OK, picked up that Rem R-51, 9mm, Monday and today was a range day.
Size and shape let it fit my hand well. I really like the grip size, angle and grip safety. That is sweet. Weight is great and in a good holster would be substantially less that my 5906 and reasonably less that what is my general EDC, a 3.5" barrel Springfield 1911. It is also noticeably thinner than the 1911. It will ride in a IWB holster well and comfortably.
Trigger is a bit of a long take up to tension but once engaging it is short and solid. As well as light enough to keep on target but heavy enough to let you know you're pulling something.
Side track but impt info-- I took it with an old Hi Point C-9 (9mm) I had not fired in 3-4 years and was off to the range. R51 came with 2 six round magazines. I need more. I will be getting at least 2 more, if not 4.
Ammo was some basic WWB or green box stuff along with some Win steel case stuff. 2 months back I bought a 750 round pack of the Winchester steel case range ammo. I figured my 5906 ate the Tula and Wolf stuff it would have no problem with this. WRONGOOO!! Big Time! It did not like it all.
Being as I had that Hi Point I was figuring I would try it with that steel case stuff and if it worked it woujld be great. If not, ammo to the share pile and/or real low cost sale box. Well that C-9 rascal ate that steel stuff like me with a peanut butter jar next to some fresh chilled strawberry jelly. Forget the bread and don't get between me and that stuff. You might lose a limb.
Back on track. Full magazine in R51 while slide locked back caused the slide lock to release and into battery it goes. It shot well, on target and easy to maintain sight picture. It was about 3x3 inches low and left, but with adjustable sights both front and rear that is correctable. Reliability is great as long as the ammo is on proper angle in the magazines. If its nose down it can be a problem. I had some problems with that as the nose down round would not feed proper. With more rounds through the mags I suspect that will improve.
I did some fast shooting to let it get warm to see how it responded. No issues or problems. It went well through any temp it got to with the 13 rounds in 15 seconds. And it did get noticeably warm. You could feel it in the aluminum frame but it remained handle-able overall.
Overall, I like it alot. Fit, finish, ops, feed, eject went well. Any issues (noted above) are explainable and I can easily see how and why they are happening. Cure will be more break in I suspect.
Now that side track again. Having that Rem steel case that the Hi Point loved and 5906 hated I looked and thought steel in R51 and nahhh. But then again, but nahh not yet. But . . .. And what if . . .. So 3 rounds in one mag. Dam they were slick. So a full mag. Nice. No issues, shot well. So the 13 round heat test. Dayum I was surprised. All 13 were smooth. Ate them up nice.
So, I have about 450 rounds of ammo I can use and not trash or pull for parts.
With that Hi Point liking steel I have a new shooter for the local 1st Sat each month match. Each match has 3 parts, an IDPA course, a 5 target steel plate challenge and an IPSIC course. Going to show up a bunch of those guys shooting a $1400 gun with a $200 one.
As noted above, I need a name for this R51. I did/do not name all I have had but this one does need named. Help me out on this gents.
Nemo
That holster noted and linked above (and below) fits nice and rides IWB well, easy to access and looks like it can easily become primary holster for this.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/REMINGTON-R51-IWB-LEATHER-HOLSTER-BY-ACE-CASE-100-MADE-IN-U-S-A/192316933297
