R51 Slide Issue

[bonorden]

Mine went to Marks as well.

[lklawson]

One of the frustrating things about that is it takes it out of Remington's repair system.  You can't enter your information on their website and get updates.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

[bonorden]

I just got my R51 back today.  But the same problems still exist.  I hoped for better after Remington had my R51 for 3.5 months.  I give up.

[iquit]

wow it is hard to believe all the problems with the Remington r51's I know I am not pleased with mine. I would like to take it apart to clean it again but I had to get my son to help me last time and it took both of us. I have arthritis in both hands and there is no way I can pull that damn spring back. I really wanted my r-51 and am very disappointed I expected more from Remington. maybe they should recall all of them again and make an effort to really make them work. it is possible to work around most of the problems like making sure the slide is back before loading, loading only 6 rounds, not using hollow point ammo, but there is no way we should have to make excuses for the quality of a Remington product.  they should work and work all the time and not have to mess with half measures.

[RED HORSE]

Couple of thoughts.  There is likely a great opportunity for someone to invent a fixture which helps those of us with old hands to disassemble and assemble the R51.

Second, I'm a little fascinated with all the complaining about pistol not functioning.  I've shot hollow point and ball ammo in mine to the tune of over 300 rounds and haven't had any problems.

[1911SHOOTER]

Red Horse,
     I too have a big problem with that *&^%$ Action spring. If Remington comes up with a
tool for holding the barrel while removing the slide from the frame, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
I love shooting my R51, but I would dang near pay to have it cleaned.

RE: Complaints about the pistol, compared to the number sold, as opposed to the members
on here, the ratio is not so bad. Remington Owners.com even less so. If Remington would just
admit they have a magazine problem, it would solve about 90% of these complaints I believe.
Blackie

[1911SHOOTER]

Couple of thoughts.  There is likely a great opportunity for someone to invent a fixture which helps those of us with old hands to disassemble and assemble the R51.

Second, I'm a little fascinated with all the complaining about pistol not functioning.  I've shot hollow point and ball ammo in mine to the tune of over 300 rounds and haven't had any problems.

RED HORSE,
     I agree with you on the ammo.  I have shot Ruger ARX, Winchester USA Forged, White Box, reman ammo, Federal and Blazer, and several self defense brands,  and everything I had in my ammo locker.  Not a hiccup in a carload!
Aside from the Mag problem,  which I solved to MY OWN  satisfaction,  and cleaning the pistol, I love it.
Blackie

[1911SHOOTER]

Couple of thoughts.  There is likely a great opportunity for someone to invent a fixture which helps those of us with old hands to disassemble and assemble the R51.

Second, I'm a little fascinated with all the complaining about pistol not functioning.  I've shot hollow point and ball ammo in mine to the tune of over 300 rounds and haven't had any problems.

Red,
      How about a threaded barrel, with a handle mated to it, and you could screw the handel on the barrel, and hold it while removing the slide from the frame.
Of course, that would not help  with getting the *&^(* action spring out of the slide. I would sure like to see that little lady at the shot show rack my
R51 with one finger!
     As for second, I shoot all types of ammo in my R51, just because I can. I have not tried Tulammo steel case yet, but I have shot about 600 rounds
of Winchester USA Forged which has steel cases, and no problems. It all goes BANG!  No feed problems, ejection problems at all. Oh, I have not
tried aluminium cases. Just because I do not have any.
     Now, if we could just get Remington to listen to us old farts, and do something about that *&#$@ action spring, we would be fat happy cats, right?

[Texas-Mark]

Couple of thoughts.  There is likely a great opportunity for someone to invent a fixture which helps those of us with old hands to disassemble and assemble the R51.

     I too have a big problem with that *&^%$ Action spring. If Remington comes up with a
tool for holding the barrel while removing the slide from the frame, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
I love shooting my R51, but I would dang near pay to have it cleaned.

I had tried several different things to help with the disassembly and then the simplest one worked the best. I cut a small block of wood and place it like this and the slide comes right off without having to hold the barrel. I also use it for reassembly as I can't seem to get mine on without having the barrel forward. If you cut the block just the right size, you can also remove/install the takedown lever without having to move the slide.

[1911SHOOTER]

Couple of thoughts.  There is likely a great opportunity for someone to invent a fixture which helps those of us with old hands to disassemble and assemble the R51.

     I too have a big problem with that *&^%$ Action spring. If Remington comes up with a
tool for holding the barrel while removing the slide from the frame, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
I love shooting my R51, but I would dang near pay to have it cleaned.

I had tried several different things to help with the disassembly and then the simplest one worked the best. I cut a small block of wood and place it like this and the slide comes right off without having to hold the barrel. I also use it for reassembly as I can't seem to get mine on without having the barrel forward. If you cut the block just the right size, you can also remove/install the takedown lever without having to move the slide.

Howdy, Texas Mark,
You are the hero of every one of us old farts who own an R51. That block of wood trick is a doozie.
From one Texan to another, my channel locks, my barrel and I thank you.
How about working on that *&%$# action spring now?  We will be indebted to you forever!
Blackie

[Texas-Mark]

Howdy, Texas Mark,
You are the hero of every one of us old farts who own an R51. That block of wood trick is a doozie.
From one Texan to another, my channel locks, my barrel and I thank you.
How about working on that *&%$# action spring now?  We will be indebted to you forever!
Blackie

Glad to be of help. The rear of the wood bock needs to rest on the slide as shown as to not interfere with the breech block.

Not sure what you mean by working on the action spring, but I still have a bit of a problem getting the barrel back into the slide. I have an idea to make sort of a shim to help push the bushing forward as you put the barrel back in, but I have to think about that a bit more.

But I also made this "thumb saver" out of a paint brush. It already has a hole in the handle and I just sanded down the sides a bit  to fit in the slide and it makes it a lot easier to manipulate the barrel without the feed ramp digging into your fingers.

[iquit]

I really like the great ideas that have come up like the wooden block to help in takedown. the issue I have is Remington should come up with the means to disassemble the pistol. I have read many excuses on this forum, like the type of ammo only closing the slide with the slide stop when loading 7 rounds etc. my issue is there have been many excuses made by some for a poorly designed pistol. it should work and work with all reasonable ammo. the slide should be able to be pulled back on a loaded magazine. what about those who want to carry with an empty chamber point is it is a 7 shot pistol and we should be able to load 7 rounds. the slide shouldn't cut the hand with firing the pistol. at least Remington could have rounded the back of the slide. with most loads it shoots low, actually I haven't found a load that shoots to point of aim. about the only really good thing about the new improved Remington model 51 is that it looks great. looks however don't mean much with a pistol that has massive problems. lets quit making excuses for Remington and tell it like it is....... these pistols have issues that are not fixed yet. Now for those of you who really have a trouble free Remington more power to you, for the rest of us well lets just admit the problems. I bought mine because I own the older m-51's in 32 and 380 acp and to carry for protection I cant carry a pistol of less than 100% reliability so mine is sitting in the safe wasted money. argie1891 aka Joe from selah wa. 

[Texas-Mark]

..... the slide shouldn't cut the hand with firing the pistol. at least Remington could have rounded the back of the slide.....

While I agree with most of your other points, I have to question this one. How is your hand getting cut? I have big hands and the slide comes nowhere near it with a proper grip.

As for the racking the slide with 7 rounds, at first I could not do it either. But I have shot about 500 rounds now and have left the mags fully loaded. Now that the mag springs have taken a set, I can now rack it fairly easily with 7 rounds. As I mentioned in another thread, it is not unusual for mag springs to be very stiff at first.

Now the takedown, I totally agree with. The SA EMP comes with a little clip to put on the guide rod to aid in disassembly otherwise it would be very hard to take down without it. Of course I hate that any special tool is needed to take down a gun, but Remington should have devised something to help with the takedown.

[1911SHOOTER]

Let me start by saying that I really like the feel and accuracy of the R51.  However, I have an issue with my R51 that I haven't seen posted.

When I have a full magazine (all 7 rounds) and insert the magazine while the slide is pulled back, the magazine inserts properly.  I can release the slide and the first bullet gets chambered.  Perfect!

However, if my slide is closed and I insert the magazine (with all 7 rounds), it goes in, but has a little different feel to it.  But it is still properly secured.  The issue is that under this circumstance, I cannot put the slide all the way back...maybe it goes back 1/2 to 3/4 ways.  If I drop the magazine out, the bullet (or now I'm using snap caps) will have a little mark on the top side of the bullet.  I do not have this problem if there are only 6 bullets in the magazine.  It does this for both magazines.

I've field stripped it many times to see if Pederson device is in the proper spot or if there is anything between it and the slide or if there is any signs of wear.  I don't see any issue.

Is this a problem or just normal operation?

Bonorden,
     It is not your imagination. The slide will not rack with a full loaded magazine. My fix is to leave the slide locked open, insert the magazine, pull back on the open slide and
let it slingshot back. Then, I take the magazine out, replace the seventh bullet and it is good to go. on the range, I just bite the bullet (pun intended) and shoot six times and
reload.
Blackie

[1911SHOOTER]

Argie,
     We are not making excuses, we are giving symptoms of our problems which Remington "appears"
not to be paying attention to. Yes there is a problem racking the seventh bullet into the slide on
many R51s. I leave the slide open, insert a full magazine (7 rounds), pull the slide back
and let it slam forward. My gun shoots this way all day. With any 115 gr ammo or +P ammo,
even Winchester USA Forged with steel cases. 
     My slide does not cut my hand, my hand gets abraded by the sharp edges on the lemon squeezer
in the handle. With my slide all the way locked back, and a normal firing grip, there is 3/8" of an inch
between the slide and the web of my hand. I bought a pair of shooters gloves and moved on.
     Texas Mark did many of us a favour by coming up with that little block of wood to hold the
slide open on disassembly. I for one, as an old fart can use all the help I can get in this area.
     We are trying to help each other through Remington's maze of hurdles, not trying to make
excuses. 
Blackie