Okay, it's a given that I'm a little strange. I just can't walk away from a challenge sometimes.
Remember, I'm the guy that bought the Beretta Pico when it first came out, refused to send it back, and, through hard work and a lot of break-in, turned it in its unmodified state into a reliable pocket rocket.
Anyway, this R51 had been in the LGS case for over a year. I read all the bad things about it, but they made me an offer I couldn't refuse and it followed me home. Of course, the first thing I did was field strip it to clean and lubricate it. It took 10 minutes to figure out how to field strip it. It took 3 hours and 4 YouTube videos to get it back together. All my fingernails are broken and my arthritic thumbs are giving me hell, but I did it. (The secret was a battery clip. Thank you YouTube person.)
Today I took it to the range. I was told by one of the video gurus that the gun only liked 124 grain FMJ. All I had was 115 grain. What the hey...
The gun functioned flawlessly through 100 rounds of S&B brass-cased FMJ. And what a joy to shoot! The Pedersen hesitation system works well. Little muzzle flip, and the perceived recoil is non-existent compared to other 9mm pistols of this size. Mind you, it will NOT feed steel cased ammo reliably, but enjoyed all the brass I wanted to give it. It's small, light, and all metal, and I think I have a new carry gun.
If you're tempted to try this, keep one thing in mind. Field stripping is easy. Getting it back together is the challenge. But that's also the fun.
Watch the videos, including the one by Remington which is useless as far as reassembly is concerned but does show the gun apart and give you an idea where the parts go. (I think the main problem is that, when they solved the problems with generation 1, one of the solutions was to beef up the recoil spring, which made the designers reassembly techniques useless.) Pay special attention to the guy with the battery clip.
That's all I got. Time for more aspirin for my thumbs.
Remember, I'm the guy that bought the Beretta Pico when it first came out, refused to send it back, and, through hard work and a lot of break-in, turned it in its unmodified state into a reliable pocket rocket.
Anyway, this R51 had been in the LGS case for over a year. I read all the bad things about it, but they made me an offer I couldn't refuse and it followed me home. Of course, the first thing I did was field strip it to clean and lubricate it. It took 10 minutes to figure out how to field strip it. It took 3 hours and 4 YouTube videos to get it back together. All my fingernails are broken and my arthritic thumbs are giving me hell, but I did it. (The secret was a battery clip. Thank you YouTube person.)
Today I took it to the range. I was told by one of the video gurus that the gun only liked 124 grain FMJ. All I had was 115 grain. What the hey...
The gun functioned flawlessly through 100 rounds of S&B brass-cased FMJ. And what a joy to shoot! The Pedersen hesitation system works well. Little muzzle flip, and the perceived recoil is non-existent compared to other 9mm pistols of this size. Mind you, it will NOT feed steel cased ammo reliably, but enjoyed all the brass I wanted to give it. It's small, light, and all metal, and I think I have a new carry gun.
If you're tempted to try this, keep one thing in mind. Field stripping is easy. Getting it back together is the challenge. But that's also the fun.
Watch the videos, including the one by Remington which is useless as far as reassembly is concerned but does show the gun apart and give you an idea where the parts go. (I think the main problem is that, when they solved the problems with generation 1, one of the solutions was to beef up the recoil spring, which made the designers reassembly techniques useless.) Pay special attention to the guy with the battery clip.
That's all I got. Time for more aspirin for my thumbs.