*sigh* Anyone else wishing the R51 had a polished/blued finish as an option? That Mak looks
too classy next to it. A shiny finish and some wood grips would dress up the Remington very nicely, I plan on doing something like that when I get a chance to pick one up.
That said, the "Remington matte" finish looks nicer than it did in earlier display model pics I saw, where color was uneven (oil smudges?) and it appeared to be chipping at the edges. I called my local Cabela's and was fed some story about the pistols being delayed/withdrawn due to
"legal stuff" (c'mon guys, you have all day; come up with something better than
that) and that they had no idea when they'd be back. Second odd excuse/explanation in as many phone calls --whatever.
More importantly, there appear to be at least a couple examples of some sort of issue out of the box out there, in which the slide is extremely hard to rack after a short distance (obviously the locking block is binding as it tries to rise, though that's apparently beyond the deductive reasoning of the posters I was reading) as well as peening of the frame lug on the same gun (probably the same issue, with the block binding on the burr).
I'm not entirely convinced it's peening as alleged, as opposed to machining burrs. If Remington is anything like the company I work at, tooling is usually not replaced when dull, but when it breaks or makes out of spec parts. Combine that with some dude not dehorning the part sufficiently after machining, and you have a lip on the frame that can snag stuff.
I read some chatter about there already being a recall/delay on this issue, but if there was any legitimacy whatsoever, I have to believe the hoards of Remingtom/R51 haters would be blowing it up enormously. It's obviously no official pronouncement.
I, too, will be eagerly awaiting your range report, or heck, even a takedown report. I still haven't seen pictures of the frame or slide up close where the locking block sits; it'd be good to know just how it's cammed up during firing, and if it compresses the magazine when it drops down.
TCB
*Really puts things into perspective; when Kel Tec, Beretta, or half a dozen other makers announce a product, we hear about it being ready two years before it actually is(n't), and if/when it's finally dropped to sellers (in KT's case) it's in ones and twos for months while the final bugs are worked out, before rising to "tens" for the duration (~12 RFB's on GB, though they do seem to be pumping out KSG's in quantity). I saw 6-7 R51's on GB Monday, 50 today. And they're in stores, too. Very smooth rollout distribution
TCB
