Category: 1911A2

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1911A2 45ACP base plate Century Arms magazines R1 Remington

Looking for mags that fit your RIA 1911A2?

When I bought my RIA 10mm 1911A2, I tried to order A2 mags from AdvancedTactical.com (Armscor parts/support site).  The showed as having plenty in stock but apparently, they were out, because my order sat for a month before I told them to cancel it.  In fact, they’re still showing as out of stock at the time of this posting.

I tried looking at other places but most stores are out of stock.  The only stores I saw that had them were in places like Alaska and Canada and they required $100 in purchases before they’d even consider sending to you (shipping was free, though).

I then saw in a 1911 FB group where a guy stated he’d bought Remington R1 .45ACP double-stack mags and that the mags latched into the gun.  The mags fed ammo reliably into the handgun.

I decided to seek out that magazine type.  Again, I had a difficult time finding a place that had them in stock, but I finally found that Century Arms carries them.  I ordered two of the mags on 3/9.  It is now 3/18 and they’ve arrived at my door.

The first mag latched without issue, but the second one initially would not latch.  Ground the top of the mag’s catch hole just a tad.  It now latches.

Both fit without issue, although latching is pretty tight…this can be fixed by ordering thinner base plates (or slightly grinding the top of the catch hole on the mag).  The mags are designed for 45ACP and will hold 16 rounds of 45ACP.  I loaded one mag with 10mm and was able to load 18.

I will be visiting the range tonight or tomorrow to test feeding/functionality with both mags. I’ll test with 16 rounds as well as 18.

These mags are $9-$10 cheaper than the mags Armscor sells and they appear to be more readily available.  I’ve been trying to get mags since 1/31 and Armscor went out of stock around that time.  I could find Para mags but didn’t want to hack/cut/file a mag.  Granted, I had to grind one of the mags I bought, but it was a 10 sec grind where you wouldn’t even notice an alteration.

The base plate on the R1 mags are rather thick.  They protrude from the magwell a bit, but they can be changed to something less thick (or they can be ignored for shooting purposes).

OEM magazine
OEM magazine
R1 magazine
R1 magazine

As of 3/9, Century Arms had them in stock.  I’m not sure if they’re still showing as in stock but if you need 1911A2 mags for your RIA, Century Arms is currently the place to visit.

UPDATE (3/19/2021):  I took off the base plate on the OEM mag to see if it’ll fit on the R1 mags.  It does.  So, if you buy the R1 mags, you can buy OEM base plates from Armscor and fit them on the R1 mags.

UPDATE (12/21/2021): Century Arms has stopped carrying the Remington R1 double-stack mags.  🙁

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10mm 1911A1 1911A2 22TCM FS HC Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra

Time for A 10mm Range Visit

I picked up the RIA Rock Ultra FS HC 10mm this morning before work (5 min wait to get background check results – I’m squeaky clean).

As usual, the handgun was covered in cosmoline and was in a plastic bag.  It came with one mag (as expected) and a manual.  The envelope with the spent cases showed an inspection date of 12/18/2020, meaning the gun is new.

The recoil spring is Popeye strong…you probably need to open a can of spinach to rack the slide.  I’m not joking…it’s strong and probably needs to be.  One of the things I struggle with when handling the gun is racking the slide.  I wish the slide had more aggressive serrations, because I sometimes can’t get a good enough grip to properly rack the gun.

I field-stripped the gun to clean off the preservative (it is not lube).  The machining is really nice.  This gun has a bull barrel, too…there’s no bushing, so you need to use a tool or paper clip to field strip the gun.  Now, to break down the recoil spring assembly (which consists of  the recoil rod, spring, and reverse plug), you’re not going to be able to do it your fingers.  The spring is far too strong.  Use the slide to help with that process.

The thumb safety needs to be tightened…it’s a bit loose (all of my Filipino 1911s were).

I changed the fiber filament of the front sight.  I had trouble removing it.  It appears as if someone (maybe) used an adhesive or even Locktite to secure it.  I replaced it with a TruGlo filament.

I took the gun to the range this evening, along with my RIA 22TCM.  The Rock Ultra manages recoil very well…I had no issues controlling the handgun, although I was using 180-gr FMJ range ammo (S&B and Ammo Inc).  It shoots far better than my Glock 22, but it has a lot more weight than the G22, as well.  The 10mm was launching spent casings against the side of the booth and I’ve no doubt it’ll throw brass 30 or so feet.

The S&B ammo is NICE ammo!  It’s clean and very accurate.  I was shooting from 7 yards.  I always do…no need to shoot further than that, IMO, and it’s a good distance to benchmark a handgun.  I shot 25 rounds of S&B, noting that my grouping was relatively tight.  I then loaded a mag of the Ammo Inc.  That ammo sucks!!  I was all over the place and at first thought it was me.  No.  The ammo is very inconsistent and was throwing ammo all over the target.  I will not be buying anymore of that ammo…well, I might, if the ammo prices keep climbing.  Bad ammo is better than no ammo, I guess.

As always, when shooting 1911s, I always shoot low left of center.  The groups may be tight, but I still shoot low left.  I think I’ve determined what I’m doing wrong.  When the gun is in my hand and I’m aiming down the sights, I’m almost 100% certain that the gun isn’t aiming straight down-range.  I must be aiming left.  Also, I caught myself (twice) flinching when pulling the trigger.  The flinching is making me pull low left – I actually saw it when reviewing my GoPro range footage (which is why I use the camera when shooting).  So, I’ve to work on getting better at shooting 1911s.  I did eventually walk the rounds to bulls-eye with the 22TCM 1911, though (I shot 50 rounds).

I will return to the range soon, but will probably bring the AK pistols next go around.  I may bring the Rock Ultra as well, if I can find more 10mm ammo.

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10mm 1911A2 FS HC RIA Rock Ultra

My RIA Rock Ultra HC FS 10mm is inbound!

 My first 10mm is now at my FFL dealer (my gun club).  It shipped on 2/12 and arrived at the FFL today (2/16).  Pickup is by appointment only and the earliest opening they have is 2/19 (Friday).  So, I will be picking it up at 9:30 AM that day.

Not only is this my first 10mm, it’s my first full-sized 1911, and first double-stacked (M1911A2) 1911.

I also have 200 rounds of 10mm range ammo coming – ordered online:  100 rounds of Sellier & Bellot 180-gr FMJ and  100 rounds of Ammo Inc. 180-gr FMJ.  I’ll also attempt to see if I can find more (hotter, maybe) locally.

So, the plan is to pick up the 1911 Friday morning, clean it sometime during the day, and visit the range either that evening or the following day.

The two extra mags that I ordered haven’t even been processed yet…I’ve no idea why there’s such a hold-up at Armscor.  I hate it when a gun shop’s website says they’ve hardware in stock but when you order it, it’s not in stock.  IMO, that’s false advertising.

I’ve a bunch of new Go Pro batteries and plan to use the Go Pro to catch footage of my first 10mm experience!

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10mm 1911 1911A2 2011 double-stacked HC Hinterland Outfitters MS RIA Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra

10mm 1911s

I’ve a 10mm 1911 on the way here.  It’ll be my first full-sized 1911 and my first 10mm.  I purchased a RIA Rock Ultra FS HC chambered in 10mm.  I’d been looking at Glock 20s and 29s but didn’t want the shock of recoil to bug me.  While the Glocks weigh around 2 lb empty, the RIA 10mm weighs around 2.5 lb and is all steel.  I won’t be carrying this gun but I do want to experience 10mm without regret.  As well, I had a difficult time finding a Glock 20 and 29 in stock.

What’s cool about this 10mm is that it is double-stacked (what some folks call the M1911A2; it’s not a true 2011, as the 2011 is modular in nature while the M1911A2 is not).  It is a full-featured handgun.  What’s not cool is that the handgun only comes with one magazine.

It’ll probably be 2 weeks before it ships to my FFL.  The FFL will probably take another week to call me to pick it up.  In 3 weeks time, expect a table top review.

I’m about to order another magazine and will begin looking for ammo.  I hope to have both the mag and ammo will be here before the gun arrives.

This is what I ordered (from Hinterland Outfitters):

UPDATE (2/15/2021) – I just got notice that the firearm shipped on 2/12…headed to my FFL dealer now…may be a while though, since there’s severe weather in the mid-West right now.