View Full Version : Looks like the new Remington R51 is turning out to be a product flop
30 cal slut
04-14-14, 12:09
Just about every review (online) I could track has been negative. Some very negative.
Here's a great summary. Fit and finish are described as a mess. Malf city.
http://bearingarms.com/military-arms-channel-remington-r51-review/
<snip>
While no one outside the company can know for sure, the R51 feels like a gun that was rushed to market by the sales/marketing/accounting side of the company before engineering/production/quality assurance had a chance to perfect the design and processes needed to ensure a reliable pistol.
<snip>
Interesting vid. MAC got a bum gun, posted a vid about some problems, and then was contacted by Remington to get a replacement (a T&E gun). The replacement had some interesting problems, see this vid.
"Sorry about the flinch ... I'm so nervous about this blowing up in my face."
A little after midway through the vid, the author of the vid had to stop shooting, citing concerns that it would blow up in his face. FTF's, firing out of battery, double feeds, light primer strikes, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTzS4sQfn4U#t=413
jasonhgross
04-14-14, 12:21
Never be a beta-tester for a fighting firearm to be used for personal use.
Crow Hunter
04-14-14, 12:57
I am not surprised.
Saturday I was out and about and I saw one in the local gun store. The owner was playing with it and he said that he had someone order one sight unseen and then refuse it after he handled it.
He said that there was someone else that agreed to buy it so he was taking it out of the case to hold for the 2nd guy. He asked me if I wanted to play with it some.
So I said sure.
Wow. That gun felt "rough as a cob".
It was extremely "hitchy" about 3/4 of an inch of slide retraction. Right about the time you exposed he end of the barrel that has the rings cut around it. The gun had some lube on it, "looked wet", but man it felt really, really cheap.
The grip safety had a weird catch in it too. Like it was pivoting something up. Large amount of resistance then nothing. Like the feeling you get pulling back a compound bow.
I didn't dry fire it. Not because there was any stipulation against it. I honestly was afraid that I would break it and I didn't want to get stuck buying it. It felt that junky to me.
It reinforces my original thought that these are Turkish made guns that are being imported and rebranded as Remington because the price just seems too low for an all metal gun.
Really kind of sucks too because strangly enough I found the gun to be really attractive.
decodeddiesel
04-14-14, 12:58
Like I said on Tim's video, shame on Remington. This is a joke, a dangerous joke. Firing OOB, malfunction after malfunction, poor QA/QC. "All sorts of weird failures here...and with ball ammunition". Kudos to Tim for bravely continuing to shoot this thing, I would have cleared it put it back in the box and immediately shipped it back with a nasty letter.
MountainRaven
04-14-14, 13:02
Somehow I'm not surprised: It's new and it says "Remington" on the side.
I, to my regret, did purchase one of these giant POS. I was never able to shoot it because the slide simply, did not slide! The trigger was a huge mess, gritty with no feel, was never able to feel a reset. It's now back at Remington. I doubt that a repair is possible without a complete redesign. Who ever was responsible for this gun should find a different line of work.
This gun saw NO Quality Control, I doubt that it was ever test fired. I was never able to get it into any kind of condition where it could even chamber a cartridge. There was no spent casing included with the gun. I told them to either fix the gun so it functioned as their ads say or keep it and refund my money. (Fat chance).
So I will have a gun that I would never trust as an EDC pistol, and a gun that I cannot sell. No dealer in his right mind would want it, and my concern for others would keep me from trying to foist it off on someone else. Remington has truly lost its sense of pride and quality workmanship. What a shame!!
I am not surprised.
Saturday I was out and about and I saw one in the local gun store. The owner was playing with it and he said that he had someone order one sight unseen and then refuse it after he handled it.
He said that there was someone else that agreed to buy it so he was taking it out of the case to hold for the 2nd guy. He asked me if I wanted to play with it some.
So I said sure.
Wow. That gun felt "rough as a cob".
It was extremely "hitchy" about 3/4 of an inch of slide retraction. Right about the time you exposed he end of the barrel that has the rings cut around it. The gun had some lube on it, "looked wet", but man it felt really, really cheap.
The grip safety had a weird catch in it too. Like it was pivoting something up. Large amount of resistance then nothing. Like the feeling you get pulling back a compound bow.
I didn't dry fire it. Not because there was any stipulation against it. I honestly was afraid that I would break it and I didn't want to get stuck buying it. It felt that junky to me.
It reinforces my original thought that these are Turkish made guns that are being imported and rebranded as Remington because the price just seems too low for an all metal gun.
Really kind of sucks too because strangly enough I found the gun to be really attractive.
This mirrors my thoughts as well when I was able to check out the one my LGS had. The trigger was terribly gritty and had quite a bit of take up to me.
To the part about the grip safety, You can't drop a mag without squeezing the grip safety and that is probably what you felt.
I was excited about this gun but after handling it I have lost any and all interest. Between this gun and Remington not releasing the ACR to the civilian market I may be done with the company entirely. I had been wanting their 1911 R1 but think I might spend my money elsewhere.
This may be somewhat of an "apples and oranges" comparison, but it's interesting that, for roughly the same price point, Walther can market a gun (the PPX) that seems to be well made and garnering favorable reviews.
30 cal slut
04-14-14, 13:35
This is just what Remington needs on the heels of a massive product recall this weekend.
DreadPirateMoyer
04-14-14, 13:40
In the original thread on the R51, I and a few others posted that this gun looked very suspicious from the start. It's from Remington, it's all-metal, and the price point is super low. My prediction, along with that of the others, was that taking all these factors into account, the gun would be a QA/QC mess as that's the only place left to cut cost. I got dogged for it. :rolleyes:
Glad to see I was right, but sad to see a once-great manufacturer go down the drains. Remington sure isn't what it used to be.
Turning out??
I could tell ny the looks of it that it wouldn't sell. The price point was too cheap to be even remotely worth a shit for an aluminum frame.
I called it a looong time ago!
DreadPirateMoyer
04-14-14, 13:43
Turning out??
I could tell ny the looks of it that it wouldn't sell. The price point was too cheap to be even remotely worth a shit for an aluminum frame.
I called it a looong time ago!
Exactly. An all-metal Remington at $4XX MSRP? It stank of poor quality from the beginning.
Are they deliberately trying to prove Peter Lynch's postulate that sooner or later, at least for a time, a successful company inevitably will be run by idiots?
Coal Dragger
04-14-14, 15:06
Remington stopped building guns to a useful standard about 2 owners or more ago. Their new guns are a sad joke. Just a matter of time before they go tits up.
I examined one at a show a couple of weeks ago. It felt like gun cooties. :(
A promising design that should have built by the Turks or Filipinos.
Remington is the Peter Principal example today.
Well, at least it's ugly.
I also was looking foward to this weapon, but after handling one this past friday I was extremely disappointed.
The fit and finish was crude, and like some earlier posters stated the operation of the slide was hitchy, and the trigger lacked a reset.
I decided to double down and get a Kimber Solo.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Jeeze...
You guys are awfully quick to judge...
Am i accepting of a fundamentally flawed design? No.
Am i willing to watch a product evolve IF it has promise? Yes.
Will i beta test first generation equipment? No.
Give this some time, lets see how it shakes out.
MSparks909
04-14-14, 20:36
Jeeze...
You guys are awfully quick to judge...
Am i accepting of a fundamentally flawed design? No.
Am i willing to watch a product evolve IF it has promise? Yes.
Will i beta test first generation equipment? No.
Give this some time, lets see how it shakes out.
It's not just the R51 though. All of their products have been declining in quality. I'm a big duck hunter and won't go near Remington shotguns with a 10' pole. Remington 11-87's are one example, 887's are another. Their flagship shotgun, the Versamax, was also plagued with issues pointing towards lack of quality control. Way to go Freedom Group...
I've felt similar thoughts as you in the past, and I was really hoping and wanting to give the R51 a shot.
You just have to take a step back when the owner of the gun shop spends a lot of effort to dissuade you from purchasing it.
Then again he could have been really good at his job. He did get me to spend more $$$$
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
It's not just the R51 though. All of their products have been declining in quality. I'm a big duck hunter and won't go near Remington shotguns with a 10' pole. Remington 11-87's are one example, 887's are another. Their flagship shotgun, the Versamax, was also plagued with issues pointing towards lack of quality control. Way to go Freedom Group...
Very true, all the shotgunners I know lean towards Benelli rather than Remington.
It's not just the R51 though. All of their products have been declining in quality. I'm a big duck hunter and won't go near Remington shotguns with a 10' pole. Remington 11-87's are one example, 887's are another. Their flagship shotgun, the Versamax, was also plagued with issues pointing towards lack of quality control. Way to go Freedom Group...
I cant really argue with that. My versamax has been problem free but the platform itself hasnt exactly been 100% perfect.
crowkiller
04-14-14, 22:54
It's not just the R51 though. All of their products have been declining in quality. I'm a big duck hunter and won't go near Remington shotguns with a 10' pole. Remington 11-87's are one example, 887's are another. Their flagship shotgun, the Versamax, was also plagued with issues pointing towards lack of quality control. Way to go Freedom Group...
True. I just recently was looking for a pump shotgun for hunting I intentionally avoided Remington due to resent QC issues. I purchased a model Seven predator about two years ago that I found the trigger was crooked and sent it back but I had to pay shipping.:mad: I grew up hunting with a 1100, 870 Wing master and 1187 still have the 1100 and 1187 and regret trading that 870. I will however not be buying anymore Remington's until things change. Its sad really. I ended up buying a Browning BPS and am happy with it but if not for current state of Remy Is bought a 870.
remington79
04-15-14, 02:59
I'm glad my 700 is a pre Freedom Group model made and bought in 05 or 06. It has the grooved trigger so it shouldn't be subject to the recall. If I was going to get a new bolt action today it would be a Savage.
I didn't have good thoughts when I saw and heard about the new pistol. So far I've been right. It's also ugly but then again I actually like the way Glocks look.
Jeeze...
You guys are awfully quick to judge...
Am i accepting of a fundamentally flawed design? No.
Am i willing to watch a product evolve IF it has promise? Yes.
Will i beta test first generation equipment? No.
Give this some time, lets see how it shakes out.
Yeah, that's what you do when a new product proves itself absolute $hit.
attrapereves
04-15-14, 15:45
It's seems like almost every new firearm that comes out is plagued with problems.
Talywhacker
04-15-14, 16:20
Somehow I'm not surprised: It's new and it says "Remington" on the side.
This says it all my friends. Wtf happend to rem. even the 700 . Pick one up that was made 20yrs ago vs. a new one.
remington79
04-15-14, 19:24
This says it all my friends. Wtf happend to rem. even the 700 . Pick one up that was made 20yrs ago vs. a new one.
Two words: Freedom Group
Drifting Fate
04-16-14, 00:16
The price point is the killer. No way a good sidearm can be produced for what they are advertising.
Pull it off the market for two years, re-contour it, stick on Trijicons to spice things up, bump the price by $150 put into machining and QC, and they would have a cool pistol.
The price point is the killer. No way a good sidearm can be produced for what they are advertising.
Pull it off the market for two years, re-contour it, stick on Trijicons to spice things up, bump the price by $150 put into machining and QC, and they would have a cool pistol.
I think it may be too late for that.. You only get one chance to make a good impression and Remington blew it, big time...I've did a little research on the R51, and so far every review I've seen was negative... In one vid the pistol appeared to have fired out of battery, that's unacceptable. QC appears to be non-existent and it looks like they (Rem) rushed this thing out a fast as they could, with little or no real testing. The word's out that this is a pistol to avoid, and I suspect that a lot of them will end up sitting on shelves, and I would'nt be surprised if in a few years, they get dropped altogether, and frankly, that might be the best thing that could happen... Something else to consider, if there's one pistol that's been produced that can fire out of battery, then there are probably more.. How long will it be before one of these things blows up in someone's hands?
decodeddiesel
04-16-14, 13:30
This says it all my friends. Wtf happend to rem. even the 700 . Pick one up that was made 20yrs ago vs. a new one.
Even compared to one made 5 or 6 years ago, huge difference. I was sorely disappointed with the brand new 16 in. SPS AAC I handled. For crying out loud, the Savage Model 10 I handled right after it had a far smoother action. :fie:
The price point is the killer. No way a good sidearm can be produced for what they are advertising.
Pull it off the market for two years, re-contour it, stick on Trijicons to spice things up, bump the price by $150 put into machining and QC, and they would have a cool pistol.
The shield is a 350 dollar pistol...
The cost difference between aluminum and injection molded polymer is insignificant. The THEORETICAL difference in price comes down to machine hours BUT if you're equipped to do so, you CAN machine metal for pennies...
Look at the price Glock gets. Way too $$$ much for how simple it is.
Not only is it terrible but it seems to be designed in such a way that it is unsafe.
http://www.thebangswitch.com/is-the-remington-r51-safe/
Watched the video and another one it referenced. Obviously the pistol from hell.
I feel much better now, knowing that I am not alone. Some years back I bought a new Ruger P97 which had glowing reports. I had trouble with it from the first magazine onwards. I keep fairly detailed files on all my guns, and essentially tracked everything it did. Under warranty, Ruger sent me part after part after part, to no avail. I sent it in, and upon return it still routinely acted up. A real shame, as I rather liked the gun and shot it well--when it worked. Ruger finally offered to take the gun back, destroy it, and send me a NIB one gratis. I took them up on it, but when it arrived I took the gun, extra mags, extra parts, holster, etc., and promptly put it all on consignment at the LGS.
Although not a Glock fan per se, my current carry piece is a Gen 4 G19 that I shoot decently. Very boring--it just works.
Not that I am selling my J frame any time soon.
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