R51 – Crickets Chirping On Replacement Pistols

I had not thought about the Remington R51 since January until I came across a blog post entitled “Remington R51: Impending Demise?” on Guns Holsters and Gear. The last I was aware Remington was planning to ship new models with the issues corrected. Apparently they have figured out bupkus and those who sent in recalled firearms are still without their pistols. That is just plain bad. Assume someone with limited funds decided the gun for them was the R51. They shot it and it performed poorly and then they sent it off to Remington for a repair and now they are still sitting waiting on the firearm. In fact the Remington website still has the 2014 notice on it with zero updates.

Long time readers know I was excited when the firearm was first introduced. Then it became clear it was larger than first reported. Then the problems started and I am so glad I didn’t waste any money on this firearm. Perhaps one day they will bring it back from the brink, but I don’t plan on purchasing one until the issues are all addressed and it has been proven reliable by others.

Photo Updates – (Like Us On Facebook)

Recently it became clear the links to many of our photos are broken. It is a cumbersome process to go back through all the posts over the past three years to fix the issues. In some cases it may not be possible, but many of the photos are mine and I just need to revise each post. If you find a broken photo link, feel free to post a comment and I will get to it. I’ve gotten about half way through both 2014 and 2012 and will continue to work on it with the goal to have the photo links restored where possible in the next two months.

If you feel so inclined, please like our Facebook page. The button is at the bottom right of the cover photo which is the same photo as on the blog.

Taurus Curve .380

My first reaction to the latest from Taurus was, wow, that’s ugly. Then I started to peel the onion and the firearm started to look more attractive. To start with it has an integral flashlight and laser and all the surfaces are curved to stop the pistol from snagging clothing. It also is, well, curved. The firearm twists convex, but IMO that is a slight bit of a flaw only favoring right-handed people. The idea is the firearm has an integral clip so it can be fastened inside the waistband, but for a left-handed person it would need to be concave or essentially a mirror image of the current offering. The magazine is not curved and holds six cartridges so with one in the chamber you have seven ready to go. Another oddity is the firearm has no sights, only a cross at the back. I see this very similar to a Ruger LCP, it is a get off of me pistol you use in close quarters to get someone to leave you alone and stop the threat.

With an MSRP of $392.42 I’d expect this puppy to hit the streets in the $350 or less range. I’m sure many will poo poo the firearm because it is Taurus, but let’s shoot straight for a minute. Taurus has had some quality issues over time, but they have always ironed them out in the end and stood by their warranty. Now I am hopeful this one is good out of the box unlike what Remington did with their R51, and I do believe most of the industry learned from Remington’s mistake in releasing a firearm before it was ready to be introduced.

FWIW, I still think this thing is kinda ugly, but it looks like it has a great personality and beauty is only skin deep so count me in the group who is keeping an eye on the Taurus Curve.

Ruger LC9s

If you’ve paid attention to the blog you know I am a Ruger Fanboy. You may have missed the snippet on my least favorite Ruger offering, the LC9. In truth what I don’t like about the LC9 is the position of the safety. It just doesn’t work for me to take drop it into the fire position with my thumb without repositioning the firearm in my hand. I’ve seen others who say it is perfect for them, but for me it just doesn’t cut it. If I had bought it outright instead of using my NRA Instructor credentials I’d sell it and say good riddance.

News this week broke about the Ruger LC9s. At first I didn’t see the difference, but upon closer inspection the pistol is striker fired instead of hammer fired. It’s still a single stack 9mm and uses the same magazines as the standard LC9, but has the same slide safety as well as a trigger safety. I suspect that safety on the slide would be something I would continue to despise, but you never know. If the safety was a little easier to drop off and into the fire position it might just make this on a winner especially considering the MSRP is the same as the standard LC9. The trigger pull on the standard LC9 was enough to make you pause to be sure you really wanted to pull that trigger. Not as tough as the LCP, but much less than the SR9C. I suspect the LC9s will be similar to the SR9C and many people, myself included, like that trigger. The thing I do like about the LC9 is the firearm is thing because it is single stack. It does have a bit of weight at 17.2 ounces so it doesn’t seem as light in the pocket as the LCP which is 9.4 ounces, but with an IWB holster it is a cinch to conceal. Ruger typically doesn’t release firearms before their time, so I expect this one is fully tested and ready to roll and will not become another Remington R51. Once I see it in the store the first thing I want to do is drop that safety and see if it is same old same old or something new. If it’s the same then it will be a pistol that just won’t work for me, however you might find it to be your cup of tea.

Remington R51 Back To The Drawing Board

Turns out my post on July 1 wasn’t far from the truth. I asked Has The Remington R51 Been Sent To Area 51? and it kinda has. Actually I asked if it should be redesigned on April 19 and it is. I scoured the web and have not been able to find an official Remington announcement about it, but Guns & Ammo put out an update indicating a recall and redesign. Here is what Remington announced:

Earlier this year, we launched the innovative R51 subcompact pistol to critical acclaim. During testing, numerous experts found the pistol to function flawlessly. In fact, they found it to have lower felt recoil, lower muzzle rise and better accuracy and concealability than other products in its class.

However, after initial commercial sales, our loyal customers notified us that some R51 pistols had performance issues. We immediately ceased production to re-test the product. While we determined the pistols were safe, certain units did not meet Remington’s performance criteria.  The performance problems resulted from complications during our transition from prototype to mass production. These problems have been identified and solutions are being implemented, with an expected production restart in October.

Anyone who purchased an R51 may return it and receive a new R51 pistol, along with two additional magazines and a custom Pelican case, by calling Remington at (800) 243-9700.

The new R51 will be of the same exceptional quality as our test pistols, which performed flawlessly.

We appreciate your patience and support.

Has the Remington R51 been sent to Area 51?

I must admit I was excited when I first saw the Remington R51 and wrote about it in January. It had a cool appearance which was a little retro and almost like something from Star Trek. Then a few weeks later it became apparent the size was much larger than stated, and to me this made the pistol much less attractive. The beauty of it was a single stack about the size of a LC9, but in reality it was much bigger. By April I had seen enough negative reviews on the internet to know this was not a winner. I recently saw a post on a forum where someone sent their gun in to Remington and they told them they did not have a fix for it and refunded their money for the purchase. I think that is admirable to do, but it makes me wonder what the longevity of this pistol really is. If you check the Remington website you can find the R51 tucked into marketing literature, but good luck trying to find a link on any of the pages of the main site or the handgun site for the firearm. In reality it never was easy to locate on those pages in the first place, but now it really seems to be MIA.

I suspect the gun is quietly going to disappear while they either retool or scrap it. My gut tells me Remington thought they had a winner with this one, but found some kinks in it just before Shot Show and so they only allowed a few select firearms to be handled and reviewed hoping they could fix the issues in the design prior to the release of the firearm. Some marketing executive probably pushed for the premature release so they did not lose momentum. Then the firearm reached the hot little hands of anxious customers and they soon figured out several of the firearms just were not up to snuff and sent them back to Remington for repairs. Currently there is no recall notice on the Remington website and one may never be posted. I’m not sure how many R51 they produced and delivered, but it may be a small enough number to be handled through customer service as opposed to a recall. One thing is for certain the gun which held so much promise is now looking like a turd in need of a polish. Maybe someone from Remington will visit my blog and straighten out my understanding and thought process regarding the R51. I really wanted this one to be a winner, but it appears to be mostly DOA.

TFB photo showing another failure of the R51.

Should the R51 go back to the drawing board?

I posted about the R51 twice in January. Once to discuss how I liked the aesthetics and reported size, and again to say it is bigger than first reported. I’ve been watching the discussion boards to determine if the gun is going to be a winner or a loser and right now I’m of the opinion it shouldn’t even be in the race. I saw a video of a new gun where the slide was gritty and difficult to rack. I read where a shop had a similar issue and had to send it back to Remington. There was another video of someone showing issues with the firearm. Then another video blogger had out of battery failures. A recent post on a blog asked Is The Remington R51 Safe? and my conclusion is currently no. Watch the videos and read the posts and make up your own mind.

R51 not as small as first reported

A short while back I posted about the Remington R51 being introduced in February. Based on information on the web it appeared the firearm would be almost identical in size to a LC9 and now that turns out to be inaccurate. Vuurwapen Blog was the first I am aware of to note the difference. The length was reported incorrectly and now I’m not quite as interested as I was before. Triangle Tactical has created some comparisons based on new information on the length from the Shot Show brochure. Subcompact? I don’t think so.

Remington R51 Single Stack

I must admit I don’t own a Remington pistol. Over the past few years Remington ammo, especially rimfire, has been hit or miss (pun intended as always). I noticed they are releasing a new pistol in February which is going to start as a single stack 9mm and has some neat features an appearance I kinda dig. The safety is a grip safety and from what I can tell the trigger is closer to that of a 1911. There would be nothing worse than to be in a defensive situation and forget to drop off the safety so a grip safety immediately eliminates the potential issue. I’ve not seen one other than in pictures or video and I’m interested to see how it actually looks, feels, and performs. Compared to the Ruger LC9 (which I personally do not like based on the ergonomics) or the S&W Shield it is smaller. Actually it is almost identical in size to the LC9, but the trigger guard makes it smaller. The gun will also accept different grip panels so you can customize your single stack. I think all that is pretty cool. I may not be first in line to pick one up, but you can be sure I will be looking over their shoulder to see what all the fuss is about. 😉

Here is a report on the R51.

Here is a YouTube video of the R51.

N&O Article

Today in the editorial page of the N&O editor Steve Ford proved just how little thought reporters can put into an article before they write it. He suggests that the psychopath who murdered the movie theater patrons in Aurora, Colorado had “stockpiled huge amounts of ammo” and then implied, of course without stating it directly, that somehow the tragedy might have been avoided if the ammo had not been purchased in bulk.

Let’s explore this for a second. The first firearm produced by all accounts was a shotgun which was fired until empty. Best I can recall a Remington 870 holds six shells maximum and a box of shells is 25. So whether he had a box or case he still fired less than a box of shells from the shotgun, most accounts I have seen say he dropped it when it was out of shells.

The next firearm was an AR15 which fires .223. I don’t have a black gun since I like wood and metal instead of metal and plastic, but the difference between a regular hunting rifle and one the press have incorrectly termed an “assault rifle” is nil. They both fire rifle cartridges only the black gun is lighter and more easily carried. The .223 generally come in boxes of 20 and cases of 300 to 1200 rounds. In Colorado the lunatic had one large capacity magazine which would hold the equivalent of 5 boxes. I personally don’t think 100 rounds qualifies as a bulk/huge purchase since most shoot more than that when they spend time at the range.

If reports are correct he last used a Glock 23 which has a magazine capacity of 13 .40S&W cartridges. I have not heard a report of how many times he fired the handgun, but let’s assume he had three magazines he still was not using a full box of ammunition since it comes in boxes of 50.

So I ask, what part of limiting quantities of ammunition purchases would have stopped the tragedy in Aurora? Instead of pointing the finger at the firearms and ammunition, how about the shrink who was treating him? Shouldn’t they have some responsibility, or at least as much as an inanimate object? If he went into the crowd with a butcher knife would the article have said let’s limit the number of knives contained in a Ginsu set?

In reality I think Steve was trying to defend his buddy, Mr. Mark Binker, or at least defend his actions of course based on flawed first amendment logic. Bad form Steve, your piece was filled with poor conclusions and flawed logic.