Rock Island Armory RIA 5.0 Review

The RIA 5.0, let’s check it out. 

 

Rock Island Armory has been in business since World War II. And they produced more 1911s than anyone in the world.

In fact, one of my very favorite calibers, the 22TCM, was designed by Rock Island Armory. And it is a rocket launcher. But today we’re going to be taking a look at the RIA 5.0 from Rock Island.

Rock Island Armory is based out of the Philippines, but this is their first handgun that’s made right here in the USA. This is a joint effort with Martin Twason and Fred Craig, who is the designer of this pistol. And it is a very unique recoiling system.

It’s the RVS, or ram valve system. It is very linear. And when I say linear, when you bring it back, the barrel does not tilt like your typical John Browning designs.

And so it makes a very smooth operation. Plus the slide is nestled into the frame rails. So it gives it that more of a CZ 75 design.

And yet, it’s totally different. Honestly, when I first picked this up, I thought it was just a revived Hudson H9. But it’s, again, totally different.

This is something that I’ve never seen before. What’s really cool is the square barrel, which really makes this unique. And rides inside the slide, which gives it even more stability.

The recoil on this is just a totally different experience. And it’s a good one. And so we’re going to take a look at the Rock Island Armory RIA 5.0. This is definitely something that I love to see when innovation comes together and technology in the firearm world.

Guys, we live in the golden age of firearms. And this has just made it even more golden. And we want to give a big thanks to Rock Island Armory for sending the RIA 5.0 for this review.

Guys, we’re looking at something here that is completely different than what has traditionally been in the gun industry. Definitely a departure from John Browning and other really famous designs that we’re still seeing today. But there are other handguns that have been developed that are different over the past few years.

But the huge difference in this pistol is that it’s being produced by a major gun manufacturer. Rock Island Armory produces more 1911s than anybody in the world. And they’ve been in business since right after World War II.

I mean, it is a very established company. They produce some really solid quality firearms, but typically at a budget price. And so this is kind of stepping out.

Now, one of the things about this pistol is that it was designed by Fred Craig. And Fred Craig has been working with Rock Island Armory for a long time on their .22 TCM caliber, which stands for Twoson Craig Micromag. It is a neck down .22 caliber that’s going about 2,000 feet per second.

It’s one of my favorite handgun calibers. And it is produced by Rock Island Armory. But Fred Craig is the one who developed this design.

And this has what they call the RVS recoil system. And that is for ram valve system. And it’s definitely different.

We’re going to have to take a look at it once we open it up. But it’s pretty cool, actually. Very simple and yet a really solid design.

Let’s go ahead and drop our magazine. We have a 17 plus 1 mag capacity. You get two mags.

Proprietary with other guns, I’m not sure. I did try the CZ 75 mag and it was a little bit different. But I’m sure that there’s probably some kind of mag compatibility.

Now one of the things about this pistol is that it has the frame rails fit over the slide rails. So the slide actually fits down into the frame. And that’s very reminiscent of your CZ 75 models.

And that is a smooth shooting firearm. One thing I want to show you right up front is the slide. And as we pull it back, and of course it is recessed, this glides just as smooth as glass.

I mean it is phenomenal. And a lot of CZs actually will give you a very smooth feel to them. But not as smooth as this.

And because the frame to slide contact is so tight and it goes all the way down the slide rails, it’s going to give you a very stable slide. Now one thing you’ll also notice is I pull it back, the barrel stays in a flat position. It’s not a tilting position, which is typical for John Browning.

And that’s what part of the locking system. And it unlocks when it tilts. With this, it stays in that fixed position.

And then another huge departure is the square barrel. Now that is definitely unique. And of course we have a round hole for the bullet to come out.

You’ll see this little gold color here. And actually when I first looked at it, I thought it was rust. But then when I kind of took a brush and cleaned it up a little bit, it’s just part of the lands and grooves.

And it’s probably where jacketed rounds were fired when this was tested. But it is just flat. And guys, it’s just a definitely very unique system.

You can see the barrel is not exactly square or rectangle. It has a little bit of a different shape to it. But that is very unique.

And you can see where the slide rails meet the frame rails. One thing I do like too about this pistol is the wide cocking serrations here on the back and on the front. Because they are shortened because of the slide fitting down to the frame.

But they’re very easy to grab. And we’re going to compare this to a CZ SP01 in a minute because there are some similarities. This is a much better system for racking that slide.

We have a steel slide and barrel. We have an aluminum frame. And then we have a nylon or a polymer grip here at the bottom.

So we have a two piece grip system. And this allows for comfort when firing this gun. And there’s of course really aggressive texturing all the way throughout.

So it really helps you to hold on to the firearm. But the recoil on this, because of this recoil system, is very light and there’s very little muzzle rise. And we’re going to find out about that at the range.

At this point, I have not shot this gun because I wanted to go through as it was with it clean and let you look at this design because it is absolutely beautiful. We have a five slot Picatinny rail here at the bottom. So plenty of real estate for lights and lasers.

But definitely here at the end, it is considerably thicker and taller. Which reminds me of the Hudson H9. And here we have the Hudson.

This is a phenomenal shooting gun. I really hated it when Hudson went out of business. I’m really glad that I have this pistol.

But it definitely has some proprietary parts and it was developed by a company that just didn’t quite have the funding. I understand that Daniel Defense now owns the rights to this pistol, which I’m very excited about. But it’s totally different on the interior as far as how it functions.

It just is reminiscent of the H9. And again guys, this is made right here in the USA in Cedar City, Utah. And so we may be seeing some other firearms being brought out of that facility.

It’s going to be really cool to see what Rock Island Armory does in the future. There is some beveling right here at the mag well, which makes it fairly easy to be able to get those mags in. And they jettison out pretty decently.

But also the CZ SP-01. I mean, this is one that to me, because of the internal slide rails, the way it fits, I mean, there are some similarities, a little bit deeper frame here. But totally different internal design.

And really the SP-01, because of those internal slide rails, it makes this a very soft shooting gun. I can’t wait to get this out to see what it’ll do. Now the sights are from Dawson Precision.

And we have a blacked out adjustable rear sight. And then we have a fiber optic front sight. They do make a model that is dedicated with a Seymour sight that’s already mounted into the slide.

That is one of the options. Personally, I’m glad they sent the one with the sights. And then we have a really nice flat face trigger.

It is hammer fired. And you see the little flat here, that is your hammer. And when we pull the trigger, I mean, it’s a super crisp break.

Very clean design. I mean, you have two control points. You have your magazine release and your slide stop.

Otherwise, I mean, there is just nothing else here. Now when it comes to your magazine release, it uses the old 1911 type design. So it is not reversible.

But nice squared off trigger guard, really high ride. And let me just show you, the bore axis is as low as it can possibly be. And that’s one of the things that really helps with felt recoil.

So the slide is riding right over your hand. And it’s low into the frame. And guys, this to me is the lowest bore axis that may be possible.

Because it comes right down to your hand. Now, if you have really big hands, that could be an issue. My hands are medium sized.

So I’m not going to have an issue. But some people can. So we’ll see how that is.

I mean, the beaver tail area, this little cut right here is fairly shallow. And so we’re just going to see how that runs, especially with guys with larger hands. Now, as far as grip angle, the closest I’ve come is the Browning Hi-Power.

It just seems to have that very close geometry. And of course, the Browning Hi-Power has a short little nub, very similar to this. But again, that’s about as close as I’ve gotten to it.

The barrel is 4.9 inches in length. So it’s a fairly full size pistol. We’ll see if they have compact versions that become available.

But at this point, I mean, this is so early on. In fact, when I got this pistol, there was no instruction manual. And when I broke it down, it was different.

But we got through it. And so we’re going to look at that in a minute. It’s not that difficult to disassemble.

But bringing back out the Hudson H9, this is an all steel frame pistol. And so we have a polymer aluminum match. And so we’re going to have a little less weight, even though this is a little bit of a larger pistol than your Hudson.

But definitely this area right here is actually deeper on the Hudson. The recoil system on this is completely different. But when I first opened the box, I thought, man, they bought the Hudson rights.

But man, this is something completely different. All right, flat face trigger. It has a trigger safety and it is all metal.

To depress the trigger, you’ve got to hit that trigger safety. And so we have just a short bit of take up. And now we’re going to have a little bit of resistance and then the break.

Break’s really nice. The resistance is super smooth. There’s no chop to it.

Let’s look at reset. Reset comes out quite a bit, but not bad. Let’s check our trigger pull weight with our Lyman trigger gauge and brownails.

Three pounds, 9.9 ounces. Three pounds, 12.6 ounces. So around the three and a half pound range.

Now the total length is about eight inches. And then it’s five and three quarter inches in height, including the sight. As far as the width, this makes it 1.43 inches in width.

But really, otherwise it is super thin and definitely one of the thinnest guns. But it’s got that really unorthodox design. And right here at the front, I mean, it definitely makes it look completely different than anything else.

That really short area back here at the back that gives you that really low bore axis. Weight on the RIA 5.0. Two pounds, 5.4 ounces. Weight on the Hudson H9.

Two pounds, 5.4 ounces. CZ SP01 Tactical. Two pounds, 7.8 ounces.

This is an all steel pistol. I want to give a big thanks to Fiocchi for sponsoring the ammo. All made in the USA.

Number one supplier of ammunition in the country. Also, we got a little bit of ammunition from Arms Corp. This is 124 grain.

And so we’re going to shoot it as well. But we’re just going to give this a run for the money. Also, we appreciate Lula Loaders keeping our sanity.

Loading all these magazines. That’s my first shots. I just wanted to see how the recoil was.

It’s just totally different. I mean, it’s low. There’s not muzzle flip.

It’s just mainly coming back low. And it’s really soft to shoot. We’re going to try some 124 grains from Arms Corp.

A little bit heavier bullet. Maybe see some differences. Man, there’s just a little bit of recoil.

A little bit of movement at the top. It’s almost a little bounce. Guys, this is different than anything I’ve ever shot.

It just doesn’t really recoil back. It just has a little bit of a bobble at the front. Definitely something different.

And I love it. I mean, it’s got that heft to it, which is going to help with recoil. But it’s just really soft shooting.

Love the grip. Has that nice Browning high power type grip to it. A lot of texturing.

A little nose heavy for sure. But again, I think that has to do with that little bit of bobble at the front. I mean, even rapid fire.

I mean, it just holds it right there. You see, you continue to see that red dot. That fiber optic sight just continues to bounce right there in front of you.

So it’s really easy to get right back on target. Now, one of the things about it when we first brought it out to the range, we had some issues with it. I was having some reset issues with the trigger.

Shot a few magazines. Then I just packed it up. And I was going to send it back to Rock Island Armory.

And Robbie Wheaton stopped by. And he just started looking at it. And he said, man, this is dry down here at the where the reset where all the trigger mechanisms are.

He put a little lube on it. We started dry firing it. We had no problems.

I’m bringing it down to the range. It’s shooting like a top. So other than that, this has been a fantastic gun.

Again, very different. Right for disassembly. We’re going to drop our magazine.

Check to make sure the gun is unloaded. If you’ll notice, there’s a little small dot right here on the frame. And there’s one on the slide.

So we’re going to want to line those up. And that’s very similar to your CZ design. Except it’s a little bit farther back.

Once we get that lined up. Right here is our takedown pin. I’m going to take my magazine and get it started.

Now, here we’ve got it recessed. But what I found was is I needed a punch to push it through because it’s just really tight. And then I can pull this out.

This may get a little bit looser once you’ve broken this down a few times. And then we can just let our slide come right off the frame. Now, first off, I want you to look at this frame.

It is like crazy simple. I mean, we have our flat hammer and it is just a flat piece of steel. And then, of course, there’s just not a lot going on in the frame.

Very simple and yet very well done. But here is the RVS system. And you can see we have a large block here.

And then we have our recoil spring down low. Definitely a totally different design than what we’ve seen in the past. Now, there is a little trick to this.

You got to pull it and turn it and then it will come loose. Now, again, there was no owner’s manual with this. And so I had to just kind of do this on my own.

The recoil spring and the guide rod, they actually float inside this little block. Take note of this little spring detent because you’re going to need that when you put it back and assemble it. But this locks right into this little slot right here.

And so you can see the little pressure with the spring detent fits down in there. Here is a little locking block. And this is holding your barrel into place.

In fact, this barrel will not move at all. It won’t even budge. It is locked into this slide.

But if you’ll notice, it kind of locks right there. And so this piece actually locks your barrel in. So you have to just depress it.

And all you got to do is just pull it and it’ll come right out. And so now this piece is out and your barrel slides right out. This is the craziest looking thing I’ve ever seen.

I mean, it is just like a bar stock with some cuts in it and a hole drilled. Then we have our feeding ramp right here. But guys, definitely a very unique design.

Here with the slide, once we get that removed, I mean, it’s pretty much just a very simple design as well. It just seems like everything is placed into this recoil system that makes this so different. And guys, that is the basic field strip of this pistol.

And really, there’s not really anything else you need to do. Now to reassemble, we’re going to put our barrel back in. Just glides in.

I mean, just that is such an easy glide. And guys, there is an internal rail system here that will ride on that barrel. So it’s going to give it a lot of contact to make it really smooth.

And when the barrel is fully seated, you’ll notice that it will correspond with this little half cut in this little locking block. And so we’re going to put it right in in that direction. Just like that.

Now, reinserting your recoil spring in this little locking block, you’ve got to be able to depress this. Because if you put it in here, it’s going to bind right here on this piece. And so what we’re going to do is get it started.

And so just take your recoil spring, and you’ll notice that it’ll have a little bit of height to it. And back here at the back, we have a little crescent. Again, it may be spelled out differently in the owner’s manual, but this is the way I figured it out.

Now with this small punch, I’m going to go in and get that little spring detent, and I’m going to push it until it seats down into the slide. And it’s just like this. It’ll fit down in it.

So this little crescent allows you to take that punch and to just push it and then lock it into place. If this is not locked in, it will not go over the frame. And then we can just bring it back over.

Again, guys, slide rails all the way through your frame. And of course, it’s all the way through your slide. And this gives it a very smooth.

In fact, you can even see it here. Very smooth action. Line up your two dots, return your slide stop, and then it locks back in.

And we’re back in business. That’s definitely different. But once we get the owner’s manual and look through it, there may be some tricks to it.

Again, there’s just not any information on how to disassemble this. One thing you will notice is it does pick up fingerprints because I still have the factory lube all in this gun. And when I took it apart the first time, it has a lot.

But this is a Cerakote finish. And so it’s a good, nice finish on it. And really, they’ve matched the slide in the frame very well.

The retail price is $998. With the OpticsReady version, with the C-more sight, it’s running $1,298. Of course, market price will typically be less.

But as far as pros and cons, number one pro, this thing shoots phenomenally. I mean, it just shoots beautifully. And that, to me, is worth it regardless.

But the fit and finish of this pistol is just excellent. It is a brand new design. But again, one of the big pros for this pistol over a lot of the other really boutique-type handguns that we’ve seen that have totally different designs is that it’s a small company.

And typically, do they have the marketing to really be able to put the confidence behind that product? One of the things about Rock Island Armory is that they have a huge track record. Now, on the other note of that, they have a track record for making really solid, budget-friendly 1911s. But they work really well.

And also developing the .22 TCM. And they have some other handguns, not just the 1911s, that they produce as well. And also revolvers.

So Rock Island Armory has a number of different firearms in their catalog. I mean, you’ve got that super low bore axis. You’ve got the really nice Dawson Precision sights on it.

Grip shale makes it really nice texturing on it. And it is a little bit front-heavy, which could be a con. But yet, for this, because of the recoil management, it’s actually a blessing.

You have a nice, ample Picatinny rail. The trigger is excellent. The one con I would bring is the weight.

The weight is fairly heavy. This is not something that you’re going to be concealed carrying, necessarily. But it would make an excellent bedside gun.

And it will definitely make an excellent competition gun. And that’s one of the things that Rock Island Armory was really striving to achieve, is that you could pull this out of the box. And it is ready for any kind of steel challenge, IDPA, whatever you’re doing, IBSIG matches.

And it just brings a really excellent gun for those kind of competitive shoots, which those guns can run a lot of money. And so with the recoil management, that’s a big plus for competitive shooters. But let’s face it, guys.

A lot of us have multiple firearms that we don’t necessarily depend on for self-defense. And this is one of those that would just be fantastic to take out to the range. So guys, a very innovative design.

Something that is excellent for competition. It’d be great for home defense. Because he’ll carry it, it’s a little heavy.

Some guys will be able to do it. But time will tell with this design. And it’s great to have Rock Island Armory behind it.

And that really speaks a lot. Because Rock Island Armory has been just a solid company for a long time. And seeing them step into a different direction is really refreshing.

So guys, if you’re looking for something that is just totally different, and will just eat recoil, the RIA 5.0 is something you should definitely take a look at. And again, we want to give a big thanks to Rock Island Armory for sending the RIA 5.0 for this review. This has been a really incredible experience.

Be strong. Be of good courage. God bless America. Long live the Republic.

 

-Don