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American Classic Commander Metro Arms MS Ultra Rock Island Armory tactical

My 1911s – Possible Upgrades

I’d not done any comparisons between my 1911s, so I decided to look at them (against each other) last week.  

I found that my Metro Arms Commander lacks a magazine well.  I also found that both of my Rock Island Armory 1911s have plastic mainspring housings.

Magazine wells and metal mainspring housings aren’t essential but they do heighten the ownership experience.  Up until I read that tactical RIAs had plastic mainspring housings, I didn’t know and it didn’t bother me.  Having a magazine well helps in inserting magazines and I hadn’t noticed the lack of the well, since I have less than 100 rounds through my American Classic…still, I did not notice that it lacked a mag well when I last shot it.

So, I’m probably going to buy a blued mag well for the American Classic and two mainspring housings for both of my tactical RIA 1911s…just for the hell of it.

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bag Fieldline range tactical Walmart

Fieldline Tactical Range Bag

I usually carry two bags when I go to the range.  One bag will have my guns, magazines, and any other things directly related to the gun (barrel conversions and things like that).  The other bag will have supplies such as my ammo, cleaning kits, tools (such as screwdrivers), ear plugs, protective glasses, tape, band-aids, stapler…stuff like that.

I’m an NRA member and I got a free range bag as a freebie…I’d been using that as my supply bag.  That was NOT a good idea, as those bags are super cheap.  It didn’t last long, as it’s already ripping…luckily I caught it before it happened to be on my shoulder — I do not want to be trying to pick up 200 spilled rounds of ammo from the floor or for the bag to slam on my foot.

So, I picked up a Fieldline Tactical range bag from Walmart (along with 2 x 100-round boxes of Remington UMC 9mm JHP).  This bag is even better than my Bulldog bag.  It comes with a holder for spent brass, two pistol rugs, a place for my shooting glasses (that is lined with soft material so the glasses won’t get scratched), magazine slots, and a bunch of other neat storage areas.  Plus, the bag is reinforced so that it won’t come apart under the stress of weight or even everyday use.

I could probably get away with consolidating everything into one bag…we’ll see.

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22TCM Canik flash MS Ultra muzzle range report RIA tactical TP9SA velocity

RIA MS Ultra Tactical Combo in 22TCM/9mm – Range Report

A range officer saw the ammo on the range table and was asking what type of ammo it was.  He stayed while I shot the first magazine.  He was awed and saw how tight the shot groupings were…many of the target holes were on top of each other.  He also commented on the muzzle flash.  It was bright enough to where I was sometimes flinching!
I’m disappointed with the video footage…the footage wasn’t framed good.  I may try to go to the range again tomorrow.

I shot 100 rounds through the gun.  There were only two feed issues.  One was when a spent case didn’t want to come out (common issue that’s related to the ammo case out of round or expanding).  The other (right after the first feed issue) was a double-feed.  After that, there were no more issues.

This 1911 has next to no recoil and had tight groupings, but I’m STILL not in full control of trigger pull (working on it…practice makes perfect).

Oh, and there’s copper along the slide, next to the ejector.  I’ve heard of someone mentioning that issue before (not sure what the cure was, other than sending it back to Armscor to have the extractor tuned).

By the way, the .22 TCM round is basically a shortened .223 round (no, it isn’t a necked down 9mm).  It’ll pierce 3/16″ steel. It has an approximate velocity of 2000 feet/sec, but realistic speeds from the Commander-sized barrel is in the 1900 feet/sec range, while RIA’s .22 TCM rifles will shoot this round at 2800 feet/sec. 
 
I also fired my FDE Canik TP9SA.  The gun had no issues.  I fired close to 100 rounds from it (half of it JHP that was also shooting flames…wonder if it was +P…I think it was some left-over Remington JHP that I was firing during my last range session).  There were no jams, but the mags are super-tight…I could only get 17 rounds into the mags up until the 3rd refill.

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iProtec light RM190 tactical

iProtec RM190 Tactical Light

I bought a iProtec RM190 tactical light for my TP9SA two nights ago.  We’ll see how durable it is, because it’s a $40 light.  It’s built pretty well, though.  I thought it was plastic but it’s actually aluminum.  It’s 190 lumens, too.  It has strobe capability, too.

I mounted it on all three guns and it fits them all (all of them have Picatinny rails).

There are mixed reviews of this light, but I’ll be using this until it dies or until I get night sights for the Canik.

The below pics show it mounted to my Equinox.