I bought my first handgun recently, a Rock Island Armory GI 1911 .45. Full size, standard GI model. I'd been debating what handgun to buy for probably a year now (S&W revolver? Glock .45? or 1911?) and decided on the RIA after someone on this site threw that name out there. I wanted a basic GI-type .45 and thats what I got, for $401.00 from Buds Gun Shop, and a transfer to Shooting Ventures in Monrovia.
The gun came in a hard plastic case with one 8 round ACT magazine, and manual, and safety card. It had a coat of oil on it so I cleaned it and started familiarizing myself with dis/ass and nomenclature.
The only thing I didn't like about the gun from the pictures I saw of it before I got it were the wooden grips, so I got a pair of black VZ Aliens. The wooden grips actually didn't look half bad when I got it.
This is my first handgun and the first 1911 I've really gotten to examine and shoot, so I can't compare it to anything else. What I can say is that it feels heavy duty, like it was meant to be. It's all steel, good black parkerized finish, good solid weight in the hand. It's basic, bare-bones, nothing fancy. The thumb safety has an audible "click" and feels strong, like it wouldn't accidently come off safe when carried (something I'm paranoid about from patrolling with an M4, that safety is easy to bump onto fire so I've developed a habit of keeping my thumb perpetually touching it).
Anyway, I'm very satisfied with the RIA 1911. I put 100 rounds through it yesterday, shooting Winchester white box, 230-gr FMJ ammo. All I can say is "wow!". I'm by no means an experienced pistol shot so I can't delve into accuracy and all that, but the gun feels great and shot great too. The recoil was good but the solid weight made it feel easy to regain my sights. As far as reliability, I had 3 failures to feed, the last round in the mag didn't fully feed. This happened in both Wilson Combat mags I bought, the factory mag performed flawlessly. I'm not too worried about it.
So overall, if you want a basic, bare-bones GI 1911, RIA is what you need. It's worth all of the $401 I paid. It's very user-friendly too. Mags eject smoothly out of the mag well, the safety feels strong. I've only put 100 rounds through it but I'll post if I find any problems with it down the road. I'm very pleased with this gun.
The gun came in a hard plastic case with one 8 round ACT magazine, and manual, and safety card. It had a coat of oil on it so I cleaned it and started familiarizing myself with dis/ass and nomenclature.
The only thing I didn't like about the gun from the pictures I saw of it before I got it were the wooden grips, so I got a pair of black VZ Aliens. The wooden grips actually didn't look half bad when I got it.
This is my first handgun and the first 1911 I've really gotten to examine and shoot, so I can't compare it to anything else. What I can say is that it feels heavy duty, like it was meant to be. It's all steel, good black parkerized finish, good solid weight in the hand. It's basic, bare-bones, nothing fancy. The thumb safety has an audible "click" and feels strong, like it wouldn't accidently come off safe when carried (something I'm paranoid about from patrolling with an M4, that safety is easy to bump onto fire so I've developed a habit of keeping my thumb perpetually touching it).
Anyway, I'm very satisfied with the RIA 1911. I put 100 rounds through it yesterday, shooting Winchester white box, 230-gr FMJ ammo. All I can say is "wow!". I'm by no means an experienced pistol shot so I can't delve into accuracy and all that, but the gun feels great and shot great too. The recoil was good but the solid weight made it feel easy to regain my sights. As far as reliability, I had 3 failures to feed, the last round in the mag didn't fully feed. This happened in both Wilson Combat mags I bought, the factory mag performed flawlessly. I'm not too worried about it.
So overall, if you want a basic, bare-bones GI 1911, RIA is what you need. It's worth all of the $401 I paid. It's very user-friendly too. Mags eject smoothly out of the mag well, the safety feels strong. I've only put 100 rounds through it but I'll post if I find any problems with it down the road. I'm very pleased with this gun.
sorry I'm impatient & horribly addicted to guns
