems to be right and the trigger is fantastic.
So I am about to go to bed when I remember I have two new holsters that are in my safe that have been there in the packages for several months now. I pull out the Milt Sparks Watch Six black horsehide holster and put it on. It's pretty surprising how well a 5" 1911 can be concealed so easily on someone that is my build. Anyways I put the gun in the holster and practiced unholstering it and presenting it 7 times.
To my dismay the Black T was scratched close to 2" long that is to the metal for about half of the length. I know this has nothing to do with RRA but I cannot believe such a highly regarded finish that cost me $200 would scratch from being pulled out of a holster 7 times. The holster has some spots that feel rough, but no rougher than any other leather holster I have or have had. Also I know it will wear with time, but nothing I have carried has worn so fast in such a manner before. I wasn't even going to post about all my problems but this aggrevated me so much that I have to vent.
The people at RRA were very nice on the phone, but it was very hard to reach anyone with any info for me. It would have felt much better though had I just been told after they got the gun that it may be a month or two instead of having me wonder what the heck happened to my gun. At least I didn't have to pay for shipping I guess which is pretty rare as far as warranty work goes.
I am finally goint to shoot it in the morning. I'll try to post a range report. I am going to contact Walter Birdsong to see what he has to say.