Remington determined that these "performance problems resulted from complications during our transition from prototype to mass production." Although the pistol appeared at SHOT 2015, as of SHOT 2016 all mention of the R51 has been removed from both the web site and catalogs. Customers had informed Remington "that some R51 pistols had performance issues". Production problems Ī press release from Remington in July 2014 said that production of the R51 had been suspended and was expected to resume in October. The slide of the R51 is machined from stainless steel and has a matte black FNC finish, while the frame is machined from 7075 aluminum alloy and has a matte black anodized finish The 3.4" barrel is machined from 416 stainless steel and has a bright finish. The magazine is a steel single-column design with a polymer floorplate. Remington plans to offer optional rubber and rosewood grip panels as accessories for users desiring a wider, more hand-filling grip. The R51 comes standard with polymer grip panels which are held on with conventional screws. The frame has a 20-degree grip angle designed for natural point shooting, and has checkering on the front strap for improved purchase on the gun. The trigger guard is undercut to allow a higher grip on the frame. The R51 lacks the magazine safety that was present on the original model 51. The primary safety is a grip safety which must be depressed before the pistol will fire. The slide stop is mostly recessed into the left side of the frame.
The Remington R51 uses an internal hammer with a built-in drop safety and features a single-action trigger. The R51's low bore axis gives less muzzle rise which also lowers perceived recoil, while the stationary barrel improves accuracy and simplifies construction. Lighter operating parts and longer lock time provide less felt and actual recoil.
The Pedersen design has the recoil spring surrounding the barrel, reducing the pistol's overall profile. The hesitation-locked Model 53 was based on the Model 51 design, and was built by Remington in. Only manually retracting the slide or firing a cartridge opens the pistol.īecause the action halts cartridge extraction momentarily, the R51 can use higher pressure cartridges than a straight blowback firearm with similar slide weight. It will only move a fraction of an inch and stop against the recoil shoulder. One can insert a dowel into the barrel and push on the breech block. Once the bullet leaves the barrel and pressure drops, the rearward motion of the slide lifts the breech block from its locking recess through a cam arrangement, continuing the operating cycle. This allows chamber pressure to drop to safe levels while the breech is locked and the cartridge slightly extracted. The slide continues rearward with the momentum it acquired in the initial phase. When the breech block contacts the locking shoulder, it stops, locking the breech.
When the cartridge is fired, the bolt and slide move together a short distance rearward powered by the energy of the cartridge as in a standard blowback system. When the pistol is in battery, the breech block rests slightly forward of the locking shoulder in the frame. However, the notable feature is the use of a locking breech block within the slide utilizing the "hesitation-locked" action originally developed by John Pedersen. The layout of the Remington R51 is similar to the Walther PPK pistol in the use of a stationary barrel and recoil spring surrounding the barrel. The company plans to offer the pistol in. The R51 is a modernized version of the John Pedersen-designed Remington Model 51 pistol chambered in 9×19mm caliber. The Remington R51 is a semi-automatic pistol announced in January 2014.