Remington R51

J

joe-lumber

New member
I got a Remington R51 and I like it. But taking it apart and cleaning it is tough. I got my fingers pinched and finger nails almost pulled out. It may take more time to get better at that. The accuracy was wonderful right out of the box.
 
When Remington first annouced the R51 and they were finally available, I was interested in on as I liked the way it looked - however - when the "issues" with it surfaced, I nixed the idea of ever wanting one. I sort of "lost my faith" in Remington.

I realize that they were supposed to have addressed the "issues" with that model and I'm glad you have one and that you like it. I can't address the difficulty in break down as I have no experience with one. I'd be very curious though as to the reliability of it? i.e. - any FTF or FTE - things of that nature? It sounds like you had fun with it and it seemed to shoot well for you.

Maybe you could post some pictures of your R51? What do you thin of the workmanship? How is the fit and finish of it? What ranges have you shot at - i.e. SD distances or 25 yards, etc.

I'm not posting to "knock" it in any way - I very honestly would love to see some photos of it and perhaps you could do a little review on yours - give us the pros and cons if any? I really haven't heard too much on the R51 in quite some time and it would be nice to hear from someone who actually has one as to what they think of it. So far, I haven't run across one in any of the LGS that I've been in.

Glad you like it and that you are happy with it - hope to hear more about it! :)
 
I wanted one from the first time I saw it. Kinda glad I waited at first, but still plan on getting one. For no other reason than I think it is way cool, and an interesting design. All my CCW nitches are filled, but you never kniw, if it works out as good as I think it should it might find a place in the rotation.:D
 
'trouble for awhile causing the rounds to nosedive but even that problem
Seems to have amazingly cleared it's self (that mag is marked and a close watch will be made).
The pistol is finished very well in some mysterious black coating that so far is ,fairly wear resistant, however I am not carrying it on a daily basis. There are öono milling marks and it melts into your hand but when firing failure to maintain a good grip on the pistol will allow the grip safety to keep the pistol from firing. A good hold makes this a non issue.
I found my pistol does not like steel cases, I purchased some Winchester Steel by mistake and used it in the first couple of magazines shot through the pistol. Those rounds also produced the only malfunctions encountered. I did fire the remainder in two of my FN High Powers without any problems.
Disassembly is only a slightly difficult with my arthritic hands however reassembly is very difficult and the instruction book has poor photos with the instructions. I finally found a non marring tool to use rather than fingers and nails, also I found some profane words directed at Remington helped only slightly in reassembly but considerably comforted my ego. After a dozen or so times at reassembly I can accomplish the task with fewer cuss words.
I like the little 9 mm as it points nicely and has light recoil but does shoot several inches low. Remington needs to offer various front sight heights to cure the problem. Despite the detractors on these forums, people who probably have not purchased an R 51 nor possibly even fired one, I like the pistol. I bought mine for plinking and informal target shooting as I have CC pistols already but I am sure that is what Remington hopes will happen.
 
I bought mine on Halloween. Since then I have run 8 boxes of my reloads, Bayou and JHP in 147 and 124 through it. I have had a total of one malfunction when the last round in the magazine popped out the top without chambering. Accuracy is good but it shoots slightly low, about 2-4" at 25'. I think it will become my new CC pistol. Makarov size at much less weight. Cleaning is a PITA, not Ruger Mark 2 bad but bad enough. I've always carried a 1911 but light is good.
 
I have been reading on this, and it sure appears that Remington fixed all the issues with the originally launched pistols. I think they did as good a job of damage control that they could.

My LGS has one in stock for about a month now. My guess is either the holiday season has slowed sales, or everyone is still a little afraid to try it.

It seems like a terrific CC model. It is the size ( or smaller) than many 380's, but chambered in 9mm. If it runs well. It is a winner.

Please post your results so we all can understand this gun better.


Merry Christmas!!!!

Rich
 
Redlight, The pistol is shaped so it would be an easy CC, it also is very thin and comfortable in my hand. I. Would recommend it for a CC pistol because of those features and it is lighter than a lot of pistols in it's class. I did not include Carry when I bought mine because I carry a Sig P 238 or 938 and have no reason to change. Despite forum negative comments several of us who have the pistols are reporting differently, I have their RM 380 also and it is a nice package that functions and carries well. I
 
I happen to like mine as well. A few hundred rounds isn't enough to declare it a great gun but I've had 0 issues with it so far. Experience in how to take it down and reassemble it have made that part inconsequential to me. The size, weight and ergos make it a nice carry option for me. I am happy with mine.



 
Putting it back together

Well I had a hard time putting it back together today. I also realized the slide release must fit under the small spring in place. Once I got everything correct the slide was working properly and not staying open when I pulled it back.
I also took a 7" piece of 1/2" PVC and cut the end back about 3/4" half way to push the bushing forward to place it in the upward slots to take out the barrel, it saved my fingernails and fingers getting pinched.
IMG_0697.JPG
 
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Taking it apart

I like to clean my pistol after a range trip. Guess I could just use a bore snake after shooting and maybe I might just do that most times.
 
I think this video shows a detailed method of disassembly with some tips on making it easy, and fingernail safe. Long description of the gun, but the disassembly part starts at 16:00
https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=SYgyDv_SzDU

I checked at Gander Mountain yesterday, and they had one in the case. Santa brought me a $100 GM gift card, I have another $80 in reward points coupons, some cash in my mad money fund, and they have a $25 off of $100 coupon offer.
I think if they still have it tomorrow I'm going to need to watch that video!:D
 
Larry, Nice to see you have a modern pistol to go with your "oldies but goodies" and by the S/N it is ten thousand units newer than mine so Remington must be selling a lot of them. The biggest concern i had after my purchase was all of the forum " experts" saying it would not work and Remington is no good in any of their products. We experienced the same mentality with our Spanish pistol collections and the comments have been 100% wrong relating to my firearms.
The R1 is neat looking and if you aim a bit high it is a nice shooter. Now if the snow banks will receed i will be able to get back to the art of making empty brass.
Hiiop your Christmas was great and the new year better.
 
Hey mikey, I hope you had a wonderful holiday as well!

I think the R51 is as nice a pistol that you can buy for ~$350. If you look at the picture above, it has clean lines, an ergo design and so far has been perfectly reliable. As with our Spanish pistols, I really don't care what the others have to say about any pistol unless there is a deluge of complaints from actual owners, like the gen 1 version of this R51. I also own a Kimber Gold Combat (OMG!! :eek: ) and I laugh at the Kimber haters. Taurus bashers, Kimber bashers, Hi Point bashers, Kel-tec bashers, Remington bashers, etc. You gotta love them. It's amazing that all of those companies are still in business and doing well. I guess these boards would be dull without them.
 
>>But taking it apart and cleaning it is tough<<

And in this day and age of "easy to take down" pistols you ask why? :rolleyes:

I've bought my last hand gun where you need to know the "secret handshake" to take it down.
 
I agree, RUT. From all what I've seen and heard concerning the difficulty most seem to have encountered with the reassembly of this otherwise nice pistol, I too, have better things to do than spending a half hour or so putting parts back together. Of course, I'm the guy who has trouble reloading a flashlight...:o
 
Once you learn the proper assembly, it takes no longer than any other pistol to field strip and clean. I'd say it takes me less than a minute to take it down and the same time to put it back together. It's all about learning the process. Is it difficult the first few times? Yes. Is it difficult when you understand the process? No. This is from someone who owns one.
 
Well, stopped by Gander Mountain this morning, and bought my R51. I love living in a free state with no purchase permit, or waiting period nonsense!:D
With a lot of Holiday week running around I haven't had much time with it
Yet. Gonna try the take down, clean and lube, put back together tonight. On observation first off. Dry firing it I found that the grip safety does not take much movement to disengage. You don't need to fully depress it into the backstrap to fire the gun. But it does keep if from firing unless you have it in your hand with at least some pretty ssure on it.
Lots of protective packing goo on it so it will need to be field stripped and cleaned.
 
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