Finally got some range time with the Umarex Regent R200, a 1911 pattern pistol made in Turkey. While ammunition shortages curtailed a comprehensive test, I'm quite pleased with what amounts to a full featured stainless 1911 for under six bills. So what does taking a chance on a relatively unknown foreign manufacturer get you? Pretty much all this:
Sitting idle in hand the stainless R200 is a handsome piece that looks like it should have cost at least a hundred dollars more. It's not perfect and sports some spots of uneven finish- the thumb safety on mine, for example -but the few blemishes are minor; barely noticeable without close inspection. Likewise, the Regent is a tightly assembled pistol, exhibiting no rattle. The trigger has a slight amount of pretravel, but nothing obnoxious. With the hammer lowered to half cocked, pretravel is non-existent. Everything operates smoothly in dry fires, but I would expect nothing less really. It's the mags I worry about. Having Owned an R100, the piece was a jam-o-matic because of them so i went in expecting them to be a lost cause. That said, even if something were to go horribly wrong with this iteration, i bought it under Davidson's, so i wasn't too concerned.
There were a few things I just had to do before i took this particular piece to the range. First, the flathead grip screws had to go, replaced by hex types. I wasn't overly fond of the hogue grips either, so I threw those back in the case as well in favor of a present from my wife: Hardwood burled grips. It's here that I encountered another problem: The thumb safety with the hogue grips was disappointingly on the spongy side due to an inadequate channel cut into the underside. Since the hardwood grips weren't cut at all, I took a dremel tool and carved the area out myself, giving the arm more than enough clearance to swing without hindrance. There is still a slight amount of over-travel when set to off, but it's still very acceptable given the price point. I prepped the Regent with a light application of WD40 and was ready to go.
At this point, I'm not quite sure what to expect. There haven't been too many reviews of the R200 and I'm already expecting the magazine to be a loss. The LGS threw in an extra eight Promag for sympathy's sake, but even that brand is not exactly confidence inspiring based on word of mouth. Still, it was the best I could do thanks to the world's best gun salesman so off to Shooter's World I went with a box of fifty. They didn't have any ammunition either :\
With the gun ready and the shooter likewise, most of my worries evaporated the moment I pulled the trigger. Groups were reasonable given my my relative inexperience with the the .45acp and I was able to keep them small, if low when I did my part. The pistol was comfortable in hand and best of all, no jams or failures of any sort regardless of which mag I used. Definitely looking forward to putting the pistol through its paces once I actually buy .45acp at reasonable prices again
A JBP #36 black leather ambidextrous holster was purchased for light carry duty. Hard to beat for $20
