Rock Island G.I. 1911 .45 ACP, 1911 Goodness for $399!

[canoeguy]

My appetite for 1911's continues, in the last year I've picked up a number of 1911's, a Ruger stainless SR1911, a Springfield Range Officer in 9MM caliber, a Rock Island Tactical, and the latest, a Rock Island "G.I."......

I am fortunate to have two Rural King stores close to me, one 35 miles away to the North, one 45 miles away to the South. Rural King prices start out pretty low, and they have a no hassle layaway program, 10% down will lay away anything on the rack.

Rural King has been offering for months now the Rock Island "G.I." 1911 for $399. I put one on layaway just before they raised the price to $429, so that was fortunate. The G.I. model has a parkerized finish, G.I. style front and rear sights, G.I. safety, etc. Outward appearance looks just like a military 1911. Got it out of layaway a couple of weeks ago and have been wringing it out. What a great shooter! Nice trigger, sights are not bad, not as small as real G.I. sights, but not Novak big either. Pistol is reliable, runs 100% with all the 1911 mags I own. Likes my pet cast lead hand load too, a real plus in these days of ammo shortages.

Accuracy wise, it is "Above Average", not as accurate as my Ruger or the Rock Island Tactical, but plenty accurate for field and defensive work. I can hit with it pretty good out to 30 yards, the Rock Island Tactical I can hit "Pretty Good" with it out to 50 yards....

I like this 1911 for field use as it field strips without a bushing wrench, comes apart easily and goes back together just as easy. I'll be letting the Nephews cut their 1911 teeth with this one. It also appeals to me as it reminds me of the 1911's I was issued in the 1980's and 90's in the Navy.

I did replace the grips, the originals are made of some blonde hardwood, not the most attractive. I got a set of walnut "Diamonds" on Ebay for $25, they fit great and look much better than the originals.

Here's some pics:

With some G.I. stuff, crook neck flashlight, G.I. pocket knife. Reminds me of the scene in the movie "Forest Gump", when LT. Dan give Forest a 1911 and says" "Gump, check out that hole!"

You may or may not find one for $399, but I bet the price won't be far from that. Makes it cheaper than most plastic guns out there!

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

If I already didn't back into a stainless MkIV Colt Government model, I'd be all over that one. Just something about a plain unadorned government model

 

[max]

Several years ago, I bought a used FS Tac II in 9mm. It has been most impressive. I have had no problems with any factory ammo including aluminum. It does not like my reloads unless they have been through the Lee FCD.

A few months ago I bought a FS Tac in .45 from a friend. I shot it a few days and was impressed with it after a few hundred break-in rounds. I sold it to my brother and shipped it off to Texas.

I think RIA offers a lot of gun for not much money.

 

[Art Doc]

Looks great. I recently bought this Turkish Tisas to satisfy a desire for a GI 1911. Put 50 through it and it ran like a champ with RNL reloads. Photo from the Internet. It was $439.

 

[kbm6893]

Very nice! I have an Army 1911 from the CMP. Such a nice gun. I wish the RIA didn’t have that white logo on the back of the slide, though. Takes away from the look. I think earlier ones had a huge logo that they at least reduced.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

You can do a lot worse than to buy Rock Island/ATI 1911's. For the price you cannot beat them.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I bought a Rock island 1911 in 10mm w/adj sights. It's been Fantastic.

 

[wetdog1911]

Got mine when they were first introduced from a big ad in The Shotgun News. IIRC, the price was $327 or so.

My wife claimed it right away for her bedside gun AFTER the grips got gone. Even she didn't like those smooth weird grips!

I get the 3rd degree if I want to use it for some informal shooting, like I've got designs on "HER" 1911. LOL I just want to run it some and get some fresh ammo in there, to make sure it will actually go bang if she should need it to.

Rob

 

[Gene L]

Good pistols. I have one I got from my buddy; he did a trigger job and put sights on it. I also had one before that would double, sold it to my LGS who fixed it. Can't abide the stock grips, though. Got diamonds for mine.

 

[ancient-one]

I bought a 9mm with the better sights. My grandson installed a Hogue wrap around grip which made it really nice.

 

[31FordA]

I’ve owned the basic GI Rock Island in .38 Super and .45ACP. Good guns, no complaints. I never hesitate to recommend them to folks looking for a good basic 1911. They’re a good way to get into a 1911 without spending a fortune.

 

[Muley Gil]

I like finding low end guns that perform well. I enjoy them as much as I do the few high end guns I own.

 

[TheHobbyist]

I'm waiting for the market to calm down a bit, then am planning to pick one up to see what all the fuss is about.

It sounds like a good product at a great price point. ATI or RI I have heard very positive things about.

Only gun show I been to since all this happened; was about a month or so ago...they had two of them at the show, used, for $ 700.00.

I'm in no rush...

 

[wetdog1911]

If I already didn't back into a stainless MkIV Colt Government model, I'd be all over that one. Just something about a plain unadorned government model

Uhhhhh You ARE allowed to have more than one 1911, ya know. I only have 4 1/2 ATM, but they are still my favorites overall.

So, snag a plain unadorned Gvt model. If my wife hadn't snagged the RIA it was going to do duty as a truck gun or, some similar role. For THAT price!? Plus the fact that it actually ran well ...for THAT price!

A win-win IMO.

Rob

 

[ContinentalOp]

I've got a couple of customized 1911s, but I have to say in the last few years I've been developing an appreciation for GI-style guns. If I were going to get another 1911, I'd probably lean pretty hard towards a GI-style gun.

 

[VaTom]

This thread got me interested in looking at reviews for Rock Island 1911. Gets good reviews. I have an Ithaca 1943 1911A1 and a Colt Performance Center WWII 1911A1 reproduction so I don't need another But curious about the Rock Island. Didn't know it is made in Phillipines by Armscor. Big difference between it and higher priced models is that frame and slide are cast and not forged. Was curious how the cost was kept low.

 

[pawngal]

I have sold more of the Rock Island 1911 45s in my shop than any other single model of gun. Customers have always had positive things to say about them.

 

[Old Corp]

My only 'real' RIA, the other being a Charles Daly, which is no longer around.
This was a basic RIA 1911-A1 GI model, but in .38 Super.
Changed the grips to VZ 'Cherrywood' double diamonds.
Sent the slide to Novak for decent carry sights. The GI sights just won't do.

It shoots and functions great - and have enjoyed learning about and loading full-bore .38 Super, which can easily be in the .357 neighborhood performance-wise.

 

[stansdds]

My only 'real' RIA, the other being a Charles Daly, which is no longer around.
This was a basic RIA 1911-A1 GI model, but in .38 Super.
Changed the grips to VZ 'Cherrywood' double diamonds.
Sent the slide to Novak for decent carry sights. The GI sights just won't do.

It shoots and functions great - and have enjoyed learning about and loading full-bore .38 Super, which can easily be in the .357 neighborhood performance-wise.

I think the Charles Daly 1911's were first of the Philippine produced 1911 clones, the CD name being dropped after they became a popular, low cost, good quality line of 1911 clones.

 

[quikdraw67]

Looks great. I recently bought this Turkish Tisas to satisfy a desire for a GI 1911. Put 50 through it and it ran like a champ with RNL reloads. Photo from the Internet. It was $439.

If I didn't have an "adequate " amount of 1911's I'd go for one of these.

Seems well made and affordable.

Plus it looks good.