Ruger 1911 10mm Vs. the RIA 10mm Rock FS-Tac II - The Shootoff...

Above are several pictures of a recently acquired Ruger SR1911 in 10mm. I had intended to do a stand alone review of it's performance when a work companion offered his new Rock Island Armory 10mm for a comparison review. More fun! These are essentially twin guns, both heavy steel (RIA carbon, the Ruger stainless) coming in at 40 oz.  Both have fully adjustable rear target type sights. The Ruger has a target black front

ramp, while the RIA has a fiber optic front sight. Both have bull barrels and are bushingless. They are disassembled utilizing a wire tool to retain the recoil spring and housings. As an aside I am a long time 10mm fan. My previous 10 mm gun was a Dan Wesson Pointman Seven. I loved it. It was as accurate a handgun as I have ever shot, bar none. I could shoot it, with the heaviest loads, all day in complete comfort. But, it was a dud. It just was not ever reliable. It wouldn't feed. Then it wouldn't eject. It was always something. I sent it back to the factory. They messed with it, and sent it back. Still unreliable. Took it to two well known area smith's. They improved it, but I could just never trust it. Just as I would believe it was finally functioning  it would cough. The extracted shells flew forty feet! Wolff Springs finally came to my aid and helped a lot! But for a very expensive handgun, this was a bust. Sold it some years ago, and have patiently awaited the arrival of a reasonable priced 10mm, my favorite handgun round. And here, we have two!

The Ruger specs are below.

• Capacity8+1
• Slide Material Stainless Steel
• Barrel Length5"
• Grip Frame Low-Glare Stainless
• Grip Panels Black Rubberized

• Model Type Target
• Slide Finish Low-Glare Stainless
• Width1.34"
• Sights Bomar-Style Adjustable
• Weight 40 oz.

• Overall Length8.67"
• Height5.45"
• Grooves6
• Twist1:16" RH
• CA Approved No
• MA Approved & Certified No
• Two magazines

Below is a picture of the R.I.A. and it's specs below that.

Manufacturer: Armscor; us.armscor.com

Model: Rock Island Armory 1911 Tactical II FS

Action: Single Action

Caliber: 10 mm

Finish: Parkerized

Grips: VZ Grips G10

Sights: Fiber-Optic Front, Click Adjustable Rear

Barrel Length: 5”

Overall Length: 8.75”

Height: 5.5”

Slide Width: 0.94”

Weight: 40 ozs.

Capacity: 8+1 Rounds

Twist: 1:16” RH

Rifle Grooves: 6

Accessories: One magazine, lockable hard case, lock and manual

Check out this repair sheet below. After the first 50 flawless rounds through the Ruger, it had continual failures to feed, essentially becoming a single shot pistol. The ammunition was 180 grain FMJ factory new. I contacted Ruger, and they did send me a mailing label (though required me to drive 2 hours round trip to deliver the pistol to Fed Ex.) As a side, S&W has any repair picked up at your door. I got the repaired pistol back in about ten days with the sheet below. I am not sure whether they replaced the barrel or not, but apparently tuned the extractor.

Now we are ready for some informal range work, and a subjective comparison. Incidentally the R.I.A. only comes with one magazine as opposed to the two I got with the Ruger. I don't believe I have ever been able to purchase a new pistol with only one magazine. However the R.I.A does have a bumper pad on it's mag, and a flared magwell, both of which make a speedy reload much more comfortable. Also the RIA has an ambi safety, full sized on BOTH sides, making this gun, with the flared magwell a 1/4 inch wider than the Ruger. The R.I.A. does feel like a much bigger gun in the hand. Note the rubber grips on the Ruger as opposed to the G10 grips on the Rock. As it turns out, the Ruger is much more comfortable to shoot. The staggeringly aggressive grips on the Rock had my hand hurting and uncomfortable by 200 rounds, while the Ruger I could have shot all day. I did not note any real difference in rapid fire grip control between the two guns however.

 My first target was set at 15 yards.

Below are two 25 yard targets shot offhand.Neither gun is sighted in yet. I do not adjust the sights on other people's guns (unless they work for me), and I will adjust the Ruger sights with the carry ammunition I select. The first target is with 180 grain ball factory FMJ.

The target shot below was shot using hot hunting loads from Doubletap. 180 grains at about 1300/1350 fps. You hold ON, when shooting these loads. The Ruger definitely preferred these over the Rock.

These are off hand groups at 15 yards with cheap FMJ 180 grain factory loads. Not a lot of real life difference.

Rapid fire, one can say the same thing. Not a huge difference. The Ruger was a bit more accurate and a LOT more comfortable to shoot rapid fire.

Notes:

These are both good, solid guns, and honestly made. Both are combat and hunting accurate, though I would have to give Ruger the edge. On the other hand, if you changed out those nasty G-10 grips from the Rock, you might find the same kind of accuracy I got from the Ruger. Truly, by 200 rounds with the Rock I was flinching like a 9th grader at his first prom. I neglected to bring gloves! On the other hand, if all you want is a safe queen, the Rock will shine!

The Rock has a full sized extended ambidextrous safety on both sides making this a wide and big pistol overall. If hunting is your only goal, perfect. But if you intend to carry this about town, watch for this safety to continually be bumped off if you are at all active.

Both guns have good sights. The Rock has a more combat/hunter ready sight, while the Ruger sights are geared more for paper target accuracy. If you want nuts and bolts, I'll tell you. I want the Rock front sight, and the Ruger rear.

Triggers on both guns are good. The Rock has a five lb pull, with very little creep. I liked it. The Ruger was a full pound less, but with a bit more creep. I liked it!

Grips. If you buy the Rock, dump the grips if you intend to shoot it a lot. 50 rounds, and back into the safe, keep the G10 nasty rough grips and look bad. But if you buy a gun to shoot, and buy the Rock, trade out grips first thing. They are way too nasty. Whoever designed them is NOT a shooter, I promise.

Both guns are utterly reliable (once the Ruger was repaired) and I would have no reluctance to carry either in the field, for defensive, hunting, or other serious work.

Quality of work.

I have to give the edge to Ruger. First of all, it is a stainless gun, and while I have nothing against all the carbon steel blue guns I own, they do NOT light a candle against stainless. Machining on metalwork was fine on each firearm, but I did note that the wear on the barrel of the Rock was decidedly uneven. On the Ruger, it was exactly even, everywhere. I do not consider 250 rounds per pistol adequate break in so perhaps another 500/1000 rounds would even the score. I do have to score the Ruger much higher on clearances. The front slide to barrel movement was very noticeable on the Rock, and non-existent on the Ruger. This probably accounted for the edge in accuracy of the Ruger.

The Ruger also has the plunger spring housing cast as part of the frame, whereas the Rock has a housing that is staked onto the frame. Point to Ruger.

Pricing of these two powerhouses are (at this time) a long way apart. Ball park, you can get the Rock for about 200/250 dollars less than the Ruger online. Which should you buy? If you only have 600 bucks, and HAVE to have a 10 mm, buy the Rock. Then spend 25 bucks on decent grips.If you have the extra 200/250, I say buy the Ruger. Both are heavy powerful handguns capable of defense against any North American mammal. The 10mm is a heavy hitting round on par with the .41 magnum. There are factory loads out there there pushing 900 foot pounds of energy. Both guns are reliable and strong, with fully ramped barrels for full case support. Both are big, and heavy. Not for every day carry. But both are 200 yard guns perfect for hunting, home protection or range work. Learn and get good with the 10mm, and you'll be a smooth shooting professional with any other defensive round out there. I like both these guns.

I am glad I chose the Ruger! So there you have it!

Comments and caustic opinions welcome!
jackzeller@myfairpoint.net