Walking through the downstairs food court at SHOT Show, my Korean chicken bowl and I did something of a double take at the large, impressive Rost Martin booth. I stood there for a hot second staring at it, racking my brain for any recognition of the brand. It’s possible that an established, successful firearm company exists that I’ve never heard of, but I’d like to think it’s fairly unlikely.
A visit to the booth clarified things. Rost Martin is brand-spanking-new and so is their extremely affordable RM1C pistol.
At an MSRP of just $459, it’s fair to say this optics-ready, compact pistol is on the very affordable end of the spectrum given retail pricing will likely start with the number three.
The RM1C is a striker-fired design with a striker cocked indicator visible in the center of the rear slide plate, reminiscent of the Springfield XD.
Speaking of Springfield, the better half of the husband-and-wife pair who own and run Rost Martin is the daughter of Dennis Reese, CEO and principle owner of Springfield Armory. She has experience in the firearm industry, having run PR at Springfield for a few years.
Rost Martin is headquartered in Dallas, but I’m not sure where the majority of the RM1C is made. Pure conjecture on my part based on how the gun feels and looks, but I believe it’s majority manufactured overseas with the legal “firearm” component made domestically. If I were to venture a guess, I’d say Turkey.
Again, this is only an educated guess based on my experience with all sorts of pistols and on how RM’s CEO was intentionally vague in answering my questions on the topic. It could be 100% manufactured in the U.S. Or even in Dallas.
And don’t confuse that for a knock on the RM1C. I found its trigger to be particularly fantastic. It’s super-crisp and clean with a short, clean reset. Very nice indeed.
The pistol comes with a slide blanking plate and one RMR pattern optic mounting plate included. It appears to be a solid value.
I found the RM1C comfortable in the hand with a comfortable grip shape, a large trigger well, and good stippling that’s grippy enough, but won’t tear up your clothes or skin should you carry it concealed.
Slide serrations are nice and everything about the RM1C feels really good when racking it and dry firing it and such in person. My one gripe might be the polymer blend in the frame, as it’s somewhat of a harder, smoother, “colder” plastic blend than that used in most other polymer pistols and it isn’t my favorite.
Oh! The RM1C takes CZ P-10 magazines which, I think, is a fantastic choice. They’re affordable and reliable.
We’ll get our hands on a Rost Martin RM1C as soon as they’re available and will put it through the full review process. Hang in there.