Thoughts on RIAs

[towboater]

I know some people have posted about them somewhat in other threads. Looking for your thoughts on them, any personal experiences, etc.

[50SR9]

Call me ignorant, I don't know what an RIA is.

[FFFarmer]

Great Question!!!!! I think I am going to start a thread on what some of these acronyms (or initials)

[DavidH1]

Call me ignorant, I don't know what an RIA is.

Rock Island Armory

[Treo]

When I got back into handguns the first gun I bought was an RIA mil spec 1911. It is a good gun I’ve never had a hiccup with it. The only problem I’ve noted is that the Parkerized finish is a little prone to rust, so you want to keep it well lubed.

[Almost_Blameless]

RIA's are produced in the Philipines, and are very low cost, but very very capable 1911 clones, strongly built, and true to design..at least in the G.I. series.

If you Google the RIA .45's you will see review after review of amazed people who after trying one, can go back and get the smaller version for easier carry, and still not be remortgaging their homes

[towboater]

Thanks for the insight. When I get home off the boat, I plan of getting a 1911 officers model. Can't beat it for 413....

[Firefighterchen]

http://www.usacarry.com/forums/general-firearm-discussion/20917-abbreviations.html

Here is the abbreviations thread. Maybe we should get it stickied?

RIA? Rock Island Armory

[Tucker's Mom]

Good info...I will look into this and see if I can fit myself another gun that will not go down the bottom of the Pacific. Thanks guysss...

[jsimmons]

I have a RIA FS Tactical in .45ACP. It's a decent pistol. I got it because it was inexpensive. I also have a massaged Springfield GI model. The massaging was the result of sending it through the Springfield Custom Shop where they applied their defense package, lowered/flared the ejection port, installed a match barrel bushing, and added Novak 3-dot sights. When I got the RIA, it had an ambi-safety and a full-length guide rod, which I immediately swapped out for standard parts because a FLGR requires tools to field strip, and I think that's kinda pointless. Anyway, I took it to the range a few weeks ago (almost 10 months after buying it), along with my massaged Springfield GI.

I was shocked and disappointed at the 9-inch group I was shooting at 25 yards with the RIA, and figured it might be because I was a bit rusty. So, I broke out the Springfield, and proceeded to shoot a 3-inch group (same ammo, same distance).

When I got home from the range, I ordered a Storm Lake barrel/bushing kit and a Grieder adjustable match trigger from Brownells. Both parts were drop-ins requiring absolutely no fitting at all. Went back to the range, and the first two shots out of the pistol produced a ragged hole bullseye at 10 yards. Just - wow.

While I had the pistol disassembled for trigger installation, I noticed that the sear had two pretty deep diagonal machining grooves in it. They were so deep that I didn't think the pistol would be safe if I stoned the sear, so my next mod is to replace the sear/disconnector/hammer. However, base on how the pistol is performing right now, I can demote the priority of that adjustment pretty low on my list of "things I want to do to my guns".

For what it's worth, it's very possible that leaving the FLGR on the pistol may have improved the out-of-the-box accuracy, I'd rather have a pistol that can be field stripped without having to worry about whether or not I have the tool on-hand. At the same time, the Storm Lake barrel is most definitely a reasonable purchase for anyone that wants a little more accuracy out of their pistol.

Final note: The Springfield with mods has cost me about $950 (not including extra magazines). Yes, it's "just a GI model, and yes, I realize that I put almost $500 into the pistol that I will probably never be able to recoup if I were to sell it. Compare that cost to the RIA, which has cost me about $600 (including mods), and is even more accurate than the Springfield at this point. Customizing an RIA to any great extent is akin to polishing a turd, especially if you're thinking you're gonna get your money back on your investment. I don't buy my guns with an eye toward resale value or what they look like. I simply want them to serve their purpose to the best extent possible. If that means throwing a bit of extra money at them, so be it.

Oh yeah - when/if you get an RIA, be prepared to get new grips. The ones that come on them are smooth and perfectly useless. I bought plain checkered ones for mine.