The Black Campbell

When I first started shooting, I was drawn to the new hotness of the time. I slavered over the Bren Ten, the Desert Eagle .357, the Glock 17’s polymer predecessor, the execrable H&K VP70Z, and then the prefect combo of gun-goodness, the Glock 20. The G20 was my first semi-auto pistol, but i found the grip angle awful. Glocks always shoot high for my natural point of aim and cranking my wrist down just doesn’t feel natural. So it was I fell down the rabbit hole of H&K USPs, Tanfoglio Witnesses (the closest you can really get to a Bren without spending beaucoup bucks), and the polymer Walthers. But a funny thing happened on the way to the 21st Century, I started really liking more traditional stuff. The Walther PPK over the polymer Kel-Tec P32 and P3ATs that I had carried, the CZ-85 over the P99, the 1911 and Tanfoglio in 10mm instead of the Glock. Metal guns.

I will admit, I still like a hammer, but striker-fired pistols have gotten pretty good at their triggers not sucking. The P99 was pretty good, the PPQ and PDP are pretty much the gold standard of striker pistols, with the CZ P10 series and the H&K VP9 coming in a very close second. The Walthers are also near perfection for ergonomics (again with the VP9 right up there.) They all do ambi controls, something Glock and other manufacturers just can’t seem to get into their skulls: a third of your customers are lefties.

So while I was at my local gun store last week (the excellent Right to Bear Arms here in Albuquerque, NM) the owner was showing me one of my old dream guns (that was before I had actually handled one and found it truly, unforgivably, awful), the VP70Z. There were a couple of the not-a-Glock Glocks that fix the grip angle issue that you either have or don’t. I think it’s pretty fair to say if you’re a Glock guy, that’s probably it; if doesn’t fit you, it’s like a sad marriage that you might stay in, but regularly dream of “going out for cigarettes” and never coming back. Then there was the Rock Island Armory STK-100 9mm pistol by Armscor. I vaguely remembered this thing being announced before the planet went nuts and shut down, but this was the first time I had actually seen one. Here’s an advertisement shot:

So what was this thing? It’s a striker-fired 9mm that can use G17 magazines, has a grip angle like the 1911 on a receiver made of aluminum — not polymer, and looks to have been crafted for the competition market. No surprise there; RIA is big on competition shooting. First impression on picking it up? It’s a bit fat in the grip and the sides are — in a move away from the sculpted curves of the PDP, Q4, and VP9 — pretty slab-like. If that sounds bad, it’s not. It drops into the hand with the grip being naturally high up against the beavertail. The cross-cut panels for grip and understated lines in the front and back don’t bite. It was cut for an optic and the rear sight is metal and part of the plate. The front sight is also metal and pinned it. The slide is cut for speed — something I’m a bit leery of: getting dirt in the mechanism isn’t a great thing. The slide cycled easily enough my wife, who has mild arthritis, was able to work it (unlike my PPQ). The trigger was excellent, with a short take up to a hard wall, then a crisp break at about 4-5 pounds. Oh, it’s got the usual trigger tab safety from every polymer gun out there. It pointed very naturally for my 1911/PPK/CZ-75 grip.

So I bought it. Price was about $550.

One of my long-time gun-buddy friends and I dragged this and the Kel-Tec KS7 out for a test run in the desert (I’m have a review of the KS7 later). That necessitated a take down and cleaning before the trip which leads to my first negative for the pistol. It takes down like nearly all striker pistol. pull the trigger (hate!), pull the slide just a fraction and pull down on a lever/tab/whatever. In this case it’s a Glock-style tab. The Walther does this much better. In fact, I suspect the tab, front sight, and a lot of the parts are damn close to compatible (or are) with the Glock. It has a slick black finish on the receiver that’s quite nice, but the slide is Parkerized, a finish I’ve never been overly impressed with. In this case, just three weeks of getting the slide racked had developed some wear in the finish on the top of the breech block and the slide, as well as the usual wear you would see from being fired on the barrel. Not a good look, RIA.

Out in sand, we took turns putting rounds down range. Nothing extreme — about 150 rounds total. I took the Walther PPQ out to compare, my friend his Glock 19s (plural.) Second complaint: not ambi on the slide stop. I’ve gotten good at hitting the mag release and slide stop with my trigger finger over the last three decades of shooting, so it’s not really an issue…but a third of the damned planet, guys. Also, it’s really wee. If I were in a hurry (or a panic), I can see running the slide as a better option. Ponz, our resident Glock fanboi, had no issues with it.

We ran it slow for accuracy and quick for recoil management and to see if we could bind it up. No malfunctions with Blazer Brass in 115 and 124 grain.. Accuracy was excellent — we were shooting at cans and bottles at distances from ten to thirty yards, and I was able to chase a coffee can rolling down the with five hits in rapid succession from about 15 yards. Point of arm was natural (note wrist position below), and the white dot front sight did it’s job well, if not spectacularly. My buddy suggested fiber-optic or Glock night sight would probably spruce that up. In comparison to the PPQ, I found it slightly more accurate; my companion shooter thought it on par with his tuned Glock 19.

Recoil management is, in a word, superb. Ponz described it as “almost like shooting a .22”, but I think that’s a touch much. Compared to the G19 and the PPQ, however, it was simply better. The PPQ doesn’t have a much in the way of muzzle flip, but there was none in the STK100. I found the recoil well mitigated by the lighter slide and aluminum frame, which makes the STK100 a few ounces heavier than a G17. I ran a string of five at the afore-mentioned rolling can and never seemed to have come off target. Photographic evidence disagrees:

We tried a bunch of different G17 magazines, including some old ones. The STK100 only works with the metal lined Glock mags, the old Gen 1 stuff need not apply. This included the 33 and 25 round extended magazines, which functioned flawlessly. The beveled mag well allows for fast and easy reloads. The STK100 kicks the spent brass over your arm and not very far. One shell wound up in my jacket pocket. So having shot the thing, my first impression is very positive: the Rock Glock is a superb weapon. It was most definitely designed with competition shooting in mind, and would be an excellent out-of-the-box race gun; it was more manageable than my tricked out Witness. As a self-defense pistol, the great grip angle makes it easy to get on target fast, and the low recoil keeps you there. Still not sure about having all those damned cuts, though, when it comes to dirt and sand in the action. (I wasn’t willing to drop it in the sand and see, I’ll admit…)

Ponz’ response was positive, as well. Other than the comment about the rear sights being part of the optic cover plate, he found it an excellent shooter with no real recoil. Did it win him over from the House of Gaston? If the PPQ couldn’t do it, probably not. We’ll see.

Afterward, I cleaned and checked the pistol. There were some wear on the finish along the friction points on the receiver where it met the slide. Again — not a great look for an out of the box pistol, but who knows what issues they faced just getting this thing out of the factory door and across the Pacific during the COVID hysteria? (Yes, it is made in the Philippines.) So…do I think it was worth the cash? Absolutely. Would I feel comfortable carrying it? Yes. Might that finish need to be addressed in the future? Money and time will tell.