!st round chambering

oldmagnolia · September 30, 2016, 04:09:49 PM

This afternoon I took the R51 for a second try with the same results. When I insert a full magazine and rack the slide the first round will not chamber....it appears to get stuck as in on the verge of leaving the magazine but not quite. I tried repeatedly with both mags that came with the pistol and I tried two types of ammo; white box win again and Hornady 115 gr FTX critical defense. I do not think it is me as I have numerous other pistols and have never had this happen before. If anyone has a suggestion then please let me know.

I did continue to shoot using both types of ammunition and this little gun is accurate in my hands at 15 yards. I am pleased with groupings and recoil is nothing or close to it.

I really like this little jewel and just need to make a seven shooter out of it instead of six. The gun functions flawlessly if I only put 6 rds in the mag.

iquit · September 30, 2016, 09:34:45 PM

I have had a couple of problems with the full 7 rounds in the mag. The good new is that if I just giggle the slide the cartridge goes into the chamber.. that said it has only happened a few times out of around 200 rounds shot so far. it eats up my reloads with both 100 gr and 147 gr. I really need another mould the 100 gr. bullet jams in my ruger p-95 and I didn't have much faith in it in the Remington. The factory jhp shoots around 4 inches low that isn't a problem in a self defense handgun. my 100 gr and 147 gr. cast shoot more to point of aim. I was ready to send it to Remington for repair until I found out I had put it together with out the spring being on top of the slide release. now I am convinced the little pistol is a keeper. I would trust it to carry now. glad I spent the money. Remington needs to put into the take down video what happens when it is put together wrong and how to tell. a simple fix.

oldmagnolia · October 02, 2016, 12:45:31 PM

Thanks for the input. I now install loaded mag with slide locked back and all is well, rocking the slide did not work for me. I continue to shoot without any new issues. I went through my old holster collection and found a DeSantis #02 pocket holster that works very well and still need to find a decent OWB leather rig. Have a great day

sirbrian · October 09, 2016, 07:23:50 PM

My R51 misbehaves with more than 4 rounds in the magazine. The bullets jam against the bent piece that keeps the follower from popping out the top. The bullets jam horizontal.

Both magazines appear to be at fault. I think it's a bad magazine design.

Any opinions?

oldmagnolia · October 09, 2016, 08:12:42 PM

sirbrian, you may be onto something and it would be interesting to try each others magazines and see if the problems moved with the swap. I do have the same issue with both of my mags, just the first round with seven in the magazine. The problem is the same with both of your magazines is the way I understand your issue. I may purchase another mag or two and see if anything changes.
Good luck.

sirbrian · October 09, 2016, 08:43:12 PM

When bullets are first put into the magazine they are angled up. As more are added to the magazine, they increasingly lay flat and I can mimic the jam issue by pushing the bullet forward and causing it to catch on the bent area. I think the cartridges are so tightly packed in the magazine that they no longer tilt upwards.

I experimented a bit by grinding the height of the bent area down a bit. The bullet no longer jams against it. I still need to go to the range to check and see if what I did helps. I lowered the height of the area about a tenth of an inch.

Any one else looking for a solution to this?

oldmagnolia · October 09, 2016, 10:08:46 PM

Hope it works out.

sirbrian · October 10, 2016, 08:23:43 PM

I tried a modified magazine as mentioned previously and had no failures. As a reminder, I removed about a tenth of an inch from the bent part of the magazine that the tip of the bullet was catching on.

Attached is a picture of how the bullets snag on the magazine.

I think what is happening is when fired, all the bullets jerk forward and sit against the front of the magazine and when moving up catch on the bent area. I also noticed the bullet bases don't line up in the magazine. They all sit at different angles because the back of the magazine is wide.

I hate reverse engineering something that the manufacturer should have gotten correct in the first place. I like the gun and hope someone fixes the magazines. what I did is just a band aid.

oldmagnolia · October 11, 2016, 09:49:09 AM

Good to know that a fix was found for your issues. Looking at your pic I see what you meant about the rounds having no upward angle. I am not having that drastic leveling of rounds as more are added into the mag, just the seventh. I think I will try your fix on one mag. what method did you use to remove that 1/10th inch of metal.

1911SHOOTER · October 11, 2016, 09:59:08 AM

Quote from: sirbrian on October 09, 2016, 07:23:50 PM
My R51 misbehaves with more than 4 rounds in the magazine. The bullets jam against the bent piece that keeps the follower from popping out the top. The bullets jam horizontal.

Both magazines appear to be at fault. I think it's a bad magazine design.

Any opinions?

Sir Brian,
I thought it was my imagination, you described my problem to a tee. After the first four cartridges are removed from the mag, the last three almost jump out by theirselves.
Both mags are this way.
This could cause problems in feeding, as any little drag will cause FTF. Remington needs to address this.

oldmagnolia · October 11, 2016, 10:46:09 AM

I have taken a look at mags from two other single stack pistols in the area that sirbrian removed the metal from on his R51 mag. and the front on both are open. Is anyone aware of another pistol that uses magazines with this metal protrusion at bullet end of the cartridge? Why is this metal present on the R51 magazines?

1911SHOOTER · October 11, 2016, 04:25:28 PM

Quote from: sirbrian on October 10, 2016, 08:23:43 PM
I tried a modified magazine as mentioned previously and had no failures. As a reminder, I removed about a tenth of an inch from the bent part of the magazine that the tip of the bullet was catching on.

Attached is a picture of how the bullets snag on the magazine.

I think what is happening is when fired, all the bullets jerk forward and sit against the front of the magazine and when moving up catch on the bent area. I also noticed the bullet bases don't line up in the magazine. They all sit at different angles because the back of the magazine is wide.

I hate reverse engineering something that the manufacturer should have gotten correct in the first place. I like the gun and hope someone fixes the magazines. what I did is just a band aid.

Sir Brian,
Have you o9r anybody else noticed that the cartridges are staggered in the magazine almost like an HC mag? Just wondering. I checked my mags on all my semi-autos and none of them
have that piece of metal there against the nose of the projectile.

sirbrian · October 11, 2016, 10:09:49 PM

I used a dremel tool to remove metal, then made sure there was no burr for the bullet end to catch on, and polished the area with a buffing wheel to reduce friction.

oldmagnolia · October 12, 2016, 08:33:57 AM

Thanks for the information sirbrian I will post my results after magazine modification and range trip.

1911SHOOTER · October 21, 2016, 04:56:19 PM

Quote from: oldmagnolia on September 30, 2016, 04:09:49 PM
This afternoon I took the R51 for a second try with the same results. When I insert a full magazine and rack the slide the first round will not chamber....it appears to get stuck as in on the verge of leaving the magazine but not quite. I tried repeatedly with both mags that came with the pistol and I tried two types of ammo; white box win again and Hornady 115 gr FTX critical defense. I do not think it is me as I have numerous other pistols and have never had this happen before. If anyone has a suggestion then please let me know.

I did continue to shoot using both types of ammunition and this little gun is accurate in my hands at 15 yards. I am pleased with groupings and recoil is nothing or close to it.

I really like this little jewel and just need to make a seven shooter out of it instead of six. The gun functions flawlessly if I only put 6 rds in the mag.

I had that happen today, Old Magnolia. I took a flashlight and looked under the cartridge, and the rim was stuck under the edge of the breech block. Dang, I wish I had taken a photo.
This happens with different brands of cartridge. And what really chaps my jaws is that Winchesters USA Forged steel casing ammo, never does this. The bullet is leaning up
on the ramp, and the cartridge is at a 45 degree angle, with the rear stuck under the bottom front edge of the breech block. maybe if we all consolidate our symptoms with the
magazines and send them to Remington, they can figure out what is going on. I can shoot all day with FMJ, and +P, but some cartridges just get stuck under the breech block.
I can pound, wiggle, shake and the only I can ease the situation, is to pull the slide back, eject the mag and let the stuck cartridge fall out of the gun.
I am gonna start taking photos.