Rock Island Armoury M1911 A1 9mm Review

If you’re in the market for a 1911 and you don’t want to break the bank then you should consider the Rock Island Armoury M1911-A1.

This is a budget no frills 1911 that works but then for a budget price you get what u pay for. It has fixed GI sights, the front blade is small and skinny, and these are not target sights. The good news is that when your budget allows you to you can upgrade the sights, since there are numerous manufacturers of after-market bits for 1911. These will slot straight in.

The mags feel and look tinny but they work. The capacity of the single stack mag is 9, not high capacity so you might want to invest in extra magazines. There again you will find heaps of low cost spare magazines for the Rock. The magazine spring is light and easy to load. A lot lighter than say a Glock magazine spring. I am a bit concerned about the longevity of this spring it feels like a .22 magazine but so far it’s been feeding the 1911 perfectly and they are cheap to replace if need be.

The only feed issues with the 1911 have been on reloads with the odd round not returning the next one fully into the breach. The slide spring will take factory rounds down to loads using 3.0 grains of ADI AS30N powder and 135 grain projectiles. So you can download a bit on the standard spring and still get it to cycle. If the slide doesn’t fully close on loading the next round it has a firing pin safety so you can’t pull the trigger. The Rock also has a back-strap safety and a manual safety cocking lever.

The safety lever, magazine release and slide locking lever are all located on the right side so they aren’t ambidextrous, but remember this is a budget build.

Other than that what you would expect with a 1911 is certainly the case with the Rock, nice grip angle, crisp trigger and that classic 1911 style.

This is not a precision target shooting pistol, but if you want a base model 1911 that you can customise and work on or just have some fun shooting then  it’s a pretty good base to start from.

Overall I would rate this handgun 7 out of 10, the worst points being the sights and magazines. However it does live up to a great value for money 1911.

Specifications

Weight ; 38 Ounces (1.09kg)

Lenght ; 7&3/4 inches (197mm)

Barrel Lenght ; 5 inches (127mm)

Width ; 1.5 inch (38mm)

Height ; 5.45 imches (138mm)

• Ordnance grade 4140 steel construction
• 100% part compatibility with US G.I.
• Flat grooved steel mainspring housing
• Calibers: .45 ACP, .38 Super, 9 mm Luger
• Finishes: blued, Parkerized, nickel
• Grooved trigger
• Approx. 5¼ lbf (23 N) trigger pull
• Non-checkered smooth wooden grips