By: Friedrich Seiltgen
Copyright © 2023
ARMSCOR – ROCK ISLAND ARMORY
Armscor traces its roots back to Squires, Bingham & Co., founded in 1905. The shop imported and sold motorcycles and various sporting goods, including firearms and ammunition. The Tuason family bought the company in 1941 and began making firearms through the present corporation in 1952. In 1980 Squires Bingham Manufacturing became the Arms Corporation of the Philippines.
Armscor is headquartered in Marikina, Philippines. Its United States subsidiary Armscor International, Inc., was founded in 1985 in Pahrump, Nevada, with manufacturing facilities founded in Stevensville, Montana, in 2011.
Armscor manufactures its own line of firearms and, in 1985, acquired Rock Island Armory and its line of 1911 series pistols. Rock Island Armory has a new manufacturing facility in Cedar City, Utah.
THE FRAME
The 5.0 features a 1911-angled two-piece aluminum polymer modular grip frame for flexibility and control. Other features include a left-side push-button magazine release and slide-stop lever, Picatinny accessory rail, and a flat-faced “buttery-smooth” trigger that ships with a 5-lb. trigger pull.
THE SLIDE & BARREL
The 5.0 slide rides on internal rails à la CZ-75, which allows a low bore axis. It features the new patented Ram Valve System (RVS), which, combined with the square-shaped barrel, is “engineered to maximize barrel mass and linear movement for super soft recoil.” Since the barrel does not tilt, the energy is transmitted directly to the rear and reduces muzzle flip.
The 5.0 also features front and rear slide serrations for easier manipulation, and the pistol is finished in an E100 Cerakote.
SPECIFICATIONS
Type: Single Action, Internal Hammer Fired, Semi-Automatic
Caliber: 9mm Parabellum
Magazine Capacity: 17 Rounds
Sights: C-More RTS II Micro Red Dot or Standard Iron Sights Rear, Dawson Precision fiber optic upfront
Barrel Length: 4.91 Inches
Overall Length: 8.11 Inches
Width: 1.33 Inches
Height: 5.17 Inches
Weight: 2.47 Pounds
MSRP: $998.88
URL: www.armscor.com
THE VERDICT
This is one of the first Rock Island Armory firearms produced in the U.S. at its new Cedar City, Utah factory. The level of research and precision engineering that went into the making of this sporting pistol is unmatched.
“The RIA 5.0 is really an engineering marvel,” said Martin Tuason, president and CEO of Armscor/Rock Island Armory. “It’s an extremely shootable sporting pistol with a meticulously engineered trigger system. Best of all. We’re proud to say it’s made entirely in the U.S.A.”
It is shipped with three 17-round magazines to free states and 10-round magazines to other states.
Check out this revolutionary design today.
That’s all for now, folks! Please keep sending in your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s Be Careful Out There.”
Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism Counterstrategies, Firearms, and Active Shooter Response. His writing has appeared in RECOIL, Soldier of Fortune, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, Off Grid, American Thinker, Homeland Security Today, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International.
Contact him at [email protected].