I was wondering of any of you had any relatable experience with the Rock Island .45? I have been contemplating the purchase of a new .45 and the local shop has one for $420 out the door. Thoughts, stories, ideas, suggestions, complaints?
Thanks,
Brian

Rumor has it that the inexpensive line are manufactured in Brazil. Like most inexpensive guns, you stand 50/50 chance whether they'll hold up. I believe several companies are imported parts made in the Philippines, Brazil, and other parts of the world.

my rock island .38 super was made in manila....it shoots great....parts interchange with both of my colts... i paid like $375 for it a couple yrs ago... i see them new at gunshows for the $425 range....for a shooter, its a good buy...

50/50 on a $420 pistol...I don't like those odds. I have been reading some internet commentary of the Rock Island line. Seems people are mostly out there pointing out the bad and the ugly and no one feel on the side of the good. I usually am not afraid to take a chance, but this is a gun that would be a daily carry and a daily shooter. Decisions, decisions, decisions. What the hell? I might just take the chance and see what happens. I always have the FN .40 to fall back on.
Brian

I have a Rock Island Armory 1911 Tactical.
RIA guns are made by a company in the Philippines, not Brazil (Springfield Armory is made in Brazil, some made in Brazil and assembled in the US). That company also makes Armscor and Charles Daly 1911s. The STI Spartan is made with the same frame, slide, and maybe other parts but is assembled by STI.

The Tactical model has beavertail grip safety, ambi thumb safety, and Novak's style sights.
I paid $445 out the door, dealer cost is arounf $380.

I've shot Kimber Custom IIs, S&W 1911s, and Springfield Loadeds.
The RIA isn't far behind in fit & finish to those other 1911s.
I'd say it's about 95% of the quality, at a much lower price.

As far as my gun's fit & finish goes:
-the parkerizing is comparable to Springfield. there is one spot on the corner of the fram near the right side tang that has the finish worn off, I assume from carelessness during assembly
-there are a couple of shallow machining marks along the front curved part of the slide
-the breech face is not perfectly square to the length of the slide. It's just off enough to notice if you look closely and I don't think it harms anything.
-the small parts are well fitted except for the grip safety
-the grip safety's slot is a tiny bit too wide resulting in the bottom of the grip safety canting very slightly to the left. Also the grip safety isn't blended to the tangs as well as more expesive guns.
-the slide has just a noticable amount of side to side play
-the barrel locks up solid to the slide
-the trigger had a lot of creep, but broke decently at 5-6 lbs (I have since done my own trigger job for a nice pull)
-the full length guide rod is short enough to dissasemble the gun normally
-the sights look identical to Novak's, however I did notice the rear sight isn't perfectly level with the slide. I haven't measured it, but it's just barely off enough to see if you look closely.
-the 8 round mag is made by Novak's and has functioned perfectly.

Function:
In the first 50 rounds there were two failures to return to full battery. It took only light pressure to push it into battery.
Also, the cases were dented as they were ejected. These are signs of too much extractor tension and I have since tuned the extractor. I haven't had problems since. From reading other forums it seems like too much extractor tension is common.

Other than that the gun operates perfectly.
It will feed the Remington 230gr JHP value pack ammo without any problems.

For 95% of the quality it's definately a good buy.

I wouldn't pay $420 for the mil-spec version, but it'd be a good price for the Tactical.
Go to your dealer and tell them you want one transfered from Sarco.
The basic model is $340 and the Tactical is $390.
http://www.sarcoinc.com/rockislands-new.html

I purchased a Rock Island in the military model. I have fired the standard 230 grain FMJ and several different bullet weights of cast bullets. Some of the cast bullet loads were light target loads.

Everything I have fired in this pistol has functioned without any problems and without recoil spring changes. Accuracy is very good. Maybe I got a better than average one.

This thing can shoot better than I can and much better than the tuned AMT hardballer I had.

I had a new Springfield Armory in the military model and it was the worst 1911 I have ever had. Two different gunsmith's worked with the thing and were unable to correct the erratic slide velocity problem. It didn't matter what recoil spring you used, it would fail to fully cycle at times, ejection was anywhere from fifteen to twenty feet to right or back over my head, to in my face or just dropping at my feet. All with the same load and any load. I am told I must have got the exception to the rule Springfield Armory. No matter, I will never have another one.

jimatcat, can you share some more information on your 38Super. How accurate is it? I am a fan of the 38Super. How about IPSC major loads?
Thanks, Peter.

i have very few failures with my rock island. a stiffer recoil spring solved the few i had which were mostly with the 400 corbon barrel i had(wasnt impressed). at 50 yds mine will group 2-3inches if i do my part. i honestly dont see why people are buying 4 figure 1911's. lets see 1200 dollars or 350 dollars. you can see which way i went

Well I checked one out at my local gunshop yesterday. The front sight was very small, almost a pimple on the slide! I have no idea how anyone could shoot it accurately! Any comments?
Peter.

See how you all are? I had almost talked myself out of the Rock Island and into the new CZ model. Now you all have me rethinking it! Maybe I should just stick with my FN High Power in .40 with the SFS system???I know it isn't the browingin high power of old, but it is the same thing and mine has yet to throw any kind of hiccup and it is way more accurate than I am able to hold it to.
Am I really gaining by leaps and bounds going from a .40 to a .45?
All this gun is for is a daily carry, in the bag to work, in the truck, defense gun in case of emergency.
Thanks guys...
Brian

Allout, I would never talk you out of buying another gun! The RIA is a full size 1911, so it would have to be a "truck gun" or something like that. In addition, with the safety features, you can store it cocked and locked making it very quick to bring into action. I don't know about your FN. I don't think you are giving up much with your 40 S&W, at least not with 180 grain bullets. What new CZ model are your refering to?
Peter.