Just got word from my LGS that my R51 is waiting for me!

And now catching back up on some of the stuff going on, not sure I want to go pick it up.

Well I went and picked it up, keeping fingers crossed that it's a good one! Will do a good break in not a shoot it until it breaks method. My SN is in the 6K range. One thing I noticed is the slide is very "sticky" will clean out all the packing grease before doing anything else and see how I feel about it then. It looks like its got a ton of grease in it!

Due to the design of the R51, the first 1/2" of slide movement can be very difficult. Not only is the slide moving the hidden hammer back, it also moves the breechblock. This will get a bit easier with use, but it will always be there to some degree. After that first 1/2" of movement, the remainder is very easy.
Shooting this gun is where you may come to forgive some of the "faults" of this design. This is the most pleasant 9mm to shoot that I have ever shot. Lower recoil, and a trigger that cannot compare with any other. The more you shoot it, the better you will like it.
I say all these things in spite of the fact that mine is in the hands of Remington at this time for some minor repairs.

Fair enough Electraclyde, these were all the reasons I went ahead with the purchase. Last night I didn't have time to break it down and clean it, that's on tonights agenda, then shooting early next week. I have too much going on in my life haha.

When you break the gun down, check the underside (right side from rear) of the Pederson block for burrs. The block is poorly machined and there are burrs (one on each side) that are not easy to see but can be felt.

Mine, along with every R51 I've seen that was shot then disassembled is showing what I view as excessive, inexcusable wear on the frame where the block cams over the shoulder. Mine has it after only 100 rounds! At the rate of wear I wonder if the service life of the gun will even make it to 1500 rounds! When I lived in Maryland they had passed a "Saturday Night Special" law years ago that stated guns with low durability were not eligible to be sold in the state. I am not exaggerating here - I honestly wonder if the R51 wouldn't qualify as illegal in MD!

Here are pics of mine. This wear is not normal or acceptable in a brand new firearm with only 100 shots on the clock. Any firearm that is steel on alloy will eventually show sign of wear - especially on finish. Mine literally has metal removed and I've found shavings in the gun! If you look closely at any of the disassembly videos on youtube - all of the guns seem to have the same issue. There are 2 "tabs" that stick up out of the frame that the block slides over. The tabs pass through channels in the block on each side. The channels are where the burrs are.

Interesting, I hadn't heard about this issue yet. Have you tried a small file on the burrs?

soccerguy83 wrote:Well I went and picked it up, keeping fingers crossed that it's a good one! Will do a good break in not a shoot it until it breaks method. My SN is in the 6K range. One thing I noticed is the slide is very "sticky" will clean out all the packing grease before doing anything else and see how I feel about it then. It looks like its got a ton of grease in it!

Congrats on the new gun, hope it treats you well. Do what you already said and give it a thorough cleaning and get all the shipping grease out. My slide was rough as hell for the first few hundred rounds but at 500rds its pretty smooth I must say. To bad its off to Remington for a few weeks because when the gun works its fun to shoot

So I cleaned it all up, and it's now not sooping wet with oil and shipping grease! Put some gun grease on the locking lugs the top, bottom, and sides of the block, on the rails, and a bit on the hammer face. I have learned the trick to racking it is to not be dainty with it, give the slide a good pull! The issue I'm now having is racking the slide after a dry fire, it takes more effort than it seems like it should. I am keeping in mind that it is moving the block and the hammer at the same time, but man it's tough. It's very akin to what MAC showed in his vid. Any thoughts? I still can't wait to shoot this one though!


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Another thing I have noticed by doing all this racking, your hand will not slip off these serrations good lord they are "grippy" haha


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soccerguy83 wrote:So I cleaned it all up, and it's now not sooping wet with oil and shipping grease! Put some gun grease on the locking lugs the top, bottom, and sides of the block, on the rails, and a bit on the hammer face. I have learned the trick to racking it is to not be dainty with it, give the slide a good pull! The issue I'm now having is racking the slide after a dry fire, it takes more effort than it seems like it should. I am keeping in mind that it is moving the block and the hammer at the same time, but man it's tough. It's very akin to what MAC showed in his vid. Any thoughts? I still can't wait to shoot this one though!


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Yea, put it through its paces and torture test the damn thing. Get a value pack of 500 rds (or more) and make the barrel GLOW. That will fix your slide issue

Hahaha


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remmy wrote:

soccerguy83 wrote:So I cleaned it all up, and it's now not sooping wet with oil and shipping grease! Put some gun grease on the locking lugs the top, bottom, and sides of the block, on the rails, and a bit on the hammer face. I have learned the trick to racking it is to not be dainty with it, give the slide a good pull! The issue I'm now having is racking the slide after a dry fire, it takes more effort than it seems like it should. I am keeping in mind that it is moving the block and the hammer at the same time, but man it's tough. It's very akin to what MAC showed in his vid. Any thoughts? I still can't wait to shoot this one though!


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Yea, put it through its paces and torture test the damn thing. Get a value pack of 500 rds (or more) and make the barrel GLOW. That will fix your slide issue

Remmy, it's funny you mention making the barrel GLOW... Until I rapid-fired about 150 rounds last week (4 mags and a reloading assistant), my R51 misbehaved pretty badly. But after it heated up, some of the malfunctions became less inherent. Stopped the stovepiping at least. Most likely helped getting it to "broken-in" state. I hope it still works after cool-down. Heh-heh.