Rock Ultra FS HC 10mm inbound

[sqlbullet]

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/651416161

Should be here in a couple of days.  With shipping and FFL, after rebate, it was right at $650.

More pics and a range report once it is here.

[10Tens]

Wow. Congrats on the purchase. That's a great price too!

[jbaker30]

Nice pick up. Look forward to a range report.

[Harleycolt]

I nearly bought that one especially since it had 2 magazines. But holding out for the big rock!

[Chris111146]

Ive got one of those, youll love it. I have been having trouble with the sights though (after 400 rounds of shooting or so), so you may want to invest in locktite.

[Dave84]

I had my gun store order me one of these. Should be in Monday or Tuesday.

[sqlbullet]

And...Here!



The Good:

Great non-custom 1911.  Very tight and smooth.  Good fit.  Nice trigger, bit of uptake, no creep, clean break.  I would prefer a plain white dot front sight in 20 dry fires here in my office at home, but I may change that opinion in sunlight.  Take down is different than 1911 traditionalist will be familiar with, but I found it a non-issue since I have been taking down 1911's slide stop first for several years.  Using that method, after the slide was removed I had to push the guide-rod to the compressed position with my thumb and then stick a paper clip in to capture the assembly.  Then the reverse plug, spring and guide rod drop right out.

Recoil spring feels about like a 20-22lb wolff does in my Para.

The gun is a good bit heavier than my para, due in no small part to the big magwell on the gun.

The Bad:

While the exterior of the gun is nicely finished I have a concern and a couple of gripes.  The parkerized finish is very, very grabby.  For a fleeting minute I was afraid it was permanently installed in my Galco summer comfort.  I guess that really isn't bad, but I like a smooth finish a bit better.

The real concerns though were the big gouge in the reverse plug and another on the mainspring housing.  Now, these are both hidden when the gun is assembled, but are pretty obvious once anything is apart.

The Ugly:

I bought this gun as an EDC.  It was to replace my displaced but beloved Para P16-40/10mm in daily carry.  To that end I really don't want a giant speed loader mag well.  I can't figure out what it is for on a gun that takes a double stack mag to begin with.  I mean, the magwell is HUGE compared to the top of the mag.  Maybe front to back, but not side to side.

No issue.  My Para had one when it came.  Just pop out the mainspring pin, remove the magwell and install a normal length mainspring pin.

Except, this magwell actually required them to alter the frame.  They had to remove 1/8-1/4" from the bottom of the frame in the sides and front of the magwell, but not the back.  Which means I can't just drop off the magwell and call it good.

I thought to fix this I would just bobtail it.  Been thinking about that mod for some time anyway.  And with the bobtail main spring housing I could also ditch the extra frame behind the mag well.  Except then I will have an unsightly 1/4" gap between the magazine base plate and the frame.

So, I will have to either come up with a base plate mod or a magazine mod to fix this. Or ignore it.  Or fix one mag, but not the rest, so as to have most of my mags work in all three wide body 1911 10mm guns.

At this point, I am a little frustrated.  The big goal here was a 1911 I could carry cause I wouldn't care if it ended up in evidence IF I ever was unfortunate enough to need it.  To that end I wanted a gun that was really close to off the shelf, like my Glock 20 is.  And while I can probably mod this gun into something that works, I am back to something I have customized and would not really wanna loose.

Gots me some thinkin' to do.

[Dave84]

Somewhere I've read on here of someone getting 17 round magazines for these. Know where I can order these?

[sqlbullet]

The mags I have from Triple K hold 17 rounds:

https://www.triplek.com/product/para-ordnance-p1640-40-sw-16-rd/

[sqlbullet]

Somewhere I've read on here of someone getting 17 round magazines for these. Know where I can order these?

The mags I have from Triple K hold 17 rounds:

https://www.triplek.com/product/para-ordnance-p1640-40-sw-16-rd/

I compared the Rock Island mags to the triple-K mags last night. The mag bodies, followers and base plates are the same, all they way down to the roll marks. The only difference is the gauge of the spring wire, which is thicker in the Rock Island version.  This is why the Triple K version holds an extra round.

As far as removing the mag well:



Quite the gap.  Maybe I could come up with a follower that would fill that gap, or maybe I could track down some Para P15 mags and they might work, but I don't think so. 

At this point I think the first thing I am going to try is to blend the magwell.  Gonna take a file and remove all the excess that is larger than the diameter of the gun + grips.  Ini fact, if I screw it up, I can use my $25 credit at advanced tactical to order a replacement.

I have installed several beavertail safeties which required blending and am reasonably comfortable with this.  The only wildcard is how well the safety fits with the frame in the areas it might be exposed.  I have the ability to re-park the part, and if needed the frame, once I am done.

I will post pictures when I finish, but it may be several weeks before I get a chance to do this job.

[Dave84]

Mine was delayed but I finally got it on Wednesday. I don't really like the finish that much. It seems to have nice sights and a nice trigger. Will shoot it this weekend.

[Dave84]

Got a chance to shoot it on Sunday. It's quite accurate. Sights seem dead on. I had about 8 ftf out of a box of 50. The slide just stayed locked to the rear. I'm hoping it just needs to be broken in more. Was Sig ammo.

[TXCOONDOG]

Got a chance to shoot it on Sunday. It's quite accurate. Sights seem dead on. I had about 8 ftf out of a box of 50. The slide just stayed locked to the rear. I'm hoping it just needs to be broken in more. Was Sig ammo.

I run a RIA Ultra Pro HC, model 52000 (hand fitted). The extractor (tension) was a little tight (shaved the rim of the brass) and had to be tweaked (tuned) a bit. The brass shaving under the extractor caused FTF when ran fast.

What type of FTF are you getting ? Nose diving could be a mag issue, or the ectractor is not grabbing the case. Getting stuck half way in or at the top of the barrel can be caused by the extractor being too tight or the ammo COL (even bullet type).

Just some ideas....Google tuning a 1911 extractor or FTF issues.

Edit: Not the same 1911 pistol (STI 2011) or caliber but will give you a few ideas of why FTF can happen

https://youtu.be/nhwvKW0mKfc

[TXCOONDOG]

Try taking your barrel out of your slide and drop a round in to see if goes in (plunk test).

[Dave84]

Thanks for the ideas. I will look further into it. I was pretty much tap racking rather than fully diagnosing the problem. Seemed to be locking to the rear without really having any ammo binding and being the cause. Might be magazine related.