Remington R1 Stainless
- Thread starter cheapsk8
- Start date
Wow, talk about night and day difference in service. Congrats.
Jodie and the other folks are absolutely a treat to deal with. Even better when you go down to the store and have a chat face to face. It is an awesome experience and I spend a lot of money there to support their cause!
So an update is in order. Received my new R1S today. Yes, Canada Post delivered on a Saturday. Who knew?
No pics yet but maybe soon, hey, we all know what they look like.
I will try to compare this piece with other pistols in the same class, and will often be compared to Norincos due to their popularity in Canada. The Norks are very functional pieces made with good steel. They are dead reliable as a rule, but accuracy is mediocre due to them being fitted as "battle pistols" rather than target pieces. I learned that I can out shoot my Norks when given the opportunity to fire high end 1911's. I got the R1 as it was reported to have excellent accuracy (as good as 1.75-2 inch groups at 25 yards), and it had the perfect blend of features I have come to desire in a 1911. If I had the opportunity to build a custom gun, its feature list would be identical to the R1 with the exception of the series 80 safety. I fell in love as soon as I seen the stainless version.
Initial impressions.
Machining is nice all the way around the pistol. Has an even Matte finish all the way around. No visible machining marks on the external surfaces. Transition from the narrow part of the slide in front of the dust cover to the top just where it rounds out is a little uneven. Almost like the dust cover is wearing a slight line from the slide being racked, but this was on the new and untouched gun that was only test fired at the factory, and possible handled at P&D as they pulled this directly from the supplier to come straight to me. Ill keep an eye, but the dust cover is machined smooth on the inside with no burs like the couple Norks I have. These lines are only noticeable on close inspection.
Slide to frame fit is excellent. Just the right amount of play to facilitate reliable operation, with no rattle when shook. Quality feel especially compared to some Paras, Colts and definitely Norks. I haven't had the opportunity to handle a SAM so I can't compare. Subjective comment from memory, but I would say near as good as the Springfield Loaded I had the fortune to try. My one Nork rattles something fierce, but has never had a jam in 5000 plus rounds of my owning it. I feel that Nork could go to war and would go bang every time even after being dragged through the trenches. I think the Remington is about perfect for a range piece, or as a modern carry piece as it would not be exposed to the raw abuse of war tucked in a IWB holster. I make that comment as I am posting this for our American neighbors as well.
Sights have just the right amount of daylight on either side when held at arm's length. Much better than the Para I looked at. They are fitted well to the dovetails, and are held in place with a set screw. They are big, easy to see, and would fit the bill for either target or action work. The three white dots are easy to see and all the same size. I'm not sure if I will keep the rear dots white, or black them out yet. I am at this point more of a front sight profile shooter over aligning any dots, and when I am trying my hand at doubles and fast action style work tend to use just the front dot. Rear sight has a very squared off profile and is high. If it were to be carried, a holster would need to be selected the has plenty of room at the top to not snag. Overall I like them as carry is not really an option in Canada.
Safety is standard GI style and offers the perfect amount of resistance when engaged. Almost a little too heavy to disengage, but would be safe for carry and may well wear in a little with use. Not an issue unless someone has a weaker thumb. Happy overall in this area.
The grip safety only has a slight rattle and does what it is to do. It sits out under spring pressure perfectly, and engages with a standard grip. I prefer the standard style as opposed to a beaver tail. I have never been "bit" by the hammer spur on this style even with a high grip, and I always have positive grip safety engagement. I find that with my grip on my Norinco sport that has a beaver tail, I sometimes do not engage the grip safety every time, even with the "speed bump" on it. This is my style, along with the traditional safety and slide release.
Speaking of slide release this pistol has the standard GI style. I had to switch the extended on my Nork sport as I would often prevent slidelock on the last shot with the standard "two thumb" grip as my rear most "safety" thumb would ride down on the extended stop. Like I said, I selected the R1 as it had all the features I was looking for.
Flat mainspring housing with vertical serrations. I prefer this over the arched style of the 1911 A1. Standard GI style hammer as well. I actually prefer the round "commander" style hammer for manual cocking, but I have no real issues with the standard GI style.
The magazine release is a little stiff, but functional. It is a standard low profile. I would carry as is. All 9 magazines I had on hand fell free including the 2 supplied with the gun. Speaking of which, they are nickle plated instead of stainless like the rest of the gun. I am a bit put off by that, but easily remedied.
The short GI style trigger is perfect for my hands. I don't have a scale on hand, but my experience is telling me it is 4-5 lbs, and a little closer to 4. Just the right amount of take up and over-travel to facilitate function if a little dirt entered the equation. Definitely a nice compromise. Not nearly as nice as the SA Loaded, but I would trust the reliability of a non-target trigger if the gun was ever employed in a defensive situation. Some one describe it in a review as more of a carrot breaking than a glass rod. I think that sums it up perfectly. Reset is a little longer than I would like, but followup pull is nice. Another win for this model.
Stocks are beautiful looking, but I am tempted to replace them with a tougher material/wood and keep these for resale if ever needed. Standard flat head screws.
On dis-assembly I discovered the barrel bushing is beautifully tight. I can remove the bushing on my Nork GI model with the standard short guide rod and cap with one hand. Push down on the cap with my thumb, turn the bushing with my index finger and remove the spring and cap. My sport model Nork with it's 1 piece rod gets cursed at every time as I have discovered I just don't like one piece rods. No reason other that I find them unnecessary and a little awkward. On this Remington, I had to use the supplied bushing wrench. It is TIGHT. I hope this is an indication of the accuracy of this pistol as this is one of the key areas on the 1911.
The barrel is stainless as well and locking lugs are machined beautifully and the outer bearing surface that mates with the bushing is polished well. It is a standard profile barrel. It has a loaded chamber indicator notch machined in it that I could live with out, but it does work to see at a quick glance.
The extractor is stainless and fit very well to the slide. just a little stiff to start out and seat back in place. Doesn't move around when trying to get the firing pin stop back in place which is nice. Just as a note this is the one advantage to the 80 series safety. You can lock the firing pin forward to make reinsertion of the firing pin stop easier. The series 80 safety is going as soon as I can obtain a frame filler and a titanium firing pin. I really see no real purpose behind this.
The inside of the slide is machined nicely. That is really nice to see compared to the 1/8 inch bit marks left on the inside of the Norincos. There was minor shavings from the machining inside, so I do recommend a field stripping prior to shooting. There was also carbon stains from the factory test fire. The pistol was lubed well enough in all the right places to fire out of the box with a petroleum based grease and oil, but I preferred to strip it and use M-pro 7 LPX. I am impressed with this lube so far as it does not evaporate off, is thicker than a Remington teflon based lube and "clings" to where you put it, and seems to make everything extremely slick. So far I am impressed.
Only complaint inside is on the frame. It had a chatter mark from the machining on the inside of the frame rail near where the rear of the barrel sits near the feed ramp on the right hand side. There was a substantial bur sticking up and "grabbed" my finger when slid across. A few passes with my Lansky polish stone took it out, but I was disappointed to see it. Also, at the very top of the frame portion of the feed ramp there were some small chatter marks, but felt smooth. I believe this was polished after the machining and smoothed out the marks. A little disconcerting but after 500 or so rounds I will polish out the ramp as I do every time. I am sure there will be no issues as they are VERY minor marks.
I left the lower part of the pistol assembled as the factory lube was sufficient and I want the opportunity for wear marks to occur in the trigger area for polishing after 500 rounds or so. Everything visible looked fine.
So far I am extremely happy. I will try to follow up after I get out shooting.
Best for now,
cheapsk8
No pics yet but maybe soon, hey, we all know what they look like.
I will try to compare this piece with other pistols in the same class, and will often be compared to Norincos due to their popularity in Canada. The Norks are very functional pieces made with good steel. They are dead reliable as a rule, but accuracy is mediocre due to them being fitted as "battle pistols" rather than target pieces. I learned that I can out shoot my Norks when given the opportunity to fire high end 1911's. I got the R1 as it was reported to have excellent accuracy (as good as 1.75-2 inch groups at 25 yards), and it had the perfect blend of features I have come to desire in a 1911. If I had the opportunity to build a custom gun, its feature list would be identical to the R1 with the exception of the series 80 safety. I fell in love as soon as I seen the stainless version.
Initial impressions.
Machining is nice all the way around the pistol. Has an even Matte finish all the way around. No visible machining marks on the external surfaces. Transition from the narrow part of the slide in front of the dust cover to the top just where it rounds out is a little uneven. Almost like the dust cover is wearing a slight line from the slide being racked, but this was on the new and untouched gun that was only test fired at the factory, and possible handled at P&D as they pulled this directly from the supplier to come straight to me. Ill keep an eye, but the dust cover is machined smooth on the inside with no burs like the couple Norks I have. These lines are only noticeable on close inspection.
Slide to frame fit is excellent. Just the right amount of play to facilitate reliable operation, with no rattle when shook. Quality feel especially compared to some Paras, Colts and definitely Norks. I haven't had the opportunity to handle a SAM so I can't compare. Subjective comment from memory, but I would say near as good as the Springfield Loaded I had the fortune to try. My one Nork rattles something fierce, but has never had a jam in 5000 plus rounds of my owning it. I feel that Nork could go to war and would go bang every time even after being dragged through the trenches. I think the Remington is about perfect for a range piece, or as a modern carry piece as it would not be exposed to the raw abuse of war tucked in a IWB holster. I make that comment as I am posting this for our American neighbors as well.
Sights have just the right amount of daylight on either side when held at arm's length. Much better than the Para I looked at. They are fitted well to the dovetails, and are held in place with a set screw. They are big, easy to see, and would fit the bill for either target or action work. The three white dots are easy to see and all the same size. I'm not sure if I will keep the rear dots white, or black them out yet. I am at this point more of a front sight profile shooter over aligning any dots, and when I am trying my hand at doubles and fast action style work tend to use just the front dot. Rear sight has a very squared off profile and is high. If it were to be carried, a holster would need to be selected the has plenty of room at the top to not snag. Overall I like them as carry is not really an option in Canada.
Safety is standard GI style and offers the perfect amount of resistance when engaged. Almost a little too heavy to disengage, but would be safe for carry and may well wear in a little with use. Not an issue unless someone has a weaker thumb. Happy overall in this area.
The grip safety only has a slight rattle and does what it is to do. It sits out under spring pressure perfectly, and engages with a standard grip. I prefer the standard style as opposed to a beaver tail. I have never been "bit" by the hammer spur on this style even with a high grip, and I always have positive grip safety engagement. I find that with my grip on my Norinco sport that has a beaver tail, I sometimes do not engage the grip safety every time, even with the "speed bump" on it. This is my style, along with the traditional safety and slide release.
Speaking of slide release this pistol has the standard GI style. I had to switch the extended on my Nork sport as I would often prevent slidelock on the last shot with the standard "two thumb" grip as my rear most "safety" thumb would ride down on the extended stop. Like I said, I selected the R1 as it had all the features I was looking for.
Flat mainspring housing with vertical serrations. I prefer this over the arched style of the 1911 A1. Standard GI style hammer as well. I actually prefer the round "commander" style hammer for manual cocking, but I have no real issues with the standard GI style.
The magazine release is a little stiff, but functional. It is a standard low profile. I would carry as is. All 9 magazines I had on hand fell free including the 2 supplied with the gun. Speaking of which, they are nickle plated instead of stainless like the rest of the gun. I am a bit put off by that, but easily remedied.
The short GI style trigger is perfect for my hands. I don't have a scale on hand, but my experience is telling me it is 4-5 lbs, and a little closer to 4. Just the right amount of take up and over-travel to facilitate function if a little dirt entered the equation. Definitely a nice compromise. Not nearly as nice as the SA Loaded, but I would trust the reliability of a non-target trigger if the gun was ever employed in a defensive situation. Some one describe it in a review as more of a carrot breaking than a glass rod. I think that sums it up perfectly. Reset is a little longer than I would like, but followup pull is nice. Another win for this model.
Stocks are beautiful looking, but I am tempted to replace them with a tougher material/wood and keep these for resale if ever needed. Standard flat head screws.
On dis-assembly I discovered the barrel bushing is beautifully tight. I can remove the bushing on my Nork GI model with the standard short guide rod and cap with one hand. Push down on the cap with my thumb, turn the bushing with my index finger and remove the spring and cap. My sport model Nork with it's 1 piece rod gets cursed at every time as I have discovered I just don't like one piece rods. No reason other that I find them unnecessary and a little awkward. On this Remington, I had to use the supplied bushing wrench. It is TIGHT. I hope this is an indication of the accuracy of this pistol as this is one of the key areas on the 1911.
The barrel is stainless as well and locking lugs are machined beautifully and the outer bearing surface that mates with the bushing is polished well. It is a standard profile barrel. It has a loaded chamber indicator notch machined in it that I could live with out, but it does work to see at a quick glance.
The extractor is stainless and fit very well to the slide. just a little stiff to start out and seat back in place. Doesn't move around when trying to get the firing pin stop back in place which is nice. Just as a note this is the one advantage to the 80 series safety. You can lock the firing pin forward to make reinsertion of the firing pin stop easier. The series 80 safety is going as soon as I can obtain a frame filler and a titanium firing pin. I really see no real purpose behind this.
The inside of the slide is machined nicely. That is really nice to see compared to the 1/8 inch bit marks left on the inside of the Norincos. There was minor shavings from the machining inside, so I do recommend a field stripping prior to shooting. There was also carbon stains from the factory test fire. The pistol was lubed well enough in all the right places to fire out of the box with a petroleum based grease and oil, but I preferred to strip it and use M-pro 7 LPX. I am impressed with this lube so far as it does not evaporate off, is thicker than a Remington teflon based lube and "clings" to where you put it, and seems to make everything extremely slick. So far I am impressed.
Only complaint inside is on the frame. It had a chatter mark from the machining on the inside of the frame rail near where the rear of the barrel sits near the feed ramp on the right hand side. There was a substantial bur sticking up and "grabbed" my finger when slid across. A few passes with my Lansky polish stone took it out, but I was disappointed to see it. Also, at the very top of the frame portion of the feed ramp there were some small chatter marks, but felt smooth. I believe this was polished after the machining and smoothed out the marks. A little disconcerting but after 500 or so rounds I will polish out the ramp as I do every time. I am sure there will be no issues as they are VERY minor marks.
I left the lower part of the pistol assembled as the factory lube was sufficient and I want the opportunity for wear marks to occur in the trigger area for polishing after 500 rounds or so. Everything visible looked fine.
So far I am extremely happy. I will try to follow up after I get out shooting.
Best for now,
cheapsk8
Congrats. I guess Can Post is doing a special Sat delivery for the holidays. Thanks for the review. I found the mag release on my Sig 1911 to be a bit too stiff for me so I bought a lighter spring from Brownells. Much better now.
