I wanted a place to discuss my handguns and firearms in general. Everyone seemingly has lots to say about guns, so I promise you this won't be a rant blog.
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.
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.
I bought another Rock Island Armory 1911, the MS Ultra (or what used to be called a Tactical MS 2011), manufacture number 51963 (Armscor link it dead, but this one works)
UPDATE: As of 9/12/2022, this gun isn’t available for purchase from Armscor, although you might be able to find it as a used gun or at a gun store that has old stock. The closest things to this gun that is currently on the Armscor website are items 56636 (FS), 56634 (CCO), and 56633 (CS-L) – all three of them being sold with two barrels (9mm and 22TCM9R); All three are Rock Ultras and are single stacked. There are two Tac Ultras that shoot both 9mm and 22TCM9R – 56635 (single stacked) and 56632 (double stacked). The closest in-production RIA to my MS Tac Ultra (51963) is 56632 – that one is a MS Tac Ultra, but it is double stacked.
What’s the difference between that one and the one I currently have? Well, the 51963 will shoot two calibers – .22TCM and 9mm (it comes with two barrels and recoil springs). It also has an accessory rail. The barrels also aren’t bull barrels. Those are the only differences.
The cons of this weapon? The only ammo maker that has this ammo type is Armscor (the maker of this gun). Also, I’d initially thought I was locked into specific magazines for this round, as the .22TCM round is longer than a 9mm round, so I can’t use a 9mm 1911 magazine (well, I CAN, but only if I’ve the 9mm barrel installed), but I’ve found that I can use 1911 mags for .38 Super calibers…basically, that’s what the MS Ultra 22TCM/9mm 1911 uses as a magazine — 1911 .38 Super mags.
I did take the liberty of ordering 250 rounds of 22TCM via online store…it should arrive today. I also found that there’s at least one local store that carries 22TCM. Although they sell it for $6 more than where I found it online, I can rely upon the local store for emergencies. I’d have ordered more 22TCM but I’m due to begin packing up for location move…I don’t think the movers will pack up ammo and I’m already going to have a car that’s heavy with weapons…I’d prefer not to be carrying a ton of ammo too. Once I’ve finalized the relocation, I can then stockpile ammo.
I can’t wait to shoot this gun, but I may wait until tomorrow so that I can clean the gun first. The gun has already arrived at the FFL and I’m awaiting them to call me for pickup, but I can’t go until Fedex delivers that ammo I ordered, otherwise I’ll miss the delivery.
UPDATE:
Fedex waited until 7PM to deliver the ammo. They also dropped it off on the front doorstep and barely knocked on the door. If I’d have known they’d do that, I’d have picked up the weapon without worrying about missing the ammo shipment. The FFL was open until 8PM and I didn’t get there until 7:10. I inspected the weapon and bought another 100 rounds of ammo (that’s the second source of .22TCM ammo that’s local to me, @ $25 a 50-round box). It took me 10 minutes to do the paperwork and another 5 minutes of waiting to see if the background check was good (it always is, and always takes 5 minutes). I was home before 7:30PM.
The gun is NICE. The slide to frame tolerance is quite a bit tighter than my Tactical II RIA, at least from looking at the rear of where the slide meets the frame. With the Tactical II, I can actually see a bit of daylight in some cases, but my Metro Arms is tight…just not as tight as this TCM.
The differences between this gun and my Tactical II is:
The slide has a flat area down the top of the slide.
The slide serrations on the TCM are larger and are canted forward.
The TCM comes with a railed dust cover.
The TCM comes with two barrels and recoil springs (9mm and 22TCM).
The TCM is easier to take down (it breaks down in the traditional 1911 manner — has a barrel bushing).
The magazine follower is a bit different in shape, to allow for usage of both 9mm and 22TCM ammo.
I haven’t been to the range yet. Today is Friday…I’ve no reason to not go to the range and test this gun tonight.
