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(More) Remington R51 Problems

Another YouTube video of the Remington R51, and it again doesn’t look good for this pistol. You might recall the R51 video I recently shared from Military Arms Channel where Tim showed an R51 that had several quality control issues. Well here’s another video from a guy that goes by the YouTube name TacticalExistence – spoiler, more R51 problems. 

32 Responses to (More) Remington R51 Problems

  1. Hillbilly Bob March 24, 2014 at 3:13 pm #

    I would rather have a bent Jennings/Raven Arms pistol over this thing
    I have not heard one person say that they have shot an R51 and things went smooth

    • ben simpson April 5, 2014 at 4:07 pm #

      this thing is piece of crap. Mine went back to Remington

  2. Richard March 24, 2014 at 3:56 pm #

    Going to be shooting one of these with some suspicious-looking bearded folk tomorrow. I really hope it runs better than these vids suggest.

    • Brandon March 24, 2014 at 5:34 pm #

      Looking forward to hearing how it runs.

      • Richard March 26, 2014 at 9:03 am #

        Actually, we wound up running into problems with it. I’ll be writing a review later today, but the highlights:

        – brand new gun bought at a local shop
        – action was not smooth at all, it felt like it was ratcheting more than just gritty
        – 1 failure to extract in the first 28 rounds
        – 77 rounds of various self defense ammo with no functioning issues (JHP in standard, +P and +P+ loadings)
        – then we started having the same kinds of failing to go into battery problems with the first round in the magazine
        – all of the ammo (every brand, every pressure loading) showed obvious primer flow

        • Brandon March 26, 2014 at 9:09 am #

          Wow…thanks for the followup Richard, I’ll be looking for your article.

  3. David March 24, 2014 at 9:33 pm #

    Maybe they should rename it. Remington Chauchat

  4. Andy Rutledge March 25, 2014 at 8:49 am #

    Of the folks showing R51 malfunctions, I wonder how many of them cleaned the gun before shooting it. No gun runs well out of the box and no one should shoot it before cleaning the factory junk out of the weapon. All of these malfunctions in all of these videos are indicative of a stock-greased gun that has never been cleaned.

    Just wondering.

    • Brandon March 25, 2014 at 8:58 am #

      I don’t think these problems can be blamed on factory grease. The one I played with at SHOT was the same way, the action was terribly gritty and would frequently not go into battery with normal manipulation.

      • Andy Rutledge March 25, 2014 at 10:50 am #

        I have to believe that the one at the show was “fresh outta the box” too. Just speculation, but likely.

        • Brandon March 25, 2014 at 10:56 am #

          Even if it was, do you think a gun should function like that out of the box?

          • Andy Rutledge March 25, 2014 at 11:52 am #

            Every gun functions out of the box, but it should also be expected to have slide/action problems because out of the box it’s not set up to run cleanly. Again, “a” gun may perform just fine, but it is foolish to expect that for reasons stated earlier.

          • Brandon March 25, 2014 at 12:29 pm #

            Yeah I don’t follow you – you say “every gun functions out of the box” but that we should expect to have “slide/action problems” – that makes no sense?

            1. Not every gun functions out of the box, clearly. Or maybe we have different definitions of “functions”?
            2. I never EXPECT to have slide/action problems. The R51 pistols I saw had problems that went well beyond a lubrication issue.

        • Hillbilly Bob March 25, 2014 at 11:20 am #

          These guns are junk, I don’t know what Remington was thinking when they let these POS leave the factory
          All of the guys I know and shoot with clean and re-oil/lube the guns before they even think of shooting them

          • Mr Priest July 16, 2014 at 8:38 am #

            What were they thinking when they released their new model 1894SS lever action 44’s that jammed all the time…..

      • skip July 10, 2014 at 12:48 am #

        noted off hand was making contact to slide in operation-off fingers and strong side thumb will do the same failures to close-big hands or just the big gun grip smaller gun-interesting all the same ..however-some guns just don’t fit some folks.

        • Brandon July 10, 2014 at 11:02 pm #

          My off hand wasn’t causing the issues. This gun is trash.

    • TK March 25, 2014 at 12:35 pm #

      Andy I don’t know what you’re smoking over there at Gun Path, but you’re just plain wrong all around. The R51 problems can’t be solved with some [insert whatever lube the cool kids are using these days here]. And saying “no gun runs well out of the box” is 100% incorrect.

      “All of these malfunctions in all of these videos are indicative of a stock-greased gun that has never been cleaned.”

      You’re able to diagnose that from watching a video? LOL…yeah ok buddy. Do you perhaps work for Freedom Group?

      • Andy Rutledge March 25, 2014 at 12:46 pm #

        Yes, I should have written “No gun is sure to run well out of the box.” Some surely will, others not so much; even the “most reliable” models. It’s hit or miss because boxed up they’re lubed for long, unattended time sitting there, not for running.

        As to the other, learn the definition of “indicative.” It’s a presumption based on what the operation indicates.

        I do not work for Freedom Group. I’m speculating here, based on experience with other weapons. Apparently, just as you are speculating, yet you are sure while I’m just positing what the footage seems to indicate.

        Not impressed with the courtesy here.

    • Shea Grubbs July 16, 2014 at 7:05 pm #

      No gun runs well out of the box? Uhhh… Pretty much every Glock ever runs perfectly with factory grease.

  5. Hillbilly Bob March 25, 2014 at 11:25 am #

    And to add to my last post, my kid’s friends and my 2 neighbors were notorious for just getting a new gun and running out into the yard and firing them off
    Even their guns ran good with the factory oil still on the entire gun, they would wipe the outside down if it was oily, well sometimes

    • TK March 25, 2014 at 12:39 pm #

      Every single gun I own (Glock, M&P and SIG) has run out of the box with no cleaning. I do this with every new gun just to see how it will run without lubing it first – I take it right to the range just to see, and all of them have run. I don’t carry them in this state of course, it’s just a little “test” I like to run.

      The R51 is a POS and lube won’t fix it. It’ll be recalled or cancelled altogether, you watch.

  6. Jake March 25, 2014 at 1:01 pm #

    This is definitely a gun I will NOT be purchasing. The ones at SHOT Show felt like total trash, I’m not surprised at all that people are having problems with them. Stay far away from this gun.

  7. Robert Geiger March 29, 2014 at 7:50 pm #

    I have never EVER had a malfunction with ANY Glock I’ve ever purchased when shooting it new, out of the box in all the years I’ve owned them (back to the late 80’s). Same with various Sigs, Ruger P series, and Berettas. If Remington’s marketing dept. rushed the roll out of this gun to showcase it at the SHOT show before the kinks were worked out, it’ll tarnish the reputation of this gun, perhaps permanently. I don’t find it particularly appealing and doubt I’d buy it, anyway. It looks too much like a “raygun”!

  8. R McConnell March 31, 2014 at 12:00 am #

    I bought one, took it out of the box, read the manual that came with it (not very manlike I know) cleaned and lubricated it before loading the first round. Had about the same failures you see on the utube videos. At around 400 rounds the slide locked closed and could be moved only about 1/8 inch. The strange part is that the gun was sitting clean and bagged in its box when it froze up. Right now it is back in Remington’s hands and I’m waiting to hear what they are going to do with it. I wouldn’t tell anyone not to buy one but I would suggest waiting to see if Remington can get it together before spending your money.

  9. Jerry Dunford April 3, 2014 at 5:44 pm #

    Jerry Dunford Sr. · Urbanna, Virginia

    It is now April 3, so Why has Remington not had the good sense not to have had a statement to answer the charges of several defects, or design/manufacturing flaws with the R-51. Way too many complaints have been made about the slide hanging up, mis-fires, rear sight falling off, handle/safety pinching hands and more. So why no statement.

  10. R McConnell April 7, 2014 at 10:04 am #

    Apparently Remington pretends they know nothing about the R51. I called their customer service to get the status of my repair and all they could tell me was that it was a Para issue since that is where it’s made. Remington does not even list the R51 in their on-line catalog. When I called Para customer service I was told that their customer service does not handle the R51 issues. I then asked if there was a number I could call to get status on the repair and was told there is not one. The cs agent did try to get some information for me but was only able to tell me “it’s in the que to be worked on”. Two weeks have passed and all I know is it’s in the que. How can companies operate like this?

  11. Boolit Cook April 9, 2014 at 10:04 pm #

    What ammo are you using?

  12. Gary Martin April 10, 2014 at 11:20 pm #

    I bought one of these for my wife to carry, because of the advertised easy slide charging. Unfortunately it has not lived up to that. The first thing I do when buying any new or used gun is read the manual, field strip, clean and re-oil. I did this and fired 156 rounds of blazer brass through it and had 15 failures of various types. Failed to go into battery, firing pin lock up, magazine locked in, wobbly trigger, slide sticking, had to charge. Not reliable enough to carry. I called Remington customer service 2 weeks ago and they said they would get a prepaid mailing label out to me right away, and I have yet to see it. The machining on the breach block is very rough and it seems soft as there are several deformations on the wear and lock up surfaces. Also the rear frame rails are showing a lot of wear and scuffing. I want to like this pistol, but it is so far very it is very disappointing. My Keltec P11 is far superior to this and was nearly half the price. My Glock 17 shot perfectly out of the box and has never had a single failure in over 1600 rounds fired through it. And yes, I keep count of every round fired in every gun I own.

  13. Doran Aldson May 1, 2014 at 9:11 am #

    Gunblast.com Jeff Quinn reviewed this gun and said it was great, reliable, soft shooting, easy to maintain. Guess a pistol that kicks like a 454 Casull, constantly jams up, and takes a magnifying glass to field strip is right up their alley. Gunblast must write the reviews for American Rifleman too, and Handguns mag, and all the other rags that never ever have a problem with any new offering. The R51 sucks.

    • TK May 1, 2014 at 9:14 am #

      Jeff Quinn “reviews” are a joke. They are manufacturer paid advertisements, and nothing else.

  14. Zeke December 6, 2014 at 2:50 pm #

    Funny, My 1919 Remington M51 shoots perfectly, what could of gone wrong in the last 95 years. Maybe too much plastic? not enough precision, Maybe too much marketing and not
    enough engineering. Maybe they should stick to old fashion guns, plastic is very very high
    tech? (for some) Maybe they should hire a engineer from Glock to show them the ropes.
    Maybe I should be the CEO of Remington, Maybe I should keep carrying my M51 and cross
    the R51 off my list. But you know the M51 is probably the best 380 every made to date, I think they call it ” a hard act to follow”.