I'm looking for a 1911 to cut my teeth on. Relatively inexpensive, and I'd like a 9mm. This would be strictly a range toy, and a base gun to play gunsmith on should I choose to do so. However, I like all of my firearms to be able to be pressed into service if need be.
The ones I've been eye banging are...
Rock Island Tactical - At $430, the price can't be beat. I also love the looks of it (this is a range toy 1911, so the rare area where aesthetics would matter). For the price, I wouldn't feel bad about testing things like Cerakote and fitting parts.
STI Spartan - I understand it's a very similar pistol coming from the same plant (sidenote : how much of this pistol does STI touch?). I've also read that the STI parts make it well worth the extra $200. However, I hate the aesthetics of this 1911 and prefer the RIA's Novak cuts.
Would the $200 price difference be enough to bring the RIA up to the STI "standard"? How bad of a gun is the RIA Tactical 9mm out of the box?
If I take a liking to the RIA, what would bringing it up to carry gun standards entail - or is it a losing battle? I've heard they make good bases for build 1911s, but how much money / work is needed to bring it up to par?
Any other info on these two 1911s - particularly how they stack up against one another - would be greatly appreciated. Solid information is kind of scarce.
Muchos gracias, hombres.
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