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Rich
Director of R&D and product acquisitions at Empire Outfitters
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Springfield TRP and John Harrison Colt.
I'm gonna post my most recent 1911 acquisition in my next post. Please be aware of the tag line above the avatar pic in my profile, left, before you proceed to view. Fair warning for the purists among us.
”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB
So, j-frame business took me to the LGS a couple of times last week. I always give the 1911s a once-over, looking for an interesting used iteration. The guys suggested that I look at this rather plain flat black 5", by Rock River, that had just come in, looking unfired, on trade.
Most here probably know about Rock River: some sort of Baer-employee spin off that used to do "semi-custom" 1911s prior to going all-in on the AR frenzy of the post 2008 era. They're back at 1911s again, and the word is that the same guy who did the old ones is back doing the new ones, including this version--a 2018. What you're looking at is the RR "Poly," so named because it has a polymer single-stack frame. At first, I wasn't all that eager, but holding it revealed both great fit on the slide assembly, a fantastic trigger, and a noticeable weight decrease over an all-steel gun. Recent reviews online say that it's easy to mistake for an aluminum frame, and I certainly concur. Note that the frame also fits into my Invictus leather, as well as accepting a kydex trigger guard--it's that close.
In shooting, I was almost stunned, especially for the price: the feel is a little like an 85/15 mix of all-steel Gov't model and, say, G5 G17. Recoil might actually be a hair less punishing than a steel Gov't (whether due to the wider backstrap, or frame flexion, or a combination of both) and the feed smoothness is surprising. It seems to chow through both ball and 230 GDHP with less clacking around than either my Colt, Springfield, or Kimber. The only gun that I've had that I remember cycling with as little drama was a Dan Wesson VBob, and this is certainly in the same category of frame-to-slide fitment.
In all I wasn't sure what to expect, but it may be my favorite 1911 just in terms of feel while throwing lead downrange. Now a pic or two; old meets new:
”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB