Remington R-51 Post Range Initial Thoughts

I am sure many of you saw the video I posted with my concerns with the Remington R-51 that was sent to me for review, since that video I have been able to get the gun out to the range and wanted to write down some thoughts.

The fit of the gun in your hand is actually pretty decent, but there were a few issues that I had with it. The first few shots I made with it I felt like I was getting slide bite, but I checked my hand placement and there was plenty off room for the side to function and not catch the meat of my hand. After a few more rounds I realized what it was that kept biting my hand, it wasn't the slide. Instead it was the palm swell safety (grip safety) that was pinching my hand after every shot. Being that the small gun is so snappy in 9mm it causes your hand to move a bit and get pinched when the safety is depressed again. No matter what I tried I couldn't figure out a way to change my grip to alleviate this problem, which made it very unpleasant to shoot without gloves on.

Like I said above the gun is unbelievably snappy, there are other sub compact 9mm's that I have shot that had some snap to them but not like this one. Despite being snappy it was easy to keep on target, and the sights were very easy to use. The magazines both dropped freely from the gun, and it achieved slide lock every time a mag was empty. The trigger isn't terrible, but the reset isn't tactile, meaning you can't feel or hear it and you really have to take your finger completely off the trigger for it to reset. The trigger pull is smooth and consistent.

Another issue that I had was the slide became very stiff and hard to rack after achieving slide lock and inserting another mag. It wasn't impossible to do it, but it did require a little extra effort. What I found weird was this began after 6 mags (under 50 rounds) had been run through the gun, but it felt and looked like there was a thousand rounds worth of grime inside the gun. The gun continued to run for the rest of the time I shot it, which ended up being around 100 rounds total. There was only one malfunction and that was a failure to load, but I am unsure wether it was the shooter's grip or the gun since there weren't any other issues like it.

If you look close at the barrel and sleeve above you can see the scratches in them, they are pretty deep too. I noticed these when I was taking the gun apart to give it a cleaning since it apparently runs very dirty compared to some of my other guns. I am not sure if this is due to poor machining, poor fitment, or if this is just normal "wear" on the parts, but it is something I am surprised to see after only 100 rounds. 

The sleeve has scratches like this all the way around it, and if you look at the picture of the barrel below you can tell where the sleeve and spring had been jumping around on it. Granted there is a lot of force and stress on guns, but when they are machined and fitted properly they don't show hard wear as fast as I am seeing with this gun.

I plan on running the gun out to the range one more time before sending it back to Remington, but at this point I can't recommend this gun to someone. There are just too many smaller issues that will more than likely become bigger issues down the road. While I really wanted to like this gun, I am not a fan of how snappy it is with recoil or the fact that the grip safety pinches my hand after each shot. If Remington fixes the issues and improves the gun I will be all for getting my hands on the next generation and giving it a go, if they fix the issues.

Make sure to check back for the range video soon, I will make sure to go give a visual of the issues I have talked about in this post on the video. 

Pre Range Thoughts: Glock 42

As many of you know I was like many others when Glock announced they would be releasing a new sub compact handgun, there had been hopes that they would release it in 9mm at first and then over time add .40 and .45 to the mix. Instead Glock released the 42 in .380ACP, and at first everyone was against the idea that it should be released in this caliber. I didn't totally agree with the fact that it was going to be a .380ACP, partly because it is a harder round to find as of late and when I had seen it in stock it was priced higher than the 9mm.

When we headed to the Media Day at the Range during SHOT Show I was still very skeptical of the 42. I knew that it being a Glock it would function like a Glock and there should be no issue there, but there was just that question of why make it in .380? Once at the Glock booth I took a few moments to take a good look at the 41 and 42, they both looked good but I was still on the fence. I watched a few other people head up to the table to shoot them, and each time the person shooting would look a bit surprised with a few of them looking unimpressed. It seemed like for the most part everyone enjoyed both of the new Glocks.

When it was finally our turn to head up and shoot them I was looking forward to handling both of the guns. The first one I picked up to fire was the 42, and my first impression was "this thing is tiny" but it was also surprisingly comfortable in my hand for a .380ACP. There have been a few other pocket pistols that I have owned and every single one of them that was a .380 ended up being sold about 2 range trips in due to various reasons (crappy trigger, uncomfortable, too small, etc..) but the Glock 42 was different. Shooting with the 42 was completely different than what I was used to with any of the other sub compact .380ACP's but it was only for 5 rounds since that was all they gave us, and while I was very happy with the way it shot...it was only 5 rounds.....but they were enough to convince me that I wanted to pick one up for more range time with it.

So I went ahead and asked my FFL to set one aside for me so I could pick it up and run as much ammo through it as I possibly can and see just how much I really do like this new baby Glock. When I picked it up this past weekend I had forgotten just how small it is, but even though it is small it is still very easy to hold. The biggest surprise (which isn't really a surprise) was the fact that when I tossed it into the Tuff Products adjustable holster and carried it, it disappeared in concealment. It was almost impossible to tell that I was carrying it, and it was very comfortable to wear the rest of the day.

When I got it home I set it next to my 19 that I carry all the time (except at work) and did some size comparison so I could put the pictures up here. It is surprising how small the gun, while at the same time being comfortable to hold (and in my limited experience, shoot). I am looking forward to running hundreds of rounds through the gun and seeing just how Glock it actually is.

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