I was excited to see the Remington R51 at SHOT, but then I saw it, and was no longer excited.
Two reasons why.
1. Remington didn’t bring any to Media Day (which, considering that they’ve had them at media events before, means only one thing: that the current iteration of pistols aren’t reliable enough)
2. It’s bigger than you’ve been led to believe.
I made these comments on the blog’s Facebook page, and shared a photo of the R51 next to a 1911. People told me I was wrong, and that it was smaller than I was saying, because they read something on the internet. They even linked this site which purportedly offers a size comparison of the R51 and popular pistols. Here’s the R51 versus the Glock 42.
Well, here’s the R51 next to a 1911.
And here’s the Glock 42 next to my Benchmade Mini-Griptilian, which has a 6.78″ overall length.
And here’s the Remington R51 next to said Mini-Griptilian.
These aren’t a perfect comparison, but my best guess is that the R51 is between 5/8″ and 3/4″ longer than those diagrams (and their related specifications, which claim 6″) show. If you look at the overall size of the pistol in those diagrams – and maybe this is only apparent to me because I’ve held the R51 – but it looks very wrong. Just the opening for the trigger guard, compared to the other pistols, looks way too small for human hands. Unless you shoot with your pinkie.
how dare you use logic and fact. there is no room for this on the internet!!!
Thanks for linking Andrew, I’ve been suspect of the 6″ length number since seeing pics from SHOT as well.
AND, its ugly too:-)
Always a clear headed voice of reason. Thank you Andrew.
It’s obvious the Triangle Tactical guys didn’t really think before they posted the R51/Glock 42 comparison.
Using some MS Paint voodoo, I’ve got the Glock 42 coming in at 6.1″ and the R51 at 6.6″. So we can assume the R51 is about a half-inch longer. The Glock’s stated barrel length is 3.25″, and the overall length of .380 ACP is .984″ (this has a direct effect on the overall length of the pistol). The R51’s stated barrel length is 3.4″, and the overall length of 9mm Luger is 1.169″. So, for a fair comparison, we subtract the OAL of .380 ACP from the OAL of 9mm Luger and add it to the overall length of the Glock 42, giving us an adjusted overall length for the hypothetical 9mm Glock 42 of 6.285″. Next we subtract the barrel length from the overall length for each pistol respectively, to get an idea of how efficient each is. For the 9mm Glock 42, we get an excess length of 3.035″, and for the R51 we get 3.2″, approximately. So, the R51 is two hundred thousandths of an inch less efficient in terms of barrel length to gun size than the Glock, which probably has more to do with the rear slide shaping than any inherent inefficiency in the action. This difference is negligible, in my opinion. One should also note that these lengths could be in err, but the comparison is valid enough for the purposes of a blog comment.
If the R51 proves to be acceptable in the other important criteria, I could see it making a fine carry handgun. Unlike some of the smaller 9mm pistols, it probably is much more comfortable to shoot, encouraging regular practice, but it will probably prove more portable than, say a Glock 19. Tentatively, I would most directly compare it in terms of size to Kahr’s P9/K9 offerings. It doesn’t seem to be a wunderpistole to me, but a perfectly fine – and technically interesting – offering from Remington.
Well, “perfectly fine” assuming they can get it to work.
I’m sure Remington has it working just fine. I have the Remington Model 51 (manufactured in 1919) and it works just fine. In fact it has been said to be more reliable design than the 1911.
Between this and the revelations of what Remington/Freedom Group did to Brittingham et all., I don’t have much faith in any of their offerings or the direction of the company(s) under their control
@Nathaniel, I’ll take that criticism. I took the numbers from TFB and ran with them without double checking. As soon as I get official dimensions from Remington, I’ll redo the comparison.
Seeing Andrews pic next to a 1911 makes the R51 look huge.
I am glad to hear it.
Note: Remington has not published an official length. One of the bloggers invited to shoot it said it was 6″ long, not Remington.
Specs don’t really work when you’re looking at pistols, IMO. They are of limited utility. Handling the gun, especially in comparison to other guns, tells the tale. I’ll take the word of people who have handled the thing in person over dudes on the internet arguing over specs.
…Length? What about width?
We had the right specs from day one from Jorge Amselle, it was incorrect on the firearm blog
HERE ARE THE TRUE SPECS:
ROUND: 9mm+P
CAPACITY: 7+1
BARREL: 3.4 inches
OA LENGTH: 6.7 inches
HEIGHT: 4.6 inches
WIDTH: 0. 96 inches (1.08 at the slide stop)
WEIGHT: 20 oz. (no mag) 22.6 oz. (w/empty mag)
SOURCE LINKS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0JFa79-FHw
(CHECK THE COMMENTS TO FIND THE PRECISE SPECS FROM JORGE AMSELLE)
also:
http://www.outdoorhub.com/stories/remington-r51-9mm-subcompact-turns-heads-shot-show/
By these specs, this gun is the SAME SIZE as the Shield BUT with half and inch longer barrel.
I don’t like having to CAP LOCK everything but there is alot of misinformation being spread by those vectors at triangle tactical.
Not true – the Shield is actually 6.1″ – not 6.7″ – see:
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product4_750001_750051_809560_-1_780153_757781_757781_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y
R51 is 0.6″ longer while having the barrel which is only 0.3″ longer.
Yep. Going off of Andrews pic above, it mates perfectly with the specs given in the YouTube comments.
6.78″ OAL seems to be about correct.
Accurate information was my goal, and I definitely jumped the shark using bad information from another site. As soon as I get specs from big green, I’ll update again.
Its looks mighty big to be classified as a sub-compact, but I’m wondering if the two 1911s in the photo are full size or compact 1911s? Anyone know?
They are full size 1911s
Wow, that first photograph has gotta be photoshopped. I mean, there is NO WAY Andrew is as tall as the Remington R51. Not even close. Not even wearing flip-flops.
;3
Ha ha ha! Mine is an evil laugh. NOW DIE!
<3 Firefly references.. but what's "Way to go, Dallas!" from? o:
You didn’t really miss a Hunt For Red October quote, did you?
Just got back from the Shot Show in Las Vegas. Did not look closely at the R51 because I was aware of anything the design offered that wasn’t already accomplished by Glocks or Kahrs I own. I was impressed, however, by the guns shown there by Sarsilmaz (aka Sar Arms). I’ve shot several of their Sar B6 pistols and have been impressed. They also showed an AR variant that seems to have a lot of potential and could give our existing companies some very stiff competition.
You know its almost exactly the same size as the original m-51 its based on. So not really surprising that its bigger than the overly optimistic diagrams.
Whats your over all impression of the gun after seeing and holding it Andrew? Would you buy one?
If the gun works out in the field it may be the perfect replacement for my old P7 carry gun.
I have no use for the PM size Kahrs anyway.
Never underestimate Andrew’s ability to deflate your excitement with the steady application of fact 🙁
This gun looks like the best gun made by Lorcin!
What a piece of shit! Remington should be ashamed at producing something like this.
Great post and pics!
So great gearscout stole your mini-grip comparison pic, unless they’re also Firefly fans…
Thanks. I wrote that article.
I handled the R51 at SHOT. Was impressed with how FUGLY it is, but more impressed with the grip angle – just like a 1911 – the fit to my hand – and to smaller hands too – the insanely easy slide racking – one finger due to the pedersen action – and the incredibly crisp, short triger – that makes a Glock seem like a shifter from a 1971 Pontiac. Now the trigger has a pin that makes it swing a little different than you might expect, but it breaks clean and has almost no overtravel. This is the IDEAL girl gun, for sure. I want to take one to the range myself, since my long fingers felt real comfortable on it, and that is a LOT more concealable than any Glock I own. Call it ugly, but this is one slick accomplishment.