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Rost Martin, a brand few had heard of came onto the scene in 2024 with the RM1C, a compact firearm with most of the features shooters look for. Initial information was limited, but reviews positive. I was curious, but Rost Martin did not respond to my inquiries and so in my busy schedule of reviews I skipped it. GBGuns Patrons wanted to see it, and since it's Patrons that allow me to afford such experiements, here's the Rost Martin RM1C
What Is it? The RM1C's nomenclature covers it all Rost Martin's 1st pistol, in compact size form. 4"-barreled 9mm pistol with 15 round capacity. Optics ready with modern fissure texturing and a few extra touches.
Who's it For? This size and caliber combination is popular for good reason. Generally a pistol of this size can serve for carry, training, or home defense. Specializing in none, but able to perform in any of them. It's best to train with what you carry, as what you train with is what you'll perform best with. Many have found this form factor to be a great first gun,or genera purpose gun.
There have been some references to Arex's Delta Gen 2 M OR as a collaborative company and design with Rost Martin. My discoveries show that to be more than just "a few parts and designs" and I will cover that after the main review. I treat all guns as their own and with the same evaluative process. If you are interested in learning more about Arex similarities scroll below the main review.
Take a Look at fit, finish, what's int he box, chamber fitment, and get a general feel for the Rost Martin RM1C in the tabletop review below. WARNING: YouTube deemed this video innapropriate for some audiences.
Specifications
MSRP: $459
COLOR: Black, Stone Gray, FDE
FRAME: Black polymer
GRIP WIDTH: 1.1"
LENGTH: 7.1"
SLIDE: Nitrocarburized steel slide
BARREL: 4" hammer forged in 9mm
SIGHTS: Rear: Black serrated Front: White dot
MAGAZINES: (1) 15 - Round (1) 17 - Round
WEIGHT: 21.1 oz. with flush mag 21.5 oz. with extended mag
TRIGGER: 5 pounds, Double Action Striker (DAS)
HEIGHT: 5.0" with flush mag 5.5" with extended mag
OPTIC: Optics ready, RMR optics plate included with the gun. (Docter, DeltaPoint Pro, and Shield RMS/SMS plates available separately for $22.50)
Pricing as of 14MAY24
(click links for current pricing)
In the Kit:
User manual
Two magazines (15rd and 17rd)
Three backstraps
RMR Optics plate, hardware and wrenches for installation
I had a feeling, based on the tabletop analysis of how this gun would shoot, but it wouldn't be GBGuns if I didn't de-bias myself with a fair range review using a protocol that prohibits personal opinion from impacting performance.
Cold Shots: Truly the first rounds through the gun. No warm up, no practice.
Full Magazine +1: Suprisingly some modern guns still struggle with this. It's a test of how much play is in the magazine as well as how the slide cycles with pressure. This is also when I do my best to learn the trigger.
Multi-Mag: When a firearms uses someone else's propietary magazine design (see what I did there?) I attempt running potentially compatible magaines. This is useful should you ever need to source more magazines and the main source is out of stock.
What's For Dinner™: A test to see what ammunition the gun will eat. Does the gun feed the round from slide lock, will it cycle and feed another round of the same type, does the slide lock to the rear on empty, and is there any notable point of impact change with different loads.
For this gun we used the following ammunition:
Priced and linked where found at the time this article was written
65gr Norma Frangible
70gr Federal Frangible $31.99 / 50 direct from Federal
115gr Magtech Steel Case $12.99 / 50 at Primary Arms
115gr Blazer Aluminum-cased FMJ $11.99 / 50 at True Shot
124gr Federal Premium Tactical HST $39.99 / 50 at Target Sports USA
124gr PMC SFX $24.69 / 20 at Sportsman's Guide
130gr Federal Syntech PCC $28.99 / 50 direct from Federal
138gr Federal Syntech Defense $48.99 / 50 direct from Federal
147gr PPU Defense Line JHP $23.74 / 50 at Sportsman's Guide
165gr AMMO, Inc /stelTH $24.99 / 50 at Palmetto State Armory
Range Ammo was Sterling 115gr FMJ $299 / 1000 from Global Ordnance
Sights & Trigger Control: on a 6" spinner target at a distance of 12 yards. We got this from Titan Great Outdoors and use it to gauge how learnable the trigger is and usable the sights are for forced, timed, precise shots.
Practical Accuracy: Five shots from a distance of seven yards at a one inch target. This isn't so much about printing a tight group as it is a culmination of our shooting experience and time for us to collect thoughts prior to making a conclusion.
After Shots: Final impressions and reflections from the range session.
The entire process for the Rost Martin RM1C can be seen in the Shooting Impressions video below.
On the Range I found the Rost Martin RM1C easy to shoot and easy to shoot well. Despite the compact form factor usually being slightly too small for me it was a pleasant gun to run. The trigger took a bit of getting used to and might be a make or break for some depending on their shooting style (see commentary in the range video), but objectively speaking is nothng that one can't train past.
The slick parts of the frame are where slick is a good thing (hurried draws) and the parts with traction hold nicely. Recoil felt a bit more abrupt than usual, but not uncomfortable. I did have the tang of the grip beat on my firing-hand thumb joint, but that's likely the fitment of my hand to the gun and I did not stop to see if changing the backstrap would have changed my hand alingment.
Overall I can call no faults to the gun, especially for the price point. If a friend was considering one I wouldn't deter them away from it, but might suggest some similarly-price alternatives. Speaking of alternatives.
The Arex Delta Gen 2 Connection
Shortly after news of the Rost Martin RM1C began flowing there were some whispers of Arex having some sort of role. Some media outlets have said that Rost Martin officially says Arex is the source for some parts. I hold nothing against a company, especially a new one, for using existing proven parts. It's easier for them, and easier for we the consumers.
"Some Parts" appears to mean effectively most of the gun. The Arex uses a chassis system while the Rost Martin does not, but ironically the area under the trigger guard where the Arex's chassis serial can be seen is exactly where Rost Martin marks their frame. Not just spitting images of one another mechanically, but close enough that the slides can be swapped with all functions retained. (I did not fire the guns like this).
Magazines are also functionally identical, and as you saw in the Shooting Impressions video I was the 17-round Arex magazine in the Rost Martin RM1C without issue. The only thing preventing complete interchange is the base plate of the Arex magazine blocking compatability with the Rost Martin. Rost Martin RM1C magazines however run in the Arex Delta Gen 2 without issue. NOTE: Should you decide to use 17-rd Arex magazines in the Rost Martin RM1C care should be use when inserting to not over-insert.
Even the weight is incredibly close. Note that the Arex was weighed with a Crimson Trace red dot mounted which could easily account for a few extra tenths of an ounce. What I found insteresting is that the Arex feel lighter, and when shooting I and other have felt the Arex needs a little more shooter effort to control recoil and blamed that on the weight. I did not feel the same extra effort needed with the Rost Martin RM1C. This is like a difference of ergonomics or spring rate.
With so much in common one might think the Rost Martin RM1C is a "clone" or reskin. That was certainly my impressions from simply looking, but on the range the experience is slightly different. I wouldn't call the Rost Martin a clone, more like an alternate universe version of the Arex Delta Gen 2 M OR.
Which one is "better"? You won't find an answer in reliability or accuracy. The Arex Delta Gen 2 M is less expensive for the moment, but as shown above retail prices of the Rost Martin RM1C aren't far off and it's an American-made gun. I think ultimately "better" will come down to personal preference. I attempted to identify differences between the two in a quick test, the vide of that will be available soon on the second channel.
Well, coming along and reading the article did answer a question I've had about the two, but unfortunately not for the better. I did not realize the RM1C was not a chassis system, I was hoping it was potentially possible to use the RM1C in a Arex frame, but I guess that's not happening.
Thanks for another USEFUL review! I enjoy all of the "back story" stuff too. Oddly, this fine gun reminds me of how much I really want a CZ P10C! I truly do not like SEEING THROUGH a pistol, and do now insist upon full length rails. I am getting fussy as I age.........................elsullo
Thanks for this writeup and videos..
I like the size of this pistol… it like a thin CZ P10C .. which I also believe the RM 1 & Arex use CZ P10 C (F) magizines ..I’m overflowing with Compact Polymer pistols at this time .. but I may still plan on a purchase… AREX Deltas are a little hard to find at this time for one reason or another.
I would love to see something official stating which components of the gun are actually OEMed in the US. Because this looks very very much like an "assembled in USA" gun. To be blunt, no one, and I do mean no one, has the equipment, the capital, and the expertise to bang out a wholly us made gun that works this well right out of the gate. Just look at Hudson. The tooling to stamp the components for the (probably) embedded fire control chassis alone is tens of millions. Sure they could contract it out, but that's not cheap either. At this price there's absolutely no way it actually is what they say it is.
I'm glad the pistol itself…