The Rost Martin RM1S Comp Review: The Surprising First Shots

Article Summary

The Rost Martin RM1S Comp is a subcompact, optics-ready 9mm pistol with strong ergonomics, full ambidextrous controls, and an integrated compensator. After two range sessions and 250 rounds, it proved accurate, easy to shoot quickly, and reliable.

Virtually all my friends, including some pretty experienced shooters, had the same question when I told them I was trying out the Rost Martin RM1S Comp: Who is Rost Martin? That’s a fair question.

Rost Martin is a Dallas, Texas-based, veteran-owned firearms manufacturer. I’d seen a few popular Guntubers do reviews on their pistols a year or two ago, but I honestly couldn’t remember ever seeing one in a local gun shop.

A few months ago, I decided that I wanted to start trying ported guns. I was all set to purchase a ported CZ P-10C when I got an email from Sportsman’s Outdoor Superstore (always a dangerous thing for me to open). Lo and behold, they had the Rost Martin RM1S Comp at a great price. A few clicks later, it was on the way.

Overview of the Rost Martin RM1S Comp

The RM1S is a subcompact, polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol chambered in 9mm. This optics-ready pistol ships with a 12-round flush fit and a 15-round extended magazine. The medium backstrap was installed and the pistol came with a small and a large one to change out if you wanted. It also comes with a plate to mount RMR footprint optics.

My version has a 3.6-inch crowned, hammer-forged match barrel with an integrated compensator.

The natural guns to compare this to are the Glock 43X and my current EDC, the Sig P365, so let’s look at the numbers.

The Specs

Metric	Rost Martin RM1S Comp	Glock 43X	Sig P365
Overall Length- inches	6.72	6.5	5.8
Barrel length- inches	3.6	3.4	3.1
Width- inches	1.1	1.1	1
Height- inches	4.4	5.04	4.3
Weight- ounces	19.7	18.7	17.8
Capacity	12 (15)	10 (15)	10 (12,15)

The RM1S Comp has a slightly longer barrel than the G43X and is about an ounce heavier, but it is shorter than the Glock. The Sig is smaller in every metric. Barrel length matters little to me in terms of concealment, but height matters and the Rost Martin was surprisingly short.

A note on capacity. Recently, Glock started producing steel magazines for the 43X that give it a 15-round capacity in a flush fit mag. The height difference between the 43X with the 15-round mag and the RM1S with it’s 15 round ‘extended’ mag is less than .1 of an inch.

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The Ergonomics

This is where we start to see the differences and you can see where Rost Martin put effort into making the gun feel right.

The RM1S Comp has very good texturing. Grip panels, front and backstraps, have what Rost Martin calls Responsive Grip Texture. It is tacky enough to feel quite secure, but not so abrasive that it’s unpleasant or rubs uncomfortably when you are carrying it. While shooting the gun, I didn’t notice the gun moving around in my hand. There is also a nice big undercut that the Glock lacks. Compared to the 43X, there’s really no comparison. The RM1S wins that, hands down. (No pun intended)

In addition to those areas, the gun has a textured area on each side of the frame. If you shoot with an aggressive, thumbs-forward grip, you’ll probably land right on the spot, helping you to be able to drive the gun forward. On the other side, it’s a great place to index your trigger finger when you aren’t actively shooting. Speaking of trigger fingers, the very generous trigger guard gives you plenty of room, even with gloves.

The slide has deep serrations on the front and back. They are very positive and usable. The sights are steel (hear that Glock?), with a blacked out and serrated rear sight and a white dot front sight. The length of the slide is also serrated to reduce glare. There is a usable Picatinny rail on the frame in case you want to mount a light.

Lastly, the magazine well is slightly flared. It’s subtle, not obnoxious. Just enough to give you a nice smooth reload.

Is the Rost Martin RM1S Ambidextrous?

This gun is completely ambidextrous. As a left handed shooter, I appreciate that, but even right handed shooters can appreciate it if they find themselves shooting with their non-dominant hand.

And when I say ambidextrous, I’m not talking about being able to reverse the mag release like I can with Sigs or newer Glocks. Like the Springfield Armory Echelon, the mag release works for either hand out of the box. In addition, the slide release is ambi, something my P365 and Shield Plus don’t give me.

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How is the Trigger?

I did a little dry firing with the gun before I took it to the range. The trigger has a bit of travel before you hit the wall. Initially, that travel felt kind of gritty and I didn’t love that. It has smoothed out a little and I suspect it will continue to smooth out as I use the gun more.

Once the trigger gets to the wall, it breaks clean and easily. While the take-up length is similar to the Glock trigger, the break is much cleaner. The reset on the Rost Martin trigger is audible, tactile and very short.

The company lists the trigger at 5 pounds. My sample was more like 4.7 most of the time. So the trigger did what I expected. Overall, I’d say it was similar in feel to the Canik triggers (and that’s a compliment), but just a little less refined. Again, I think it will eventually smooth out, but only time will tell.

How Does the Rost Martin RM1S Comp Shoot?

The gun shot great. The single-port compensator did a good job of reducing muzzle flip. It wasn’t as dramatic as I was hoping, but the reduction was noticeable. I fired a few magazines of double-taps and rapid fire and was able to easily stay on target. Running this gun fast is super easy, barely an inconvenience and that’s not something usually said about a subcompact.

Accuracy was also better than expected. If I’m being honest, there are a lot of $400 guns out there that have acceptable, but not stellar, accuracy. But if buying Caniks has taught me anything, it’s that a budget gun can punch above its weight and the Rost Martin did just that. Using the irons, my point of impact was about ½ inch above the point of aim, but it was consistent. Keeping 15 rounds inside the 10 ring was easy to do. It could be me or the gun, but if it’s consistent, I can work with that. After this initial testing, I’m going to put a red dot on it anyway.

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Is the Rost Martin RM1S Reliable?

A gun can be pretty, comfortable and accurate, but if it’s not reliable, the whole thing falls apart.

I didn’t clean the gun at all before taking it to the range. The first 125 rounds I put through it were Sellier & Bellot 115 gr FMJ. Somewhere around 20-25 rounds in, the slide didn’t go fully into battery on a round. I tapped it, the slide went into battery and I continued. That was the sole bobble during the first range session.

I went back for another 125 rounds. This time, I shot remanufactured ammo from Ammunition Depot. 124 gr FMJ to be exact. There were no malfunctions. The gun still hasn’t been cleaned.

I’m going to give this gun a thumbs up on reliability. I expect it to continue to be reliable.

Are There Any Cons?

For the gun itself, I didn’t have any cons to list. It looks good, handles well, shoots well and has been reliable. All those boxes get checked off.

The only area I have any reservations about is the accessories. Rost Martin sells the magazines at a very reasonable price ($25.50) and that’s not insignificant, especially for a guy who has to pay $40+ for Sig mags. Gunmag Warehouse has them on sale for 21.99. So finding them online shouldn’t be difficult or expensive. But if you’re planning to run by your LGS and find them, you might be disappointed.

Holsters have been a little bit of a disappointment. I use a lot of Tier 1Concealed holsters and they haven’t started making them for the RM1S. I also use a lot from Black Scorpion. They have started making some for the RM1C, but not the S. Add to that the fact that I’m left-handed and my options get narrower. Rost Martin does have a selection of holsters on their website.

The Overall?

This is a great gun. As I mentioned, it handles well, shoots accurately, and it’s reliable. I have nothing but good things to say about the RM1S Comp.

One thing I haven’t discussed is the price. I picked up the Rost Martin RM1S Comp for under $400. That is a stupid low price for a gun with all these features. Another retailer I shop with has them for $459. Even at that price, it’s still a lot of gun for the money.

Would I carry this gun? If I get another 250 rounds through it without any reliability issues, I would carry it. If I can find a holster I like, I will carry it. As I mentioned, I’m going to put a red dot on it and I can easily see carrying this gun while I am doing church safety.

Check them out. If you’ve already shot one, what did you think? Let us know in the comments.

Key Takeaways:

• The Rost Martin RM1S Comp is a subcompact 9mm with good ergonomics and smart design choices.
• The fully ambidextrous controls are a major plus, especially for left-handed shooters.
• The compensator helps reduce muzzle flip and makes the gun easy to shoot fast.
• Its grip texture, undercut, frame indexing points, and flared magwell make it feel well thought out.

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