I own and shoot all three models of the RIA 10mm A2 HC pistols. This is why you both see me blog about them and the lack of decent reliable 10mm magazines is what got me into making them.
I get asked all the time if they are reliable – the short answer is “Yes with some work”. I see people blasting these pistols in forums sometimes and it’s not exactly fair but it’s not exactly unwarranted either so let me explain a few things.
The Rock Island Armory pistols are made by Armscor in the Philippines and shipped here. Yes, they are made on CNC machines but final assembly is by hand and done in a mass production setting. There isn’t the time and money spent doing polishing and what not that you would see in a custom or semi-custom pistol but the basics are there.
A common thing I read on forums or Facebook groups, or from people who want to buy one of my magazines, is that the pistol jams out of the box so they send it back to Advanced Tactical (the importer and retail presence in the US) who may do some light cleaning and lubrication. They then test fire it with 180gr FMJ Armscor rounds, it cycles fine, they send it back and then the customer is still made because it doesn’t function flawlessly.
Ok, let me tell you how to avoid this 80+% of the time. When you get your new pistol and it seems like it was dipped in oil and must be ready to go, it isn’t. That is a rust preventive fluid and not a lubricant plus it is filthy!! If you don’t believe me, take a white towel and wipe it down – look at all of the black debris that is in it. Please click here and read this blog post about how to clean, lubricate and break in your pistol before you go to the range.
Maybe 19% of the time the failure is caused by the combination of ammo and magazine. Not all bullets are shaped the same and/or have the same hardness is what it boils down to. Depending on where they hit on the feed ramp they may either go up and into the chamber or jam. The magazine’s feed lips are dialed in to angle the round an average amount given whatever parameters the designer figure out. Does it work for all? No, the angles don’t always work out.
- Click here for a detailed post on setting the gap for our magazines – the process is the same for all but your actual feed lip gap may differ.
- Click here for a post about 9mm magazines and ejection problems caused by too wide of a feed lip gap (it could theoretically happen to 10/.40 pistols also).
So the final vast minority of the time (maybe 1%) is it an actual hardware failure. The biggest weak link I have encountered are their extractors which are made from metal injection molding. I sent one pistol back and Advanced Tactical replaced it with another RIA extractor. The second one I replaced with a quality forged tool steel extractor from Wilson Combat – click here for a post on that. My main point of this page is to tell you that it is rear that a part actually fails – it does happen and do send it back if so – but I would recommend you look into the above first.
