A review of the Rock Island Armory 1911 in .38 Super
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:44 am
I have decided to retroactively review guns that I own or have owned to see how they stack up to use and carry.
I do this because for too long we have been subjected to reviews of guns right out of the box. Well that's all well and fine for a first impression, but how well is it holding up after 6000 rounds? I have had just about everything happen to my guns, especially my 1911's as I shoot them a tremendous amount. So I want to review those guns that I have thoroughly wrung out.
Pics are behind the title links.
This is a review of the Rock Island Armory 1911
Caliber: .38 Super/9mm
Time owned prior to review: 3 years
Round count: approx 150 .38 Super, 480 9mm
Condition at purchase: New
Carry Gun: No
Custom work: Yes
This is a gun I really want to like. I purchased it three years ago for a comparison test I was doing for my internet gun forum of .38 super vs a .357 sig. Retrospectively I realize I should buy a .357 sig barrel and put it in one of my Delta Elites so I may re run this test.
The gun had problems out of the box, it had trouble feeding two types of ball ammo and forget about hollow point. I swapped mags and lightly polished the ramp and no joy. Stymied in running my test I brought it to my gunsmith and asked him while he was at it to drop in a 9mm barrel so I had a cheaper plinker in the 1911 platform that I could use and my girlfriend could shoot, as she likes that combo. I ended up getting her a Kimber 9mm which I will review in a bit.
This is where the going got expensive. He polished it up and got it working with .38 Super, but he didn't like the look of the internals. He routinely fixes guns that don't meet his standards and I am fine with that, he has always been fair in his pricing as well, if not a little under for me. He tried to swap out the internals for the gun and after taking them all out he could never get any parts working right, the gun was pretty far out of spec. With a super human effort he could have got them running he told me, but why bother? It worked ok with the parts it had and if it broke just send it off under warranty.
Now, never casually tell your smith to just drop in a barrel if he is a master 1911 smith and persnickety, I escaped the cost of the fiddling to get it right but not the cost of the conversion. With a Clark Custom barrel, new bushing and new sear I have the most accurate 9mm 1911 ever made. Which throws brass right into your face. Or down your shirt, which is why I bought a Kimber for my lady as an apology. No matter what he did or I did could get the gun throwing brass to the right, and the solution was going to cost as much as I had in the gun.
Speaking of which, the conversion and reliability and feeding issue was $600! Ouch. Should have used the warranty, especially as how much good stuff I have heard about customer service. It's not the guns fault totally, I got it throwing just a hair over now, and it runs both ammo types but I am just disappointed that is was so far out of spec. Perhaps I ought to send it in and get the slide replaced or something, but then my 9mm might need to be refitted.
The gun is ok, it has great reviews, but I am not entirely happy about it, partly because I spent more than the gun on it, and partly that a renowned gunsmith gave up on it in disgust. That and the brass issue keeps me from having that warm and fuzzy feeling I have for many of my guns.
I do this because for too long we have been subjected to reviews of guns right out of the box. Well that's all well and fine for a first impression, but how well is it holding up after 6000 rounds? I have had just about everything happen to my guns, especially my 1911's as I shoot them a tremendous amount. So I want to review those guns that I have thoroughly wrung out.
Pics are behind the title links.
This is a review of the Rock Island Armory 1911
Caliber: .38 Super/9mm
Time owned prior to review: 3 years
Round count: approx 150 .38 Super, 480 9mm
Condition at purchase: New
Carry Gun: No
Custom work: Yes
This is a gun I really want to like. I purchased it three years ago for a comparison test I was doing for my internet gun forum of .38 super vs a .357 sig. Retrospectively I realize I should buy a .357 sig barrel and put it in one of my Delta Elites so I may re run this test.
The gun had problems out of the box, it had trouble feeding two types of ball ammo and forget about hollow point. I swapped mags and lightly polished the ramp and no joy. Stymied in running my test I brought it to my gunsmith and asked him while he was at it to drop in a 9mm barrel so I had a cheaper plinker in the 1911 platform that I could use and my girlfriend could shoot, as she likes that combo. I ended up getting her a Kimber 9mm which I will review in a bit.
This is where the going got expensive. He polished it up and got it working with .38 Super, but he didn't like the look of the internals. He routinely fixes guns that don't meet his standards and I am fine with that, he has always been fair in his pricing as well, if not a little under for me. He tried to swap out the internals for the gun and after taking them all out he could never get any parts working right, the gun was pretty far out of spec. With a super human effort he could have got them running he told me, but why bother? It worked ok with the parts it had and if it broke just send it off under warranty.
Now, never casually tell your smith to just drop in a barrel if he is a master 1911 smith and persnickety, I escaped the cost of the fiddling to get it right but not the cost of the conversion. With a Clark Custom barrel, new bushing and new sear I have the most accurate 9mm 1911 ever made. Which throws brass right into your face. Or down your shirt, which is why I bought a Kimber for my lady as an apology. No matter what he did or I did could get the gun throwing brass to the right, and the solution was going to cost as much as I had in the gun.
Speaking of which, the conversion and reliability and feeding issue was $600! Ouch. Should have used the warranty, especially as how much good stuff I have heard about customer service. It's not the guns fault totally, I got it throwing just a hair over now, and it runs both ammo types but I am just disappointed that is was so far out of spec. Perhaps I ought to send it in and get the slide replaced or something, but then my 9mm might need to be refitted.
The gun is ok, it has great reviews, but I am not entirely happy about it, partly because I spent more than the gun on it, and partly that a renowned gunsmith gave up on it in disgust. That and the brass issue keeps me from having that warm and fuzzy feeling I have for many of my guns.