Talked to my gun shop owner, Julian, of Kennebec Guns, about the low shooting problem.  his suggestion was to try lighter, faster loads as the gun is designed for +P fodder.  I hope to get to the range this weekend to see if he is right.

MKLAWSON,  Thanks for the feedback. 

I don't cast either, I shoot mostly commercial cast bullets and I have a passel on hand, 115 gr & 124s.  Hunt Supply and Oregon Trail supplied most of them.  I've tried coated 185 gr SWCs from Bayou Bullets in my 1911 45 ACP and they seemed to shoot well, though I don't like the smell after each shot.  I'll have to get some samples for the 9, I guess.  That way I can use hotter loads without concern for leading the barrel.  I suspect that with the shorter barrel on the R51, velocity might not be that high, anyway, though if I want to use the indoor range, I have to keep mv below 1000 fps.

My first trip to the range, I took a couple boxes of mild loads to initiate the break-in process.

I started with 147gr Sierra TMJs over 5.1 gr Blue Dot.  at approx. 20 feet.  Starting at the target's red center as a point of aim,  I slow fired 5 rds using a soft gun case as a rest.  Only 1 hole appeared in the 25 yd pistol target (8" bull).  I was baffled til I noticed a few holes at the very bottom of the cardboard backing.   I moved my POA up about 3 inches and saw another 5 holes appear above the bottom of the paper, about 2-3" left of center.  Shifting the POA to the top of the black, I could get the rounds printing in the 8 ring @ 7 o'clock.  I gave up on that load after 40 rounds and ran the last 10 through my TZ-75, which put the rounds at point of aim.  Hmmm.

I broke out a box of the same bullets over 5.6 gr Blue Dot, hoping that the higher velocity might bring the point of impact up.  Not much difference was observed.  After 40 rounds I went back to the TZ-75.

I know that heavier bullets should impact higher than lighter ones, but maybe, just maybe, it would shoot better with factory loads.  On my way home I bought a 50 rd box each of Winchester White Box 115 gr and R-P 115 gr target loads. We'll see what happens.

I love the feel of the gun, the recoil is well controlled, the trigger reasonable, the grip safety seems to break sharply as I squeeze it. I expect that will smooth out with more shooting.  I want to like it. 

I bought it as a plinker, so my intent was to use plinking loads, not +P, but I've seen a few reports that the R51 seems to favor those hotter  rounds.  Well, I guess that's what handloading is all about? Though I prefer to run cast bullets no more than 1000 fps, and I have lost of cast bullets on hand.  Perhaps this gun is hungry for more pepper and jacketed or coated bullets?

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

Before my first trip to the range I followed the manual's advice to break it down, clean and lube it.  I know my  70 yr old hands aren't as strong as they used to be, but this was crazy!  The person doing the u-tube video must be a gorilla!.  After cleaning and lubing, re-assembly wasn't much easier.  I'm hoping that after a few hundred rounds it will be easier!

I'm a new R51 owner and want to share and learn.