Remington R51

I talked to my preferred local purveyor earlier.

He has gotten his hands on two R51s.
One is a personal firearm, and he says it has run fine with the initial 100 rounds.

The other was purchased by a customer, and it got shipped right out to a repair center because of a problem with the grip safety. (He didn't get more specific before having to tend to other customers.)

So that's still around 50/50 that I'm seeing, but this 'bad' one might be chalked up to an assembly mistake rather than a design or manufacturing flaw.
 
None of which mentioning gouging, and galling, or severly buldged cases. Kinda puts one review in question
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So in a choice between assuming that one reviewer posted a deliberately misleading review or one reviewer had a notably subpar pistol, you go with the first?

I posted this before and I'll do it again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABiLeemLq5Q. This pistol obviously has some issues when the disconnector pin is not the right length to do its job, we see the rough finish of the internal parts, and the wear that exists already. Before you retort that other pistols have had such problems from other manufacturers, poor QC doesn't excuse poor QC. All companies should be held accountable, regardless of the name or color.

You are right that it definitely seems better this time around. Hopefully these are just teething issues and these problem cases become more infrequent. Just because a review isn't positive, however, is no reason to suggest people are lying.
 
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So in a choice between assuming that one reviewer posted a deliberately misleading review or one reviewer had a notably subpar pistol, you go with the first?
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Not choosing either. Just pointing out it is cirious that it seems tye one gun the reviewer got had so much wrong with it. While others made no mention of design, or QC issues.
Too early to condemn an entire gun design because one reviewer obviously got a lemon.
 
Too early to condemn an entire gun design because one reviewer obviously got a lemon.
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Agreed, and I don't think that's what people are doing at this point. All of these reviews are samples of 1. While what I see concerns me and I think is worth pointing out, you're right that time will be the decider.
 
Anyway, what is curious is another thing he mention was how much more comfortable the R51 is to shoot than his other 9MM pistols.
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It's a mystery to me as well. On one hand, you have guys saying their hands are 'abraded' to the point of pain within a dozen shots, and on the other guys like me who say it's basically the most comfortable pistol they've shot.

On one hand, you have guys who have nothing but malfunctions or are unable to operate the gun correctly, and on the other those (not me) who've had hundreds of problem-free rounds, and also guys like me who've had infrequent but non-competitive levels of malfunction.

I'm convinced so far that the Gen 2's are markedly better than the Gen 1's, which did have some good pistols among them but not the majority. The Gen 2's seem to be solidly better in all or almost all cases, but 'better' in this case is not yet sufficient. I'm personally reserving judgement until we start seeing pistols with "Alabama" on the side; it certainly looks like a lot of guns getting reviewed have been recycled from the first run, presumably after passing a new round of QC checks. Inconsistent feed stock for gun assemblies could help explain the variability (otherwise I'm not sure what to attribute the quality issues to, since it's not like the gun design can't work, it's not like Remington can't make a decent 1911, and it's not like they rushed the R51 to market this time).

TCB
 
Too early to condemn an entire gun design because one reviewer obviously got a lemon.
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We can't blame people for lumping the 1.0's in with the 2.0's as far as their observations, though. The 2.0's seem to be about a 3/4 success rate as far as reviews (vs. 1/5 before, ironically the only 'positive' review was Leghorn's at TTAG where he savaged a pistol that never malfunctioned on its own with a one-star rating, a far better performance than for reviewers who weren't trying to sharpen their credentials on Remington). The Ryeonham review looked pretty bad, showing several of the same old problems & quality issues. And even his didn't have nearly as bad a showing functionally as the 1.0. There also seems to be a pattern emerging that hot ammo is a necessity, which seems logical since Remington appears to have significantly increased the return spring strength, and the hesitation lock action 'hides' a portion of the bullet's recoil energy from the operating parts unlike short recoil actions.

TCB
 
I indicated earlier that i purchased 300 rds of Winchester steel case 9 mm, I am definitely not a fan of steel except in my Combloc pistols that were designed to shoot it. The R 51 is destined to be a test platform for my firing of the steel 9mm....it will be interesting to see if there is mechanical differences in the operation of the pistol vs brass cased jacketed 9mm which should be an equivalent comparison, at least in my non controled labratory (shooting soda cans in a rock quarry).
 
Read the thread, watched some of the vids and all I can say, as someone who'll never own one as they are not sold in Estonia is that.... well, I still like it.

I like the looks and I like the principles it is supposed to deliver (bore axis, muzzle flip etc)

I can imagine that there is going to be a lot of skepticism given the debacle the first (or should I say, second) time around. But, from what I can gather, this is not an expensive gun and packs a lot of nice features.

Bulged cases... aren't they a problem on .40cal Glocks? They still sell...
There are clearly some pickiness issues with certain ammo and it appears the mags may cause some problems. Mags are probably easier to fix than the whole gun and ammo pickiness is nothing new in guns. Admittedly, I would not want to be restricted in what I can shoot and therefore buy just because of a gun's preferences. I've not had any issues like that with my CZ and didn't have any with my G19.

So, like I said, I still have a soft spot for it, but I really have to wonder at what Remington have been doing for 2 years if there are reports such as these now...:confused:

Just my own opinion.
 
I like the R-51. I have too many other guns I want to buy first but I would have very little reservation about buying one given the mix of reviews. I would give it a close look over at my FFL and trust Remington to make any defect right. There are companies with far worse CS reputations. It is a gamble every time I buy a handgun. This pistol doesn't seem any more a risk than most others. Sure gen1 were almost all problems but I don't see anything like that in these reviews.
 
DA/SA, Hopefully by thursday i will have mine in hand, my ammo can contains Winchester cast ( steel), Remington 100 rd bulk 124 gr, win silvertip, and Tex X 115 ball. No +P marked ammo even though i have read tales the pistol likes it.
Since Remington's reputation and it's disfavored status by many is on trial as much as the pistol i hope to make a complete and impartial evaluation and come back glowing or crying in my ginger ale.
 
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Well found out the Genuine Remington R 51 pistol has arrived, after my FFl dealer buys my breakfast we will do the paperwork and i will be off to the rock quarry with four hundred rounds of 9mm ( may not shoot that many as i have two AR's to wring out also). Doon't ask for photos as i am computer illiterate and have never been able to do that ---and really do not want to learn.
Next post: R 51 -----love it or leave it !
 
Quote:
"How many hundreds or thousands of rounds should the owner be required to fire before that break in is done?
Kahr says 200. Kimber says 400. Sig says 600."

I have a few SIG pistols. I reviewed the manuals on the models 220, 227, 226 and TTT (1911) and find no reference to any of them requiring a "break-in" or even recommending one.
 
Apparently with thr R 51 the break in period consisted of eleven shots....failure to feed last round...shot another couple of hundred more without incident.
 
I got a chance to hold one Friday. Fleet Farm had them in stock.
As far as feel and point ability. WOW!!! Best semi auto I have ever held.
Fits me to a T and presents right to the eye and in line with the sights.

Getting one as soon as the funds become available.

After reading about how the action operates. It does not surprise me it would be some what fussy about ammo. Chamber pressure would be a critical part of the equation for reliable operation.
As long as Remington does their part. No out of spec parts, ect.
I should be able to come up with a reliable reload for practice and a good
carry load.
 
Coz, i had a few of the reloads mu buddy cranked out on his Dillon for my Colt 6450 Carbine....he even used rifle primers...the R 51 ate rhem just fine but bounced the brass off the top of my head, all others were ejected smartly to the right and out a couple of feet. If i shoot those again i shall have an umbrella overhead.
I still have not printed the pistol on paper as i simply wanted to shoot a bunch of ammo for functioning. A lot of rocks at about Fifty- sixty yards bit the dust however. Maybe today i can put up a target.. To echo your thoughts the R 51 points really well and has bright bold sights.
 
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