RIA 1911 Nightmare!

Colt, Remington, Kimber are the brands on my last four 1911 purchases. None of these pistols needed work on the slide or frame when put into service. Each of those pistols has fired hundreds of rounds without any suggestion of difficulty so i find the blanket statement "every one of my 1911 guns needed work beyond what i could do" to perhaps apply to one individual's experience and not the same with all purchasers. Of the past dozen or so firearms I have purchased a minor adjustment or deburr is the only problem i have encountered and even after modifying a couple of the 1911's they still run 100%.
In the case of the OP he is on the right track by sending the pistol back with a detailed description and photos, Armscor builds quality products and will warranty problems. Now if you had taken my advice and bought a Colt the sun would be shining on your head while you were doing your best to empty a bunch of .45 cases.:)
 
It's a shame to here of your troubles friend.

As for the guy who had 7 1911s that had issues, he is just a bad luck magnet. I have several buddies with different 1911s, and the only one that ever had issues is my dad with his kimber. Just doesn't want to run dry. Too tight I'm guessing. When made correctly with strong parts they are very reliable guns. I personally don't really like Wilson mags. Maybe try some GI style mags from Colt or czechmate or metalform
 
It already ruined two expensive magazines... something I'll be sure to let them know and will include the pictures along with the pistol.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but the pistol didn't ruin those magazines until you switched out the slide stop for the non-factory part. If that is the case, seems a bit much to blame RIA for that.
 
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:)
Slide stops and magazine followers interact on the last round.
You put in a new slide stop and new magazines,both Wilson.
The Wilson mag lips failed.Slide stops are not necessarily drop in parts
Wilson makes good stuff,but it would be just as easy to jump to the conclusion that Wilson parts messed up your fine RIA.

I agree with buying good magazines.It seems each 1911 has its own idea of "good" .Yours might like Colts,or McCormicks,

Sometimes 8 rd vs 7 round makes a difference.

It might be RIA will charge you for a slide stop replacement....or not,but why get all excited about "voiding the warranty"

So now what says it won't work with the new RIA slide stop?

What if the RIA smith puts an RIA mag in it and it works fine?

You aren't giving them the straight story to work with.Your original issue was what? Slide stop prematurely engaging? You are making it impossible to diagnose the problem.

Now when they say "Works fine.Whats the problem?" you are going to hate on RIA customer service.
Just be honest with them,help them help you.
You might ask them if they will tune your extractor.BTW,you do know to never drop a round in the chamber,and then drop the slide on it,yes?
 
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An improperly tensioned extractor is one of the most, if not the most common malady associated with the 1911s, and just buying a Colt, does not change that...I have had that problem with Colts also.
There are parts in the 1911 platform whose function is too subtle for most people to contend with. However, the extractor is not one of them. The extractor pulls the empty casing out of the chamber and holds it until it is struck by the ejector. If that is not happening, the extractor is letting go of the casing prematurely. It is not rocket science.
Some will be misled by that fact that, in this instance, it only happened on the last round. No big mystery...as long as there are rounds in the magazine, they are positioned higher than when there is just the magazine follower under the extracting casing. The rounds support the empty casing somewhat in that it prevents the improperly tensioned extractor to drop the casing. When the magazine is empty, note that the follower sits lower in the magazine than the top of any rounds in the magazine, therefore not supporting the empty case as it is extracted.
When one gets a 1911 that malfunctions as described by the original poster, one need not get one's pantys in a bunch and ship the gun back to the manufacturer...one only needs to put a little more bend in the extractor...it is not rocket science.
http://www.m1911.org/technic2.htm
 
RIA has great customer service, to be sure. The problem I have is with the quality of the parts they use, and the tolerances of the frame. I have one in the shop now, and the are sending me a new gun because, to use the words of the gunsmith, the frame is FUBARd. It seems like a loss from my perspective because of the additional government red tape (send to FFL and additional fees), but we shall see.

Best of luck with the warranty work.


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one need not get one's pantys in a bunch and ship the gun back to the manufacturer...one only needs to put a little more bend in the extractor...it is not rocket science.
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Not sure I consider sending a pistol back to the manufacturer getting your underwear in a bunch. Frankly I'd rather more people did that than breaking out the files and the dremel tools. You're right that slightly bending an extractor isn't rocket science, but at the same time the company owes you as the purchaser a functioning pistol. To me calling them and having them fix the pistol is how we reinforce the fact to these manufacturers that quality control isn't something that can be swept under the rug. Now every company can make a lemon, but how that company fixes that potential lemon says a lot to me about the company.
 
Why are you using Wilson Combat ETM magazines? I know -- because Wilson Combat says they're great.

I disagree.

Wilson engineered the ETM magazines specifically to sit higher in the frame than what John Moses Browning designed. The reason Wilson did this was allegedly to provide a straighter feed path. And, on pistols in which the mags fit, I suppose that works. The problem is that ETM magazines DON'T fit all pistols. And the reason is that they sit so high that in some pistols the slide hits the feed lips as it comes forward in battery. It appears that's what happened to you.

A lot of gunsmiths around the country make a lot of money because too many Bubbas think they're smarter than John M. Browning, and that this or that tweak they found on Youtube is GUAR-AN-TEED to make your 1911 run better, look shinier, and shoot the whiskers off a gnat at 1,000 meters. The touble is, John M. Browning was a firearms genius, and Bubba probably isn't.

I tried the ETM magazines several years ago, in a 20 year old Colt that had never missed a beat (other than some failures to extract that were cured by replacing the extractor). With the ETM magazine, the slide locked up so tight before getting into battery that the owner of the shop at the range had to clamp the slide in a padded vise and beat the receiver back with a rubber mallet to free it.

Wilson Combat blithely informed me that my pistol was out of spec! I call that Bee-Ess. The reality is that Wilson went a bit too far in trying to raise the feed point, with the result that the mags simply don't work in all pistols. I think yours is another example of this.

Try Check-Mate or Colt magazines, or even Wilson GI magazines (which are made by Check-Mate, but I don't know if Wilson Combat likes people to know that).

IMHO, we should never blame a problem on the pistol when we're using a part that has been expressly designed to depart from the specifications for the pistol.

What's going to be amusing is if the pistol functions perfectly with the "new" RIA slide stop and the original, factory magazine. (And that's what I expect will happen.)
 
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In your previous thread you mention the Wilson mags being looser in the pistol than the factory magazine. Then you mention going to the range and having issues with the slide locking back, which led to the filing and the replaced part and now we're here. Did you have the early locking back issue with the stock magazine as well? If not maybe the answer is, as others alluded to above, that the pistol doesn't like those particular magazines.

1911s are interesting in that you're buying magazines from different manufacturers for pistols made by different manufacturers. How each pistol is setup in terms of dimensions and tolerances can be just different enough to cause issues at times. Yes there are other pistols that have aftermarket magazines, but the base pistols themselves are almost always made by one manufacturer. This makes guaranteeing function a bit easier IMO.


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What's going to be amusing is if the pistol functions perfectly with the "new" RIA slide stop and the original, factory magazine. (And that's what I expect will happen.)
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That's the reason, when I'm asked, that I often tell new 1911 owners to buy the same brand mags that comes with their gun if the mags work okay. I sometimes deviate from this or ignore my own advice, but it's usually good advice.
 
In your previous thread you mention the Wilson mags being looser in the pistol than the factory magazine. Then you mention going to the range and having issues with the slide locking back, which led to the filing and the replaced part and now we're here. Did you have the early locking back issue with the stock magazine as well? If not maybe the answer is, as others alluded to above, that the pistol doesn't like those particular magazines.

1911s are interesting in that you're buying magazines from different manufacturers for pistols made by different manufacturers. How each pistol is setup in terms of dimensions and tolerances can be just different enough to cause issues at times. Yes there are other pistols that have aftermarket magazines, but the base pistols themselves are almost always made by one manufacturer. This makes guaranteeing function a bit easier IMO.


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The stock magazine (Act brand) had the same exact problem.

All that was happening for the first 200 rounds was the slide would lock back prematurely on all magazines. Then yesterday it developed the ejection issues for the first time. I was also being hit in the head by brass a few times, I've read that is probably the extractor doing that to.

So, I thought I had cured my problems but then a new one (the extractor) cropped up. Hopefully RIA will take care of me! :(

Maybe I should have just got a Colt Rail Gun...
 
Maybe I should have just got a Colt Rail Gun...
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I'm gonna be "that guy" for a minute. I don't know how new you are to handguns, but basically any handgun can have issues (and in fact people said this in the thread you made when you were still deciding what 1911 to get). Before you roll your eyes and stop reading (cause that's what I used to do myself), I don't mean this to chastise. I have owned over 70 pistols (I have an Excel sheet, but I stopped counting). I have seen issues with literally every manufacturer, including Colt and even brands like HK, SIG, and Glock (known for reliability moreso than 1911s). This is why we test pistols before directly using them for self defense.

I know it sucks that your pistol isn't running like you want. I'm not denying that. What I'm saying is akin to Bruce Willis in Die Hard. "Welcome to the party pal!" These things happen and frankly as far as I'm concerned are part of being a gun owner that shoots regularly rather than those that buy pistols and never shoot them. I don't care what manufacturer, but any mass produced mechanical item will have its lemons or problematic parts. You contact the manufacturer and see what they can do to get the product (in this case pistol) working properly. If I got as discouraged as you sound every time a pistol I bought had issues, I wouldn't have any pistols left to buy. And this isn't just to single you out. It's a common theme in the gun community to have issues with a product, throw up your hands, and swear to never buy it again.
 
Not sure I consider sending a pistol back to the manufacturer getting your underwear in a bunch. Frankly I'd rather more people did that than breaking out the files and the dremel tools. You're right that slightly bending an extractor isn't rocket science, but at the same time the company owes you as the purchaser a functioning pistol. To me calling them and having them fix the pistol is how we reinforce the fact to these manufacturers that quality control isn't something that can be swept under the rug. Now every company can make a lemon, but how that company fixes that potential lemon says a lot to me about the company.
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Compared to pulling the extractor and putting a bend in it, sending the gun back and the turnaround time is a hassle. Furthermore, it is not a matter of a company making a lemon...they likely did not make the extractor and if the extractor does not have the correct amount of tension, it is a very minor fix...If a person can field strip a 1911, they can pull the extractor out and deal with it. And, no one advocated using a dremal tool.
 
Maybe I should have just got a Colt Rail Gun...
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Good luck...the last Colt I bought had a recoil spring so weak the gun would not function, a firing pin spring so weak that the firing pin stop would drop down and tie-up the gun. Buying a Colt will not solve all your 1911 problems.
 
Furthermore, it is not a matter of a company making a lemon...they likely did not make the extractor and if the extractor does not have the correct amount of tension, it is a very minor fix...If a person can field strip a 1911, they can pull the extractor out and deal with it.
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That may well be, but if my car has a defective part (like an air bag) then I expect the company to fix it as it's part of the overall product they're selling me. If they didn't offer that coverage as part of their warranty service then we should just build our own guns and worry about the warranties on each part.

And, no one advocated using a dremal tool.
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Dremel and yeah I know. Sometimes I speak in generalities. It goes to my point that I've seen many a person "fix" his/her pistol and have it end up worse than it was before. If you have the skill/experience to do it you certainly have the right to fix it yourself. My point is delivering a functioning product is still a responsibility of the manufacturer.
 
Tunnelrat,
I understand,and agree with you in principle.
I suggest that in reality,the 1911 came from a time of the Armorer,selective fitting,and a few strokes of a file.
Today's manufacturing world is about documentation,process,and statistical process control.
Per ISO standards,etc,Old Joe with 30 years experience,who could make them run like a watch,is obsolete.They do not want Old Joe or what he stands for.
Stockroom parts,as issued,are assembled by generic assembly line workers per "The Process" and sent out the door.Typically,many parts are outsourced,and the supplier is responsible for compliance.Once a supplier is "qualified",incoming parts are typically not even inspected.
The gun may get fired for therequired shell casings,but for a $500 gun,they don't run mags through or do test targets.
What you get when you buy a production,moderately priced gun is a kit of assembled production parts.
A "drop in"1911.It may or may not run.
That is why there is a market for the over $1k semi customs.OldJoe,and a file.
We might expect otherwise...and we likely will be disappointed.

That's why I bought my Kuhnhausens,The Wilson DVD course,a bunch of 1911 tools,andI'm working on build 7 or 8,along with some tune ups.
It takes study,understanding function,references,skills,experience,and an ability to face and fix problems without getting emotional.
And sometimes,the lesson involves screw up/do over.

I suspect some of the other designs,like a quality DA revolver,or a Glock,or an SD or M+P...essentially,the handguns chosen by law enforcement to issue ,have generally passed the "out of the box" function test.

Yes,some LEO's carry 1911's.I would guess they are of a qualified brand and model,and attended by a PD armorer.

Most "you tube armorers" make me cringe.Most folks do not have the skills.
It does not take a special person.It does take education.

Back in theday of sporterizing milsurps and lots of cheap wore out 1911's,we had more local gunsmiths.Not so much anymore.

I would not return one,I would fix it.But most folks should return a gun that does not run.
Folks used to have skills beyond spending money.WE have become helpless.
 
Well it's in RIA's hands now.

I don't mind waiting the weeks it will take, so long as it fires when I get it back. Supposedly they do a good job at making the returned guns shoot right. Sorry for the defeatist attitude guys... I've bought about half a dozen NIB guns in the past couple years, and have had to send several of them back. This includes Charter Arms (twice), Pedersoli (twice), a Bersa Thunder, now this gun. It's just a little frustrating, but I know that's the nature of the M1911 design. It is rather complicated and things have to be just right.

The only problem is, even though I was having those problems yesterday at the range, I still was loving it when it worked. The 1911 feels so good to me. I love the single action mechanism, the ergonomics, the looks, the history, and shooting them is just so fun right now. I am not new to pistols, just got discouraged by my lack of luck with them in recent times.

Thank you all so much for the help and support. It means a lot.
 
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