RIA .22 TCM Range Report

I bought my first 1911, and it was not a .45acp. It fires the .22 TCM round which is a blast to fire. I say blast because after firing the first round at the range almost everyone up and down the line looked at me. Well it sounds more like S&W .500 than a .22. For those of you who have never seen a .22 TCM round, it can be described as 9mm luger necked down to a .22. The RIA 1911 fires the .22 TCM round at 2160 fps out of a 5 inch barrel. The fireball coming out the end is a sight to see.

With this impressive velocity comes very little recoil. You can really stay on target easily for follow up shots. The metal magazine holds an impressive 17 rounds and is very easy to load. It drops free when the mag release is pressed. The model that I have came with adjustable sights. The trigger breaks clean at what I estimate to be 4 lbs. Out of the box it was perfectly sighted for the 15 yard target I was shooting at, and even with my marginal aim was able to easily keep a 5 inch group.

In the case when I bought it, came a 9mm barrel and spring that can be swapped for the .22 TCM using the same magazine. I had a HK USP 9mm, and an FNX 9mm, with me for comparison. It had the lowest recoil by far and exceeded my accuracy with the USP, and my poor performance with the FNX. I did pick up the USP magazine and tried to load a .22 TCM round, but the round was just long enough not to fit, which is an excellent safety measure.

The slide was perfectly fit on the 1911 and had no play in it whatsoever. The barrel locked solidly in battery without any noticeable clearance against the base. In the 50 rounds that I fired I had one failure to feed, but racking the slide loaded the round. When fired, the the spent rounds are thrown over my right shoulder and about 4 feet behind me. The casings were not damaged, and appear suitable for reloading.

I paid $20.99 for 50 rounds, and the ammo seemed available at a number of locations. If you have a need to try something new this may be a an excellent choice. I had several people ask to try it, and they remarked on how light the recoil was. I will give it a 5 out of 5 for construction, accuracy, and fun factor. ($619.00 at LGS)

Manufacturer website
https://us.armscor.com/products/22-tcm-standard-micro-mag-9mm

Shotgun News review
Smallbore Slabsides: Rock Island Armory .22 TCM Review - Shotgun News

 

200 FPS faster than FiveSeven out of a pistol. FiveSeven ammo is very scarce. The place that I ordered 10 boxes of .22 TCM had no limit and 850 boxes in stock for $20.99.