Philippine-manufactured 1911's

[Slater]

These are sold here under a variety of brands - Iver Johnson, Cimarron, Citadel, Armscor, etc. The majority of comments that I've heard seem to be generally positive. Anyone know how their long-term durability has been?

[fallenromeo]

These are sold here under a variety of brands - Iver Johnson, Cimarron, Citadel, Armscor, etc. The majority of comments that I've heard seem to be generally positive. Anyone know how their long-term durability has been?

Correct me if I am wrong, but Rock Island Armory also makes 1911s in the Phillipines I believe. I have only had hands on experience with them, but they were pretty positive. I don't own one, but my range buddy does, in several trips and probably about 1,000 rounds it has performed just about flawlessly. Less jams than his Kimber, but in all fairness, the kimber had a higher overall round count on it also. I know 1,000 rounds is hardly a torture test, but so far it has performed better than I thought it would for a sub $500 1911. YMMV

[bamashooter]

Correct me if I am wrong, but Rock Island Armory also makes 1911s in the Phillipines I believe. I have only had hands on experience with them, but they were pretty positive. I don't own one, but my range buddy does, in several trips and probably about 1,000 rounds it has performed just about flawlessly. Less jams than his Kimber, but in all fairness, the kimber had a higher overall round count on it also. I know 1,000 rounds is hardly a torture test, but so far it has performed better than I thought it would for a sub $500 1911. YMMV

Rock Island Armory, Cimarron, and others are Armscor products. I've had 5 RIA's and 1 Cimarron. 4 of the 5 RIA's were excellent as was the Cimarron. I still have 2 full size Rocks and a compact (3.5" barrel). And more so than not, the customer service is excellent w/ the lifetime warranty stays with the firearm no matter how many owners. The CS facility is in Pahrump, Nevada.

[fallenromeo]

Rock Island Armory, Cimarron, and others are Armscor products. I've had 5 RIA's and 1 Cimarron. 4 of the 5 RIA's were excellent as was the Cimarron. I still have 2 full size Rocks and a compact (3.5" barrel). And more so than not, the customer service is excellent w/ the lifetime warranty stays with the firearm no matter how many owners. The CS facility is in Pahrump, Nevada.

Thank you for clarifying that, Bama. I was unaware they were all under the same roof.

[brushy bill]

I have zero direct or indirect experience with them, but you may find this interesting...Mr. Gunsngear interview at Battlefield Vegas. Armorer has positive comments. 11:33 starts some discussion on RIA durability. Reportedly, they hold up very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PApRcRE-ft8

[misfit47]

I've had a couple of full size ria guns. One in 10mm, other in 45. The 45 ran just fine but grip and thumb safeties had sharp, abrasive edges. Slide stop notch on 10mm mushroomed out very quickly and had same edges as 45.
They fixed it under warranty with no hassle. For a budget pistol they are good if you don't want to change anything or have work done on it.

[user]

Cool video, thanks for posting

[misfit47]

Common issues with Philippines 1911s: pin holes improperly aligned, msh pin wrong location,horrible trigger track, visually flawed casting.
Never seen a cast slide from there or a forged frame.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[bamashooter]

Common issues with Philippines 1911s: pin holes improperly aligned, msh pin wrong location,horrible trigger track, visually flawed casting.
Never seen a cast slide from there or a forged frame.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

I don't know how common. Had 5-6 and now 2-3 (Armscor) without those "issues".

[williejc]

A question was asked that if they are so bad, then why does the company sell so many. Many people buying these pistols may be casual shooters who will fire only 2-400 rounds per year, and some of these might indeed use the warranty option for free repair. Those who wish to tinker may enjoy working on them. A friend bought one at a lgs because of its low price. He also has a Colt 1911, Sig 1911, and a Kimber 1911. My buddy is a backyard shooter with a lot of disposable income. He is convinced that his Philippine .45 auto is as good as his others. Actually he does not know the difference between one or the other, and I won't tell him. Many other buyers fit this category.

I would like to pay $300 for a used but like new Phil. 1911 to tinker with but I would not fool myself about what I had. These gun have a niche just as did Star and Llama .45s so common in the U.S. during the late 1940s to about 1980. I never heard of a cop carrying a Star or Llama. Some new shooters and young shooters messed around with them, and many worked well enough to use as a car or truck gun. A country gunsmith could make either shoot reliably but would probably tell you that the parts were soft and add that the Star does not have an inertia firing pin and warn you not to carry it with the hammer down on a live round. He might even reshape the tip to make it a tad more safe.

My conclusion is that the Philippine 1911s are a couple notches above the POS category that includes KelTecs, Taurus products, and HiPoints. My intuition tells me that the manufacturer is trying to make a good pistol and will maintain an honest effort to do so. Gunsmiths who work on Colt and other 1911s will charge the same fee to work on one of these so you see where this line of thought is going. It would be like sending a Mossburg 500 to a shotgun specialist. You would get back a Mossberg with a nice recoil pad and a slightly smoother action. In both cases you would have spent a lot of money which added almost no value to your firearm.