Welcome to MGO's Internet Discussion Forums…Please Consider Becoming a Dues-Paying Member of the ORG…Click >>>>>HERE<<<<< for more info…………****DONATIONS**** can also be made toward MGO's Legal Defense Fund and/or MGO's Forums >>>>>HERE<<<<<

Firearms Legal Protection

Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    I am a Forum User
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Rochester Hills,Mi.
    Posts
    4,125

    Rock Island Armory -Compact GI model (3.5" barrel) range report

    I'm guessing they can't call it an Officers model , as Colt probably has a trademark
    for their 3.5" barrel, shorter (than a typical Govt. or Commander) sized grip frame, 1911.

    In any case, I'd call it a Officer model 1911, 'cause that's the best description of it's size.

    I purchased my RIA Compact from a posting found on MGO..guy I bought it from purchased it new, as an impulse buy, then decided to sell it (before even shooting it ?) that's what he said, anyway. Upon close examination, it did appear unfired. No wear or friction marks on the magazine, barrel, slide, or frame,& it came in the factory hard plastic case, with owners/instruction manual, & an M/T .45 case.

    I found the manual interesting in that it states the pistol is made to shoot hardball ammo (230 gr FMJ) ammo only. As a longtime hand loader, I shoot cast bullets almost exclusively. I do load some JHP's and FMJ loads as well, but most my shooting is with cast bullets. (More on this later)

    Took it to the range a few times, usually shoot 100 rds, thru each pistol I take, when I go to the range. Though I hate GI style sights.(.'cause I can barely see them) I was able to shoot it about as well @ 7yds as I do a Commander or Govt sized 1911..which surprised me. I thought the short barrel would have the gun jumping around more.. I was actually able to group them in & around the bullseye (about 1.5" in dia.) which is good shooting (for me). I love to shoot, but never claimed to be a great shot..I do shoot to have fun.

    Didn't have any FTE or FTC in the first 500 rounds,..( the manual suggests a break in period of that amount) pistol seemed remarkably tight (slide to frame fit, & barrel lock up) Trigger was OK, out of the box, hated the cheap wood grips & replaced them with Hogue rubber wrap-around grips (with finger grooves).. much better. Barrel is flared by the muzzle & take down is a bit different than the Govt/Commanders I'm used to..there's a bushing the FL guide rod goes into that complicates things a bit, 'till you get used to disassembly. Once learned, it's as easy as any 1911 to break down.

    After shooting the break in rounds, I started trying different cast bullets I had loaded for my other 45's..I started to get a lot of FTF.. ejections weren't a problem. The rounds fired in all my other 1911's, I had 230 RN, 230TC , 200 SWC & TC's, 185 swc's, and even 155gr swc's (shaped like a Hershey kiss chocolate drop).. All the cast bullets would chamber only about ..90% I could usually push the slide closed with my thumb & it'd fire, but hey..somethings wrong! I varied seating depth (don't know why I didn't think to do a prop test in this barrel, but I didn't) After my last frustrating attempt to shoot cast bullets @ the range, decided to take it to my gunsmith, for him to take a look @ it. He quickly noticed the slide was hanging up a bit on the disconnector.. he filed a bit on the underside of the slide, to angle it a bit where it contacts the disconnector, then he removed the disconnector & polished it's tip , in case there was any roughness on it's surface. This helped smooth the slide's action, but test firing, still wouldn't go completely into battery, after firing first shot. He miked my reloads & they were in spec..I'd switched from RCBS to Lee dies, so I could use the Lee factory crimp die ( & stop having to tighten the decapping pin on the RCBS dies!)

    Next he removed the barrel & using a go-no go gauge, determined the front of the chamber was too tight.a bullet wouldn't drop in as far as it should, and when inverted, the round would stick in the barrel, instead of falling out. Got out his chamber reamer & opened it up a bit. Repeated test, & was still a little tight, so reamed a bit more.Washed out barrel & reassembled. Test fired & it ran like it was supposed to.. Slide was failing to lock back, so he suggested I try a different slide lock, as I said I had a few in my parts stash. Apparently he tweeked the sear spring a bit, cause the trigger is a bit nicer (lighter) than it was, Hope to put a few rounds through it later tonight or in the a.m...

    So in conclusion I was a bit disappointed to learn that the chamber wasn't reamed properly from the factory. But that may not be true.. the pistol did function as it should with FMJ ammo, it was only a problem when switching to cast bullets. Not sure what was going on with the disconnector.Didn't seem to be a problem initially, then with use, became evident it was causing drag against the slide.I've owned a fair number of 1911's over the years, the problems I encountered were a first for me, frustrating when attempting to shoot cast bullets, but the manual does state it's made for FMJ's..so maybe I'm making it more of a problem than it is. Gunsmith explained the cast bullet may be sized a little larger than the FMJ's , causing the problem.. I'm looking forward to putting some more lead down range, just to make sure it's ready to eat whatever I feed it.

    I just found some model paint in my son's room, painted the top of the front sight a flat white color, should help it stand out more, when sighting on a black target. Also swapped out the slide lock, to see if it locks open after last round.. (To be continued..)

  2. #2
    Send it back to Rock Island. Nothing personal, but IME I would not take it to anyone else B-4 contacting RIA since their pistols have a lifetime warranty that goes with the gun no matter who owns it. I have used their warranty service more than once, and found it to be as good if not better than any other mfg. (They turned one of my tacticals into a true target pistol @ no charge!)

    You could also go here for some no-BS info on almost any 1911 categorized according to mfg. It is probably the best 1911 forum you can find -

    http://forum.m1911.org/forum.php.

    You can voice your concerns to some real experts there and get some valuable answers/advice, esp with such a short barreled pistol.

    Good luck.

  3. #3
    I am a Forum User
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Rochester Hills,Mi.
    Posts
    4,125
    Thanks for your advice...I understand your stance.
    I took my RIA to my gunsmith for him to take a look @ it
    & get his opinion. He is a Master Gunsmith, & builds high end
    competitive 1911's for professional shooters. I'd trust his work
    on a gun more than anyone working in anyone's repair facility.
    In fact he repaired a pistol that had just been "fixed" by Taurus's
    repair department. He disassembled, checking the internal parts &
    was making adjustments as he progressed.

    After he finished , he ran a magazine full of my loads through
    the gun without any further feeding problems.

    Plan on a range trip this a.m to run some more & see how the
    replaced slide stop works..

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by joepistol View Post
    Thanks for your advice...I understand your stance.
    I took my RIA to my gunsmith for him to take a look @ it
    & get his opinion. He is a Master Gunsmith, & builds high end
    competitive 1911's for professional shooters. I'd trust his work
    on a gun more than anyone working in anyone's repair facility.
    In fact he repaired a pistol that had just been "fixed" by Taurus's
    repair department. He disassembled, checking the internal parts &
    was making adjustments as he progressed.

    After he finished , he ran a magazine full of my loads through
    the gun without any further feeding problems.

    Plan on a range trip this a.m to run some more & see how the
    replaced slide stop works..

    If he's who I think he is I agree with you

  5. #5
    I am a Forum User
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Shelby Township
    Posts
    244
    Quote Originally Posted by joepistol View Post
    Thanks for your advice...I understand your stance.
    I took my RIA to my gunsmith for him to take a look @ it
    & get his opinion. He is a Master Gunsmith, & builds high end
    competitive 1911's for professional shooters. I'd trust his work
    on a gun more than anyone working in anyone's repair facility.
    In fact he repaired a pistol that had just been "fixed" by Taurus's
    repair department. He disassembled, checking the internal parts &
    was making adjustments as he progressed.

    After he finished , he ran a magazine full of my loads through
    the gun without any further feeding problems.

    Plan on a range trip this a.m to run some more & see how the
    replaced slide stop works..
    I live near Rochester Hills and am looking for a top-notch gunsmith to work on my RIA and other 1911's. Would you mind sharing who that is that you use? PM is OK if you don't want to put it in the open forum.

    Thanks!

  6. #6
    I am a Forum User
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Rochester Hills,Mi.
    Posts
    4,125
    Not a big secret (well he may be to some) but I've mentioned his name frequently in posts on MGO about
    problems he's fixed for me.. His name is Doug Jones.. his shop is more known for a service he provides,
    the Acc-u-rail (www. Acc-u-rail.com) system.

    Doug is a great guy and does the work of such quality that he really doesn't advertise.
    Shooters / gun owners seek him out. He doesn't really have slow periods.
    I used to tell him, let me know when things slow down & I'll bring in (whatever firearm
    I need or want some work to be done) until I learned he doesn't have slow periods.

    Now ,if I want something done, I talk to him about what I want & ask him if I should
    bring it in..When I do, I ask him how long he thinks it'll be before it's done.
    I tell him "no rush" & I mean it.( I never want anyone working on my guns to rush
    to finish work.) I may say, I'll call & check with you, if he says "give me 2 weeks",
    and I'll call & ask. If it's not ready, I'll ask..when should I check back with you ?
    I do this to give him as much time as he needs to complete the work.

    I also don't argue or try & get him to lower his price. A skilled person has
    to eat, pay insurance & overhead, to stay in business. I don't want him
    to go out of business. I've suggested that he should raise his prices, on several occassions.

    Whatever he charges will be fair for the quality of work that he does.
    My experience supports this.

    and if anyone wonders, I did take my RIA Compact to the range today..
    fired 100 rds of my cast bullet handloads, #50 230 LRN & #50 200 gr SWC's
    all fed, fired, ejected without a hick up.. The slide locked back every time
    (after changing the slide stop) It's a reliable 1911 now..Joepistol...

  7. #7
    [QUOTE=joepistol;2589033]Not a big secret (well he may be to some) but I've mentioned his name frequently in posts on MGO about
    problems he's fixed for me.. His name is Doug Jones..



    That's who I thot it was

  8. #8
    I am a Forum User
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Rochester Hills,Mi.
    Posts
    4,125
    oops repeat
    Last edited by joepistol; 04-05-2015 at 03:15 PM. Reason: repeat post

  9. #9
    I am a Forum User
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Saginaw Twp (the good part)
    Posts
    10,684
    my 9mm compact was cool, but it weighed a ton and was pointless to have a short barreled version for something I would NEVER carry so I sold it. I am thinking about another tactical model in full size and .45acp this time around. I like that all black with VZ grips and fiber optic sight setup like my compact had.

  10. #10
    I am a Forum User
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Rochester Hills,Mi.
    Posts
    4,125
    Thought I should update this thread I wrote some time ago...
    Took my RIA M-1911CS (aka officer model-sized 1911) to the range yesterday.
    Took along 185 gr Bayou coated swc's. & some 230gr FMJ loads, as it's been awhile since I shot this pistol.
    Pistol functioned flawlessly..no FTFs, no FTE's.. was surprised @ how well it shot, with both loads I tried.
    The white paint I used on the top of the front sight allowed my eyes to pick up the sight against a black bullseye on my target.
    Able to blow the center out of the bullseye @ 21 ft.. which is good for my eyes & shooting skill.
    Began thinking how little I'd done to this pistol, & how well it shot.
    Well, in all honesty, Doug's tweaking did a lot to improve the cast bullet feeding..

    I should also admit, I swapped grips & this now wears some aggressive textured G-10 type hand stocks.

    I really had no need for this size 1911.. I bought it just to see if the criticism I'd read
    about the short barreled (3.5") 1911's chambered in 45 acp was true (?) & now believe it may just be OPINION..
    not based on fact. Doesn't seem like my inexpensive RIA needed much to get it reliable & accurate.
    So, that's my update..I still dislike the FL guide rod /bushing system used on the bull barrel this pistol has,
    but also wonder if it's a reason that the pistol delivers greater accuracy than I would have expected, in such a short barrel.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
only search Michigan Gun Owners Forums
MGO's Facebook MGO's Twitter