I’m looking for a 1911 to cut my teeth on. Relatively inexpensive, and I’d like a 9mm. This would be strictly a range toy, and a base gun to play gunsmith on should I choose to do so. However, I like all of my firearms to be able to be pressed into service if need be.
The ones I’ve been eye banging are…
Rock Island Tactical - At $430, the price can’t be beat. I also love the looks of it (this is a range toy 1911, so the rare area where aesthetics would matter). For the price, I wouldn’t feel bad about testing things like Cerakote and fitting parts.
STI Spartan - I understand it’s a very similar pistol coming from the same plant (sidenote : how much of this pistol does STI touch?). I’ve also read that the STI parts make it well worth the extra $200. However, I hate the aesthetics of this 1911 and prefer the RIA’s Novak cuts.
Would the $200 price difference be enough to bring the RIA up to the STI “standard”? How bad of a gun is the RIA Tactical 9mm out of the box?
If I take a liking to the RIA, what would bringing it up to carry gun standards entail - or is it a losing battle? I’ve heard they make good bases for build 1911s, but how much money / work is needed to bring it up to par?
Any other info on these two 1911s - particularly how they stack up against one another - would be greatly appreciated. Solid information is kind of scarce.
My first 1911 was a Spartan in .45. It has been 100% reliable and has worked with every magazine brand. People like RIA stuff for the most part. Every once in a while I hear of a lemon but their customer service always makes things right.
I don’t think you can go wrong with either but if it was up to me STI is a US (Texas) company. Even though the frame is from the Philippines I believe the rest of the gun is US made.
I have a RIA my son gave me as Christmas gift in 2010. I did some work to it and it functions well. I did not like the front sight dovetail as it is “proprietary” as to depth of the notch. It was cut deeper than most. I had to correct this to install a Dawson Precision front sight.
A couple of the people I shoot with have 9mm STI Spartans. If I were to buy one I would buy the Spartan. I do think they are worth the $200 difference.
Hi guys-
We provide the fire control parts to Armscorp who builds the Spartans to our specs (with their barrels, frames, and slides.) We get the completed guns in, run them through our QC, and handle any warranty work here in Texas but the guns themselves are not built here.
Dollar for Dollar, I’d rather have the STI, at a minimum, you get STI’s fire control parts and if needed, STI’s Texas based gunsmiths if there is an issue.
I’ve got a RIA tactical and couldn’t be happier with it, i’ve owned several Springfields which are my favs and thist RIA shoots just as good, pretty good bang for the buck.
Have the STI spartan here in 9mm and love it. It ran fine from the box but i did add and aftec extractor as all my competition 9mm/40 have them for added insurance. I run the tripp mags for 10 round or the metalform “springfield” mags for 9 rounds
My RIA hasn’t had a single malf shooting factory ammo or my reloads. My SA MIL-SPEC just Malf’d on Sunday with what must have been an odd reload problem. (wouldn’t chamber the round.)
I don’t see the STI being worth a heck of a lot more than the RIA. It isn’t like you’re getting custom fitting with the STI or anything. I also don’t recommend spending extra for the RIA tactical. Get the bottom of the barrel model and if you think something needs changing, go for it…
I own a RIA “tactical” 9mm 1911 and it is a fantastic gun for the money. That said, I plan on ordering an STI Trojan 5.0 within the next few months to use as my long term competition gun.
I have a RIA tactical 9mm 1911, and I’ve been more than happy with it. Initially had several problems. 300 rounds later, and a new magazines, and she has been flawless for the last several hundred rounds. The finish will come off with use, but I plan on duracoting later anyways. Even seems to work with the original magazine now.
I don’t think the STI is much “better,” especially considering they are made both made in the philipines and this one is mainly a range toy, but YMMV.
A nice way to get into the platform without spending an arm and a leg. Good magazines aren’t cheap, either.
I’ve never played with the RIA but I did buy a STI Spartan in .45 when they were first introduced. I hated that gun. Very poor fit, barrel was really thin-walled and would not feed hollowpoints. I did have a STI Trojan in 9mm that I regret every getting rid of. Very nice gun and well made.
My RIA tac runs fine with ball, and with the included Checkmate mags feeds HP without a problem. The $40 Wilson mags on the other hand only sometimes feed HP’s. Other then that issue sucker runs like a top, very accurate.
I really like my old Colt 70 series. It was one of the reimported ex Israeli police guns. Cost me 650 bucks. If you are patient and willing to search high and low they are out there. Worth the extra money compared to a foreign gun and you can always get your money back out of it later.
