Info wanted on 1911's

[slowburninsteve]

At last weekend's gun show I saw a potload of 1911 clones by a company called Rock Island Armory. Has anyone had any experience with them? They were priced at much less than $500.00.

I also saw some other 1911 clones made by some other company, can't remember the name, made in the Phillipines, which I had never heard of.

Of course there were several available by Taurus too. There were a few Para Ordnance, but none of their new model. I only saw a couple of Colts and one S&W. Can anyone do a comparison of these? Which have forged frames, and which are cast as an example, or which have a good record of dependablity.

I'm looking for a good throw under the seat and be ready if I need it car gun which I won't mind getting a few bumps and bruises.

I appreciate any and all information.
Thanks in advance.

Steve

 

[slowburninsteve]

At last weekend's gun show I saw a potload of 1911 clones by a company called Rock Island Armory. Has anyone had any experience with them? They were priced at much less than $500.00.

I also saw some other 1911 clones made by some other company, can't remember the name, made in the Phillipines, which I had never heard of.

Of course there were several available by Taurus too. There were a few Para Ordnance, but none of their new model. I only saw a couple of Colts and one S&W. Can anyone do a comparison of these? Which have forged frames, and which are cast as an example, or which have a good record of dependablity.

I'm looking for a good throw under the seat and be ready if I need it car gun which I won't mind getting a few bumps and bruises.

I appreciate any and all information.
Thanks in advance.

Steve

 

[zercool]

I don't own one - but I would. Rock Island is generally considered to be a relatively solid 1911. Nothing fancy, no race gun, but it'll go bang when you need it to. If they're used, check for cracks in the usual spots (front and rear of ejection port, takedown pin hole, dustcover/frame interface). Otherwise, they're (I believe) spec 1911s.

Also - http://www.m1911.org - oodles of info on all things 1911.

 

[GatorFarmer]

Armscor in the PI makes the RIA guns, as well as guns for other companies including the High Standard pistols. Most users seem happy, but the Armscor guns - unless has changed - are all cast frames.

Asking about 1911s means delving into a world of voodoo all its own.

My free and only partially solicited opinion? Buy one of the relaunched Colt Series 70s or something else with the Colt logo (either recent vintage or a classic Series 70 or prior) if you're not willing to pay for a gun from one of the boutique makers. It'll hold its value and usually be a decent enough gun to start with.

Last week at least, Bud's had the new Series 70s for something under 900.

 

[ditrina]

An industry "Insider"

has advised that the best bang for the buck.. is the Taurus..
( most features and uses high quality named parts and design.. )

 

[29aholic]

IMHO the Springfield Armory guns are hard to beat for the price

 

[feldspar13]

+1 what gatorfarmer said

 

[KingBee]

I have 2 of the Rock Island Armory pistols, a compact in 45ACP and a GI in 38 Super. Both are reliable and accurate, and I shoot them often. The 38 Super doesn't seem to like hollow points, but the compact will swallow anything, and go bang every time. It's a frequent carry gun.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

The 38 Super doesn't seem to like hollow points...

I've had three RIA Super .38's and one .45 one. This is the only one I have currently (had it probably 3-4 years.) It functions fine with any factory ammo I feed it with the exception of Winchester Silver Tips.

Remington JHP's and Hornady XTP JHP handloads work fine in it...as do cast lead handloads.

pimpin'

 

[BE Mike]

Ya pays yo money an ya takes ya chances! You get what you pay for. The Springfield Armory Milspecs are a very good quality forged framed 1911. They are very popular and hard to find. They are a great American based company and their customer service is excellent.

The best thing that the Rock Island pistols have going for them is that they are cheap. In all fairness, they have a big following, so they must not be too bad. I haven't heard of any custom pistolsmiths accurizing them, so I'd be cautious about whether or not they would hold up to a lot of shooting and also wonder about how well they are machined, i.e. holes properly aligned etc. The original magazines aren't top quality.

For what you want it for, it might be fine. I'd be sure to run a lot of ammo through it and make sure that I replaced the original mag.

 

[NoJoe]

I have a RIA in .45. Goes bang every time and is very accurate. They come standard with a Novak mag. To me it seems like a quality mag. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.

 

[slowburninsteve]

That Springfield Armory forged frame is a big selling point! I heard that their guns are not U.S. made. Is that true?
Steve

Originally posted by BE Mike:
Ya pays yo money an ya takes ya chances! You get what you pay for. The Springfield Armory Milspecs are a very good quality forged framed 1911. They are very popular and hard to find. They are a great American based company and their customer service is excellent.

The best thing that the Rock Island pistols have going for them is that they are cheap. In all fairness, they have a big following, so they must not be too bad. I haven't heard of any custom pistolsmiths accurizing them, so I'd be cautious about whether or not they would hold up to a lot of shooting and also wonder about how well they are machined, i.e. holes properly aligned etc. The original magazines aren't top quality.

For what you want it for, it might be fine. I'd be sure to run a lot of ammo through it and make sure that I replaced the original mag.

 

[DougE]

The next pistol I plan to buy is a 1911. I've looked at all the copies and have been tempted to settle for one of them. Nothing says 1911 like a colt though, so I've decided that I will hold out until I can afford the real deal.

 

[Joni_Lynn]

In that price range RIA is probably the best choice, for a bit more Springfield would be a better gun. RIA has really excellent customer service as does SA.
My choice would cost more and would say Colt on the side.

 

[Farmer17]

I plan on buying a Rock Island .45, and I've researched them and they seem to be a pretty good deal for a basic 1911 fighting pistol. Sarco sells them for $320 plus 15 bucks for shipping, and that would only be a down payment on a Colt or most other 1911s.

 

[Double-O-Dave]

I'm looking for a good throw under the seat and be ready if I need it car gun which I won't mind getting a few bumps and bruises.

I appreciate any and all information.
Thanks in advance.

Steve

If that's the case, then I'd suggest a Sigma in .40 S&W. It beats your price point, is definitely rugged and dependable, and certainly wouldn't mind a few bumps and bruises.

Regards,

Dave

 

[alagreg5]

My humble opinion is that the Taurus PT1911 is the best value, hands down. I've had Springfields, Colts, Kimbers and a few of the lesser clones. The Taurus has more custom features for around $600 than most that cost over 1K. I have three friends who went from Kimbers to the Taurus because the Taurus was more accurate and more dependable. I haven't seen one yet that wasn't a serious shooter. YMMV.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

shucks...just get at least one of each

Rock Island Armory

Springfield Armory

Colt

 

[haggis]

Originally posted by Steve Wice:
I heard that their guns are not U.S. made. Is that true?
Steve

Springfield frames and slides, and whole guns except for those built in their Custom Shop, are made by Imbel in Brazil. Imbel builds a decent 1911, but their quality control has been known to go through cycles. I have fixed Springfields that had the hole in the spring tunnel for the slide stop plunger not drilled out so that the plunger didn't contact the slide stop. The gun occasionally would lock back for no apparent reason. I have seen at least three Springfields that had dangerous hammer-sear interfaces (0.010" high hammer hooks and rounded sear noses are not acceptable).

People fret too much over cast frames, and they're using data from decades ago to fuel the worry. Modern metallurgy and proper heat treatment of investment cast parts give properties and performance very similar, and in some cases superior, to forged parts. Browning has changed all of its Hi-Power frames from forged to cast because their forged frames cracked in the early .40 S&W models. Their cast frame is measurably stronger.

Just for grins a few years ago, a friend and I stripped an RIA 1911 and a Springfield Mil-Spec down to bare parts side-by-side to see what we could find. In almost everything we looked at, the RIA was significantly better than the Springfield, including lockup, slide fit, hammer-sear interface and the resulting trigger pull, muzzle crown, link length, feed ramp, and magazine (Novaks). If there was a significant flaw in the RIA, it would have surfaced by now, and they wouldn't be selling as many as they do.

Yeah, I like Colts, and Kimbers, and Wilsons, and Baers. But some folks' budgets can't afford those price tags, and I don't think they're being short-changed by owning an RIA.

Buck

 

[Mustang51]

In my experience, you really don't know what you have in a 1911-type pistol, until you've taken it home and tried it. I've owned some that worked great out of the box, and some that needed a little help. (Also one that was totally beyond help.) Overall though, I've been happy with my Colts. I let my 12 year old shoot the Series 70 repro yesterday for his first experience with .45ACP. As expected, it generated some big grins from both of us.