Gun Review: Rock Island Armory GI Standard FS Semiautomatic 1911

How to purchase a RIA 1911:

1) Buy gun
2) Douse gun with oil.
3) Take gun to range.
4) Attempt to get gun to run by varying ammo, magazines, shooting grip, and stances (on rare occasions the Crane technique has been known to work)
5) Go home in frustration
6) Contact ARMSCOR
7) Send gun to ARMSCOR for repairs
8) Wait 2-8 weeks

Congratulations! When your gun returns from ARMSCOR you will have completed your purchase. Enjoy your new 1911!

Where do you get this stuff? I have the 9mm compact version. Wiped off the surface grease/cosmoiline and haven’t looked back. About 1000 through the pipe with only one stovepipe (loose hold by me). Shoot consistently in the X or 9 ring at 30ft (which is enough distance to reasonably expect to safely shoot in an incident).

The finish is serviceable (and maybe it is cheating that the pistol has the memory pad grip safety and extended beavertail) and the trigger is just remarkable. BTW, bought the gun at a LGS I’d never been to. There was no chance the retailer picked me a special one.

Of course, the full-size 1911 does closely resemble the original, which always offers slide bite, while the other models offer the beavertail and flared port. Have handled all the top-dollar 1911 pistols, but none offer a reason to move from a $500 gun to a $2500+ gun. I keep looking, but always come back to the RIA…unless I find something really special to buy as a museum/display piece, the Armscor product remains the trusted go-to.

For nearasdammit $500, I can choose almost any modern polymer gun and get reliability, accuracy, capacity, ergonomics, and weight savings. Or I can get a 1911 which does not work. Why are 1911s still popular, again?

Now review one of the dressed up RI models with the VZ grips and we’ll call it a day!

I have this exact pistol and have experienced exactly…none of the problems you describe -including the “sharp edges” that so tortured your hands. Maybe their five-year-old guns are different from their three year old examples, but I kind of doubt it…

It shoots reliably, has eaten everything I’ve fed it (which is admittedly a limited palate – WWB, Win 1911, and cheap reloads sold at the range) with no malfunctions other than a couple of stovepipes caused by standing too close to the divider in the shooting bay. No FTF’s, no failure to return to battery…

All I can think is this example must’ve been abused to offer up this many malfunctions. Has it ever been cleaned, or just doused in Rem-Oil and called “good enough”? Something’s fishy here.

“No parkerized finish looks great, but this one looks like some of the first finishes I did in my garage. And that’s not good.” I do my Parkerizing in less than a garage. I get many a comment on “How the hell did you make Parkerizing look so damn good?”

I paid about the same price for my PT1911AR. None of the complaints you have for the RIA, and it’s freakin’ sweet. The only problem is the left side of the ambi safety likes to pop out and make the gun into a brick. Kind of a big deal, but not a problem every one of them has. Sending back to Taurus on lifetime warranty.

My next 1911 will be an 80%. I have a CnC, why should I fill out a 4473?

“And if you want a GI 1911, buy one. It says Colt on the side of it.”

Ugh, read this and it soured the rest of what I just read. I thought we were past the days of this “the only real 1911 is a colt” way of thinking. It implies a level of snobbery that really makes me question the rest of the review. A dozen companies make great 1911’s. Some a cheap and some are not, but just because it doesn’t say colt on it, it can still be a great firearm.

Sad. Heard good things about these. Ah well. CZ or Ruger maybe?

That gun looks like junk from the photos. I’ve heard of cheap and reliable RIA’s as well as ones that malfunctioned regularly. I’m not a fan of RemOil, either. In fact I avoid everything Remington makes these days if I can avoid it. Frankly I’m surprised that this gun was so unreliable. I suspect there are parts of this gun still out of spec.

At least Ruger makes a pretty reliable and cheap .45. It’s not terribly accurate, but it’ll do.

Hickok didn’t seem to have an issue with his:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dKkloQcBp2M

So based on both the review and the comments the root issue here seems to be consistency.

Some are gems, some are bricks, and the only way to find out which you’re getting is to buy it and try it.

Not my preferred approach, personally.

On the cost-of-the-gun issue, one thing to remember is that the average 1911 has 1.5-2x as many parts as a modern polymer-frame pistol. So the average part has to cost that much less to make a 1911, all else equal, and that is apparently showing up in consistency of fit, finish and operation.

Granted that’s not a perfect metric, and we could talk tolerancing and such all day long; but I hope it gives a little insight.

Hmm….

I’d heard good things about RIA previously.

Owned a RIA 1911 9mm Tactical. I can’t say it was %100 reliable. First round FTE (stovepipe), found that with PMC 9mm ammo it didn’t cycle the gun far enough for the slide to hold open after last shot.

That said, other 9mm ammo cycled the gun consistently, and there is NO question that gun was a tack driver. Me and a friend could consistently ping silhouette steel at 65 yards.

The GI was always too ugly for me to consider as a purchase (I hate the Taurus billboard on their’s, but they’ve got the other stuff right for same price point). However, I thought it would be an accurate, reliable, functional shooter. It really is too bad to hear otherwise.

Sounds like you got a dud, which sucks but it can happen. This pretty much goes against every RIA review I’ve ever read. RIA GI 1911s are generally built on the loose end of tolerances and are pretty damn reliable. I’m not a huge 1911 fan, but I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one if I wanted a standard GI .45.

Some run perfect right out of the box, and some don’t. I bought a RIA 1911C, because my 1911 Scorpion was taking a beating as a hunting sidearm. It didn’t make it through 2 boxes of various ammo types, so off to NV it went. Some springs, and a little polishing later, it came back, and was instantly sold to a co-worker. He has not complained about a thing.

It seems that the very first comment is spot on, when it comes to RIA 1911s.

Mine has been very reliable over the first 300 or so rounds of its life. It’s a GI model, so I expect it to look and feel like it was made en mass to be shipped to GIs in a crate. I haven’t tried to shoot it for accuracy yet, just enjoying my first 1911.

Well well well.
I own 3 RIA 1911s.
The full size GI model and both a 9mm and 45acp Compact.
All 3 guns have never cut me or anyone else who has fired them.
They all have over 2000K rounds through each of them and nada zero nothing hasn’t fired that Ive stuffed down the tube.
Now none of my guns will win a beauty contest that I will admit.
But they will shoot circles around many other name brand 1911s at twice the price.
So we have here maybe a 1911 SNOB!!!!
Or someone with a 3 year old gun that should have been sent back 2.11 months ago for a tune up.
RIA has one of the best customer service department Ive NEVER had to deal with. Those who have had to send their guns back. Have had them returned for the most part tuned up and perfect. No CS is ever perfect.
As for me. Other then to ask for some spare recoils springs and to get off their butts and get some stock OEM mags on the shelf.
I find them to be for me, Reliable great guns and yeh you do get what you paid for. A gun that works and is more then what you paid for in its worth. A gun that fires everything it fed and you don’t care if you beat the snot out of it or scratch it up a bit.
I have and do trust mine with my life 101%.

“And if you want a GI 1911, buy one. It says Colt on the side of it.”

That has got to be the funniest thing that I have ever read on this site.

Looks to me RIA has quality control issues. Some product comes out great and some, well, not so much. My question is if you purchase in underperforming pistol will RIA stand behind it until it’s right or is it buyer beware?

I have to wonder about this review. I have a RIA Tactical with over 2000 rounds threw it, most shooting IDPA. Every kind of factory ammo including steel case and hollow points not one failure. Other than new grips and a Dawson Precision fiber front sight, its totally stock. Easy 5 inch groups at 25 yards off hand and clovers at 10. Every kind of factory ammo including steel case and hollow points not one failure. Did send it back for a stripped grip bushing (totally on their dime). I run the inexpensive Chip McCormick Shooting Star magazines in it.
I don’t know about the price 3 years ago, but GI RIAs go for 350-400 and 50 to 100 more for the tactical. I got lucky and got my tactical a year ago for $350.

I do have “issues” with it. I had to detail strip it to clean out all the heavy oil that was caked in. But that is easy as it is a series 70 1911. The vertical groves cut into the front strap are not perfectly centered. The point of aim was off, but i fixed it with the new sight. The stripped grip bushing, that they fixed. And don’t get me started on the full length guide rod.

I also have to admit, the parkerized finish is not the best, but if you soak it in mineral spirits to remove any oil and then hit it with cold bluing it looks really good, hides any scratches and subdues the “billboard” printed on the side.

I also have “soft” hands, but I know better that to shoot ANY 1911 with a GI grip safety that has not had the edges knocked down.

Having owned several ARMSCOR products that worked well this is surprising Sounds not quite right, most failure too feed were caused by the magazine spring too weak at full capacity or the lips were off, or Fat Ammo, a third problem is limp wristing the loading, dropping the slide stop too load a round, etc but because the weapon is cheap the weapon is no good???

Those gloves look good, how about a review, unless it’s already been done?

For $134 dollars more, I purchased a new Ruger SR1911. 100% American made, beautifully finished, never had even one malfunction through its current count of around 700 rounds. This pistol is the true value of the 1911 world. I equate guns to power tools, what you save in the moment will cost you more in the future.

I picked up my RIA GI for $299 new, small logo at the rear of the slide. I agree about the grip safety so I put on a beaver tail and speed hammer and the gun is great at any practical handgun distance. Only thing I don’t care for are the GI sights.

This might be one of those cases where you get what you pay for. Fortunately, not all value-priced clones are this terrible. I just put 200 rounds through a Tristar C100 (CZ-75 compact clone) without a hiccup. I know that’s not a lot of rounds, but it seems like others are having the same results. $329.99 at Academy, better snatch them up before the secret gets out. I’m also hearing good stuff about the Canik TP9SA (Walther P99 clone). The Turks seem to have figured this out!

I would rather buy a Norinco 1911. If it was good enough for Ed Brown it is good enough for me.

These value brands always have very heated disagreements when negative press gets out. A lot of folks place their ego in their purchasing decision and take it personally when someone else doesn’t like their savvy shopper pickup.

If you wanted to spend $500 on a 1911 and you got a good one, rock on! It doesn’t diminish the fact that not every customer will be satisfied.

Something seems “off” with this review. Is it a $2,000 1911? No, but I’ve experienced exactly zero of the issues mentioned in this “review.” Mine would appear to be identical, and it is also probably about 3 years old. Sure, the finish isn’t perfectly polished and is a little rough, but Sally pants who wrote this review must have some awfully delicate hands. The finish is fine. It does NOT cut you. Ridiculous. Granted the .45 ACP isn’t my favorite round to shoot, but I’d estimate in my roughly 3,000 rounds, I’ve never seen a malfunction of any sort. I’ve seen much spendier 1911’s choke right out of the box, not the RIA. I’m not a 1911 fanatic. I carry and shoot Glocks, most of the time. However, for a guy like me that wanted a basic, no frills 1911 to scratch the itch, so to speak, I have nothing but good things to say about it.

I have a RIA Tac II 10mm and the first day I took it to the range I did not clean it; I just wiped it down. Went through 2 magazines and had 2 instances where after firing it lacked a hair from going back into battery. Fired another magazine and had the same issue. I took it home and gave it a thorough cleaning and 500 rounds later it has been flawless. I have no cuts from the recoil and it is one of my favorite firearms. Not sure what the author of this article was doing, but I have had nothing but good experiences with RIA.

Jon, besides this RI and the Cabot, how many guns have you bricked w/ your can of RemEnamel?

http://truthaboutguns-zippykid.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/IMG_2506.jpg

I’ve been shooting a RIA Tac 2011 for a while now and had zero problems out of the box. Feeds all ammo reliably and is crazy accurate. I don’t deny that a stripper 1911 might be a problem child, but my experience has been totally different. my .02 cents.

huh. I’ve got the “tactical” one; I replaced the grips because I thought the stock ones were hideous. I used to have the 3.5 Officers model totally stock. I sold it because it was too damn heavy for a carry gun though. But both worked fine. I have known, IRL, one or two people that had to send a Rock Island back but that’s not too absurd given the sheer number of people I’ve known that have had them–I mean, 1 or 2 out of of a dozen plus. Sucks that this was a lemon.

Owned a RIA 1911 for over a year, over 2k rounds, only about four FTE and 1 FTFeed.

Also, I am apparently a better shot than JWT. And less of a b!tch about a couple of rough edges.

Seems the reviews on RIA 1911s are 50/50 they either perform really well or are just garbage. I’ve put about 1000 rounds through my RIA 1911 tactical and have never had a single issue. It’s not my favorite handgun but I do enjoy it and would highly recommend one for anyone on a budget. I have not experienced any pain or discomfort when shooting it but maybe thats because im left handed.I get more pain shooting my Sig p226 MK25. At the end of the day I’ll take the Sig over the RIA…but the RIA does have a special place in my heart.

Well considering iv never had a jam or miss fire in mine after about 2000 rounds through it i’m kinda questioning if it’s actually the gun or the fan boy handling it, come shoot with me some time id love to show you how a properly cleaned and managed gun works.

Alternative approach:

Wait until you have saved an additional $200, and buy a new Ruger SR1911 for $700.

Take to range, shoot all day with no hiccups or painful hammer bites, get 3″ groups offhand at 7 yards. Personal experience.

Interesting heads up. Pity that as I was thinking about a RIA 1911. Of course there’s always the possibly of getting one on the cheap and figuring out how to fix it. I’ve done things like that often in the past.

I wouldn’t mind seeing a follow up about how to fix a RIA 1911. A real story about that, not just another person making snide comments about just sending it back to the factory.

Having a 1911 is a lot like me having my English Degree. It’ doesn’t matter how good of an idea it is, or how versatile is is if you know wtf you’re doing, the fact still remains it’s always easier for 90% of the population to have just done something else.

So,
How about we have the gun sent to Pahrump, and let the smiths take a peek at it? If it’s actually that bad, it should have been back already anyway.

You don’t need to go all the way to Marikina City to get in with Armscor, they are building a brand new facility here in the states. And the CEO is all about the customer service. (He even posts here, as he did with my less than stellar first impression of the TCM last year.)

This is also an older model, and they have made some changes since then. Better products with the same, and in some cases lower prices. Give them a chance to make it right.

I won’t go so far as to call the reviewer a liar but I’ve had a RIA 1911 for the better part of 10 years and with rare exception it’s swallowed everything I’ve fed it.

“The GI made it to round 43 before the first failure to feed. The next failure to feed arrived at round 44. It didn’t get much better after that. Failures happened with every magazine.”

It’s almost like you pissed off the 1911 gods in some way. Cabot and now RI.

Disappointing I have been toying with the idea of a cheap serviceable 1911. Looks like RI is a roll of the dice on getting a good one.

Something I just noticed, the slide does not have the RIA logo on the left side (or even the right side, for that matter). AFAIK, it should either have the newer, smaller logo above the safety switch notch at the back of the slide on the left or it should have a giant logo plastered along the middle on the left. Neither are visible in the photos, including a clear shot of the left side of the slide. Is this a newer model? Older? Has the slide been re-parkerized?

All manufacturers put out a bad gun from time to time. I’ve read forums where Colt, Remington, etc…. recieved the same complaints. I own 2 Rocks, both have been dependable and accurate. Had a third, compact, that I sold to a friend which he uses as his primary carry and it gives him no issues. I would be curious to the history of that particular pistol, especially how well it was initially cleaned to get rid of the factory preservative as well as the round count on it prior to the test. Also, I question whether a proper lube was done at all. It’s easy to make a weapon choke. JMHO.

Weird, My experience with a couple thousand rounds through mine has been precisely the opposite of this. I had a couple failures caused by me limp wristing the thing. One FTE that I couldn’t figure out the cause. One FTFire(bad round). And the crap magazine that came with it not engaging the slide lock.

When I see these kids of reviews I wonder if I just got lucky, or they just got unlucky. Judging by the prior reviews, I guess he has a black cat in his neighborhood that crossed his path while he broke a mirror under a ladder.

I have a RIA 1911 tactical in 45 and do not have issues with it.

I have an Armscor GI 1911 that Lipsey’s sold under the “High Standard” name. I bought it in 2006. Even with the horrible GI sights, it’s been the most accurate 1911 I own. My two Ruger “Commanders,” an all-steel and a lightweight have also been exemplary. No complaints whatsoever. The single worst POS 1911 I ever owned was a brand-new Colt Stainless Gold Cup that I bought in 1989. Like an idiot, I didn’t try the trigger before I bought it. Big mistake. It had a creepy, gritty 12-lb pull. Two returns to Colt accomplished nothing. two pistolsmiths later, the trigger got sorted out, but it still shot patterns, not groups. A friend of mine who shot competition tried it, with the same results. He showed me how the barrel and slide would not mate up properly from shot to shot. The gun finally got traded to someone who wanted the parts.

RIA still a turd, what a shocker.

I love it, he shoots ONE example of a Cabot 1911 that sucked and everyone is jumoingn on the bandwagon about how ALL 1911’s suck regardless of manufacturer blah blah.

Then he has the audacity to review a cheap 1911 that runs like crap and everyone is ripping his head off claiming his review “doesn’t add up” and “is not representative of the brand” etc etc etc.

Which one is it people? Cheap 1911’s always seem paradoxical to me, because if cost is a concern yet the quality at that price range is so hit or miss why on earth would you spend ~$500 on something that may turn out to be a lemon? And if you have enough money that plop down 500 on a gun that might not shoot and that then you won’t be able to sell with a clear conscience or will spend a bunch of money making it work right, then why are you shopping at the bottom of the barrel? I don’t get it. There are dozens of 1911’s for 2-300 more than this turd from the likes of Springfield Kimber, STI etc which have a proven record of reliability and quality that frankly just look better too. Again I don’t get it. If all you have is 500 to spend on a gun buy a glock (Glock brand or otherwise).

Hmmm, you’d still have $9115 left for pistolsmithing over the Cabot.

so what is a general consensus on a high quality reliable and accurate 1911? do you start at a Kimber for around $1200.00? how about the really expensive ones at over $2000.00? Are they worth that much money?

I sometime think of getting a 1911, but then back off since I cannot figure out how much is too much and how low can I go to get a good one.
Thank
Biill

Thanks for being honest about rating this cheap POS. It’s too bad other people are unhappy about your detailed product review.

I have an RIA 2011 Tactical. It’s first three mags were less than stellar. Then next three and a half boxes have been flawless. It’s all I’ve put through it because .45 isn’t as cheap as 9mm. My pistol also eats steel cased ammo without issue. It just needed a few rounds before it ran right. I put the magpul grips on it and I really like the pistol now.

My RIA GI 1911 had ran well for the first 150-200 rounds through it. But after that I started to get Failures to Feed, usual once every 1-2 mags. Since I got it mainly as a range gun I was fine living with it. At the beginning of the year I found out about an IDPA style shooting match at the end of January which I figured I’d enter for fun with my RIA 1911. I did not have much ammo so I picked up 500 rnds at a gun show from Georgia Arms, about a week before the match and two days before the match I hit up an in door range for a little practice. Holly shit did my 1911 run absolutely horrible. It Failed to Feed about every third round, but it also was doing something a little bit different too. The slide was locking back with rounds still in the mag once or twice a mag. Got home did some research an found out that the slide prematurely locking back could be because bullets knocking an over sized slide release lever. Checked mine and saw copper on it so I took some sand paper to sand it down a bit. I did not get a chance to do another test run before the match so I went and hoped for the best at the match. Turned out that was exactly what it needed, and though I still had 2 failures to feed at the match with over 100 rounds fired, it was a great improvement. When I got home and checked the slide release lever it again had some copper residue on it. I sanded a little bit more and took it to the range again and it now instead had the issue of not always locking back so I probably went a little to far, but after a quick inspection and wiping excess oil that had deposited on the slide release lever it was working quite well. I suspect the Georgia Arms ammo I had bought is out of spec but it did put me on track of what was wrong.

Have that exact gun. Two years and 1000+ rounds later and it still shoots anything. From cheap steel cased Tula to expensive self defense hollow points, it goes bang every time. The biggest problem with the accuracy, is myself. I guess I got a good one.

I don’t doubt that the author experienced all the problems listed in the review. My issue with this review is this: “I’ve heard good things about RIA’s 1911s, but I’ve never shot one. Dan was kind enough to send me his personal Rock Island Armory GI Standard FS .45ACP, a three-year-old gun with about 500 rounds through it.” Did Dan not experience these issues in the first 500 rounds? Did he experience them and not mention them to you? Or did you tell him you wanted to check one out and he was like “I got one you can test. It sucks.” I got the impression reading this review that the author went into the testing intending to right a negative review. It’s kind of like the exact opposite of the printed gun magazines where the authors start every article intending to write a good review.

I’ve owned/shot my RIA Tactical for over a year and the only issue I ever had with it was failure-to-feed after I installed a Wilson Combat shok-buff kit. Removed the buffer, left the spring, functions beautifully again. Also eats any ammo I throw at it. Best 450~ bucks I ever spent(not including cost of WC parts, Magpul grips, WC mags, etc). My only gripes were the billboard advertisement on the slide and the shitty unmarked sights. Nothing a set of Heinie straight-8s and a cerakote job couldn’t fix.

With that said, 1911s have been known to have some issues as we all know. Is it due to the design? Nope. Some are finicky with certain ammo out of the box. Some need a lighter or heavier recoil spring. Some need some extractor tuning. Sometimes their feed ramp needs a little love. When you have a gun that is mass produced by numerous companies, you’re bound to see some issues. I don’t believe they suffer problems any more than anything else. We just hear about it more.

In my experience the issues have been few and far between, and when they do occur they’ve been easy enough to fix and they always stayed fixed. Would I recommend a 1911 to a brand new shooter looking for a carry piece? Probably not, but I do trust my life to mine.

That why I shoot a Norinco 1911, 350.00 cdn new … not pretty, tough enough to survive armageddon, and bullet proof. Yup, can spend more on a prettier pistol, but good grief, its a 1911, its supposed to be functional, not pretty … 🙂 🙂 🙂

I read every comment up to the time of this writing. Reading this string, and several others, I come to two conclusions:

– it scares me that so many angry, uncivil, raging individuals actually may have access to firearms.

– maybe the anti crowd has a point or two.

I have had my RI 1911 GI for about 8 years and I have NEVER had a single issue you have had. I believe this review is EXTREMELY biased and couldn’t even finish reading it. You must be a member of the Kimber Cult?!?! Sharp edges??? Do you work for a living? Too much Palmolive or something?!?! It’s not a $1200 1911 but it’s not nearly as bad as you portray it to be. Gloves, really??? My Rock has eaten everything I have force fed it and, I am not even exaggerating when I say this, I have NEVER had a FTF or FTE ever. Even on Wally World Federal aluminum or Tula metal casing crap. That stuff is dirty but I have never had an issue and I have fired over 2000 rounds. The one thing I did do was threw away the stock mags and bought high quality Chip Mccormick.s. I always use Ballistol and lube the snot out of it as 1911’s work better when wet. The sights suck but mine is a GI model and I didn’t expect much. It shoots better than the Colt 1911 manufactured in 1944 that I was issued when I was in the Army. I gotta stop it’s 12:40AM and I gotta go to bed. Tell your friend he picked up a lemon or knows nothing about 1911’s.

LOL, quality…hmmm…..maybe you should ask STI where they get their base frames for their 1911 pistols…………why would STI, who makes wonderful pistols, use RI 1911 frames…….

People will justify their decisions by denying the veracity of anyone who disagrees with them or has an experience dissimilar to their own. Nothing new here. Ad hominem comments from people who’s defensiveness implies, whether they want it to or not, that they concede this author’s point may be valid.

Guys i just bought one it does not cut your hand. I put 500 rounds down range not one missfire. not one jam.I dont know where you and what you are using for ammo but i used Armscor ammo and it works fine.Everyone has there own experience but as far as i am concern this is my carry weapon when i leave the house at night.

tulua ammo has steel casings why would you put that in your weapon when you know it swells??? asking for trouble. Try armscor ammo. 500 rounds not one problem.

Notice to be re-titled to- Gun Review: Used with Unknown Issues, Rock Island Armory FS GI 1911 Standard- an unbiased view of All New Rock Island Armory Products based on this Used Gun, by The Truth About Guns

Just spend a little more and get a Springfield Loaded. That way if there are any problems Springfield will fix them on their time and have it back to you lickety split.

Chances are it’ll work right out of the box.

I’ve bought 2 tacticals and a GI in the last couple years from RIA. Have had no problems with them. From my research their the most reliable and extremely affordable 1911’s on the market. I even know a dealer in my state that WON’T stock Kimbers because customers come back and complain about failures. It takes all kinds I guess.

After having my heart (and wallet) broken by a Colt Commander that I spent close to 2k on back in the 90’s to get it to run the way God himself would want his personal pistol to run, a divorce forced me to sell it (and 46 other guns, but that’s a different story). Unfortunately, those were the dark days before Armslist and I was only able to get a fraction of what I’d spent. I had owned a couple of other Colt 1911’s prior to that one, and they ran ok with ball ammo, and everything else was iffy. I started shooting glocks and never looked back.
I recently got back into 1911’s again, and currently carry a Para Elite Carry, which has run well for me so far. Glocks are like Hondas, if I had to carry one that was NIB, I’d do it, with no hesitation, and have. 1911’s are like a muscle car, more fun, but more user involvement and complication. I very much enjoy owning and shooting 1911’s, but this review does not sway me in either direction. I had a good friend who was a certified 1911 nut. He had a Kimber custom shop pistol that he could not get to run right. Does that then mean that ALL Kimbers are junk, because you have a dislike of them? By all accounts Armscor has a good track record, and produces A LOT of 1911’s for many different labels. This was a used pistol, with nothing “extra”. I’d much rather see a review of one produced recently, picked at random from an LGS, That would be a fair review, and one all of us could at least call “fair”

My RIA GI 1911 had some issues before I wore it in with about 150 rounds. Then I applied some Froglube. Now I have no more problems, and shoots whatever I load it with. It’s more than accurate enough for me. Can hit silhouettes at 100 meters from prone with it, and I’m sure it would do better if I was a more experienced shooter.

Well it looks like I kicked the hornets nest on this one.

I just shot mine last week using the Tula ammo, no problems even using the factory “novak” mag. I normally use the wilson mags that I basically stole from a guy (super low $$) otherwise I would have NEVER bought them for $30 EACH. I’ve shot wadcutter lead rounds,old crusty junk surplus and anything else I could find that would feed into the gun. It shot them. To be fair when I first got it it had problems feeding hollowpoints. Out came the dremel polished the feed ramp using red jewelers rouge and a felt/wool pad. Bright,shiney and slick. = no more problems. I also dabbed the rouge on the slide. (dabbed meaning a gnat sized dabs) Dabbed on some kind of lube and shot for 200-300 rounds. During this shooting I noticed red was flying all around in and out of the gun. Took it apart and washed/scrubbed every bit of it off……twice. Re-oiled and have been shooting 100% reliabily ever since. In a SHTF I would not hesitate to grab the RIA and go.

My example GI RIA is about +10 years old and by my best guess has +7000 rounds thru it. Yes the tiny fixed GI sights suck but hey it’s the GI version and could stand up to any abuse you could do to them and still hit the target.

One of the things that drew me to the RIA in the first place was the LIFETIME warr. The Warr. FOLLOWS the GUN, not the “regestiered” owner…….let’s see the big gun makers Kimber,S&W,Ruger, etc.. do that? I think the last $700.00 new gun(“POS” Governor – read TTAG review, I and my wife love it) I got from S&W has a one year warr. Really? WTF??

SO the owner of the test gun can sell the super crappy digit destroying, FTF,FTE POS to you for $100 bucks and you can send it in they will fix it for FREE. F-R-E-E.

I work on a ship and it amazes me how many sailors are “Gun Guys” I have friends that have bought every flavor of 1911,AR,AK and they all have had problems at one time or another. Some major some minor and some more than most. (high end)

Also I have a MKA-1919 XN (another POS gun see review on here) that has been wonderful and eats cheap stuff faster than I can feed it. ( AFTER A GOOD BREAK IN and super detailed cleaning) It is now my GOTO turkey hunting gun and has preformed flawlessly in that role and having saved my life on more than one occasion battling hordes of zombie turkeys! Gotta shoot em in the HEAD!! 😉

My suggestion, make a real test case out of the GI .45 send it in and see what happens and report on it OOORRRR mail it to me I’d love to have another.

Interesting and sad review. Hope it was a fluke. I bought one of these when they first appeared on market at 349.00 after putting it to hand. Shoots great, never a problem once. Truck gun bar none. Have stopped a few times over the years to blast away on a deserted country road. Always shoots well at the range. Would buy one again in a heart beat.

I must be the only Person that bought a good one if the review is anything to go by.
I bought the G.I Model in 2010 and never had a problem with it except the Factory Magazine was too tight in the well so I bought two Chip McCormick Magazines that worked great.
I did replace the Grip safety and Hammer with the Tactical kind and They made the Pistol a bit more comfortable to shoot. As far as accuracy goes I cant complain as I do as well as People with Colts or Kimbers at the Range once I got used to the Sights and how the Pistol shoots.
The only problem I ever had while shooting was a squib round and that was My fault due to a mistake in reloading the Bullets.
All in All I think the Rock Island 1911 is a perfect starter Pistol for anyone that wants a 1911 but not the Big Price Tag.

Well well, looks like quite the discussion going on. I must say that I was a bit disappointed in reading the review, and find it to be completely 180 degrees out from my personal experience and those of my customers. I have a small gun business and sell all brands of weapons, I am a RIA dealer, and they all have their issues, do you want the Chevy Impala or the Cadillac? This holds true with cars as well as guns, one not necessarily less reliable than the other. I own several Rocks, as well as S&W, Colt, Glock etc. and have shot numerous others. I find the RIA to be very reliable out of the box and requires care and maintenance just like anything else. In reference to the comment’s made about being manufactured in a 3rd world country and that being the cause, you couldn’t be further from the truth. I have been to the factory in Marakena, the outside may not be brand new state of the art, but the process inside is, it’s all CnC construction, parts go to a single armorer/gunsmith for assembly and hand fitting, out to be test fired and back to the same person to correct if there is a problem. The people working for the company have all been there for years, not just some “schmo” off the street, I believe the average employee has been there something like 30 years. I have never had an issue with customer service and they will bend over backward to make you happy and take care of you. I just wanted to throw this out there as it appears some of the comments that were made were based on speculation. If anyone out there knows of a fair priced product with “0” failures, let me know and I will buy them….If it has moving parts, there will always be problems!

Are You sure You didnt get a Lemon?
I have the G.I Model and have never had a problem with it since I took it out of the Box.
Sure I got Slide Bite but I got that from the 1911 I had in the Marines,I just installed a tactical beaver tail safety on it and that solved the slide bite problem.
I have fired at least three thousand rounds through Mine from cheap factory loads to the expensive self defense loads and My own reloads and never had a problem with feeding issues.
The only problem I had was the Colt Magazine that came with it did not fit right so I bought two Chip Mccormick Magazines and They worke just fine.
As far as I’m concerned the only difference between My 1911 and the big buck ones is price.

[IMG]http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a303/e3mrk/003.jpg[/IMG]

RIA pistols are cheap Filipino junk. I bought a 9mm GI pistol from them and at first glance it seemed reasonably well made for the price.

Then one day not long after that I machined an 80% 1911 frame, and, as a test for it, I tried to use the RIA parts from my factory pistol to complete my build. That’s when I looked “under the hood” and realized that RIA is cheap Filipino junk.

Some parts, e.g., the trigger pad, were so far out of spec. (i.e., dimensions not in accordance with the controlling drawing) that they simply wouldn’t fit into my frame. I had to order a trigger from Kahr Arms.

As another example, I noticed that the recoil spring plug would was egg shaped and would only go into the slide when it was rotated a certain way. This was because the OD was too big (out of spec), so the resourceful Filipino gunsmiths at RIA put it in a vise and squeezed it. Problem solved, Filipino style. I ended up buying a correctly made recoil spring plug on Ebay.

I finally got the new gun together and found it was shooting a few inches to the right at 25 yards. As it turned out, the front sight on the RIA slide was offset about 0.007″ to the left, and the rear sight was offset about 0.008″ to the right. Yet when this slide was on the RIA frame, it shot exactly to point of aim. Apparently the resourceful Filipino gunsmiths at RIA used an out of spec slide, to compensate for a poorly machined (out of spec) frame. This is what you get when you buy a RIA/Armscor pistol. The company has no “quality control” department per se. An American manufacturer would’ve rejected half of the parts, but that’s not the way they do things in the Philippines.

2015 has seen a rise in Rock Island 1911 prices. Sure the have been dolled up with new fancy grips and sights but the bases of the gun remains the same. I have shot my FS Tactical against the Ruger 1911 and a Remington. They felt a bit different but not really any better. It was like shooting two different AR15s. Not much in it. I use 3 different brands of magazines and shoot aluminum cased ammo on occasions.

I have had a few times where I had to assist it into battery when using Tula Ammo and the once some crazy unburnt powder came out after shooting some off brand. Now that .45 ammo prices are down a bit (about the same as .40) I can shoot expensive Blazer and Remmington WB again! The pistol itself has been basically lawless. I paid about $460 in 2013 and added some hideous black Magpul grips ($19) but they work great. I bought some nice wood finished grips but in the end I realized the Magpul kicks butt and put those back on.

Name brands and brand loyalty is wonderful but my names is not Bill Gates. I have several nice pistols, like CZ and Sig Sauer but the visceral feeling the Rock Island gives when shooting is as good or better than those. I think with all these comments the original story should be revisited.

I have an RIA govt. model 1911A1 FS and it has preformed flawless. All I had to replace was recoil spring that was to light. And I ran over 3000 rounds through it. And this gun is still tight. I must say its the best gun I have ever owned.

Anyone ever think troll? Nothing that cant be fixed if it’s even true, 1911’s are so easy to fix a fifth grader can do it. Im not a smith but have any and every issue I’ve had with any of my three 1911’s they are just fun to work on anyway. So my bet is TROLL or 1911 SNOB that thinks RIA’s are JUNK without even owning one. Just think about it, all 1911’s are the same with the material used being different or more fluffed and buffed with a NAME slapped on it so the snobs think they have better because they gave 4 times as much for the name.

It seems to me all these “expert” reviews on this website are done by people with little to no actual firearms experience other than what they have read on other blogs or in magazines and as such consider themselves resident experts.

I’m a retired USMC firearms instructor and Vietnam Vet., and all I can say to these wannabes is learn how to shoot.

I have RIA, Hi-Point and many other inexpensive guns that have never given me any issues. Grow up people and realize that you are not the final source of information nor the “expert” you may think you are. I’m not saying I know it all (far from it) but not all of us can afford your high end firearms.

Just My 2 Cents.

Right on the money Geezer, I’ve never had an issue with these, made well. And for those of you saying parts aren’t interchangeable, it’s all CNC construction, nothing half-assed about these. Semer Fi Devildog, OOHRAH

If you are getting bit by the slide it’s your own fault. I have been shooting 1911s from various manufacturers for 40 years and I have never been bit by a slide. I’m reminded of a Warrant Officer in charge of a range a few years back that would take a pistol out of a complaining Marines hand, flawlessly fire two magazines about a quickly as anyone I’ve ever seen, then hand it back and say, “There ain’t nothing wrong with your damn pistol son. You’re limp wristing it!” Some people are just not going to fit a 1911. If your hands are too soft or your grip is too weak, don’t get a 1911. I’ve got the Rock Island Armory basic GI model and I love it. It’s never failed on me and it shoots right where I point it. Most of my shooting is done one handed and it still has never malfunctioned on me. I can keep it in the black from 50 yards with my basic out of the box RIA GI 1911. I got lucky that I received one without the big logo on the slide, just a tiny logo on the left side rear of the slide. Semper Fi!

That is fact…..can’t limp wrist these or you will have issues.

That’s what I was hinting at in my tirade but didn’t want to offend anyone by mentioning “limp wrists”.

Semper Fi

Have owned the RI 1911 fs model for two years now.
About 800 rounds through it.
I have had a few rounds fail to load over that time.
Once I remember a hollowpoint “dove” nose down into the stock magazine.
Another time the same thing happened with a cheap 15 round magazine when I dropped the slide on the first round.
Other than that it has been reliable and fun to shoot.
Thought about swapping the stock fat wood grips but just got used to them instead.
I’ve torn mine down a few times to clean it completely and always clean and oil it with at least a bore snake and rag after every session.
Hoppes oil mostly and just a dab here and there.
I am no marksman but it seems like the gun is capable out to about 25 yards hitting a 4″ round metal spinner.
Seems to me I got my moneys worth.
Wouldn’t sell mine anyways.
It has been a fine pistol for me so far.

Somewhat off subject but may bear on some of the problems you’re having…
You comment at one point that you consider five inches at thirty feet to be a “good group” for your J-frame Smith. Has it been run over by a truck or otherwise horribly damaged? Five inches at ten yards is horrible!
Contrary to what most people seem to think, there’s nothing inherently inaccurate about snub-noses and the little J-frame S&Ws in particular, have always been highly accurate — IF you can shoot.
If you’re shooting five inch groups across a living room with yours and calling that “good” then we’ve solved one problem.
My stainless model 60 with it’s favorite home-brew handloads will put all five rounds into an inch at twenty-five yards.

I’m glad I ordered a tactical one in 9mm yesterday before I read this “review”. It is a review of a 3 year old used gun that should have been sent in for repair years ago. I did a lot of research and found no reviews that resembled this review at all. If I had found this review before I ordered, it would not changed my mind at all. If you recall, another review here bashed the Hi-Point the same way and I knew better because I had owned one for several years and it was an excellent gun despite being ugly and heavy.

Also, did you notice that the next Rock Island Armory gun reviewed here was rated 4 stars? I don’t rely on reviews here because they are one person’s opinion on one gun that is sometimes used/abused before the review. Objectivity is sometimes missing. I look forward to getting my Rock Island Armory by the middle of next week from Gallery of Guns.

Just picked up the double stack long slide in 10mm Absolutly flawless. Took it apart, cleaned it and shot 200 thru it without a hickup. at 50 feet I had tennis ball size groups. Going to put in a 24# spring as brass flys 20 feet. This is going to be my new pin gun. Would buy it again without hesitation

Just picked up a used RI Officers model today. Took it to the range and it was flawless and accurate. It came highly recommended by two friends that own them. I own and shoot 1911’s by Kimber, Springfield, Colt, Para, and Wilson so I know a little about how a good 1911 should look, feel, and shoot. The RI is fine, no machine marks, no issues, runs good! What can I say, maybe a few bad ones slipped through.

I absolutely love my GI edition 45 and haven’t had a single issue with it out of about 1000 rounds….even the cheapest most dirty…you and your 2 friends who went on this little journey of making this pistol seem like a pos must be either retarded, or paid off to make the gun look bad, because they’re awesome! Not top of the line but also not anything other than dependable and sturdy

I bought the full size GI model about 4 years at a gun show. I’ve put a few thousand cheap ass rounds through it without any malfunctions. The hammer bite was bad but a Wilson Combat drop in beavertail safety fixed that. It is my favorite gun. In the last couple of years I have gone a bit crazy and changed out all the internal parts to Wilson Combat. I had the gun cerakoted black and I put trijicon night sights and a set of black and gray VZ II operator grips with a Wilson combat checkered front strap. Armscor has amazing customer service so if you get one that has problems just give em a call.

I don’t recall if the GI and Tactical model share the same beaver tail. I’ve never had a hint of hammer or slide bite. A friend cut his hand on my XD 40 slide. I don’t know how. Just to show anything is possible.

I shoot 9mm, 40 & 45. These days I focus mainly on 9mm pistols just due to cost now that 9mm ammo is readily available again. 45 just cost too much to plink. But the RI Is still a very nice full sized 45 pistol for the price regardless where it ranks with 1911s.

All I can say maybe its the shooter I have two ria.45 and one 9mm and never have had any problems .and talking about the grips I usually buy new for all my weapons from time to time for the five hundred to a thousand dollar gun you wont get any better than a rock .to be honest I carry my rock as much as my kimber now you go up to around two grand les bear then there’s a big difference

So let me get this straight, you get a used 1911 that won’t run and you can’t shoot because it hurts your hands. It’s 3 years old so completely irrelevant to current production. And you DO a review on it. How about doing a real review of a new gun. I don’t own one but I have been reading a lot of reviews and it is NUTS that you published this crap!

I carry a RIA 1911 FS Tactical as my EDC. The only issue that I had with the pistol was when it was new and that was a very weak recoil spring. I replaced it with a #18 Wilson recoil spring and problems solved. This thing chambers anything and everything. A second issue was that POI was low (bench rested). I removed the front slope of the front sight and now I can simply place the muzzle over what I want to hit and, like magic, a .45 caliber hole appears.

With a CS model, I had to replace the ambi thumb safety, as the original was way to loose for my liking. This pistol is scary accurate for an “Officer” model and way better than the Colt MKIV Series 80 “Officer Model” pistol that I had.

I just ordered the RIA 1911 MS Standard because I prefer a “Commander” sized pistol for EDC and especially one with an ambidextrous safety, as I drill with strong and weak hand shooting.

The only serious issue was with certain magazines; Ruger SR1911 magazines and an off-brand. The cut for the magazine lock was to short on these magazines and they would pop-out under fire. I have run Wilson Combat magazines since and I have had no further issues with the the RIA.

If you are interested in my review of the RIA 1911 FS Tactical (2nd Generation), please go to http://guntoters.com/blog/2015/12/05/rock-island-armory-armscor-1911-fs-tactical-2nd-generation-owners-review/. You will also find the answer to the 2nd Generation question that is in your mind.

The review is not biased. I also own 1911-based pistols by “leading” manufacturers (for example; Colt, Springfield, Remington, Ruger (all three SR1911s), Israeli Industries, Para Ordinance, Smith & Wesson, Dan Wesson, and even a pre-ban Norinco) and I don’t try to compare the RIA with any of them. The RIA 1911s are what they are and the issues that I have had with them could happen to any 1911 – even expensive ones.

I thought this was supposed to be the truth about guns. There is something amiss about this review. Can you do another review but with a new gun? It sounds as though this one has a worn out recoil spring.

My RIA officers model works great. Something like 3 malfunctions in first thousand rounds, all with Blazer and factory mag in a hot dirty gun. Aftermarket mag = 0 failures. I don’t really agree with this guys conclusion. Perhaps it’s a QA issue at the factory, maybe he doesn’t really know what he is doing. I meet self-certified gun experts almost daily.

Have to agree this guy and his friends have no clue how to shoot a 1911. First I can tell you Mil Spec pistol Mil Spec Mags in the photo with round that hasn’t popped up that is a early release magazine I own a Colt GI WWII will do the same thing over and over with modern early release Mags. I use $8 Mil Spec 7 round Mags and can shoot 300 rounds in an afternoon flawlessly. Second if you don’t know how to hold a 1911 they will stove pipe and have feed issues and that’s any 1911 I can do this on request if someone wants to know its possible. I personally know a dozen or so guys who have RIA 1911s and sing their praises and make fun of me for spending the extra money for my Colt’s. Now there could be the fact he had a flawed gun but I can tell you I spent $1300 on a Kimber for my wife and it wouldn’t shoot right out of the box even after break in. Had to send it back to the factory twice modifying the barrel bushing replacing the extractor and slide work. So price has nothing to do with it. The Kimber did have one of the best triggers I ever felt out of the box but that don’t matter if it won’t shoot.

So, now that a few months have passed, any news on if Dan got his pistol repaired from Armscor?

An update and perhaps and updated review would be nice.

I have a RI mid-size(commander). It did have hammer bite, so with a new beavertail and a commander style hammer, not a bit of problems and most accurate pistol I own.

This is a response to the 1911 bashers out there.I have no particular expertise in firearms but a long history of use. I have been using various guns of many types since about 1962. I have used world war surplus GI 1911’s with great results ,one with thousands of rounds fired. They were not customized or tuned up in anyway. I have been able to repeatedly put lead into about a one foot circle at 50 yards after practice! I also could hit that size target(a 5 gallon jug) at 80 yards 3 out of 4 times standing off hand. It has the stopping power needed and never had a failure to fire that I know of. I have witnessed persons shot with 45 acp rounds. It is a memorable sight! They are knocked off their feet immediately if standing when struck. Death from trauma or blood loss usually follows soon after, if hit in the torso, anywhere. I saw a person hit in the butt cheek by a 45 round that did not hit any bone or organ but merely went through the fleshy buttock nearly removing it and slamming them to the ground! A knee shot I witnessed broke the leg at the knee and blew out the backside of the leg causing the person to bleed out in less than two minutes! The 9mm on the other hand is not as reliable at stopping an enemy. I would rather use a 22 caliber pistol for my protection close up than a 9mm! I can put 10- 22 caliber rounds in a 4 inch target at 50 feet in a couple of seconds with my brothers Ruger pistol or my old Saturday night special Rhur 22 revolver 8 shots in a few seconds!That works similar to one 45 cal.round! I have witnessed persons shot several times with a 9mm still keep on their feet if the shots missed the heart, spine or brain. Some of the new plastic guns work well. If they are chambered for a 45 ACP round I could feel good about using one in combat! But the venerable 1911 GI has already proven itself in tens of thousands of actual combat actions over the course of several wars and is not open to vacuous remarks from young dips who play at shooting paper targets or maybe spent a few months overseas but probably never used any pistol in combat, only shooting at paper!The 9mm can be very deadly as can be the 380 ACP, but like the 22 caliber they often do not stop the enemy until multiple hits in a vital spot. I personally like the Browning 9mm for its reliability, balance, recovery and out of the box accuracy, but it would be my second choice for combat. The other round I would trust in combat is the 357 magnum! It’s extra punch makes it another round with good stopping power and it shoots straight for a good distance with less windage problems than the 9mm.The 357 Colt revolver is a great combat weapon in very dirty or wet conditions! It was favored by a friend who used it as a tunnel rat during the Vietnam War, over the 1911 or any auto weapon!The only Glock I ever fired was not impressive for accuracy, no better than my 45 for sure! It failed to feed after a couple of mags fired, possibly from the cheap ammo used or being in need of a cleaning but that never happened with my old 1911! That may of been a fluke but also, judge not the 1911 GI by the reports from people using all different brands with many different ammunition makes who are accustomed to limp wristing their usual 9mm weapon of choice! Just look up the history of Chesty Puller of the USMC and read about the witnessed kill he made with a 1911 in combat in the Pacific Theater during World War Two! Many more long range kills undoubtedly occurred during the war but were not documented! I also do not wish to fail to mention the 45 was widely used in submachineguns by Americans with great success . Combat proven results by more soldiers than any other side arm ever used by USA soldiers-the 1911 GI 45 ACP! The RI version may or may not be as good as the old GI pistols but they are based on the most effective combat pistol of all time!

I have a Rock Island 9mm GI model. It is my most reliable pistol other than my revolvers. I have shot hundreds of rounds through it as I take it out almost every time I shoot and I have never had an issue. I have Sig p238 and P220 that have had issues (P238 had mag drop issues and the P220 has a 50% FTF rate and is in service). I have an HK P2000 that failed to eject when my father in-law shot it. Not matter who shoots my RIA it performs. It’s also very accurate. Not as accurate as the P220 but I’ll take reliability over multimeters of accuracy anyday.

I have a RIA 1911 that is around 12yrs old and has over 6k rounds down range with 0 malfunctions! I just replaced the springs through out. The original recoil spring was approx 1.5″ shorter than the new wolf going in! It has been very, very abused and just continues to run. It still has great accuracy aswell. Easy keyhole groups at 7yrds. I did go through and perform a fluff and buff on the pistol before I ever fired a round through it though. I wish I could get anouther for $320 out the door like I did years ago. I really wishyou all could see how thrashed my Ria 1911 is, I assure you would all have a laugh!

Complete opposite of my experience with my RI 1911 GI. Likes everything but hollow points. Shot it all weekend in a 3 day tactical class, no problems. Around 700+ rounds I would guess. That was 2 years and several hundred rounds ago. During the 3 day weekend I had some trouble due to the magazine end flaring from a lot of snap-rack and go. I mentioned it in passing on the RIA FB page. They replaced all three no questions asked. I upgraded the sites to help with the monthly shoot at the club and that’s about it.

I’ve had my FS Rock Tactical for 3 or 4 years now and it’s been great to me, accurate, no failure to feeds or malfunctions of any kind…From some experience handling newer models in gun stores and stuff, really seems like the quality is going downhill…lots of bagging on these guns…buy ones from 2010-2011 and they are much better!

Jon, sucks that you got a bad one dude.
I bought an RIA Tactical 5″ govt. back about 8 years ago for $350 new (wish i still could). yeah. it had tool marks inside. Hardball would feed great but LSWC and JHP would dig bottom edge of the nose in fairly regular. I took some 2k grit paper and then flitz to the feed ramp. It went from looking like a chirt rock driveway to a mirror after about 20 minutes. No more issues.

On accuracy? 10 yds i chewed out the x on a LEO silhouette. Looking at the pic i took, i think it was about 2″. Using FBI silhouette at 25 yds (low light used) i never left the 5x area. 6 rounds in the circle, last 2 just out of it.

I can see having a bad day with a biting pistol. Give it another try man. Youll be glad of it.

The authors experience with this pistol it seems is an extreme minority. So, I recently paid over $1100.00 for a SW 1911sc to use as a concealed carry, mainly because of it’s 29.6 Oz weight as opposed to the 36 Oz of my 45 year old Colt Combat commander, both in .45 caliber. At the range the Smith failed to feed twice in two hundred rounds of Federal 230 gr FMJ and JHP(one each). Another similarity to the RIA in this article is that the Smith has a sharp edge on the frame on each side of the grip safety that gets uncomfortable on the web of the hand after a few rounds, a seemingly strange feature on an eleven hundred dollar pistol. Interestingly, I had never noticed that problem with the Colt, so I took the Colt out and compared, and it is rounded rather than sharp in that area. I carried that Colt for thirty years and it never failed to function in any way, ever, including when it was new, don’t know how many rounds I’ve put through it, but a few thousand. Incidentally, about a year ago I bought a U.S. Government issue 1911a1 manufactured in 1944 by Remington Rand that has been who knows where and abused who knows how. In a few hundred rounds it has never malfunctioned. Both of these pistols are as accurate as they need to be.
So now, I’ve paid eleven hundred dollars for the pistol and it doesn’t always work, and I won’t carry it as a defensive weapon until it does. Smith reputedly has excellent customer service but that doesn’t make me particularly happy at this point. I’m going back out to the range and put another couple hundred rounds through it and see what happens. It doesn’t make me any happier knowing that because of the manufacturers design it will hurt a little bit to shoot it. Maybe I’ll get a pair of those gloves the author of this article mentioned.

I bought one used and it did have a couple issues. I adjusted the extractor and used Wilson mags. Also polished the chamber.
Never missed another shot.

You lost all credibility with me when you said you had to put on gloves to shoot it! I have owned the GI FOR YEARS and never had it fail and the accuracy has always been spot on. Sounds like someone did not oil it properly and gunked it up. I tell people all the time dont waste money on high dollar 1911 when RIA works just as good for a third of the price.

This has not been my experience at all. The stuck GI sites are crap. Too small, but it is a GI model. I put some better sights on it and use it in my local clubs monthly shoot. At 50 yards it is picky about ammo to get consistent results. On a long training weekend with about 700 rounds I had a couple of their mags crack at the flaired end. RIA replaced them no questions asked. The stock magazines are the weakest link in my opinion.

I agree with the majority here. We got a tactical 3.5 commander in 9mm for my wifes daily carry. We sold it last year just because it was heavy as a carry. But loved the gun. It shot well and was accurate and the trigger was nice. The magazine was sharp but I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the tooling. I know bad machining when I see it. All in all a great gun.

I have the same model with over 1,200 rounds down range. No problems whatsoever. It’s as accurate as I am. I also don’t have the problem with the safety eating my hand either. Have you considered a lower grip?

I have had many different 1911s over the years like a thunder ranch special, ed Brown cobra carry, and glocks and sigs this just bought this gun because I sold them all I got hert and had to file ch 11 but I needed a gun for sd any way got the 1911 a1 fs 9mm and the slide to frame fit is crazy close maby closer than my 2500$. Cobra carry.

I just bought a newer (2016) RIA 1911 FS GI and it worked well for the first 50 rounds, then during the next 100, it had a failure to fee and failure to return to battery. In addition to that, it had the slide lock open with rounds in the mag and a failure to eject (round fired, but the ejector failed to draw it out and eject it.)

My advice: AVOID!!!

P.S. my 1911 is at Armscor right now and once it gets back, I will give the S.O.B. another chance and if it fails in any way, I will mount it on a board and make a trophy of it for the worst gun ever purchased. I couldn’t sell it. Who would want it?

sorry guys have to say this is my second 1911 and so far the RIA functions as well as my Kimber Ultra 2, I could not be happier !!!!

Seems like every review this guy wrights is always somehow on the negative side . Like he’s getting paid for it . Every bargain gun is not a bad gun is this really the truth about guns.

I’m 5’3″ and 125 lbs. I have had my Rock Island for years, consistently outshoot others with 9mm’s and have never hurt my hands while doing it. What an asinine and utterly ridiculous review ???

Sound like everyone who has had problems has got what we call a lemon. Mine has shot fine for 4 years now with a good cleanin’ and some cheap ammo you’ll be shoot to hit your target everytime?

Do not believe everything you read about guns;; in particular this review of the Rock Island 45. I am not a gunsmith but i am familiar with tools. I got one of these things in a trade for some military rifles of ww2 vintage. It was new an unfired in the box, i put it away in a large crate for Russian aircraft parts. There was an accidental discharge of an M1 in my shop( out in the country), this is also a lesson in gun safety for those who care. The round blew a hole in the crate, tore off the pistol grips and left a huge dent in the main frame of the pistol, made its exit through the wall and went on its merry way. This pistol was in bad shape so i figured what the hell ill see what i can do with it, the thing was cheap and is not a Colt or a high buck unit. So help me the following is true and not a fabrication. The gun was frozen in place because of the huge dent in the main frame. I took a claw hammer and drift punch and went to work. The slide was hard fixed so i put it in a vise and beat it till it began to move. I kept this up until i could remove the slide stop and barrel pin, no easy task. All the other parts seemed to be normal. With the slide off i could see the huge dent left by the 30/06 round. I took a drift punch and began to work on the dent. This pistol has some hard steel and is not a piece of junk. To get the slide to move back and forth as it should i used grinding stones that are used on valve seats in motors in conjunction with various drift punches to get dent to a workable height. when everything was finally ground and punched the slide stop worked as it should. The steel in this pistol ate hard grinding stones like candy. This gun now resembles a cutaway view of a 1911; i shoot it without grips and it does not hurt or cut my palm. A 93 year old veteran friend gave me several hundred rounds of at least 50 year old rounds and i shoot them with this pistol. Upshot– with all the abuse i gave this gun and the way it functions without flaws with repairs on the scale of 10th century blacksmith whats not to like.

I have shot the 1911 .45ACP since 1973 and have never understood how someone gets “bit” by a 1911! If you are going to give a creditable, unbiased review then first up, learn to hold it properly. With over 40 years of shooting a 1911 I have never been “hurt” by these pistols!

I have owned two Colts through the years and have had my full sized Rock Island Armory .45 almost three years. When I first got it I put a new sear spring in it as I felt the original was substandard after 3-5 boxes of ammo. Mine works flawlessly after about 1500-2000 rounds, operates and is as accurate as either of my old Colts.

You’re biased toward Colts (I love ’em too) and it shows in your last paragraph, but you must be professional in your dealings with others. You have zero credibility with me and I suspect more than a few other shooters judging by the comments left here.

Bought one last week. works perfectly. No failures to feed. No failures to eject.No jams. Accurate enough at 21 feet. Worked fine with Russian ammo, and some thirty year old reloads covered with bird poop and corroded cases, lead bullets. I’m happy with it!

I’ve owned one of these since 2004. 12 years later and probably 2,000+ rounds on, it’s still going strong. Never jammed on me. Not once.

I believe you are just ranting and have a personal issue with Rock Island Pistols…I own two of them , one in .45 and the other in 10 MM. They are both tack drivers! I believe you need a new pair of glasses the next time you go to the range. I wear bifocals and am in my mid 60’s, never competed but I bet I could out shoot you any day….You obviously are being paid to give Rock Island bad reviews. That being said, I would never recommend anyone to listen to the ranting and bashing of Rock Island pistols coming out of your mouth. And, NO, I do not work for them or have anything to do with the company, I’m just an old guy that can read between the lines. Thank you!

This review is clueless…much like the other reviews on this site. Not sure whether it is mere stupidity or purposeful bias. Notwithstanding, the result is the same. Basing your opinion on a friend’s 3-year-old gun that’s gone through god knows what in that timeframe is plain asinine. But wait! I oiled it up!…..AND that’s likely why you had all the malfunctions. If you are clueless and soaked a 1911 in oil,it will malfunction on you. Good going Elmer Fudd!

I own several Armscor 1911’s and NONE of them behave the way you describe…unless you don’t know how to lube the gun, at which point, it will behave just like that. Clean it and lube it properly and it is (pardon the pun) rock solid in its performance.

I believe the term “Hit and Miss” is apropos. That is indicative of poor quality control with a product that is basically solid but executed poorly. The Rock is a great basic platform to build on, and if you want to tinker with a 1911, this is the brand you want! But if you want a solid shooter out of the box, we’re back to the term “Hit and Miss.”

I used the frame of my Rock and a Kimber conversion slide to build a 22 caliber 1911. I love shooting it like that. I almost never put the 45 slide on it, and when I do, I seem to always regret it as soon as I hit the range.

I have three 1911s, including a RIA GI model. I regularly “compare” the three as they are all different configurations with barrel lengths of compact, commander, and full-size. The other two are my Kimber Ultra Carry II and a Ruger SR1911.

I have put close to 1000 rounds through the pistol with NO issues. I attribute this to the practice of no matter if a firearm is “NIB,” or not, I disassemble and thoroughly clean it before ever firing the first round.

All I can figure is that you got hold of a gun of which you already are predisposed to hate. As indicated by the majority of the responses that I have seen/read, most of us “owners” of the products have little to either compare or relate to your “nightmare” experience.

I have installed a set of Crimson Trace integrated laser grips, and am considering using it as my “bedside” weapon. I am quite satisfied with my RIA 1911, and it remains one of the more “fun” handguns in my collection.

I’m sorry but I will take an american gun over this gun all day long

It hurt your hand so you had to put on gloves? With a .45 ACP? What are you a girly-man? My officer model wouldn’t feed either. I pulled a new spring out of my range box and fixed that problem right away. Eats everything and shoots very nice tight groups. Glove… give me a break.

I’ll add my two cents: I’ve put around 300 rounds through my GI R/I 1911 without a FTF/FTE. Completely reliable. The only sharp edges I’ve encountered are the aggressively checkered wooden grips I installed. Accuracy is average.

It’s more reliable than my Sig P220 and Taurus 1911.

LOL! The review and all the comments were hilarious. I imagine RIA decided to fix all the issues with this pistol since this article was written. At least RIA was willing to fix them for free.

Wow! I just love reading posts that are good and bad about 1911’s. I have carried a Colt for 30 years and I can say for certain that it was not reliable in the beginning as are very few 1911’s. They all require some tuning and they all require break-in. When talking about the number if rounds before reliable – well then PLEASE do not carry a 1911, or really any semi auto. It used to be mandatory that one knew how to clear a stove pipe, failure to eject, failure to feed, and ensure the gun was in battery. Today too much TV has come to the scene where people slap the hell out of the mag (actually a no-no) and when the gun stops they blame the gun. I like my Colt’s but if the mag and and a couple boxes of ammo agree with any 1911 I would not hesitate to carry it. Competition is different. For defense, Learn how to use the tool in this case the 1911 or carry a revolver. All semi-autos require additional training and practice.

I do prefer machined parts vs cast and USA vs Import..but that does not negate knowing the basics of handling the weapon at hand.