Rock Island 1911 GI review

[usnmars 136]

Well I bit the bullet the other day and went to Sarco to buy one of the Rock Island 1911's and a p38 they are advertising. The p38 was fun and worth the money, but i was all about the 1911. When i first got it all i thought was for the price this thing had to be a major P.O.S. Boy was wrong, I took it out today for the first time and fired 150 rounds of 230 grain ball ammo and i did not have one issue at all. No failure to feeds, eject, jams period! Accuracy was very impressive and all of my shootin' buddies were in love. Fit and finish is excellent, nice and tight and looks like a decent parkerizing job. The only thing i am going to change is the smooth grips it came with, i am planning on putting original GI grips on. If you are looking for a nice fun 1911, from what i could tell i am definitely recommending a Rock Island. :mrgreen:

[tbtrout 141]

I have heard nothing but good things about them. Glad you are happy with it. Thanks for the report.

[djg0770 481]

USNMARS,

 

Thanks for being my guinea pig! I was really really interested despite what others had said. Which of the 3 or 4 models did you purchase?

 

And, WW/OP (worthless without pics)

[Mauser88 0]

Sounds like you got a good one. Mine was a POS. Glad I got rid of it. I'll stick to my Kimbers.

[NJ-Tom 4]

Glad you had good results with your new 1911 . Most 1911's work fairly well with ball ammo the problems occur with hollow points or SWC.

[Ray Ray 3,566]

Where was it made? Is Rock Island Armory an American company or overseas?

[tbtrout 141]

Rock Island comes from Armscor in the Phillippines.

[djg0770 481]

Where was it made? Is Rock Island Armory an American company or overseas?

 

Phillipines as Tbtrout said, here's some links with reviews, not all glowing, but I'm not afraid to tear into my guns to 'tune' them to get a better product if the initial investment warrants it and this generally seems to be the case. I would say that if you want a guaranteed out of the box 'perfect' 1911, go to one of the US mfr's but be prepared to pay close to 3x more.

 

http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/review/RIA.htm

 

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?p=755655

 

http://www.m1911.org/ezine/RIATactical.htm

 

http://www.gun-shots.net/rock-island-armory-1911.shtml

 

http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/m1911/1012 ... 911-a.html

 

One of the things I learned as a young teenager is that 'unique' or 'exotic' when it relates to mechanical objects means $$$$ when you need to fix or repair. For Instance, I wish my first 3 cars had Chevy 350's, parts are plentiful and cheap instead of the Mitsubishi engined Plymouth and Dodges I had. So, when I look to buy a gun, I look for 'brand penetration' in the market. I got real lucky buying an XD, then I did my research and bought a Ruger 10/22, not because they're superior out of the box, but because EVERYBODY makes aftermarket stuff for them. Had I bought my shotgun instead of inheriting it, I would probably have got a Rem 870 instead of what I have.