Picked up a plain Jane RIA 1911 the other day from the local shop. Can't complain about the price, it was way cheaper there than ordering through Bud's.

This was my first .45 caliber 1911, so not a lot of experience to base my review on, but in taking this to the range I was not disappointed at all.

I had no failures in the first outing of 100 rounds. I used the 8 round magazine from ATI, a 7 round Colt mag from the shop, and a 8 round flush-fit mag from CMC. All fit and functioned fine for this first outing.

The trigger was smooth enough to me. I've shot a few Springfield Range Officer models from others at the range, but not having them side-by-side, I couldn't recall there being any glaring differences.

Shooting with the GI style blade sites took a bit of getting used to, as I'm more familiar with the 3-dot setup on my other firearms. Once I adjusted to it, I had no issues grouping at 10yds and hitting the 12" plate we have out at the 25yd line.

Overall, I'm happy with this purchase. I've wanted a 1911 for some time, but not enough to justify the asking price for many on the market. Getting this for under $350 was a risk I'm glad I took.

I saw a used 9mm version in my LGS a couple of years ago and bought it. It has had no failures of any kind and I am most impressed.

The ROck Island (Armscor) 1911A1 type pistol seems to me to be the best 1911A1 clone on the market today... it more closely follows the original than any other I have seen.

These guns are a great value too... Mine has several thousand rounds through it and has worked flawlessly with various types of bullets.

FWIW

Chuck

Glad yours is working well. I was excited when I got mine a couple years back though it had some teething issues that soured me some and as a result I let it go for a good price. Perhaps I’ll hoge another one a try in the future.

I bought a RIA1911 in 9mm about 2 1/2 yrs. ago and have the same experience. Great shooting gun.

I recently picked up a similar piece, the ATI Military model 1911A1. It’s been fantastic. Everything I wanted in a 1911 for a super low price.

I have an Armscor Citadel 1911. I had to ship it back to Armscor for a poorly fitted slide stop that would lock the slide back with a round remaining in the magazine.
Fairly common problem with the 1911.
It shoots fine now and was a steal, price wise.

RIA is a very good shooter. Local range has two of them in their rental program, each firing thousands rounds per year with no maintenance for past 4 years and only cleaning twice a year. Only factory hardball is used and rangemaster put drop oil on rails, barrel hood and front at bushing every time they are shot. Very popular with customers and great money maker.

I purchased Full Size Tactical model and have been impresssed how well the sights are regulated and the superb trigger. Did experience premature slide hold back due to out of spec slide stop. I corrected this with the removal of small area of the slide stop that was rubbing and engaging bullet noses. Gun is now flawless.

It should noted that RIA have cast slides and frames. Fitting on my Colt and Springfield 1911 is a little better and the frames and slides are forged rather than cast. Still I like my RIA and wouldn’t consider selling it for less than $1500.

I had a couple of the RIA 1911's years ago but sadly had to sell them due to a family emergency. I really liked them and they ran great and were very accurate guns.

I have been looking at getting another one but all I seem to be able to find around here is the basic GI model. I want something with dove tail sights so I can swap them out for night sights.

quote:

Originally posted by Ghost-1:
I had a couple of the RIA 1911's years ago but sadly had to sell them due to a family emergency. I really liked them and they ran great and were very accurate guns.

I have been looking at getting another one but all I seem to be able to find around here is the basic GI model. I want something with dove tail sights so I can swap them out for night sights.

I think the RIA dovetails are not standard. Best to check availability of night sights to fit the RIA before you buy the pistol.