Remington 1911 R1

Status
Not open for further replies.
I have the R1S. It had a feed ramp that looked horrible. I will say Remington was great with paying for shipping and returning the gun fast, so if you do need to send it in for repair, they are good.

I switched to Tripp Research Cobra mags. Also, a Chip McCormick mag works great in the gun. When I first called Remington, they offered to send me a couple of mags for free right off the bat, so they may have had some issue with magazines.

I have only been able to shoot 100 rounds through mine since I got it back, but no more feeding issues. Dang ammo shortage! Hope you get yours sorted out, pretty nice gun for the money.
 
I haven't seen any bad machining in my R1. The feed ramp isn't mirror finished, the tool marks are extremely fine, and it overall feels smooth without burrs. I'm pretty sure its the mags because the hiccup I had happened with two rounds left in the mag. I'll give the springs more time to break in before I go switching mags.

I'm also going to put a few of my Federal JHP's through it and see what happens next time as well.
 
Went shooting this afternoon. I put 106 rounds through it today with only 2 more of the hiccups today. Heres the ammo breakdown:

6 rounds of Federal Hydra Shock 230gr JHP - No FTF
50 rounds of Federal American Eagle 230gr FMJ - No FTF
50 rounds of Federal Premium Range Target Practice 230 gr FMJ - 2 FTF (the brass had some corrosion on it and some rust spots right out of the box)

The FTF came with 2 rounds left in the mag on my last 2 full mags (each mag experienced one FTF) of the day. Considering how crappy (by Federal Premium standards mind you) the ammo was, it may not be the mags afterall. The gun was also pretty dirty by this time, so that may have played a hand in it. I took them apart and cleaned them and will keep track of this next weekend when me & my Dad put it to the test with 300 rounds of ammo.

I am also getting my aiming & the sights figured out. I think I was shooting low because as I was looking down the sights the gun was pointing slightly downhill towards the floor. I walked my sight picture uphill until the gun was pointing slightly uphill towards the top of the target and the number of shots in the right place has substantially improved.

Also, thoughts on Novak Trituim night sights? Pictures of todays activities are attached.
 

Attachments

  • 2013-06-15_15-02-46_84.jpg
    2013-06-15_15-02-46_84.jpg
    75.5 KB · Views: 18
  • 2013-06-15_15-16-34_4.jpg
    2013-06-15_15-16-34_4.jpg
    98.9 KB · Views: 22
  • 2013-06-15_15-17-26_873.jpg
    2013-06-15_15-17-26_873.jpg
    81.8 KB · Views: 24
  • 2013-06-15_17-32-13_3.jpg
    2013-06-15_17-32-13_3.jpg
    101.6 KB · Views: 24
I have an R1 also, but I have not had any issues with feeding. The day after I received the gun I went to the range after cleaning the gun and put nearly 900 rounds through it using the supplied mags plus two GI mags. No issues then, and since I've run probably 1,000 rounds through it and never had the first problem with mine. All I shoot, by the way, is hardball. The ammo might be a contributing issue. Remember, JMB designed the gun to work with hardball.
 
Forgive me, but what is hardball? Also, according to the Remington OM, the gun is designed to fire 230gr FMJ. I fully expected my Federal JHP's to have an FTF but they didn't.

I took apart the mags this time, cleaned & oiled them. I'll keep an eye on it. If I have another FTF, I'll take a picture of it for you all to look at.
 
Thanks Greg! Going by the link, the Round Nose FMJ I've been having FTF's on is "hardball" ammo. Nice looking R1S! I'm a bit partial to the Remington Rosewood grips, but I can do without the medallion on them. Besides, the stock walnut on my gun looks great to me.
 
My standard procedure for a new 1911 is to leave the factory mags in the box and just use Wilson 47D magazines. They can be had for under $30.00 and I have been using the same ones with different guns for several years. I only own Colt, Springfield, and a Dan Wesson and don't like any of their mags.
 
I too have an R1 and loved it right outta the box. I found it pleasant to shoot and surprisingly accurate. Now to address your feed issues. The remington mags are horrible. I found that the mags that came with my S&W feed every round. The mags that came with my Smith are Act mags. They are a bit more affordable and I have had great success with them. I gave the remington mags to my brother.
The bushing wrench is very much a requirement due to the very tight fit. Much tighter than on my higher priced Smith.
 
gb6491 said:
Here's as good an explanation as any: http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=3190869&postcount=9

BTW, Congrats on your R1:)
I'm pleased with my R1S. Here it is with some VZ grips installed:
32znko2.jpg
akfkmo.jpg
Regards,
Greg
Click to expand...
Hey gb6491,
Love the look of that stainless...is that bead blasted?
Those VZ grips look sweet too! Are those the black cherry? (hope so, as I have some coming for my new Dan Wesson!)
Remington was so smart to bring back a 1911 to their lineup!
 
So, after reading the posts, it sounds like I need new mags. And just going by this thread, it seems the top 3 in this thread are Checkmate GI Mags, Wilson Combat, or Tripp Research.

I was wondering why the remington mags aren't as good as I hoped and stumbled across this:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=512922

Apparently it all has to do with the feed lips at the top of the mag. In my earlier reading, I had seen others talk about the follower and was hoping that I could change the follower and fix the issue. Oh well, such is not the case. At least mags are cheap.

Since I need new mags and will be needing at least 3 of them, I wanted to ask about 8rd mags. I'm not dead set on them, but since I'll be buying new why not. The only reason I wouldn't buy an 8rd mag is if it extened out of the handgrip. I really like how the 7rd Rem mags set flush with the bottom of the handgrip which is why I'm asking.

My first picks from what I've read for new mags are the Checkmate 7rd GI or 7rd Hybrid mags. But if anyone has a good set of reasons for different mags, I'm open to them.

Thanks for all the feedback. Looking forward to putting 350rds through it this weekend :)
 
8 round magazines will NOT protrude past the grip frame.

Heck, they make 8 round mags for Officer's models!

Good luck in your search, and be sure and report back!
 
wheelyfun66 wrote,
8 round magazines will NOT protrude past the grip frame.
Click to expand...
Some, 8 round magazines will be flush fit. However, most of the better 8 round mags will extend past the bottom of the grip frame.

You can find a couple of models in the McCormick line-up (Shooting Stars and Match Grade) and CheckMate has a couple of flush fit 8 rounders, but nearly all other 8 round mags will extend beyond the bottom of the grip frame. McCormick's PowerMag, Wilson 47D (and family), Wilson ETM, Tripp, ACT/Novak/Wolf, etc.
 
Who is making the Remington ?

I have heard and read that some other company is making the R1 for them . Is this true ? I sure hope it is better than the way Remington is making guns for Marlin now :barf: . All the Marlins I see since Remington took over are crap ! The barrels and tubular magazines and crooked badly .
The R1 is very nice looking.
 
Last edited:
I traded for 1 last year, but traded it away for an EMP, "I got the better of that deal", the guy didn't like it and couldn't rack it. But the gun shot great after I cleaned it up, what the guys are saying is true. They give you a rough gun, it needs a lot of polishing, or a lot of shooting. I would rather polish, it's cheaper. Once I got that feed ramp and throat nice and shiney, it was a good shooter, but also change the magazines, I used Mc'Cormick shooting stars. And went to an 8 rounder. The gun was like night and day after that
 
See, now, this puzzles me. My feed ramp and throat are factory stock on my R1S and the only issues I have are with the factory magazines, which I have replaced with Checkmate GI type.

What is the fetish with all of this polishing, when just getting a properly-made magazine will fix any problems?

Tom
 
I have been fortunate so far with my R1 Enhanced. The trigger had a tiny amount of creep, which was removed by polishing the sear assembly, a 15 minute job by a competent gun dealer. I did compare the trigger to about 20 different 1911 randomly picked up, among them several Kimbers, SIGs, Spingfields, a S&W, a Remington R1 Carry (a more refined R1) and three Ed Browns. Only the R1 Carry and the EB Executive (but not the Kobra) had a definitely better trigger break out of the box than the R1 Enhanced. I dry fired the regular stainless version of the R1, with a short GI trigger. Not as good as the R1E but probably just as easy for a competent armorer to bring up to speed.

Another aspect of the R1 is the sights. Like many sports shooters I found the combination of a bright red front and the adjustable unmarked black rear notch to work best for target acquisition. The other versions of R1 have GI or Novak.

PS. No feeding or other cycling issues, with 230 hardball, 185 JHP, or SWC reloads.
 
Last edited:
It is possible that the earlier guns were rougher, "although I am just guessing", the one I had was full of tool marks on the feed ramp. It needed a bit of buffing, nothing that terrible, a 10 minute job. I have this great polish I use, named, "Maas", it is from Germany, and I have been using it for 40 years. I stumbled on it for some other hobby that required a polish and tried it on my walther "stainless" back in the 80's . It works on everything from refinishing brass furniture, to taking a scratch out of my stainless refrigerator. It can take off metal easily if you put your back into it. I just use it sparinglly , on and off, as many times as is necessary as it can take off a lot of metal if you aren't carefull.
It has gotten me out of many a spot with guns and fineshes of all sorts. You can find it on ebay.
If you really want to get metal like a mirror, this stuff will do that with less work than any other I have found.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
Ammo questions for Remington R1 1911?
Replies
4
Views
916
ku4hx
K
K
  • Locked
Remington 1911 R1
Replies
2
Views
395
txgunsuscg
T
G
  • Locked
Remington 1911 R1
Replies
16
Views
3K
gdunlap
G
G
  • Locked
Remington 1911 R1
Replies
9
Views
981
TennJed
T
guns3738
  • Locked
remington r1
Replies
12
Views
1K
george burns
george burns
Back
Top