Now I am really glad I quit waiting and moved on...

I am curious as why some R51s don't require this but some do (I rented one that worked either way)

I'm happy for the R51 owners that are not experiencing any issues with their handgun. 

For me, field stripping the R51 wasn't that much of an issue (it could have been easier, but I knew this prior to my purchase).  However, the failure to feeds and the difficulty racking the slide were unexpected.  I gave Remington 3.5 months to fix it and they weren't able to.

After discussions, Remington has agreed to give me a refund on my R51.

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.

Mine went to Marks as well.

The gun shop doing R51 repairs said they have received a lot of R51s in the last week.

I agree with Red Horse...I wouldn't send my R51 back unless it was absolutely necessary.

To Remington's defense, they could send me my R51 back unrepaired...but then they wouldn't know if their "magazine fix" would work (and I would be back to the end of the line if I sent it back to them later)...

Ok...I've got some feedback from the gun shop that Remington has repairing the R51s.  They believe it is a magazine issue (even though it is a Gen2 magazine).  He said Remington is redesigning the magazine (again).  However, they do not have a timetable for when the new magazines will be available...sigh...my R51 was shipped to them on September 1...coming on 7 weeks.  And they are not completely sure this will fix the issue.

I really thought they would have worked out all the kinks after Gen1...

They said it would be at least six weeks.  It appears all R51 repairs are being fixed by a gun shop in Alabama.  I talked to them about 3-4 weeks after I sent it in...he hadn't gotten to it yet...but said he hadn't heard of this problem.  It will be interesting to see how it is fixed...if it comes back with an explanation, then I will share the details along with the turn-around time.

I talked to Remington...they said it shouldn't be like that...so I sent it to them to determine what is going on.

I thought it could be the tight springs in my magazine, so I rented a R51 at a local gun range.  The rental did not have the issue.  I tried their magazine in my R51 and still had the same issue...this is why Remington wanted me to send the pistol to them.

I went to a local gun range and rented their R51.  Using their R51, I inserted a full magazine (7) with the slide closed...and then was able to pull the slide back fully and then release to let a bullet load into the chamber.

How does your R51 handle a full magazine when the slide is closed?

According to the manual, when putting the slide back on, you do not have to grip and hold the barrel to be able to slide it back onto the frame.  However, the youtube videos all seem to demonstrate putting it back on while holding the barrel.

For me, I have to hold the barrel for it to slide back on...but it sure would be easier not to have to hold it.

How about for you?

I'll try again when I get home...but I haven't experienced this issue.  However, I notice that my grip safety protrudes further out than yours.  I tried two different R51s when I bought mine.  They both stuck out about the same distance...but one had a noticeable click when it activated (the other had a soft click).  I bought the one with the louder click (it required just a touch more pressure to activate it).

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?

I'll put my concern in the general section of the forum...I look forward to hearing feedback.