New member to the 1911 gang now!

[Bam Bam]

As FAL pointed out, they are adjustable, just not in the way most people think they are.

Keep at it BAM BAM, keep at it.

Once I am able to shot the pistol again using a rest and try differ ammo brands I will have a idea on how to "adjust the front sights". The front sight is definitely too tall and I have an idea on how much I might need to trim it down, but need to recheck it again. Like they say, measure twice, cut once!

I really appreciate the help from everyone with this gun. You learn new things all the time!

 

[Bam Bam]

Ok 2nd range trip with 3 types of ammo and using pistol rest. I did 2 separate groups with good ammo at different times. Both groups obviously 3 inches low using the "lollipop " sight which is how I shoot. So now I know what needs to be done.

Also I did get some cool screenshots off my super slomo videos I took to see the ejection, seems like it's a pretty decent 3 O'clock except for the Blazer ammo sent one nearly straight back into my face.

 

[V.Taltos]

I like Rock Island Armory. Congrats! Looks like a nice 1911

 

[Bam Bam]

This pistol likes the WWB 230 gr ammo, I had tried some Monarch and Blazer. It grouped horribly with the Monarch and Blazer wasn't much better.
I think I'm going to trim the front sight down to what the Dawson site says I need to verify the actual sight height I need first, then recheck it. I was supposed to check for brass hitting my slide in front of the ejection port which had happened on my first outing, but I was concentrating on POI vs POA and completely forget to check it.
Man I love that trigger on this Commander style gun. It breaks at 4.2 lbs pretty consistently. But I need to change glasses before I go back since bifocals aren't the easiest to deal with. I'll just get some cheap readers for this next time.

Thanks for all the advice guys!

 

[Bam Bam]

Here's a comparison of WWB to Monarch ammo groups. I won't buy that junk no more.
WWB on left, Monarch on right.

 

[Bam Bam]

Ok, so tonight I spent some time working on my sights on "RIA" . I had used Dawson Precision sight calculator for my sight dimensions I need so I remeasured everything again. My stock front sight blade is .180 tall, per D/P calculator I should have a .120 tall sight for a good 6 O'clock hold. So I decided to "trim" my front sight down to .150 and recheck it. So me and my dremel spent so quality time with RIA brought down the front sight to .148 then a little touch up on it and now we are ready to recheck it. Crazy thing is it's only .032 shorter but picking the gun up and checking the sights I can see there's a big difference in front sight height. Hopefully this is close to what I need to put me on target. If I trim it much lower I might not be able to see it. Lol I'll report back once I get out to the range again and get some more ammo.

 

[falshooter]

So it looks like shooting from the rest corrected the windage issue.

 

[Bam Bam]

So it looks like shooting from the rest corrected the windage issue.

Yes, it seems so. I am getting more and more use to this pistol and really like shooting it over most of my other Pistols, except for my Ruger 357 magnum which is my favorite all time shooter. I was very careful to breath slowly, relax and slowly squeeze the trigger. I did shoot one group and pulled one flier way right, started over on that one. Lol
Also I think I'm going to stick to WWB ammo for now since it was more consistent.

 

[Bam Bam]

**Lastest impressions.
This Rock Island 1911 MS is a nice pistol, quality is very nice even when compared to a new Springfield Mil-spec a friend had. Slide fit was slightly tighter on the Springfield, but trigger, safety, slide lock all feel better on RIA. The G10 grips I love and make controlling the thing easier. Function has been perfect except for one time the slide didn't lock back on the last rd of one of the Metalform mags. The bull barrel/guide rod setup is easy to D&A.

Pros:
Trigger
Ease of controls
Grips
Price

Cons:
Sights off (low)
Sights plain/hard to see (I painted them).


So this is definitely a keeper, but eyes will be on my next acquisition, suggestions???

 

[Bam Bam]

My 3 favorite pistols ever! My Taurus TX22 (left) Ruger Security Six 357 magnum (center) and the latest RIA 1911. Wish I would have bought a 1911 years ago. I wish my dad would have had one too.

 

[SVT Bansheeman]

What did you use to put a red dot on the tx22? replaced the rear sight with an adapter?

 

[Bam Bam]

What did you use to put a red dot on the tx22? replaced the rear sight with an adapter?

Yes, the rear sight removes easily (its plastic) so I ordered the correct plate, took a few minutes to file it down for a tight fit and bingo. Only issue I have is it sits the red dot up a little too high for my taste. But this just being a range toy I don't mind it. The red dot does help me be more accurate, just takes some getting use to the height of it. I eventually want to find a 9mm pistol that is "Optic Ready " to shoot with.

 

[Bam Bam]

Some late Saturday night range trip while wife was shopping. This gun loves WWB, but not Blazer, Monarch or Remington/UMC. Good news is my sights appear to be right where I want them. **Left side is first 3 shots with modified sights, right target is a full mag group (8 rds) and yes had 1 flier. Now to start gathering stuff to reload and find out what recipe it likes and make a buttload of it. Thanks to all who have helped me in this endeavor.

 

[Mitch Dufour]

Some late Saturday night range trip while wife was shopping. This gun loves WWB, but not Blazer, Monarch or Remington/UMC. Good news is my sights appear to be right where I want them. **Left side is first 3 shots with modified sights, right target is a full mag group (8 rds) and yes had 1 flier. Now to start gathering stuff to reload and find out what recipe it likes and make a buttload of it. Thanks to all who have helped me in this endeavor.

So the DIY sight adjustment did the trick for ya?

 

[Bam Bam]

So the DIY sight adjustment did the trick for ya?

Looks that way!

 

[Bam Bam]

I did have a few issues with the operation of the pistol though. I had at least 3-4 FTF properly. The slide didn't push the new shell out of the mag and into the chamber. I just pulled the slide back and released it to load gun, but strangely enough I couldn't bump it to load shell, but I didn't force anything. And the slide wasn't locking back on empty mags either. I was using the Metalform mags that have always worked fine in this gun. It did look like it was a little dry and I didn't bring any lube with me. Guess I'll clean and lube this thing up real good today.

 

[Bam Bam]

Gun was working perfectly till last night. I can see a issue with the mags , they have a notch on the nose of the follower that allows the spring to press up on the slide lock but the follower can still stay in correct orientation. But the factory ACT mag is different but it still works iirc. Not sure why they quit working correctly all of a sudden. I am going to research other types of mags to see how they look in this area. Does anyone have some mecgar mags or other brand mags that you can pics of so I can compare??

 

[Fugum]

I don't have any Mecgar mags, but I have a few others in .45acp. From left to right: Kimber, Colt, Wilson Combat. Hope this helps.

 

[drill sgt]

I can say that my Kimber 1911 did not like several different factory mags..... But ok with wilson combat/shooting star/and a couple other names that I cannot remember..........But factory mags would not work with reliability. ................................................... drill sgt.

 

[Mitch Dufour]

Wilson Combat 1911 mags have never failed me.