New Remington R51

That might be "broken in" but I'd want a higher round count without falling for a carry gun personally.

Oh, in that case enjoy!

I want one. To shoot!

How does it compare, recoil wise, to the Glock 43?

Are you having any trouble with the grip safety?

Saw my first R51 at the LGS a few days ago. The store clerk and I both checked it out and had problems engaging the grip safety. I own a Coonan, and have fired XDs, 1911s, and those guns have always obliged me with the safeties acting like they weren't even there. The only tricky one I've run across is my 1903 Colt, which takes a willful effort to engage the grip safety.

The R51 was worse. A firm grip would not engage the safety. Pulling against the stalled trigger would tighten the grip vise-like until the safety engaged, and then the gun would dry fire.

I was disappointed, since I am a sucker for metal guns, and the R51 otherwise felt light and well-balanced.

Well, we did only have the sample of one to work with. Clerk had never seen one before either.

I will continue to check them out before I make up my mind.

The R51 is easy to keep on target. In rapid fire, I found the muzzle flip to be 2-3 inches.

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Indeed; easiest gun to fast-shoot that I own (possible exception is the five-seven, but that's a very different kind of animal in a number of ways)

The R51 was worse. A firm grip would not engage the safety. Pulling against the stalled trigger would tighten the grip vise-like until the safety engaged, and then the gun would dry fire.

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I will have to check, but I think pulling the trigger prematurely may actually bind the safety a bit and make it harder to release. If pulling the trigger harder eventually pulled the safety lever, I'm afraid you were not using a tight grip in the first place. The way this gun works, you have to use your second, third, and to a lesser extent pinky fingers in opposition to your thumb web before going for the trigger. 1911 shooters (or similar) tend to keep their thumbs high up on the frame where the thumb safety and high-mounted grip safety button are located. This raises the thumb web up and away from the R51 safety lever's line of action. On the R51, tilting the thumb down until it rests on the middle finger makes it much easier to apply force between the two through the safety lever, depressing it automatically when the gun is grasped & brought up into position (bonus benefit is having a good handle on the grip to bring the muzzle back down quickly). It is also worth mentioning that the R51 safety is intentionally 'tactile' with a distinct detente/release sensation/sound that on my gun, is similar to that of a 1911 thumb safety; it's not a silent/spongy/light 1911 grip safety. I think this thumb position technique also plays into why some people find the gun extremely comfortable, and others manage to mildly injure themselves almost immediately upon recoil.

I will say, that the safety mechanism design is reliant on some level of precision, and there are reports of some guns (at least version 1.0's) whose parts yield an extremely stiff safety release (like ten pounds). My 1.0 has like a five or six pound lever, which is far, far below the force I grip any handgun with, and once depressed, only requires three or so pounds to maintain. Some people report it can be several times that, and requires a lot of force to keep depressed; this is obviously not correct, so those guns should be returned or fixed.

TCB

Dain Bramage said:

I own a Coonan, and have fired XDs, 1911s, and those guns have always obliged me with the safeties acting like they weren't even there. The only tricky one I've run across is my 1903 Colt, which takes a willful effort to engage the grip safety.

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The grip safeties on Coonans, 1911s, and XDs are all hinged at the top, while those on Colt 1903s and R51s are hinged at the bottom. People often seem to find one type or the other easier to operate.

The 1911-type safeties also don't have any sort of 'click' or other response as to their position. Really wierded me out when I got my first 1911 (lower only ) after shooting my R51 for several months, and I found myself paranoid that I couldn't tell if it had been deactivated or not until I pulled the trigger, at least until I realized how little deflection it needed to deactivate. The whole point of the R51 safety system is that you know whether it is 'on' or 'off,' which is why I personally see it as more a manual safety than an automatic one. It's just more convenient to use than the thumb variety.

Never realized the two were hinged differently, but I think you may be right that it is probably the reason certain grip styles don't seem to work well here (or vice-versa, I'd imagine)

TCB

I picked one up and gave it a good wringing out the last few weeks. No failures at all and I really like the lack of recoil and the ease in racking the slide. I have arthritis in my hands and some autos can be problematic.

Wriggly, I too have arthritis in my hands with a loss of strength, my R 51 is a dream to shoot and except for the first few mags with Winchester steel case ammo, it has gone through over 500 rounds without a malfunction. I mentioned arthritis because reassembly of the pistol is very difficult for me, i use a non marring tool to aid in pushing the barrel assembly forward and a cloth around the barrel to try to hold it against the spring pressure.
I purchased my R51 for fun shooting and it delivers that and more, it shoots much easier than a G 43 (mentioned eariler) one of the few pistols i did not like to the point i traded it for a Sig...odd because i love my G 42. My 51 certainly has proved it reliable enough for carry but why when I have P 238 and P 938 Sig's that are easy to carry, light and compact, accurate and totally reliable.
Would i buy a R 51 again knowing how it shoots and all? Certainly as i like the styling, natural pointing, easy recoil etc. Mine shoots a couple of inches low and would like to see Remington offer different height sights...by the way the sights are easy to see with their three dots, even for old eyes.
Almost all of my shooting was with FMJ ammo which is what i use in all of my semi auto's, fifty Silvertips and fifty Hydra Shock sailed through the pistol without incident.
Except for reassembly ( their photos in the instruction book stink) i truly like the pistol. I know it has a battle to overcome the negative comments, most by people who have never fired one and did not intend to buy an R 51 anyway, but hopefully it will overcome and be around for a long period of time.

07-26-2016, 06:19 PM, Post: #16, RE: If you were considering the "new" R51 remington...
Call me in a year or two, after Remington proves the kinks have been, or can be, worked out of the gun. If so, I would be very interested because eliminating the height required by the Browning tilting barrel system is a BIG deal in a carry gun.

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My recent thoughts about the R51 were unequivocal ... and then I received one as a gift.

Having been tossed into the fray without developing the enthusiasm to buy a gun or the anxiety to shoot it, I have resolved to deal with the R51 slowly and meticulously. I plan to thoroughly document my experiences with the R51 and report them as appropriate.

A barrel bushing insert that could be rotated to engage a notch on the barrel when the slide is back would make service a lot easier (just thinking of improvements for when I make a 45acp barrel replacement)

After having watched Military Arms Channel and The Firearms Blog on YouTube and seeing the issues that are present in the generation 2 guns, this is one firearm that I will pass on. Granted most of the issues are due to hollow points not feeding well, I do not want a gun that is picky about ammo. I am intrigued by the gun's engineering and contours, but in a day in which we have $300 handguns that are lighter and utterly reliable, the R51 is not appealing. Granted, I am sure some of you have R51s that run like a Swiss watch and that is great. Personally, I don't have much faith in either R51 generation and I'd rather buy a proven handgun for the same price.

GC70, You will find that attempts to report fairly will be countered by the skeptics who had no intention of buying the pistol , have not shot one but still value their unsupported opinion on the forums. I no longer report the fun I am having with this pistol, it has had more rounds lately than my favorite handguns the Browning Hi Powers.

" it has had more rounds lately than my favorite handguns the Browning Hi Powers."

Me too!

I want one. If gen 2 is reliable, it would fill the gap between Makarov and S&W 39.
Really want a Smith 39, but would hate for it to sit in an evidence locker if used for SD.
Would also hate for my Mak to suffer the same fate.
If Maks were still $93.00 new, I'd buy a few more and not worry about it.

I remember the days when most autos needed a little work before they would reliably cycle HP ammo.
A Ruger SR9C would perform the CC role as well as the R51, and holds more ammo.
Plus, I know the SR is reliable enough to be above reproach.
But, the R51 is so slick and cool looking.

" it has had more rounds lately than my favorite handguns the Browning Hi Powers."

Yes, agreed...I've been working it to break it in and neglecting the other family members. However, I will admit taking a PX4 out yesterday....much more accurate than my R51 so far.

My LGS just got one in. I handled it and actually like it. It's light, points naturally, the trigger was pretty good, no issues with the grip safety. It is on my short list.

Ibmikey said:

GC70, You will find that attempts to report fairly will be countered by the skeptics who had no intention of buying the pistol , have not shot one but still value their unsupported opinion on the forums. I no longer report the fun I am having with this pistol, it has had more rounds lately than my favorite handguns the Browning Hi Powers.

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I am not concerned about anyone's agenda, pro or con. With a sample of one, nothing I observe will be definitive and will only be my unique experience.

My son was comparing a SIG P225 to a new P225-A1 at the range today, so I carried the R51 to compare to my P239. First, the R51 had no problems functioning - no failures to feed, extract, or eject. POI was to the right of POA, which was not surprising since the gun came with the rear sight flush with the right side of the dovetail. Notwithstanding the sight needing adjustment, my shots grouped well, even though I was focusing on functionality rather than accuracy.

The most noticeable aspect of shooting the R51 was the lack of muzzle flip. I have never considered the P239 a flippy gun, but it felt like it was rotating on a lever compared to the R51. The next most apparent thing about the R51 was that it was simply comfortable to shoot. Despite holding as high as possible, I had no problem with slide bite or easily engaging the grip safety (full disclosure: I have never had difficulty with any type of grip safety). The grip is long enough to prevent pinky-dangle, but I do notice the lip at the bottom of the grip.

Brass ejects very consistently around two feet out at about ninety degrees or slightly less. The cases did not exhibit any primer issues or bulging as reported about Gen1 guns.

The exterior of the R51 was very clean after shooting, so I was surprised by how dirty the breech block was when I disassembled the gun. I found no unusual wear marks on any operating surfaces, but I took reference photos, as I intend to do after each range session.

And the obligatory photo to test the new forum software.