Hello from St. Louis

[Zaphod]

I've had my R51 for about 3 months now ... the balance and ergonomics make it the most natural shooting firearm I have.  That along with the smaller profile make it my favorite everyday carry gun.

As that happened, I immediately looked to upgrading to night sights, which led to my first foray into a laser sight.  To that end I have to say that this gun was made for personal defense and laser sights solidify that notion.  With the backstrap safety and the grip activated laser, the smooth draw and lower profile, lower bore axis, super clean trigger break, weight and travel, I can't think of a better concealed defense combination.

Not turning this into an ad for Crimson Trace, I did have an issue with that sight failing at the range which they quickly corrected by shipping a replacement.  But it did lead me back to my frustration with the factory 3 dot white sights, so I first filled them in with fluorescent paint, which helped a little, but not to my satisfaction for quick target acquisition.

The only aftermarket option I saw was a tritium only, which is fine for my shield that now lives in the safe more often than not, but I never really cared for them during the day.  So continuing my search for a fiberoptic option is what brought me to this site, since I don't trust myself with a drill press on the factory sights which admittedly don't have a lot of space at the top for light anyway, especially on the front which is what I really want to brighten up.

Voila, an option from Remington themselves.  Now if only I can find a tritium fiberoptic combination I'll be truly content

Anyway, I'm never done learning and this looks like a great place to get information for what I think is a truly under appreciated pistol due to the bad reputation it earned on the initial release.

If anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to help where possible.  I definitely feel like I've mastered breaking down and assembling the weapon, which I suspect is more likely the real reason for its less than favorable reputation from "experts" (dirty semi-autos tend to jam) who don't want to look less expert with a pistol that requires some getting used to in that regard.

[1911SHOOTER]

I've had my R51 for about 3 months now ... the balance and ergonomics make it the most natural shooting firearm I have.  That along with the smaller profile make it my favorite everyday carry gun.

As that happened, I immediately looked to upgrading to night sights, which led to my first foray into a laser sight.  To that end I have to say that this gun was made for personal defense and laser sights solidify that notion.  With the backstrap safety and the grip activated laser, the smooth draw and lower profile, lower bore axis, super clean trigger break, weight and travel, I can't think of a better concealed defense combination.

Not turning this into an ad for Crimson Trace, I did have an issue with that sight failing at the range which they quickly corrected by shipping a replacement.  But it did lead me back to my frustration with the factory 3 dot white sights, so I first filled them in with fluorescent paint, which helped a little, but not to my satisfaction for quick target acquisition.

The only aftermarket option I saw was a tritium only, which is fine for my shield that now lives in the safe more often than not, but I never really cared for them during the day.  So continuing my search for a fiberoptic option is what brought me to this site, since I don't trust myself with a drill press on the factory sights which admittedly don't have a lot of space at the top for light anyway, especially on the front which is what I really want to brighten up.

Voila, an option from Remington themselves.  Now if only I can find a tritium fiberoptic combination I'll be truly content

Anyway, I'm never done learning and this looks like a great place to get information for what I think is a truly under appreciated pistol due to the bad reputation it earned on the initial release.

If anyone has any questions, I'll be glad to help where possible.  I definitely feel like I've mastered breaking down and assembling the weapon, which I suspect is more likely the real reason for its less than favorable reputation from "experts" (dirty semi-autos tend to jam) who don't want to look less expert with a pistol that requires some getting used to in that regard.

Zaphod,
     i think this dirty rep the R51 is getting is a bum rap.   I have been running a test on my R51.    Every time I go to the range,  I shoot all my old
9MM  ammo in it, regardless of brand.   It all goes bang, no problems, (but no reloads) once I got my mags straightened out.   But, I am also shooting it dirty!
The difficulty of breaking it down with these old fingers being one reason.    I have my clamp for holding the barrel though.
It has been through 5 sessions  with out a cleaning and is still running strong.    I also numbered my mags, 1 thru 5 and keep a log on them and
the R51.   Last problem was with #5 after I bent the lip back in that holds the follower.   Had one hangup, a nose dive.   That was 5 sessions ago.
straightened the lip out and cured that problem.  I am paying close attention to the follower, as the front where it is stopped by the lip
could suffer from wear.   I firmly believe that
the design of the bent lip on the mag and the relationship to the follower needs a redesign, but that is only my  opinion, And as we all know,
everybody has one of those, 
I wish Mec-Gar or one of those outstanding mag manufacturers would get in the mix. Maybe, if enough of us ask nice, Mec-Gar will
look into this,
Blackie


      https://mec-gar.com/contact

[1911SHOOTER]

Just received from Meg-Gar, 11/26/20187.

"Unfortunately at this time we don't have plans to offer magazines for the R51. If you have any further questions please contact us again".
Blackie