New Member- First Impressions

[President Donald J. Trump]

    I just picked up my R-51.  First impressions: Very cool gun!  Love the lines and curves, fascinating action, good ergonomics, crisp trigger break. 
    Not sure why people seem to have so much trouble with field stripping the pistol. I found it quite simple(thirty seconds or less if you know how to properly disassemble.) Reassembly is easy if you make sure the spring is lined up with the hole in the front of the slide.  It is not as easy most other semi-autos of the day but it is not bad at all.
    The slide rack was gritty.  Upon disassembly I noticed that there were metal shavings in the action and some of the machined surfaces were rough, including the Pederson block.  I pulled out the Dremel tool, a buffing wheel, and some various grit, very fine compounds and went to polishing the surfaces of the pistols action, slide rails, bolt, barrel, and bushing.  I am reluctant to disassemble the frame and trigger components because of the serrated pins that are in the aluminum frame. I don't want them to become loose because of damage to the aluminum holes. It would have been nice to have the pins held in by clips but there is no reason to take it apart because I like the trigger and the grip safety as is.
     I lubricated all moving components in the slide very well while I break it in to prevent galling but I will use less oil in future cleanings. The slide feels very slick and easy now.  The trigger gets better and better as I dry fire. The backstrap safety felt cheap at first but no longer does after many manipulations.
      I have great expectations for this interesting little pistol.  Now that it has been worked over it is ready for the range.  I will report back and brief you on my first shooting impressions.

[springfield art]

The PBS mystery series Frankie Drake, about a woman detective, had her wielding a Remington Model 51 on the episode 'The Aviator', a takeoff on the Lindbergh kidnapping. I didn't see her actually fire it, but it looked way cool being  used to hold a possible suspect. It's 1930's, Model-T Fords, neat costumes.

[President Donald J. Trump]

   I got the chance to put 150 rounds through it today. The first magazine ran perfectly 7+1.  I had a stove pipe on the second magazine on the first round. I had another stove pipe later in the day.
    The only failures were with Blazer 115gn fmj round nose. I ran several mags of various hollow points with no failures. I ran every magazine with 7+1 as that seems to be the cause of many failures for others. So, I wanted to be sure it was fine to carry as intended.
     The R-51 is very accurate for its size. The trigger is excellent! I was shooting the caps off of soda bottles at twelve yards on the first shot. I tried my first group at twelve yards with full 8 round capacity. I pulled a couple of shots but it was better than I shoot the Glock 26.
      The recoil seems very mild and consecutive shot placement is quick.  The controls fit my hand very well. I like using my trigger finger to press mag release button since it does not require a change in grip to activate. I really like the grip safety because I can keep it activated when unholstering and reholstering. I don't feel like getting a "master grip" is necessary before unholstering because the frame is small enough to easily acquire good grip after.
      Anyway, good job, Remington.  This thing is accurate, compact, reliable(more testing soon), good looking, and damn fun to shoot. I like the controls/safety. I am so happy that it runs good because I fell in love with this gun while dry firing at the house. I will be recommending this pistol to friends and family. I will probably pick up a couple more since they are so cheap right now. I am ordering more magazines immediately.  If you are on the fence, buy it!!!
     

[mr220v]

These give you full sized handgun accuracy in a subcompact sized gun.  Sortof like the various ppk or makarov type guns, except the r51 can take 9mm+p.  A bargain at $200.

[President Donald J. Trump]

      Good point, Volt.  I have always wanted a PPK but I am not a fan of .380auto.  It is refreshing to see that out of all of the handguns on the market today it was ole Remington who would bring such a wildly different design to the table right after jumping back into handgun manufacturing.  Bold move, awesome gun.  I think they have something good if everyone would stop the hysterics and give it another try.  Seems like if a major gun reviewer gives them a good score they will catch hell from the anti- Big Green crowd.  I am going to do my best to give my honest opinion on the various youtube channels.

[springfield art]

I think it's time has come and gone as far as any more great reviews; the pistol is now in the realm of us geeks who appreciate it. The price can't be beat for what the product is. I'll bet Rem management is glad to wash hands of it. But it's really cool to check in this site and read the detailed reports posted by members. It's all good!

[President Donald J. Trump]

     I haven't seen any confirmation as of the status of the R-51.  I have heard Remington reps say that it is personal at this point and they will continue to produce them and maybe some refinements to future generations.  Personally, I hope they chamber one in 10mm in the future(wishful thinking.)  I hate that they rushed into production and quite possibly ruined the success of a fine handgun.

[Zorba]

Don't get me wrong, I love my R51 - but for it to ever be able to "go mainstream", Remington needs to fix the nose dive problem and the "8th round problem" - I had to tweak the mags on my Hi-Point too, but I shouldn't have to on a Remington.

[President Donald J. Trump]

    Have you contacted Remington for new magazines?  I have a H0154xx Huntsville, Al serial number and had one stove pipe on the second mag I ran and one other stove pipe due to limp wristing when I was shooting one handed with my non dominant hand.  I have ran over thirty mags through it at 7+1 capacity with zero nose dives. 

[Zorba]

After I did a bit of "tweaking", reliability went up, although I had ONE nosedive the last time I took it to the range. My point is simply that this problem should have never seen the light of day in the first place.