Rock Island Tactical 2011 Range Report

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  • august1410

    Marcas Registradas
    Apr 10, 2009
    22,561
    New Bern, NC
    Let's get the obvious out of the way. The Rock Island 1911 platform pistols are not Nighthawk Custom, Les Baer, et al. Once that is out of the way, it's pretty easy to say the Rock Island 1911s are solid, well made and serviceable 1911s that get the job done.

    I got this one this morning, as noted in a couple of other threads. It's a couple of years old and I am the second owner. The original owner (a friend of mine) put 500 rounds through it and put it away. He has other pistols and wasn't shooting this one much.

    Fit and finish is better than most of the RIA pistols I have handled previously. The parkerized finish is decent, but it does have the BIG Rock Island Armory logo on the side. I don't have as much of an issue with that as others have. Grips are aftermarket and are aggressively checkered/stippled. Ambi safety is great for a lefty like me. Rubber mainspring housing was replaced with a Wilson Combat mainspring housing. Adjustable trigger is decent and crisp.

    I ran up to the range with a few magazines of 185 grain Hornady XTPs. It was all I had on short notice, so it would have to do. From 10 yards, it was pretty much spot on once I figured out the sight picture. Groups were acceptable (about the size of the palm of my hand). With more ammo and more time, I could really have some fun with this pistol. The only complaint I had was the slide would not lock back on an empty mag when using some no name mags I had laying around. Factory mag did just fine.

    Rapid fire was smooth and easy. It's considerably heavier than my Colt Combat Commander. It's a full size, with a rail and a full length dust cover. Recoil is minimal. The pistol fed perfectly with only one hiccup. This was my fault, because I had not seated the magazine fully.

    I had watched a youtube video where the pistol absolutely refused to eject a spent shell after shooting a single round with no magazine in the pistol. This one did not duplicate that and ejected all three times I tried this test.

    It's not better or worse than my Combat Commander. It's different. Different in a good way. Rock Island certainly got it right with this pistol.

    32948992_10160319612520585_1221549923741204480_n.jpg


    33026882_10160319615325585_9129893181758898176_n.jpg


    33120771_10160319609560585_8099535380761542656_n.jpg


    Here, the first two rounds hit the lower right. The others, once I figured out where the sights were, were more centered. This is 10 yards and my first shots through the gun.

    33059039_10160319596575585_6143308327259471872_n.jpg
     

    DutchV

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 8, 2012
    4,702
    I have a similar one in 9mm. It's decent; well made. The slide has a snug fit, with a good trigger and reasonable price. And I like the parkerized finish. Definitely a keeper.
     

    Kevnev

    Member
    May 12, 2018
    76
    Nice report. I don’t understand why some people buy guns and then just let them sit. Good for you on bringing some action back to this firearm!
     

    august1410

    Marcas Registradas
    Apr 10, 2009
    22,561
    New Bern, NC
    Nice report. I don’t understand why some people buy guns and then just let them sit. Good for you on bringing some action back to this firearm!

    In this instance, the friend of mine has more than a few guns. He got this one and shortly after got a 1918 Colt 1911. The Rock Island was looking for a new home.
     

    JaegerJason

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Mar 1, 2018
    83
    Good report! My full size 1911 seems to be on permanent loan to a family member, so I'm shopping for another. Appreciate the info!
     

    Dsnyder

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 23, 2015
    406
    Baltimore
    Is there a reason why a jam with no magazine would be a problem?. I cannot imagine the need for this to come up in a real life scenario.
     

    doggyjacket

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 3, 2016
    1,532
    MoCo
    Yeah, I had a RIA 1911 a while back. I always enjoyed it and even then it had a pretty good reputation in terms of getting pretty good value for its price.
     

    Magnumite

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 17, 2007
    6,561
    Harford County, Maryland
    Is there a reason why a jam with no magazine would be a problem?. I cannot imagine the need for this to come up in a real life scenario.

    It is an extractor test. If the fired case gets caught in the action (jam), falls through the magwell or ejects weakly the extractor is untuned, weak pull or the ejector may need tuning.
     

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