P1140075

Last year, the R51 was quite possibly the biggest flop of the entire show. Brought out to much fanfare and marketing buzz, the final production guns turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. It was so bad that they stopped production halfway through the year and scrubbed all mention of the gun from their websites. This year the R51 is back, and the Remington guys say that they’ve made use of the hiatus while they move factories to re-engineer the gun using the feedback they’ve received to make it into the gun they wish they launched on day one. Included in those changes…

The magazine base plate is no longer flush with the bottom of the grip, instead it sits slightly “proud” protruding from the gun to ease insertion. The extractor has been improved to ensure better and more reliable extraction. The breech block has been plated in nickel boron to make the action smoother. The Pedersen action has been worked to improve the way the slide feels as it cycles. They’ve added a tactile reset to the trigger (or, rather, will be adding — the display models at the show were still the old trigger). And those are just the big bullet points of the changes.

Its definitely not a minor overhaul, and I’m very curious to see if the changes have fixed the gun. It sounds like they have fixed every major complaint I voiced in my review of the R51, and I’d love to give it another try. Too bad Remington hasn’t been answering our emails since the review posted.

Availability is slated for Q2/Q3 2015, as soon as the new plant in Huntsville opens its doors. Existing R51 owners who sent their guns in for repair are either being offered an accessory package with a new R51 (when available) or a new R5 handgun right now in exchange for their gun, which seems somewhat fair. Better if they got a handgun that worked in the first place, though.

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68 COMMENTS

  2. While I’m still excited to see it succeed, it’s now in the category of wait and let it build some serious user history before even considering.

  3. So, if I buy one-BIG if-it’s still a year away. I’m going to give it some time out there before I jump.

    • Q2/Q3 2015 is only 2-5 months away.
      But I’d suggest waiting for an independent, trustworthy source (like TTAG) to review it, before buying one.

      And if they’re smart (and actually fixed the thing), they’ll send review models to the outlets that gave them the worst reviews on the first release.

      • “And if they’re smart (and actually fixed the thing), they’ll send review models to the outlets that gave them the worst reviews on the first release.”

        ^ This!

        I could honestly think of no better way for Remington to (re)establish faith and credibility in the product.

        • “I could honestly think of no better way for Remington to (re)establish faith and credibility in the product.”
          Sorry…still looks like a plastic POS to me. Anybody out there gonna trust their life to this hunk of junk?
          I wouldn’t give you 10 cents for one, except for one of those no questions, turn in for cash deals. If Remington is trying to go out of business, this is a great start…what a shame.

      • “And if they’re smart (and actually fixed the thing), they’ll send review models to the outlets that gave them the worst reviews on the first release.”

        No, I’d rather TTAG’s R51 came random from the distribution channels, NOT a tweaked one from the manufacturer.

  4. Fuck Remington. The execs ordered full production over the complaints of the engineers. They knew full well that their gun didn’t work, an they still went ahead and made it. Oh, and this is obviously a concealed carry firearm, meaning that it’s ostensibly something folks will be trusting their lives with. And Remington’s execs ordered full production anyway.

    Burn in hell Remington. You can’t die quickly enough. And in the meantime, I wouldn’t buy ANYTHING from you. You have lost any and all trust in my eyes.

  6. Remington: “You! You, good sir! Would you like a brand new, improved Remington R51?”

    Me: “Bahahahahahahaha!!! No.”

    • Well Mr. Remington how about a beretta or sig instead? Hell, how about replacing it with anything that you didn’t make…..

    • I’m gathering that if a certain 4-letter word were to be excised from the English language, there would be no dialogue on that show.

      • aww, the show is not too bad all things told. The language is indicative of the kind of people who live and mine for gold, illegally on Indian territory. Among other things such as drinking, gambling, prostitution, armed robbery and other amusements of the era. With no letter of law, since they are on Indian territory, coarse language is the norm, among other things.

  8. Marketing Failure:

    1) Release biggest flop in history.
    2) Recall flop
    3) Re-release “fixed version” w/ the SAME NAME !?!

    Jeez … this is amateur-hour stuff.

    • +1

      I know nothing at all about marketing but I could have told them to call it the “R52” or something so when people google the name of the gun they don’t see all the terrible reviews of the old version.

      • ..and then you’d be lambasting them for “trying to pull a fast one” on the American gun owner. 😛

        • That’s what Remington did the first time around. They deserve every bit of criticism they got for manufacturing an inferior product. The gun rags deserve what they got for printing dishonest reviews. TTAG gets praise for telling the truth. Every now and then, there is justice in this world.

        • ^ What Accur81 said. I’m still trying (and haven’t yet) gotten over how badly the “A” rating by Gun Tests Magazine shook my faith in their publication!

        • Ah, the gun magazines, whose glowing writeups of the Colt Double Eagle and the Colt “All American” Model 2000 25 years ago, and whose 30+ year history of rave reviews for an assortment of dangerous garbage from Taurus, Hi-Point, and Llama taught some of us that they never had any credibility in the first place.

    • Remington is a ancient and beloved brand by many, do you know how hard it is to destroy 100+ years of solid reputation? The people running it now get up at 6am every day, and they don’t sleep until they have made some very bad decisions!

      • since George Soros bought into remington it has went down hill.He was turning in other jews to the nazis when he was a teenager.and broke about 3 countries currencies.

        • Soros and Remington can kiss my ass. Both are useless. I’ll stick with super accurate walther ppq

          I wanted to get a R51 but after reading all the crap on delay and Remington offering no answers I will forsake the R 51

  9. I mean, at least they got a single stack 9 out faster than Glock…it’s at least got that going for it.

    I sincerely hope that the “new” R51 is everything it should have been. I think it’s ugly as sin but if it works, it works.

  10. For those of us that purchased the R51, read all the bad press after the purchase, and then returned the R51 for replacement in August….this is the first word on when we might see the replacement…probably August/September 2015. Will see if they can honor this commitment or have new excuses.

  11. So does Remington super double pinky promise that it will work this time?

    They do?

    Still not interested. There is a reason that Ford isnt bringing back the Pinto.

  12. I really dislike the freedom group to begin with! And I really can’t believe that Remington wouldn’t talk to you guys anymore via email just because you told the truth about a review which later everybody in the world found out about anyways when the gun just went belly up! So typical of the freedom group to respond to you guys that way.

  13. Probably the wisest thing Remington could do, is send the new gun out to the loudest critics (:cough!: TTAG :cough!:) of the first run, and let them try it out. If it’s actually fixed that is….

  14. I thought this thing crawled off in a hole and died awhile back?

    If not, should have.

    What’s that old military maxim? Oh yeah, never reinforce failure.

    • And yet that has been official US policy in every war since WWII… Name one invasion and subsequent war which can truly be called a victory. Most conflict could have been resolved with a sternly worded letter, followed by a nuke if they didn’t listen.

  17. Is it just me, or does it look a little bit more “Buck Rogers” than it did the first time around?

  18. So, they FINALLY listened to their engineers?

    We’ll see. I’m not optimistic. Remington has taken a nosedive in quality. I cite as my primary examples: The 710 and 770 rifles. Ugh. And then they marketed the R51 against the recommendations of the ENGINEERS.

    How did Dogbert put it? “NEVER QUESTION AN ENGINEER’S OPINION, YOU THUNDERING MORON!”

    Yeah. I’m not holding my breath. Not until I see some serious improvement from Big Green.

  19. I’m actually very excited for it’s return and hope they learned their lesson! I’d love to have one of these with a threaded barrel!

  20. “Too bad Remington hasn’t been answering our emails since the review posted.”

    Somebody owes you all an apology.

    Remington’s only hope at this point is that there’s one born every minute. This is no way to run a railroad.

  22. Brand damaged beyond belief. To quote Frozen …”let it go”. I’d rather buy a Taurus 709 for 219bucks…

      • I had a PF9 too. $185 used . Ran ok. Made my hand bleed even with a Handall Jr. Sold it when it took 2hours to reassemble. It wore out and I couldn’t fix it cheap. There are a gazillion small 9’s to choose from.

  23. GLOCK will make a reliable 9mm single stack before Remington “fixes” the R51. Smith, Kahr, and a bunch of other companies seem to be doing just fine with their stuff.

  26. I really want this thing to succeed this time, but then I freely admit that other than a few “tool” guns the rest I just buy because they are cool looking or just fun.

  29. They could have totally pulled this off if they:

    Changed decorative machining on the slide.
    Changed decorative contours on the grip frame.
    Changed the name of the thing, and just announced it as a “new model”

  30. I have high hopes, but low expectations about the new R51. If they really fixed it, I’ll be very happy since it looks like a great size for a carry gun.

  31. I still want one. It looks pretty cool and I just want one.

    It’s kinda like when I first saw the Vector CP1 on a Brit gun mag cover years ago. I said right there that I want one. Sure enough when it hit US shores I got one. Still have it today and every once in a while I pull it out of my safe and shoot it. Recall be damned!

    • You’ve got a CP1 too? We must have the last 2 on the continent!

      I agree with you on the R51.

  33. So were people just walking by the Remington booth at the Shot Show pointing and laughing? They should have been. Thats what Remington has become, the laughing stock of the gun world. In no way shape or form would I ever buy anything Remington again, certainly not a redo on a disaster. I have 100% lost all buyers confidence in them. Remington…..fuck you….nice knowing you

  34. It took 4+ months to get my refund- without any apology. I wonder if they’ll give me a discount on a new one, if I’m willing to risk purchasing it?

  35. R53, where are you? I guess I’m a bit late chiming in, but here goes anyway. For several decades I’ve owned an old Remington Model 51 in 380 that I love (except for the clumsy thumb safety and heavy trigger pull). I always thought it would make an ideal BUG or pocket pistol if Remington ever decided to update it with an aluminum or plastic frame, and a DAO or safe-action or Springfield XD style trigger. Nor would it hurt for them to follow Walther’s example and also offer a compact variant with a shorter barrel and grip, and even a hi-cap version, ala Kel-Tec P11. So when Remington came out with their 9mm R51 last year, I was very much excited over it – until I read the reviews. Apparently, so did they, since it’s been ‘temporarily’ pulled from the market. Maybe while they’re working out the kinks they’ll consider incorporating some of these characteristics. Better still, I’d like to see them offer an even smaller 380 model, and dare I suggest, a full sized ‘R53’ in 45 ACP and 10mm. Of course, I doubt the R53 will ever happen, since Remington is so heavily invested in the 1911 these days. But it would be great to see somebody produce a semi-auto pistol that isn’t yet another copy of that classic design by John Moses Browning (praised be his name).

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