For practical self-defense, the gun you have with you will save the day when things go sideways away from home. There’s a lot of LARPING going on with ARs, helmets, plate carriers, and battle belts. Those accoutrements may factor in during a home-based scenario. However, they’re probably not going to be at your disposal when you’re out and about in your everyday life. It is times like those that you want a concealed carry-friendly pistol like the Rost Martin RM1S sub-compact.
Why the Rost Martin RM1S?
I can’t name a single time in the past five years that I’ve seen anyone else practicing drawing and shooting from concealment at my local range. But it’s that concealed pistol you will rely on most to stop an attack or at least buy some time.
I guess that’s why I’m partial to more compact handguns that are designed for concealed carry. That’s probably also why I was drawn to the new Rost Martin RM1S.
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Rost Martin is a new manufacturer in Texas that is currently offering striker-fired pistols that are made in the US. They have all of the top-shelf features you’d want in a defensive pistol, but at a very accommodating price. The RM1S is the company’s sub-compact 9mm model, and that’s what we will be reviewing in this article.
The Sub-Compact Defender
If you’re familiar with high-quality, polymer-framed, striker-fired pistols, then probably nothing about the new RM1S is going to be much of a surprise. The RM1S offers a 3.6-inch, match-grade barrel with a reverse crown to preserve accuracy. It has a height of 4.4 inches with the flush-fitting magazine, an ideal size and form factor for concealed carry.
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The RM1S ships with a native 12-round magazine as well as an extended 15-round mag for additional rounds. Additionally, it also slightly lengthens the grip.
The RM1S is decked out with features you’d want in a fighting pistol. This includes aggressive fore and aft cocking serrations, a Picatinny rail for accessories, and a very roomy trigger guard for use with gloved hands. There’s a cocked-striker indicator and a port on top of the slide to inspect for a round in the chamber.
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Naturally, the RM1S is optics-ready, and it ships with an RMR adapter plate to get you started. However, other plates are available online for order.
Another bonus is the inclusion of ambidextrous controls for the slide release and magazine release. This makes the RM1S truly universal for all shooters.
The RM1S Up Top
As far as the treatments done to the slide and frame, the RM1S has you covered there as well. The slide showcases extra machining beyond the standard serrations. Top serrations jazz up its appearance as well as assisting with glare mitigation.
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The slide also includes the very robust nitrocarburized finish that was all the rage with early Glock pistols. The sights that came with my review pistol were serviceable, though not fantastic. They include a white front dot with a serrated and blacked-out rear sight.
Keep in mind that the factory sights will not co-witness with an optic. So, you may have to change them out for a taller set. The RM1S uses the XD/XDM sight footprint, so they should be very easy to find.
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The Sub-Compact in Hand
The grip frame also has a very thoughtful design with texturing similar to that of a Springfield Hellcat. I just finished reviewing the RM1C Comped (review to come), and the company made the grip texturing a bit deeper and more aggressive on the RM1S. It’s almost perfect now with excellent traction for recoil control without being too abrasive for comfortable carry against the body.
There are also additional texture fields at the front of the trigger guard for index points for the trigger finger or support thumb. The grip frame also provides a very generous relief cut behind the trigger guard. This provides a higher and more comfortable grip during shooting while adding additional recoil control.
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Even more, there’s plenty of relief in the beavertail area for a higher grip for better control. It also keeps the reciprocating slide away from the shooter’s hand. And finally, the grip frame also comes with three interchangeable backstraps to fit the shooter’s hand size and make it their own.
Shooting the Rost Martin RM1S
Trying out a new pistol is always fun, but it’s better when you get to do it with friends. So, I had a few people try out the RM1S with me to add their thoughts to my own observations. Overall, everyone was very impressed with the RM1S. They commented on its reliability, its off-hand accuracy, and the ease of recoil control for a smaller, sub-compact pistol.
We did have one lady shooter who liked the RM1C Comped a little more. She felt the larger pistol with the ported barrel was easier to control, but that’s understandable.
Trigger Time
The trigger on the RM1S was quite good. It’s perplexing to say that when the average pull weight through the break was 5.88 pounds. It’s certainly not the lightest trigger I’ve tried. However, I swear you just don’t notice the extra weight.
That’s probably due, in large part, to the flat-faced trigger geometry. There’s about a quarter inch of fairly clean pre-travel to the wall, and then a nice and snappy trigger break.
There’s no mushiness as you pull through to the break like you would find with other striker-fired pistols. It was actually quite surprising.
Even better, the reset was almost instantaneous. After the trigger breaks and your finger moves just a hair forward, the RM1S has a very tactile and audible reset, confirming without doubt that it’s ready to rock and roll again.
Despite the heavier pull weight, the overall sensation of the trigger pull and the reset are just excellent.
Feeding the Rost Martin
I settled in for some accuracy testing at 7 yards from the bench and got impressive results there as well. The overall group size for all five-shot groups fired with three different premium loads was just 1.04 inches.
That was using the iron sights, not a red dot, which is much easier to shoot with for accurate results. That’s also considering the RM1S didn’t particularly care for the Lehigh Defense 90-grain XP load. It produced an average group size of 1.29 inches.
The other two loads I fired averaged .91 inches between them. They were Hornady’s 115-grain Critical Defense and Remington’s 147-grain Golden Saber Bonded loads. The sights were regulated for the bullseye with the Golden Saber load, dead nuts on the mark from 7 to 15 yards.
Reliability with the RM1S was fantastic as well. For me, that’s the most critical criterion for a defensive weapon. Most guns are accurate enough these days, but some of them have real issues with reliability. Not the RM1S, though.
In all, we shot several types of range ammo and six different types of premium loads with no malfunctions of any sort throughout the day. I’d estimate that we fired approximately 300 rounds of range ammo and around 250 rounds of premium loads through the RM1S. That’s not exactly a long-term review, but so far, the pistol has run perfectly. I have a great feeling about it going forward.
A Solid Performance from the Sub-Compact RM1S
For me, the RM1S was a very soft-shooting pistol. The recoil was easy to manage thanks to the terrific grip texturing and the extra relief cuts in the frame, which provided a higher purchase on the pistol.
The controls were well-placed and fairly easy to engage. However, when shooting left-handed, I felt the slide release on the right side was a bit stiffer than the left.
I don’t typically like a full ambi mag release, but Rost Martin did it right with the RMS1. There was just the right amount of resistance to prevent accidental ejections. But the ambi release didn’t interfere with my grip on the opposite side of the pistol.
Overall, there was hardly anything that I didn’t like about the pistol. If there was one change I’d make, I think I would replace the sights with something that has higher visibility.
I don’t think I’d run a red dot on a gun this size. So, I’d really want the sight package to stand out so that they are easier to acquire and track. But I’ll have to think about the red dot sight for a bit.
The RM1S is just such a good pistol. I might want to go the extra mile and just finish up the entire package.
Some Final Thoughts
For those fans of CZ’s P10 series, the RM1 line of pistols can use the same magazines as the P10s. So, if you have some of them lying around, you’ll be ready to hit the ground running with the RM1S. Of course, the RM1S also takes the same magazines as the slightly larger RM1C model, which is more of a compact version.
With an MSRP of $469, the RM1S can be found for less with a little judicious shopping. The least expensive street price I’ve seen so far has been about $425 to $430. That’s really a more than reasonable price for the RM1S considering the build quality, reliability, accuracy, and the extra touches you won’t find on a typical pistol, like the top serrations or crowned barrel.
With all the features found in the RM1S, users will find themselves with a top-quality sidearm that checks every box. Especially for concealed carry.
If you’re searching for a top-notch pistol that’s going to deliver excellent results without busting your wallet, don’t overlook newcomer Rost Martin and its line of excellent pistols. They deliver just as much performance as they do value for the dollar. That’s not something you find every day.
Rost Martin RM1S Specs
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Barrel | 3.6 inches |
| Overall Length | 6.72 inches |
| Width | 1.1 inches |
| Weight | 19.76 ounces |
| Grips | Polymer |
| Sights | White Dot, Serrated Rear |
| Action | Nitrocarburized |
| Finish | Tenifer |
| Magazine Capacity | 12/15+1 |
| MSRP | $469.00 |
Performance
| Hornady 115gr. Critical Defense FTX | |
| Velocity | 1113 |
| Average | .81 |
| Best | .63 |
| Lehigh Defense 90gr. XP | |
| Velocity | 1221 |
| Average | 1.29 |
| Best | 1.06 |
| Remington 147gr. Golden Saber Bonded | |
| Velocity | 944 |
| Average | 1.01 |
| Best | .81 |
Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in feet per second from the muzzle by a Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph, and accuracy in inches for three, five-shot groups at 7 yards.
