Hey folks, it's your old pal 12-Gauge Chimp here with a brand new gun review.
Over the last few months, you might remember me mentioning buying a new handgun. I went back and forth, trying to decide just what kind of handgun I wanted. First I wanted a 9mm because I already have a box of 9mm rounds sitting in my ammo drawer, but then I looked at some .45 ACP pistols and decided I wanted one of those. That opened up a whole new can of worms and lead me down some interesting paths. Well, after a few months of saving up the money and deciding which gun I wanted, I finally got one. In the end, I purchased a Rock Island Armory GI Tactical 1911 in .45 ACP.
Now, for those of you who haven't heard of Rock Island Armory (or as I'll call them in the rest of the review, RIA), the company that makes the RIA line of 1911's, Armscor, has been around since 1952. It was originally a part of a gun store in Manilla called "Squires, Bingham and Co."which was founded sometime in 1911. Now, Armscor is based in the Philippines, but has a subsidiary in the US located in Nevada. An interesting little bit of info is that Armscor makes the STI Spartan line of 1911s as well as guns for Charles Daly (which is once again back in business) and the Auto-Ordnance 1911 pistols.
Enough history, on to my new gun.
Well, I placed the order for it with a local FFL dealer and a few days later, it arrived. Originally, I had a bit of a minor hiccup with the order. Either the FFL ordered the wrong gun by mistake or someone at the distribution center read the order wrong and shipped the basic GI model, which isn't the gun I wanted. After a little bit of work, they shipped the correct gun and I had it in my hands a few days later. It was no big deal, just kind of annoying. Anyway, I received a call from the FFL and went to his shop to pick it up. I spent about 40 minutes there, 30 minutes just sitting around talking with the FFL guy and 10 minutes doing the whole 4473/background check thing.
After paying for the gun, I brought it home and proceeded to wipe off the oil Armscor puts on their guns for shipping. After cleaning it up, I took a closer look at my gun. It appears to be very well made and after I do the factory recommended 500 round break in, it will become my CCW (Concealed Carry Weapon) after I receive my permit to carry a concealed weapon. A lot of people carry these guns, either in the full sized 5" model or the more compact 3" and 4" models.
Now, I haven't had the chance to get out and test my 1911 yet, but once the weather heats up and I get some more ammo, I will be giving you folks a full range report on the RIA GI Tactical 1911. I also can't give it the 12-Gauge Chimp seal of approval just yet, but I can say that if you're interested in a 1911 pistol that won't break the bank or make your wallet scream at you in seven different languages, a Rock Island Armory 1911 is the way to go.
As always, this is 12-Gauge Chimp signing off.
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