Rock Island\Springfield 1911

[slowz1k]

I'm looking for an "affordable" 45 on a 1911 platform. I've pretty much narrowed it down to the mil-spec Rock Island, and the Springfield ($100 more). There are a ton of reviews out there on both, but I thought I would see if anyone here has any trigger time with either of these models. I know that neither will be a tack driver, but I'm not planning on entering matches with it either. I just want a no frills, reliable 45.

Advice and comments welcome

[Long_Hunter]

I have a Springfield 1911; it is very much a clone of the Colt that I carried years ago. It is a no frills, meat & potato gun and very solid. I have not added anything to this one, leaving it unmoddified; mine has checkered walnut grips that are very sentimental.
It is a solid, dependable firearm that upholds its namesakes legacy.

I do not own the RI version nor have I fired one, so no comment there.

Good luck,
LH

[Bayou Blaster]

Nothing like John Browning's 1911. I own a Kimber Stainless Target II myself.

Of the two firearms specified, I would personally lean towards the Springfield mil spec; customer service and fit being the overiding factors. As with most 1911's they require a break-in period (especially tighter tolerance 45s) and run best when well lubricated. Another cost saving 1911 is the Taurus; it comes with about $600 dollars worth of custom features at no extra cost and a lifetime warranty. The RIA is not really a bad gun for the money after some minor tweeks which may depending on how your gun runs, put it in the price range of a springfield mil spec or beyond. Even the higher priced 1911s are not immune to needing some minor fitting/polishing/better mags or an extended break-in period. I have had shot both firerarms: a well broken-in springfield and a New RIA. The RIA had some hicups with JHP ammo; not uncommon with 1911s. A polished feed ramp and throat would have solved this problem I believe.

Here are some links to reviews of the RIA 45

http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/review/RIA.htm

http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/tech/ria_reliability.htm

Good Luck with your decision.

[TLman]

I'm picking up a springfield mil spec at the end of the week. Got it for $600 out the door, so it's not to steep a price. I've also been looking at an ria commander model, thinking that might be my next purchase :D

[Bayou Blaster]

I was also considering getting the Springfield Mil-Spec or their GI model to go with my WWII firearms. Got the opportunity to buy the Kimber Stainless Target II at cost; I could not pass up a deal like that. Good Luck with your mil-spec.

[slowz1k]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm leaning towards the Springfield, but my wallet might prefer the RIA. I'm still a few weeks out from purchasing, so we'll see. The Taurus is tempting, but it seems that most of the reviews that I've read, have owners replacing internals due to failures. I had a PT-92 a few years back, and had no complaints. I know your gonna hear more bad than good on most reviews. It's just human nature to gripe about what's wrong, rather than praise what's right. the Taurus just seems to be getting beatup a little more than the others.

[Bayou Blaster]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm leaning towards the Springfield, but my wallet might prefer the RIA. I'm still a few weeks out from purchasing, so we'll see. The Taurus is tempting, but it seems that most of the reviews that I've read, have owners replacing internals due to failures. I had a PT-92 a few years back, and had no complaints. I know your gonna hear more bad than good on most reviews. It's just human nature to gripe about what's wrong, rather than praise what's right. the Taurus just seems to be getting beatup a little more than the others.

When I was managing a gun store, we could not keep enough of the Taurus PT 1911s in stock. We got excellent feedback from our customers. Truthfully we only got one customer that was not happy with his Taurus 1911. He complained of jams while using JHP ammo. He really DID NOT experiment with different brands to find out what the firearm functioned best with. 1911s are notorious for loving round ball ammo. He really did not shoot enough rounds through it, to break it in.

Corbon's Pow`Rball Ammunition is very reliable and I recommend for problematic/finicky 1911s that jam with JHP ammo. Basically it is a JHP round with a plastic ball to facilitate feeding.

BTW I own the Taurus PT99 AF which is just an adjustable sight version of the PT-92 and love it. No problems with it at all and very accurate. It loves 115gr Winchester Silvertips. Again Good Luck with your decision. Let us know what you finally get and your opinion of it.:)

[Granddad]

You seem to be in the same boat as I'm in; I can't decide which
1911 to get.

My youngest son has a Kimber Stainless II, and it is very nice, so
I'm leaning towards them, probably a Custom.

I've heard VERY good reviews about the RIA "Tactical."

I've met some very satisfied Taurus 1911 owners.

I've even looked at a Charles Daly .45, which I understand is made
by the same folks who make RIA .45's.

I DO know that I want a 'slightly' enhanced 1911 that I will shoot
the hell out of, I just don't know which one to get.

Decisions, decisions.

[Bayou Blaster]

Granddad

I'm not a fan of Charles Daly Firearms. They have had a less than stellar history/reputation. They have recently though been importing firearms from some better/reputable manufacturers. The RIA 1911 45 is manufactured in the Phillipines by the way. The only difference between my Kimber Stainless Target II and a Stainless II from what I can tell is the Bowmar Style sights on the Target II. Down here in the south I've got a thing for stainless firearms, plus barrel life is increased due to the high chrome content in stainless. I have seen nothing but excellent customer service and turn-around times from Kimber. They don't ask about a round count and test the firearm throughly before returning it. Stay away from any Kimber 1911 with an external extractor (just don't run right long term). Taurus turn-around time is about the same as Springfield if not a little better. From experience Springfield's usually won't look at a finicky 1911 unless it has a round count of 500 plus. If you intend to shoot the hell out of your 1911, I would recommend buying a quality firearm from a quality/well established manufacturer. Additionally, full size 1911s tend to run better long term than the chopped/smaller style 1911s. Good Luck with your decision and ultimate choice.

Heres another review of the RIA:

http://ezine.m1911.org/RIATactical.htm

[beebopcop]

I'm looking for an "affordable" 45 on a 1911 platform. I've pretty much narrowed it down to the mil-spec Rock Island, and the Springfield ($100 more). There are a ton of reviews out there on both, but I thought I would see if anyone here has any trigger time with either of these models. I know that neither will be a tack driver, but I'm not planning on entering matches with it either. I just want a no frills, reliable 45.

Advice and comments welcome

I have owned the RIA. My only complaint that I had with it was that the safety came off to easy, other than that it was a good shooter. I own a Spingfield Micro compact and it is an excellent gun and as someone else said it stands up to the reputation of it's name. I resently bought a Taurus PT 1911 and I have struck pay dirt. This thing is a shooter right from the factory. Crisp trigger pull and with upgrades that you would pay a great deal extra for in other guns I have no complaints. The barrell and feed ramp are polished and throated so that it eats any ammo you feed it. I'm hanging on to this one.
bbc

[Granddad]

Even though this isn't my thread, I'm learning a lot from it.

Thanks, fellas, for your timely responses and good info.

The two manufacturers that pop up most often when I think
about which .45 to get is, in order, "Kimber" and "Taurus."
I'm keeping an open mind about it, though, which is half the fun.
I mentioned the RIA and Charles Daly .45's because of that.

The only size I am thinking about is a full-size 5" model.

I like stainless; my Ruger 9mm is stainless; but the look of a
well-used and worn 1911 has always appealed to me, too.

Kimber is at the top of the list because I have actually shot them,
and MAN are they sweet! I would love to shoot a Taurus because
of all the positive reviews I have heard, and it looks to be a great
deal for the money. I have hefted several lately, and they at least
LOOK appealing.

Great thread, and timely, too (for me at least, since I am in the
market for one).

[sharpshooter039]

here is another vote for the Taurus pt1911,I bought one of the stainless models the week they came out,Best out of the box 1911 I have ever shot.After shooting it a few weeks I sold my Springfield loaded model,Most of the complaints you here about the Taurus is because it is a series 80 model and not series 70,This only means it has an extra saftey inside and that can be removed if wanted,Both the Taurus and the Springfield have about the same quality internal parts,If you want all Milled internal parts you are going to have to step up to something like a Wilson and spend a couple grand

[Bayou Blaster]

Kimber and Taurus Both Great Firearms

Most people don't know that Kimber manufactured parts for Wilson for seven years:

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=183961

Forjas Taurus S/A (Taurus Forge) are manufactured in Brazil
Brazil is well known/regarded for their firearms and weapons industry.
A lot of people down play or bad mouth Taurus with out the benifit of first hand knowledge. They wrongly assume that because Taurus Firearms are manufactured in South America they are junk. Nothing can be further from the truth.
This is what most people don't know about Taurus:

In 1970, the Bangor Punta Corporation, then the parent company of Smith & Wesson, purchased 54 percent of Forjas Taurus, allowing the two firearms manufacturers to easily share information regarding design and manufacturing. In 1977, Taurus was purchased from Bangor Punta by its current owners, and its ties to Smith & Wesson were severed.

In 1980, after Italian arms manufacturer Beretta had completed its contracts to produce firearms for Brazil's military, Taurus purchased Beretta's São Paulo manufacturing plant along with the tooling, technical drawings, and work force necessary to produce several different pistol designs.

As you can see,this company has benefitted greatly from it's affairs/liasons with these two firearm industry giants. They also employ computer numerically controlled (CNC) machinery. Taurus has also purchased the Italian Firearms maker Rossi.


The Taurus PT 1911 features a hammer forged frame, slide and barrel. Hammer forging is old school metalurgy and in my opinion better than any extruded or investment castings used in some current firearms. The service life of hammer forged components is much longer than castings. They come fully loaded with approximately $600 to $1600 worth of premium accessories built-in as standard equipment. Many of the PT 1911 internals are hand fitted as well. The only thing that 1911 purist maybe have a problem with on the Taurus PT 1911 is the Security System safety key lock.

Both the Kimber and Taurus are excellent firearms and should serve the buyer/shooter well. Like I mentioned before: From experience as a Gun Store Manager I noticed that Kimber had an excellent turn around time. Taurus turnaround time for repair work was noticeably longer.

Hope this helps.

[pathfinder3081]

I have a RI 1911. The price was cheap or less than the others out there a couple of years ago. I had stove pipe problems on cheap ammo. I tweeked the extractor with a file abit and it did better for a box or two, then returned. Most of the parts will interchange with a colt. The extractor will not. It does alright now for the most part. Might need a little tweeking again though. I might have one problem ever so often out shooting a box. but it don't like wolf ammo (smile) probably a good thing. I would save another $100.00 buck or so and move up the road.

[Big_Saw]

I have a RI 1911. The price was cheap or less than the others out there a couple of years ago. I had stove pipe problems on cheap ammo. I tweeked the extractor with a file abit and it did better for a box or two, then returned. Most of the parts will interchange with a colt. The extractor will not. It does alright now for the most part. Might need a little tweeking again though. I might have one problem ever so often out shooting a box. but it don't like wolf ammo (smile) probably a good thing. I would save another $100.00 buck or so and move up the road.

I have an RI 1911 in .38 Super, and had the same stovepipes and misfeeds....the gun is superb, just get some decent mags for it, and you'll be fine....I ended up trading my nasty factory mags off for some gear.