RIA 9mm 1911 Range Report

[RVTECH]

Well here it is!

Function - FLAWLESS ! All cases ejected in a relatively small area which says a lot about parts fit and consistency.

Accuracy - I'll give it a 'fair' to 'good' - but not entirely confirmed due to the following issues:

Gun was out of the box - not clean and still slathered with Cosmoline.

It was a little cool and breezy and like a dummy I forgot a jacket.

I didn't have anything to rest it on other than the hood of my vehicle and no blanket or anything.

All I had for a target was a target dot slapped on the top of a cardboard box and the first couple mags were all over it with no consistancy HOWEVER .... Some time ago I bought some 9mm hard cast lead bullets to try with my PCC and CZ and they were terribly inaccurate with both actually - and thats what I was shooting today.

I am going to 'break down' and buy a box of Speer Gold Dot HPs as BOTH my PCC and CZ shoot them VERY accurately.

Oh, recoil ? heck, it was like shooting a .22 !!

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[Tlock]

Very nice! I bought mine already broke in.

 

[bionic knees]

I hear that buying a 1911 in 9mm is like buying a mustang with a v-6. I coulda had a v-8!

 

[gmerkt]

I didn't have anything to rest it on other than the hood of my vehicle and no blanket or anything.

I did that one time. And one time only. With a rifle. After a few shots, I noticed that there were all these little dots on the hood and top of the opposite fender. The concussion was blasting the paint off.

 

[gmerkt]

As a brand, I've been surprised by the fit of the two that came into my possession lately. I haven't had a chance to fire them yet. One is an entry level blued gun, the other is a Parkerized version. They are made by Armscor.

Years ago, I had an SAM, that stands for Sportsmens Arms Manufacturing. Also made in the Philippines but on a different island and a different firm. I bought one in .38 Super because it was super cheap. And as it turned out, super horrible.

Kahr owns Auto Ordnance now. And I've read they claim these are made in the US. But before Kahr when Numrich was the owner, I am pretty sure at least some parts of AO 1911's were made in the same plant as the SAM. Possible whole guns. One of the many issues I had with the .38 super SAM was the barrel had all these crazy little loopy patterns etched into the bore. Like acid that didn't get fully rinsed off. So I sent away to Numrich for a new replacement barrel. When I came in the mail, it had the same etched flaws in the bore that I was trying to replace! I had two AO's in the 1990's, of course bought on the cheap. One was .45 ACP, the other was .38 Super. The latter was a problem gun because the slide was machined wrong inside and there was nothing to be done to get it to extract/eject right. By now, I've forgotten if the .45 had issues but I didn't keep it long.

 

[RVTECH]

As a brand, I've been surprised by the fit of the two that came into my possession lately.

AS is I am with mine!

I spent part of yesterday tearing mine down, cleaning it completey and making a few adjustments, namely to the sear spring and the safety detent spring.

I'm not going to sugar coat it - some of the parts on it were incredible tight and a little difficult to remove due to the tolerances.

I almost hate to admit it but I gave it its first 'beauty mark' when I had to insert a thin knife blade under the left side ambi safety lever to remove it. Pretty minor and hardly nioteicable but GRRRR! never the less! Still haven't made the 'infamous' 'idiot scratch' from the slide release but give it time!

I was not impressed with the mainspring however. The specs say it is a 12 lb and when it came out it was pretty twisted and bent and not a nice straight one I normally see on 1911s. Anyway I had a Colt 14 lb I replaced it with so hopefully it will cycle with that.

 

[Dirty Cary]

I hear that buying a 1911 in 9mm is like buying a mustang with a v-6. I coulda had a v-8!

I have a 9mm and 45acp 1911, and my mustang has a cammed v-8..

 

[gmerkt]

I was not impressed with the mainspring however. The specs say it is a 12 lb and when it came out it was pretty twisted and bent and not a nice straight one I normally see on 1911s. Anyway I had a Colt 14 lb I replaced it with so hopefully it will cycle with that.

Recoil springs on .45's, I'm not a 1911 expert but my impression has been that 14 to 16 is what they are usually fit with. For guns that are just going to be shooting factory ammo or hardball. Target or performance loads might call for weaker or stronger springs. In the stuff I got from Dave, there was a box of Wolff recoil springs. A couple of 18's, a couple of 20's, several 22's and 24's. I tried an 18 and a 20, those were too strong. He may have been envisioning the stronger ones for 10mm? There were a bunch of those fancy full length recoil spring guides, some of which have a second spring inside for heavy loads. I used one of those for a while on one of my past 10mm's.

I have "my own" Colt 1911 in 9mm, that takes a diff. spring than a .45 I'm pretty sure. The .38 Supers may also be different but I haven't looked into that. So far, Dave's .38 Supers have shot fine with existing springs. Then of course there are diff. springs for Commanders, shorter.

I think the spring in my 9mm Colt is color coded.

In my mind, the guns are still "my guns" and "Dave's guns" but since he's gone for good, at some point I'm going to have to merge them mentally and even physically. I've got to revise my insurance coverage, and for that I will have to decide which guns of Dave's I'm going to keep. In the meantime, I've got to extend the insurance to everything I've got and drop it incrementally as some go away. Which is a slow process.

 

[Kruel J]

My RIA Tac Ultra 9mm is a pleasure to shoot. I had it cerakoted and when I got it back the slide was tight and returned lazy but I figured might as well try it. Not one FTF in 200 rounds, fresh from the coater. The slide is still tight with zero rattle after about 500 through it.

RIA are definitely a great way to get into the 2011-type pistols.

 

[spookshack]

My RIA Tac Ultra 9mm is a pleasure to shoot. I had it cerakoted and when I got it back the slide was tight and returned lazy but I figured might as well try it. Not one FTF in 200 rounds, fresh from the coater. The slide is still tight with zero rattle after about 500 through it.

RIA are definitely a great way to get into the 2011-type pistols.

I picked one up a few months back from Bimart for $479. While the grip was comfortable, It was just a touch too big for my preference. I passed it along to a fellow member here on the forum.

Need to get out and put some rounds down range with my single stack 9mm RIA.

 

[Kruel J]

I picked one up a few months back from Bimart for $479. While the grip was comfortable, It was just a touch too big for my preference. I passed it along to a fellow member here on the forum.

Need to get out and put some rounds down range with my single stack 9mm RIA.

I have big hands.

 

[kmk1012]

I hear that buying a 1911 in 9mm is like buying a mustang with a v-6. I coulda had a v-8!

I like my 45ACP 1911 but my 10mm double stack 1911 is more like my diesel truck, has more power and keeps going and going. As to a 9mm 1911, that is on my short list, I don't mind V6's as I have to commute to work

 

[1911Fanatic]

I just ordered the Girsan MC 1911 from BiMart-Mart today. I pick it up tomorrow. Perhaps some of us guys and gals that are local to the Eugene area can meet up at a range sometime and compare our budget guns.