RIA Tac II: Please Help!

M

Model12Win

Moderator
Hello all. Well today, I finally got my Rock Island Armory Tac-II Ultra .45 ACP single-stack 1911 out to the range.

I fired 200 rounds of Winchester and Remington 230 grain ball through the pistol. I did thoroughly clean and properly lubricate the pistol the night before. I was using the Act magazine that came with the gun, along with two Wilson Combat ETM magazines.

So I was having some problems. :(

I was having premature slide lock, where the slide locked back on half-full magazines, about every 3 mags. This happened in total about 6-7 times, with all magazines.

So I came on and got online and asked Google. Google told me that this is probably caused from the bullets in the magazine hitting the little stop inside the magazine well. So I looked inside the magazine release showed some copper deposits where it appears the bullets were rubbing on it:

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So I also read that you can carefully file the stop so that the bullets aren't rubbing on it. But I am wondering if that is what I need to do, or something else. Should I send it back to Rock Island? If it's an easy fix, I have the tools to do it. I'd rather not have to fool with shipping and all that. Other than that, the gun seemed to run pretty good, but this certainly seems to be a problem. If anybody could please help me, I'd appreciate it! Thanks!! :)

PS: I was very careful to not accidentally hit the slide stop with my thumb during firing, or limp wrist.
 
I would first lightly file / sand the stop where the mark is. Make sure the mark is totally gone and try to follow the surface contour. If it doesn't solve the problem, repeat just enough to remove any additional deposits. Good chance that'll take care of it. If you call Nevada and explain the issue, they'll mail you a free slide stop. Go ahead and do that first and then start filing the current slide stop. It could possibly have had a stop installed which was intended for a 9mm/.38 super. Those extend a little farther in due to the rounds being of a smaller diameter. I had the opposite problem (wouldn't lock slide back consistently). They sent me a .38 super stop and that fixed the problem. This was due to imperfect frame specs which is not all that uncommon.
 
I would do like the first responder said and call RIA and see about getting a replacement slide stop. Make sure to tell them what caliber it is for. And if you do a little filing/honing of the slide stop make sure to be careful and take only what is nescissary and a little at a time. I would check for function with each amount taken, carefully hand cycle a few round through to see if they are still making contact. Try and keep the surface the same contour as you don't want to change the shape or take off too much material and ruin the lockback feature
 
That lug has four facets cut at different angles,if you file them you should maintain the geometry and do it in small steps.You can check the clearance
by inserting a mag.with a cartridge and running a feeler gage or a business card
between bullet and lug.If you are not confident about the job it is best to simply replace the stop.
P.S.
Please tell me that's not pitting in the feed ramp.
 
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It looks like you're having some magazine issues as well.It could be related those
things happen,so before you go filing or grinding anything make sure your magazines fit correctly I'm not sure what it is exactly that you find out of place
with them but it could all be a magazine issue and that's a guess.good luck
 
It happens, and not limited to Rock Island. It happens often enough for Kimber that they just send out replacement slide stops that have been pre-modified to correct the problem.

Diagram of where to file, borrowed from the M1911.org forum's "Gunsmithing" discussion area:

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My test is the remove the slide from the pistol, install the slide stop, load a magazine, nudge the top round just a TINY bit forward from fully aft (to simulate where a round might sit after recoil), then insert the magazine while holding the slide stop down. See if the ogive of the bullet tries to push up the slide stop while inserting the magazine.

If so -- file a bit more. Use a half-round file and try to file the facet of the slide stop lug to match the arch of the bullet. You don't want to remove any more material than is absolutely necessary.
 

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Rock Island has a lifetime warranty but not if you do any gunsmithing on it. I would contact Armscor and they will probably just send you a new one.
 
Okay guys, after calling Armscor in Nevada about a dozen times over the past three days, with no response at all (:mad:) I decided to just order a Wilson Combat Bulletproof slide stop. In addition, I bought an EGW magazine release that should help with my loose magazines.

I tried fitting the Armscor slide stop and was getting good results, but I got a little too overzealous with the file set and forgot to test the Act mag for proper fit, only working with the Wilson Combat mags. The slide now won't lock back very reliably with the Act mag, and sometimes the catch will get caught under the follower. Fail on my part! :o

Oh well, I hate to say it but this is actually kind of fun. I don't mind upgrading the parts on this pistol either to get better performance. Even though I screwed up, I am learning a lot about the 1911 in the process and it's enjoyable. I don't need those non-answering Pahrumpians to fix the gun. I'll do it myself and feel better about myself when I do. :)
 
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