[ed hobayan]

i have remington model m -51. i want to know if re-blueing will lower its value if i decide to sell it.does anybody know where i can get a new set of grips for this gun or anykind of replacements?

[Jim Watson]

Rebluing will reduce the collector value and interest of nearly any gun unless you want to pay Turnbull big money for a museum restoration.

Grips for the M51 are extremely scarce due to their peculiar attachment. I haven't a clue.

[rcmodel]

You can get Repro grips here:

http://vintagegungrips.net/ao-r4.html

rcmodel

[Jim Watson]

That is just the hard rubber grip panel. For them to be of use, you will have to have the mounting brackets and figure out a way to attach them.

[Jim K]

The grip plates can be made; I know because I have made them. But without examples to go by, it would be tough.

When Pedersen designed that pistol, he ran into a problem he had encountered before, named John Browning. It seems Mr. B and Colt had patented the idea of a grip that screwed to the frame. Oh, sh*t!

So the Remington grips are hard rubber (gutta percha) riveted to steel plates. These are removed by pushing the grip safety pin flush with the frame on one side, then sliding the grip down and pulling it off. The process is repeated for the other side. But too many people who didn't know that tried to pry the grips off and broke them. So there are a lot of Model 51s around with the grip backing plate intact but the grips broken, which is why the grips are sold without the plate.

If the plates are still there, it is fairly easy to break the broken grips off, install new grips on the plate and replace the rivets.

Jim