R.I.P. REMINGTON R51: Remington pulls the plug on the R51

The Remington R51 was a century-old design that was reborn last year.

A lot of folks liked the novelty value of the gun and its action, but persistent reports of problems with the gun were everywhere.

Some of the bigger gun mags offered up gushing reviews of the "new" old gun while others incurred the wrath of Remington fans for reporting on the gun's shortcomings.

Firearm aficionados quickly noticed that glowing reviews came only from magazines receiving lots of Remington ad money.  Everyone else, it seems, found lots not to like in the new piece.

A gun dealer recently told me that the R51 wasn't really available any longer and in recent days, Remington has completely deleted any reference to the clunker on their website.  If we were the wagering types, we'd bet production has been halted as well.

Oh well.

Those of you who bought one of the new R51s now has a collectible.

By the way, here's an old story about how gun magazines write gun review articles.  It would seem some of this happened with those who wrote glowing reviews of the R51.

Not sure who to attribute as the author.

Instruction From The Editor To The Journalist: Frangible Arms just bought a four page color ad in our next issue. They sent us their latest offering, the CQB MK-V Tactical Destroyer. I told Fred to take it out to the range to test. He’ll have the data for you tomorrow.

 

Feedback From Technician Fred:

The pistol is a crude copy of the World War II Japanese Nambu type 14 pistol, except it’s made from unfinished zinc castings. The grips are pressed cardboard. The barrel is unrifled pipe. There are file marks all over the gun, inside and out.

Only 10 rounds of 8mm ammunition were supplied. Based on previous experience with a genuine Nambu, I set up a target two feet down range. I managed to cram four rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. I taped the magazine in place, bolted the pistol into a machine rest, got behind a barricade, and pulled the trigger with 20 feet of 550 cord. I was unable to measure the trigger pull because my fish scale tops out at 32 pounds. On the third try, the pistol fired. From outline of the holes, I think the barrel, frame, magazine, trigger and recoil spring blew through the target. The remaining parts scattered over the landscape.

I sent the machine rest back to the factory to see if they can fix it, and we need to replace the shooting bench for the nice people who own the range. I’ll be off for the rest of the day. My ears are still ringing. I need a drink.

 

Article Produced By The Journalist:

The CQB MK-V Tactical Destroyer is arguably the deadliest pistol in the world. Based on a combat proven military design, but constructed almost entirely of space age alloy, it features a remarkable barrel design engineered to produce a cone of fire, a feature much valued by Special Forces world wide. The Destroyer shows clear evidence of extensive hand fitting. The weapon disassembles rapidly without tools. At a reasonable combat distance, I put five holes in the target faster than I would have thought possible. This is the pistol to have if you want to end a gunfight at all costs. The gun is a keeper, and I find myself unable to send it back.