Rock Island Armory 10mm

[solyanik]

That looks like a great value for a 1911 and a nice looking one at that. I'm not that familiar with RIA. What are the trade-offs in a value priced RIA 1911 vs. something that would sell for twice that much?

So I've sold a lot of value priced RIAs, and I am shooting their top of the line Match. The bore looks very different under the borescope - Match has no toolmarks, whereas lower price RIAs have many. The appearance of rifling is different. Bushing is hand-fit, this is very important for accuracy in a 1911. Huge difference in sights (adjustable, and just plain better on match version). A few small details here and there - nicer grips, ambidextrous safety etc.

[root]

Yeah, for .45, Match is the way to go for not much more.

My RIA Tactical, I just used as a project gun and hand fit and tooled things to make it a bit better of a gun. Still a great gun.

[velillen]

Picked it up today. Gave it the froglube treatment, hopped in the car, drove up to the range...

Realized I didn't bring a coat, and am only wearing a tshirt. So, needless to say, my range trip was cut short. However the 6 or 7 mags I dumped through function perfectly. However taking apart the mags on these is just... Bleah. The double floor plate is silly.


I will have a more comprehensive review later.

Bit delayed from me but hey been gone for 8 months so after i shot the RIA 10mm i had/have plenty of other things to do! Mine look exactly like roots so no need for more pictures.

I got mine from my FFL on Saturday night and got to shoot it Sunday morning. First thing i noticed was man they absolutely drenched this in oil. It cam with just the gun and the silly warning "stop" tag in a plastic bag. The gun had so much oil on it the stop tag was drenched in oil and there was a small pool at the bottom of the plastic bag. Obviously this meant you couldnt really handle it without creating a big mess. But i got it home and cleaned it all up and finally got to ook at it closely. Not a big deal on the oil just a heads up for anyone who thinks they would buy it and shoot it right away or something like that.

This is my first 1911 and i do prefer slimmer guns so keep that in mind! Also im not the best with technical terms so yup

How it shot -
The trigger is nice in my mind. There is maybe 1/4" of travel on the trigger before it engages. Once its "engaged" its maybe 1/8th of an inch till it fires. My rcbs trigger pull gauge puts it right around 5lbs (it would go from 4.5-5 with most being closer to 5).

This is vs the glock 20 gen 3 which has probably 1/2" of travel before engaging and then a good 1/4" before actually firing.

The trigger pull is crisp and smooth on the RIA and its become one of my favorite triggers!


Shooting wise i only got to put ~100 rounds through the RIA and probably ~50 through the glock 20 to compare. But i will say i was much more accurate with the RIA right away. At 7 yards i was getting probably 2-3" groups (good for me haha) vs the glock was more 3-5" But that could be my preference for slimmer guns as well but i did find myself more accurate with the RIA.

I will say the RIA has a weak spring in it. I was shooting lower powered 10mm factory ammo and could tell. The slide would come back faster and harder than the glock (stock spring). But that is an easy fix and definitely one i will be doing in the near future. The brass from the RIA was flying everywhere....not the the glock doesnt but the RIA was a bit worse (which i attest to the spring).

The RIA is noticeably heavier. Not by a ton but unloaded you can definitely tell it is heavier. Both guns fully loaded they are closer to the same but 8 vs 15 helps even it out.

As for case support the RIA supported the cases as well as the glock and i saw no bulges in the case or other signs of stress/markings at all.

Not sure what else people would like to know but i will say its become one of my favorite guns and i enjoy it more than the glock 20 by a long shot. Ill keep the glock 20 for the high capacity if in the woods (and slightly lighter weight) but my go to 10mm for shooting will be the RIA!


At sub $600 dollars for a 1911 (let alone one in 10mm) i am super impressed with RIA and would recommend them to others as well

[mechanic5803]

Sweet Gun!! 10mm is a fun round to shoot. I need to get some more 10mm brass

[Old Jim]

Go to http://www.1911forums Scroll down to manufacturers and click on Rock Island Armory
There are a couple threads on there re the 10mm. It seems that the early production guns are having problems with copper fouling and other maladies. Armscor is faithfully working to correct the problem as they always do with their SUPERIOR customer service. It is surprising that they are having these problems as normally the Rocks really ROCK

[velillen]

So Ive now put ~200 rounds down my RIA 1911 10mm. Im both happy with it and also a bit dissapointed.

Let me start with the happy.
-It shoots great. Fits my hand great and its groupings are much better than my glock 20. I was getting good groups (2-3") at ~15 feet. And at the ranges max of ~40 feet i was getting all shots in the 8" circle of my targets. Mind you that was the first time really shooting out that far (not that it is that far) and that was without any rests.

And the bad
-Copper fouling. Mine isnt as bad as some pictures ive seen on the 1911forum. But here is mine after 200 rounds. Mine isnt bad and the picture isnt the best but you can see it a bit. That is after a "normal" cleaning so ill have to get copper solvent remover. Still none of my other guns which have shot way more orunds between cleanings have had anything close to that. Not the end of the world and it still shots fine but Ill be watching some threads over at 1911forum and seeing what results those guys get with Armcor/other options


-The second thing is just the finish on the gun. I treat it no different than any of my other guns (sig p226, FNP-45 tactical, glock 20) and it has gotten scratched up. Not super bad but enough that upon close inspection you can see scratches all over. Doesnt bother me but still a bit annoying on how poor the finish is at protecting the gun. Also noticed this odd marking on the slide and not sure when it showed up haha. (weird squiggly thing behind the barrel)



Would i still recommend this? Right at this second I would say to wait. Ive heard the newer ones are coming out just fine and its only the first run that is having issues. But I would still wait

Last edited by velillen on Sun Dec 30, 2012 2:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Massivedesign]

Wow, that is some odd wear, especially for 200 rounds. What do you use to clean the frame and slide?

[toys in the toybox]

From the looks of your sqiggely lines on the slide id say the brass is hitting there on the way out

[root]

That is exactly what is happening. Give the guys a call down at RIA. They will get you fixed up, the extractor needs a bit of tuning.


Did you have issues with your mags locking your slide back?

[velillen]

That is exactly what is happening. Give the guys a call down at RIA. They will get you fixed up, the extractor needs a bit of tuning.


Did you have issues with your mags locking your slide back?

I thought it was the brass. ill have to call them tomorrow. wonder if it'll clean up or not...didn't try. I used hopped elite gun cleaner for the gun who asked plus hopes gun oil.


I had no problems with the mags. they locked the slide back every single time. I actually have had zero issue with.the gun other than copper fouling and the extractor. other than that no ftf fte or anything. it worked perfectly in all 225 rounds

[root]

Yeah, I planned on calling them after the new year, and the mags were just crappy.

I froglubed mine up for treading it.

[velillen]

What was wrong with your mags? I had no problems with mine except i found them a bit annoying to get them in all the way since they are recessed into the grip a bit. But nothing else was wrong with mine.

[Old Jim]

Okay, if your Rock is like mine it came with an extended Ejector. Now, a lot of guys will tell you that you need to adjust your Extractor. The Extractor actually has very little to do with WHERE the case ejects, it's job is to aid in feed and to remove the empty case.
What you need to do is to recontour the nose of your Ejector so that it contacts the rim of the case as low as possible. You do this by filing a small angle on the nose as shown in the Diagram below. This is the first angle you want to file. Now, you can, to a certain degree, control where the case ejects by filing a second angle, this one sideways, so that the rim contacts the leftside of the nose. This means the angle goes on with the shortest side closest to the breech. Both of these angles don't need to be large, ten degrees of angle is all you'll need. For the first angle, follow the green lines on the Diagram. I put both angles on my ROCK and the Empties kick out high and to the right at about 4 O'Clock

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Last edited by Old Jim on Sun Dec 30, 2012 9:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.