Here’s an email blast we received from Rock Island Armory:
We Are Rock Island Armory –
NOT Rock River Arms
As the firearm industry and its fans know, the Illinois Senate recently passed SB-1657, a bill that mandates state licensing for all Illinois gun dealers, as well as sets restrictions on Illinois residents to nine firearm transfers per year.
This bill has been linked back to firearm companies Springfield Armory and Rock River Arms, both based in the state of Illinois. Rock Island Armory is not one of those companies.
As a firearm and ammunition manufacturer, this is disheartening for the industry, and we here at Rock Island Armory continue to support our dealer network.
As a Filipino company with U.S. headquarters in Pahrump, Nevada,
we have no tie to the recent bill or ruling.
Despite the similarity in name, Rock Island Armory is not the same company as Rock River Arms, and the two entities have no association with one another. At Armscor-Rock Island Armory, we fully support the Second Amendment and will always have the backs of our dealer and distributor networks.
Well shit, I made that mistake a couple times already.
Don’t you hate it when you boycott the wrong guy. RIA makes very good budget 1911s. RRA makes very expensive anti 2A decisions that will drive them out of business.
Unlikely. They make fantastic rifles and their 1911’s are a thing of beauty. Speaking from experience, of course.
The really odd thing is that RRA might actually benefit from that whole fiasco. A bunch of Cali LE organizations probably fell in love and RRA does A LOT of government contracting work.
A political ploy to gain LEO and government contracts in big states where the anti-gun force is a sort of plausible gimmick. We just do not know what SA and RRA actually believed they would gain. We keep guessing, but nothing really makes sense about this episode. I continue to believe chicanery, not incompetence is the simplest and likely best guess.
Sorry Stuart, RRA does not have even a single civilian option for. 1:7 twist rate barrel, only their LEO/NFA restricted crap. Stag Arms slays them in quality, options and price. RRA are WAY overpriced and under-optioned. Their 1911s are no where near as nice as a S&W E-Series or a Sig Sauer, yet are more expensive. Everyone who has done any prior research can find a higher quality option at a better price. PISS ON RRA and SPRINGFUDD ARMORY.
Ditto.
The way to remember it is Rock River Arms sent their customers down the river to never be seen again.
Or
Rock River Arms might as well dump their entire inventory into the river.
Or
Rock River Arms is crying a river from all the remorse they have for losing their customers due to stabbing them in the back.
Or… Rock River is up the creek.
Aside, FYI, TL/DR –
The source of the expression “sell someone down the river” goes back to the days of slavery and meant selling a slave to someone down the Mississippi river to work on a plantation. In modern usage, if a company sells itself and most of its employees are canned, those workers are said to have been “sold down the river.”
The source of the expression “send someone up the river” is New York City criminal convictions where the bad guy was sentenced to a term in Sing-Sing, which is up the Hudson from NYC.
And if you’re “up the creek” we all know what that creek smells like!
Preciate the primer on old idioms. I love learning about old used up phrases. Seriously, now I’m gonna crawl down a Wikipedia hole reading about all of those old cliche`s. Thank the good Lord I got the day off.
It is kinda neat to find out what the these phrases that we use today actually meant when originally conceived.
Are they the same company that makes the 1911s for Springfield?
No. They are not.
I have heard several podcasters and gun news announcers misspeak and say Rock Island. Most caught themselves as soon as they said it.
I NEVER made that mistake. Besides I believe Springfield is the main quisling…
Interesting. While I would not have made that mistake, I find it funny they are distancing themselves from a fellow manufacturer.
Whoever answers their phone may not appreciate the hate they may be getting and wish to clear up the misunderstanding…
No KIDDING!! I used to work customer service, and the angry public mistake things like this all the time. I used to hate calming folks down after explaining we were a different organization that the folks they were rightfully angry at. I always felt like iI had just deflated a rightfully indignant baloon, it kinda felt like a let down for me even.
It’s too bad people are making that mistake as I like their company. I hope it doesn’t have an affect on them. I’ve bought a lot of Armscor ammo as it’s been affodable, reliable and fairly accurate. I was hitting about 1 MOA with my SCAR 16s. I have a RIA 2011 Tactical 1911. It works great in every situation except when I use it in shooting competitions. I can train with it, do my own run and gun, but put it in a 3 gun ACM type match and it chokes on me. I won’t be selling it as it’s so good at target shooting and still fun to shoot. I might try some different mags to see what happens.
Happy to hear the update and some of the comments.
I got that email, too, Made me laugh. 😀
While the purpose of this entry is to encourage a little affection for Rock Island, the headline should still not read “Amory”. Unless that was deliberate, which I wouldn’t put past you.
Huh????
Ha! I didn’t notice that until you pointed it out. Encouraging amity toward the amory. Makes sense, even if it is a typo.
Ignorance is the problem…
Rock Island Armory (RIA) – private company based in NV = good
Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) – government owned entity in IL = good
Rock River Arms (RRA) – private company based in IL = DIAF
PS
Quit using SA in re to Springfield Armory, Inc.
Springfield Armory (SA) was in MA and a government owned arsenal that closed in 1968.
Springfield Armory, Inc. (SAI) is in IL and a privately owned company that will close in 2018.
“Springfield Armory (SA) was in MA and a government owned arsenal that closed in 1968.”
Correction: the federal government did not/does not operate armories for the purpose of the manufacture of weapons and ammunition. Such facilities are designated “arsenals”. Storage facilities for weapons can also be designated “arsenals” (such as the one at Harper’s Ferry). “Armories” are normally locations for local/unit storage of finished and ready-for-combat armament of designated military units.
The original SA in Mass. was the Springfield Arsenal (which name is not licensed or sold to private industry). Hence, RIA (today) is Rock Island Armory, not Rock Island Arsenal (formerly owned by the federal government, but now closed).
While technically correct, SA has and always will be THE Springfield Armory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_Armory
Rock Island ARSENAL is still open and owned by the US Army.
https://www.usagria.army.mil/default.aspx
Yep. My ooopppsss on Rock Island Arsenal.
Too bad that Rick Island Arsenal is taking a hit for what SA has done in IL. Rock Island makes good guns I own several and have no complaints. They manufacture ammunition in this country and employ lots of folks in this country.
If a person wants a real hoot, shoot a TCM 22.
Grrrr, it’s Rock Island ARMORY, not Arsenal. Two different things!
Names matter!
That damned Rick guy stinks!
A very simple boolean statement any programmer or non-moron will understand follows.
If RIA=RRA or RRA=RIA then you=a fucking moron and a waste of oxygen. Please /kill yourself ASAP.
Thanks!
You’re lucky enough to have never worked in retail, then. A good quarter of your customers would think that Johnson & Johnson made the Johnson rifle in WW2.
Many customers still think there is a company called, “Smithson Western.”
Having worked with Rock Island Armory here in Nevada for several years, I can confirm they are totally pro 2A in every way. Armscor their parent company is a great help to our industry. Bob Irwin
Noted! RIA is a cool company, send out nice catalogs, do informative vids. I had a chat with one of them in a comment section. RIA are legit, it’s a shame someone else is stinkin’ up names that begin woth “Rock”
Rock island is based in the Philippines. That’s how I remember
Sounds like RIA are stuck between a rock and a hard place……
Whereas RRA have reached rock bottom…….
It’s a shame that RRA ‘rocked the boat’ in Illinois…….
RRA profits have ‘hit the rocks’……
Their management must have ‘rocks in their heads’……
Thank you ladies and gentlemen, I shall be here all week. Seeing as it’s Friday, time for a whiskey on the rocks!!!
RIA makes great things at a good price point.
There is history between RRA and SA. The Larsen brothers were running the 1911 shop at SA after Les Baer left and after that they struck to go on there own.
Remember, companies can do bone headed moves every often. It is how they take the customers voices when they get really loud.
This doesn’t surprise me, gunner or non-gunner, there’s people on both sides of the aisle who are dumber than a box of fucking rocks, although I think we have fewer.
I have the Rock Island (Armscor) 2″ .38 special revolver and it is a great budget gun to toss in the car or to take out in the tackle box. They have been around for many decades and while the craftsmanship is not quite equal to a high end S&W neither are the prices. A very good value for the money spent.
I have several RIA pistols, all shoot as well or better than far more expensive big name pistols, right out of the box. Haven’t gone for the TCM load, yet. Sure is tempting though.
My 10mm target shot rings inside a big name 10mm “competition grade” pistol – with the owner of the other gun firing both. He got so mad at spending 4 times what I had he packed up and left the range!
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