RIA 1911s= Junk?
- Thread starter Model12Win
- Start date
Model12Win
Moderator
Interesting. I have read many reports of needing to send these guns back. It appears customer service handles it well, but it is interesting.
Nothing wrong with Rock Island Ive owned two whatever you buy please make sure you have at least 400-500 flawless rds thru the gun BEFORE you consider using it as a life safety gun. This is strictly my opinion but between my 1911s and my modern polymer striker fired pistols ( wont mention brand as not to start a big debate ) the few times its happened.... Ive had more clicks instead of booms with my 1911s than with my polymer guns. For that reason I use a Striker fired Polymer pistol as a SD gun. But thats just me. Simply going by my personal observations. Good luck.
gw,I can give a reasonable guess.I'd say the(I Think) ATC was about 2013.I would place the SA Mil-Spec 2011 or 2012.
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On sending 1911's back....
I understand you have the expectation that if you buy a $500 gun you expect it to work.That seems reasonable.
The space shuttle Challenger blew up.The Hubbel did not work right before repair.Have you bought many automobiles that were correct out of the door?
I would guess,for the price,a bill of materials(the parts) are pulled from the stock room and the gun is assembled per the prescribed process,and put in the box and shipped.I doubt a testfire is done.That is the modern quality process.ISO 9000,and all that.Deming,Juran,Crosby.They don't want a file on the line.That would take skill.And a refinish.That is "tampering" and it is not "statistical process control"
Yet if you look at how the "Quality" 1911's are built,its not 6 Sigma.Its stone knives and bearskins.There has always been the 1911 "Armorer" Wilson,Brown,etc,DO check,tweak,file,fit,tune.Maybe $750 worth of tinkering?
Just my opinion,but if the pin holes are off location,or oversize,if the dustcover is off center,etc....Then the gun is justifiably a reject.
A 1911 came from a time that required more than an assembly of parts.The Armorer must establish relationships.
Frame,slide,lugs,barrel feet,linkdown,timing....All a dance,that must be choreographed.Every ectractor gets filed for nuances of radius and blend.It gets bent for tension.
That one funny sear spring balances the trigger return,sear reset,disconnect function,and grip safety return.Its done by eyeball,bend,and try.At Ed Brown,and at Wilson,etc.
The 1911 is pretty robust and forgiving.Most parts box guns can run.
But you better figure a $500 1911 is a kit of parts that have been assembled.
Its sad we don't have more folks that know as much about using a pillar or jeweler file as they do a credit card.
Tuning an extractor is not rocket science.And odds are that is why your gun went back three times.Or maybe it needed some link,pin,foot tuning,or your ammois a variant,etc.
Could be a 1911 is not for everyone.
I guess there is a reason they make Glocks.
Most motorcyclists,4 wheelers,farmers,ranchers,bushpilots and kids with bicycles etc do not call for a tow truck and a mechanic every time a machine fails to proceed.
They learn their machine.
And,yes it is true!! Some folks can cross thread a crowbar in a sandbox.Removing 4% of the frame with a Dremel,or rounding every edge making it shiny is often not the answer.But 3 small strokes of a file and 2 ponds more extractor tension is often why "THAT doggone 1911 won't run"
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On sending 1911's back....
I understand you have the expectation that if you buy a $500 gun you expect it to work.That seems reasonable.
The space shuttle Challenger blew up.The Hubbel did not work right before repair.Have you bought many automobiles that were correct out of the door?
I would guess,for the price,a bill of materials(the parts) are pulled from the stock room and the gun is assembled per the prescribed process,and put in the box and shipped.I doubt a testfire is done.That is the modern quality process.ISO 9000,and all that.Deming,Juran,Crosby.They don't want a file on the line.That would take skill.And a refinish.That is "tampering" and it is not "statistical process control"
Yet if you look at how the "Quality" 1911's are built,its not 6 Sigma.Its stone knives and bearskins.There has always been the 1911 "Armorer" Wilson,Brown,etc,DO check,tweak,file,fit,tune.Maybe $750 worth of tinkering?
Just my opinion,but if the pin holes are off location,or oversize,if the dustcover is off center,etc....Then the gun is justifiably a reject.
A 1911 came from a time that required more than an assembly of parts.The Armorer must establish relationships.
Frame,slide,lugs,barrel feet,linkdown,timing....All a dance,that must be choreographed.Every ectractor gets filed for nuances of radius and blend.It gets bent for tension.
That one funny sear spring balances the trigger return,sear reset,disconnect function,and grip safety return.Its done by eyeball,bend,and try.At Ed Brown,and at Wilson,etc.
The 1911 is pretty robust and forgiving.Most parts box guns can run.
But you better figure a $500 1911 is a kit of parts that have been assembled.
Its sad we don't have more folks that know as much about using a pillar or jeweler file as they do a credit card.
Tuning an extractor is not rocket science.And odds are that is why your gun went back three times.Or maybe it needed some link,pin,foot tuning,or your ammois a variant,etc.
Could be a 1911 is not for everyone.
I guess there is a reason they make Glocks.
Most motorcyclists,4 wheelers,farmers,ranchers,bushpilots and kids with bicycles etc do not call for a tow truck and a mechanic every time a machine fails to proceed.
They learn their machine.
And,yes it is true!! Some folks can cross thread a crowbar in a sandbox.Removing 4% of the frame with a Dremel,or rounding every edge making it shiny is often not the answer.But 3 small strokes of a file and 2 ponds more extractor tension is often why "THAT doggone 1911 won't run"
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Model12Win
Moderator
Okay guys, that settles it then. I went ahead and ordered the RIA 1911 I mentioned in my OP. God willing, I will have it sometime early next week. Thank you all so much for your help. Hopefully it will be as good as you all say it will be. Thanks!!
They are absolutely not junk. Inexpensive does not always mean junk. Now would I want one as my one and only handgun to serve all my handgun purpsoses and be relied upon unconditionally, maybe not. If I were in the market for a 1911 and just could not wait and save more money, I would definitely get a RIA, but there are better options out there for a few hundred more. Also colt isn't the golden standard anymore like the 60 year old dir hard fans will make them out to be. I would personally buy a Springfield or dan Wesson over a colt
Model12Win
Moderator
That's what I'm thinking Gary! I won't be afraid to run this gun HARD and bang it up! Hopefully it will prove it's reliability to me so I can use it as an OC and nightstand gun. I am just SO excited right now... I can't even... it's like oh my God! I'm going to be a 1911 owner!! 
Strafer Gott
New member
Don't forget the magazines! Chip McCormick or Wilsons have been good for me.I wouldn't depend on less for carry. Good mags are half the battle for reliability.
That's what I'm thinking Gary! I won't be afraid to run this gun HARD[/. I am just SO excited right now... I can't even... it's like oh my God! I'm going to be a 1911 owner!!
Beware!! 1911's are addicting. You can't have just one. You'll most likely end up with every size and caliber available.
Tip:
I've found that a GSG/sig 1911/22 is as economical as a conversion barrel and slide. Plus you don't have to switch them. Oh, and you end up with another 1911
Model12Win
Moderator
Thanks! Yes I am going to order a few Wilson ETM mags to see how they are. I've heard the ETMs are the best 1911 mag out there.
lee n. field
New member
Part of what's nice about a (relatively) inexpensive gun is, you don't care so much if it picks up some signs of use.
Model12Win
Moderator
Thanks guys. Does anyone know if it is safe to fire Wold or Tulammo steel cased in a 1911? It is inexpensive, and has ran well in my Glock 19. I just don't want it to ruin my new 1911.
Steel cased ammo won't "ruin" a pistol. It takes a steel of equal or greater hardness to damage another steel and the steel in the cases isn't on the same level as the steel in the pistol. Like any other pistol you may find steel works not as well as brass cased ammo. There's more friction between the cases in the magazine in terms of feeding, steel cases don't expand quite as well as brass cases (you might get more junk blown back into the pistol), and the extractor might not grab the case rim as well. Whether or not it causes malfunctions in your pistol at a rate that makes you prefer brass is something you'll have to find out.
1969Colt1911
New member
Yeah definitely Wilson mags are among the best. On another note if you want to make sure extractor tension isn't to low. Remove slide and fit a empty casing under extractor. Then flip upside down and if casing comes out extractor tension to low. I don't remember how to remove it but it's super easy to do almost any tweaks or disassembly/ reassembly, checking to 1911s. And the internet can tell u how to do anything. You will like a Rock Island just fine.
Boncrayon I would almost agree with you... If I hadn't seen an older Turkish 1911 that wasn't much better than a paperweight. The newer ones from Tisas I hear are much better. I have shot a Tisas CZ75 clone and I thought it was well made, especially for what my friend paid form it.
Llama pistols aren't quite 1911s... But some models are close and they many models are garbage.
Llama pistols aren't quite 1911s... But some models are close and they many models are garbage.