My favorite handgun, the Rock Island Armory Tactical II

So, I  picked up my first 1911 - the Rock Island Armory Tactical II chambered in .45acp. I got it when it was on sale during a Black Friday from Grab-a-gun's website. I chose this over the 10mm version basically because of ammo cost (though I know 10mm is best choice). I paid around $484 after the FFL fee and shipping cost. It came covered in grease, just the way I like it. After cleaning it up and dry firing it a bit, I proceeded to take these pictures. This post is just to give my initial impressions of the pistol. First off, the gun is extremely comfortable in the hand. The VZ Operator II grips have a very rough/aggressive texture, but that makes them extremely “grippy” which I enjoy. 

The fit and finish are absolutely wonderful, especially for this price point. It's a very tightly made pistol with no rattle or movement at all. It comes in weighing 2.9 lbs unloaded, and almost 3 pounds loaded with 9 230gr rounds. This is noticeably heavier than most modern pistols, which isn't surprising since it's a steel frame gun. As a comparison, my CZ P-07 comes in weighing 2.5 lbs loaded with 20 rounds of 115gr loaded in the magazine. 

The factory magazine that came with the gun is an 8+1 magazine. It has a stainless steel follower from the looks of it. The only markings I can see on the actual magazine are Act-Mag Italy/PSA USA, then the caliber and round count on the side. The first time I took this handgun to the range, I had a few snags using this factory magazine. It caused a double feed several times within the first 200 rounds. Though, after breaking the gun in, this issue seemed to stop. The ambi safety is great on this pistol, though for a lefty it seems slightly stiffer than the right side safety. And, thankfully the VZ grips make it no sweat to reach your thumb over to the magazine drop button without having to get off target. (Though I believe an oversized button would help make it a bit easier.)

The slide release was a bit stiff as well out of the box, compared to past polymer framed handguns I've used it was quite a bit more stiff in fact. But, after putting a few hundred rounds through the pistol and using the slide release a few dozen times, it's loosened up a fair amount and doesn't require immense pressure to release anymore. 

The fiber optic front with the dotted rear sights on this pistol work quite well, and make it very easy to get your eyes down the sights and on target while in a well lit location. However, in lower light I found myself having a harder time getting on target with the same speed. This could obviously just be an issue in my case. Though, if you were going to be carrying this pistol for CCW or OC, then I might recommend getting nightsights installed. 

 I did eventually swap out the Operator II grips that came with it for a different set in green and black, though it was only for aesthetics. The only other thing I've noticed that I would like to upgrade is getting an oversized magwell to help with guiding the magazine into the gun. I've had it get slightly snagged a few times when inserting the magazine.  Overall, my initial impression of this pistol, is that I really, really like it. I would recommend it as a great entry 1911 pistol for anyone interested in getting one.