Rock Island 1911

[mwaym]

What is your opinions of the Rock Island 1911's ..... I am lookin at the compact with the 3 1/2 " barrel..... but might consider the full size...

 

[gajones06]

I have owned two and I only ever had one problem, neither of them would feed hollow points even when the ramp was polished and everything it still wasn't reliable.

 

[TopDog]

I have shot several and own one, a full size tactical two tone.

One of the best value for your dollar 1911's out there. Mine has been rock solid. So far eats everything I feed it. Only mag problems were a couple of my 10 rounders, but I have problems with them on several other 1911's also.

I like mine so much I decided its a keeper and had the slide refinished. You can get a lemon with any manufacture but I think RI is a great company.

 

[kingpin75]

I bought one about a year ago,had to send it in to get fixed and they sent me a new one. it has been perfect, especially with wilson combat mags.

 

[04DarkShadowGT]

I had to send one back too, I have owned two.

Three of the four first posts from owners said they have had some issues. That should tell you what you need to know. Sure they will probably make it right once you send it back in. It just seems like a larger percentage of RIA guns go back than most others.

For what its worth the 5" I had was perfect, the officer one had issues. I sent it back in, got it back, and sold it. The new owner from what I know has had no issues.

 

[daspurlock]

I have one in 9mm and it is the only gun that i have my wife says will never leave our house. Has been a great gun with over 1000 rds fired and not a issue ( that I can remember). I would buy another any time, great utility weapon.

 

[Big Ram]

I have heard they are pretty solid. I'm just personally not big on Chinese made replicas of American designs. I'm that guy who searched for a good pair of American made cowboy boots though too.

 

[10-96]

One of my friends has one that's full size. He took it apart, and cleaned up/smoothed/polished everything and re-lubed.....he has had no problems.
Sounds like it's whether or not you want to do a few mods to slick it up to CCW reliability.

 

[red_zr24x4]

I have a 9mm tactical on layaway right now. From what I've been reading, out of the box it could be hit or miss, but they seem to get better the more you shoot them.
Check out 1911Forum - Powered by vBulletin down close to the bottom it breaks up into different manufacturers check the Rock Island section, lots of info there.
Their made in the Philippians not China, They also make the frame and or slides for STI and a few others.

 

[Lakefield22]

I've had a 5" tactical for two years. Never had a problem. It feeds hollow points and even some LSWC (only had my revolver ammo that day). Is it as nice as my Colts? No. Am I happy with it? Yes!

 

[95wrangler]

I bought a used one from BGF a couple years ago. When I first got it, it wouldnt feed the first round out of the mag. I thought the recoil spring might be weak so I bought a complete Wilson spring set and swapped them all out. Fixed it no prob. since Ive bought a few Mccormick mags. Runs like a champ and very accurate! Did I mention I found the build date of 1998! I wouldnt hesitate to buy another! And they have a lifetime warranty!

 

[cakelly1962]

bought mine Feb 08. Wouldn't feed 200gr lswc but with alittle polishing on it and quite a few rounds though it, it get real relible . It has been a great USPSA gun. Just need to get a beavertail grip safety on it.

 

[Nayls47]

My Rock Island CS has been issue free. With that said, when I got it I polished the feed ramp and chamber. Feeds everything nicely. (see avitar pic.) M1911.org has a section devoted to Rock Island. The M1911 Pistols Organization Forums Site

 

[SERparacord]

What is your opinions of the Rock Island 1911's ..... I am lookin at the compact with the 3 1/2 " barrel..... but might consider the full size...

I had a RIA compact. Worse gun and the worst customer service experience I have ever had in firearms. They had the gun 12 weeks and it came back in worse shape then when it was sent. I wouldn't give one to my worst enemy, but that's just my experience with them.

 

[halfmileharry]

I had a RIA compact. Worse gun and the worst customer service experience I have ever had in firearms. They had the gun 12 weeks and it came back in worse shape then when it was sent. I wouldn't give one to my worst enemy, but that's just my experience with them.

I picked up my first one at Indy Trading Post about a year and a half ago. Good gun. It wouldn't feed hollow points. Mil specs have that characteristic. It went over 2500 rds before I had a problem with it. Disconnector broke. I fit one to it from one of my "parts guns" Decent gun.
I bought another one and had to send it back almost immediately. I got it back and it's ok now but not dependable and not that well made.
For what you pay for one I'll suggest throwing in a few hundred more and go with a gun of better quality.
I won't depend on them with my life now after owning them for a while.

 

[brooks45]

I have a RIA cs and love it....but it does not like
Tula ammo , ejection issues...

 

[Bang-bang]

I have the full size, tac. , it's great, no problems! It's now a high round count. I've only changed the grip's

 

[kbailey]

They are a great entry level 1911. I bought a full size tactical about 3 years ago. So far it has been excellent. No problem feeding ball and it will generally feed hallow point. I don't carry it so the hallow point feeding issue has never really been a problem for me.

 

[walt o]

I have 4 RIA 's And no problems with any of them . RIA states 230 gr . fmj ais what the gun is set up to shoot. They will tune it for hollow points if you have a problem.Any 1911 can have a preference for a specific mag. As far as the customer service gos I think it is the best ,But i have not used it for repairs.They could not find a gun I wanted in stock so they made one for me with some up grades and shipped it to my dealer.That's C.S. with a smile .Same price as a standard catalog item.

 

[MadMan66]

I bought the FS GI model back in november. About 300 rounds through it and no malfunctions of any kind so far (not enough rounds to make a definitive decision on reliability). I went ahead and polished the feed ramp just a few days ago, and when I chamber a round, I can't even tell it picked one up. It seems to operate very smoothly now, despite it never having any problems before the polishing. For the price (paid $429 out the door), I don't think you can beat it for what you get. I don't have the budget to drop much more than that on a gun right now, as I'm still paying my way through college. So for a budget gun, I don't think you can ask for much more. I love it!