joeg Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Very informative post. I just ordered a RIA TCM 22/9mm. Any other words of advise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 C instead of s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgo75 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 (edited) duplicate post Edited October 28, 2014 by jgo75 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgo75 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Finally got my Pro Match .40! Sorry for the huge pics. I don't know how to resize them and these are taken with my phone so picture quality is not great. This is my first Rock Island and wanted to use it mainly for competition at my local USPSA matches. For the price ($620 with rebate), I really didn't expect much as far as the fit and finish but man this gun has great value as a starter gun and functions well after one little modification that I did to it (I'll explain below). This gun is ready to go for competition out of the box and has almost everything I'm looking for in a competition gun. It has a full dust cover, bull barrel, full guide rod (ofcourse), fiber optic front sight, adjustable target rear sight, ambi safety for weak hand shots, 18 round factory magazine (only came with one), blended mag well for easy mag changes and finally a combat hammer. Only real big downside is there are no factory mags available from RIA so I have to buy either para or STI mags and modify them in order to compete. Top view. After firing 450 rounds of factory 180gr ammo, the gun feels very solid due to the fact that it has an all metal frame (compared to STIs which has a polymer grip). The gun feels a little top heavy but the weight of the metal frame counter balances the perceived recoil (if that makes sense). This gun is accurate! I was consistently hitting steel targets from 35, 50, 100 all the way to 110 yards! Below is the first modification I made. In the first 250 rounds that I fired, I had 3 instances where the slide locked back with one more round left in the magazine. After I took it apart, I noticed that the inside portion of the slide lock lever had copper jacket residue. The last bullet was contacting the high spots of the lever while it is being fed up from the magazine (top picture below). So the last bullet would push the slide lever up allowing the slide to lock back. For some reason, only the last bullet will do this. I did notice that the last round would be more forward in the magazine follower whenever this malfunction happened. As you can see below, I filed the high spot just a little bit to prevent the bullet from pushing it up (bottom pic). After firing another 200 rounds with this modification, there was not one malfunction. Below, I replaced the factory trigger with this SVI triglide trigger. It took away the long and spongy pre-travel of the stock trigger. I personally prefer the look and feel of the flat trigger better. Also replaced the factory magazine release button with a Dawson Posi-lok and Arendondo extended mag release button for easier mag changes. Thanks for reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgo75 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 (edited) duplicate post Edited October 28, 2014 by jgo75 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker88 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Can you make STI 126mm 40 mags work on this? NJ has15 rd max mag capacity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theKenny Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Can you make STI 126mm 40 mags work on this? NJ has15 rd max mag capacity I have the 22tcm/9mm target with a dawson magwell and STI 140mm mags. I did measure the current PARA 18rnd mags and mecgar 17 round with a dawson .002 basepad for oal and it looks like they will work. I was going to order a few and see.. The 126 has a 17 round capacity. 15 rounds is one of the things i do not miss about NJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mertbl Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Did you use para specific parts for the trigger and mag catch or did you modify svi parts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeg Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 How much fitting did you have to do on that trigger? Mag release? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker88 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Can you make STI 126mm 40 mags work on this? NJ has15 rd max mag capacity I have the 22tcm/9mm target with a dawson magwell and STI 140mm mags. I did measure the current PARA 18rnd mags and mecgar 17 round with a dawson .002 basepad for oal and it looks like they will work. I was going to order a few and see.. The 126 has a 17 round capacity. 15 rounds is one of the things i do not miss about NJ I believe the 126 tube in 40S&W takes 14 rds. Good that you escaped I'm sure you miss the pizza here in NJ/NY. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc5 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I bought the .22tcm/9mm a few weeks ago installed a Dawson FO front sight, Brown 2 PC guide rod, and an Armscor ambi safety (a LOT of fitting required) Also have a Dawson mag well and some Para mags w Dawson pads & Arredondo kits. BUT, even thought the Para mags lock in and drop free perfectly, they do NOT function well. Many rounds nosedive at the base of the barrel and fail to feed. Unfortunate because the Paras allow for the Dawson magwelll and the Dawson bases hold 21 rounds .......... The factory RIA 9mm mags function 100% and the pistol shoots great, so my next step is to try a STI 140mm sanded to fit. STIs will be more expensive but if they function well and the magwell can be installed, the Rock will be a great pistol for limited and 3 gun. Fingers crossed. ................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troupe Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Just to give the Rock Island shooters a heads up. The mag that comes with the Pro Match are MecGar mags and Greg Cote LLC has MecGar P-16 mags in stock . The will work with Dawson base pads for 19 to 20 rounds. Greg also has MecGar P-18 mags that works in the Tactical FS 9mm. This mag works with Dawson pads as well, but will only get 19 rnds of 9mm due to the rounds dropping below the ribs on the mag. I am going to try the Arrendondo spacer that fits into the Dawson basepad and it may solve the rib problem on the mag. I love my Pro Match and also my Tactical 9mm. The guns are accurate beyond belief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhett45acp Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Troupe, are you sure about the "Greg Cote LLC has MecGar P-16 mags in stock . The will work with Dawson base pads for 19 to 20 rounds." ??? I have many MecGar P-16 mags and they are 15 round capacity. Trust me, only the MecGar flat metal base pad works with these mags. Nothing else will work for they are slightly shorter than true P-16 para mags. BUT, I appoligize in advance if you have found something different and would seek out this solution ASAP. Kind Regards, Rhett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp45liberator Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 JGO75, I'm curious as to whether that SVI Triglide just dropped in or if it required a lot of fitting. Similar question with the posilock mag release. Do the factory mags fit and function with that mag release?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc5 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Just to give the Rock Island shooters a heads up. The mag that comes with the Pro Match are MecGar mags and Greg Cote LLC has MecGar P-16 mags in stock . The will work with Dawson base pads for 19 to 20 rounds. Greg also has MecGar P-18 mags that works in the Tactical FS 9mm. This mag works with Dawson pads as well, but will only get 19 rnds of 9mm due to the rounds dropping below the ribs on the mag. I am going to try the Arrendondo spacer that fits into the Dawson basepad and it may solve the rib problem on the mag. I love my Pro Match and also my Tactical 9mm. The guns are accurate beyond belief. So you own mecgar p-18 mags, have fitted Dawson base pads, they insert & lock with a magwell and, they function 100%. ??? Just checking to be certain about this .......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theKenny Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Can you make STI 126mm 40 mags work on this? NJ has15 rd max mag capacity I have the 22tcm/9mm target with a dawson magwell and STI 140mm mags. I did measure the current PARA 18rnd mags and mecgar 17 round with a dawson .002 basepad for oal and it looks like they will work. I was going to order a few and see.. The 126 has a 17 round capacity. 15 rounds is one of the things i do not miss about NJ I believe the 126 tube in 40S&W takes 14 rds. Good that you escaped I'm sure you miss the pizza here in NJ/NY. lol Can you make STI 126mm 40 mags work on this? NJ has15 rd max mag capacity I have the 22tcm/9mm target with a dawson magwell and STI 140mm mags. I did measure the current PARA 18rnd mags and mecgar 17 round with a dawson .002 basepad for oal and it looks like they will work. I was going to order a few and see.. The 126 has a 17 round capacity. 15 rounds is one of the things i do not miss about NJ I believe the 126 tube in 40S&W takes 14 rds. Good that you escaped I'm sure you miss the pizza here in NJ/NY. lol Pizza, bread, bagels..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theKenny Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Guys, I found out by chance last night that SVI (not STI) mags fit with NO modification. 3 of 4 buddies have STI mags for their 2011s, the 4th has SVI I have not shot with him in a long time which is why i did not find out until last night. 100% reliable. I did have the guncraft mag catch in though i'm tempted by the posilock. Canyon Creek also sells a modified mag catch that requires fitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mertbl Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 (edited) I borrowed a 140mm and 170 mm sti mag and they both lock in without any modifications. They have never been used though. His used magazines would not fit in at all. Not sure if they have swelled or not. I'm not sure if they will function yet or not but they sit lower than the stock mec gar p18 magazine that came with the gun. Edit: I have the high cap 9 with the railed dust cover. 51679 I think is the model number. Edited October 29, 2014 by mertbl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theKenny Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I'm really starting to think these frames are different. For reference I have the 51680 and new STI mags would not fit at all without reducing the width. If someone with a 51679 wants to take measurememts let me know. I'm going to take some anyway on mine tonight. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longshot83 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I have a 51679 and the STI mags fit without modification, they are a little snug at the top however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mertbl Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 What do you want measured Kenny. With the 140mm sti i can't drop the slide on an empty magazine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trgt Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I just got a 51679 - I didn't think the STI mag seated at all, but I tried again and a new STI mag body barely fit (release went click) with good push, but now its seems that has caused the mag release to stick in the mostly open position. I'm not a 1911 person (yet), mainly CZ, so will have to fiddle with that later to see what I just did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajunautoxer Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I have the 51947 and used a buddy of mine's STI mags and they ran fine. They would not drop free but were functional. Granted I didn't get many rounds through it with the STI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theKenny Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 What do you want measured Kenny. With the 140mm sti i can't drop the slide on an empty magazine. What do you want measured Kenny. With the 140mm sti i can't drop the slide on an empty magazine. Perhaps just lenght width of top of frame? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troupe Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Let me explain again. The Mec-Gar mags are the same mags that come with the 9mm high capacity TACTICAL model and the PRO MATCH 40 model. RIA uses the Mec-Gar mags. These two RIA pistols have the factory mag well installed, which means that the frames have been cut (shortened) for the factory mag well. The Mec-Gar mags will work with the Dawson pads that came with both of my pistols. The combos that I am explaining will NOT WORK with the stock high capacity frames due to Mec-gar mags are shorter. Just trying to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now