Remington R51 ExperienceHas Not Been Ideal
You might consider warning your readers about major questions Ive had about this pistol and Remingtons slow response. My gun did not make it through one trip to the range. I had every problem now being mentioned on the internet. Failure to feed, failure to eject, and finally total failure to function. The last meaning the weapon fired and did not extract the brass, and it took major force to move the slide. It took Remington 10 days to get the return paperwork to me. They have now had my gun for a month and cannot or will not give me any info about when I might have the gun back.
– Charles Wilkins,Sebastian Florida
Dear Mr. Wilkins: Thanks for sharing your experience with the R51. Our review of the pistol starts on page 6. – Todd Woodard
Re Duty Rifles: SIGs 516 Patrol, M400, and 556 SWAT Patrol, July 2014
I can confirm your reports of the group size opening up in a five-shot group with the SIG 556. Depending on the rate of fire, I saw the same effect anywhere from the third to the fifth shot. This would make accuracy with this rifle under realistic field conditions suspect, unless you consider 4 MOA to be accurate. As a result, I sold mine.
– Don SeleskyWestford, Massachusetts
Re Down Range, June 2014
Your June 2014 editorial on supporting gun and ammo manufacturers financially was right on the money. However, you left out one that I consider the best of breed: Alliant Techsystems (ATK). Theyre described as the ammo manufacturer for the government. Not only does it help to put your money behind companies whose products you believe in, theyre also good investments. Im up substantially in the three you mentioned, but ATK has been the best of all four stocks.
For the record, the stocks and symbols are:
Alliant Techsystems (ATK)
Olin Corp. (OLN)Sturm,
Ruger (RGR)Smith & Wesson (SWHC)
I would encourage your readers to investigate all four and hopefully invest in them.- Bob Dufek
Dufek Realty LLCMilwaukee, WisconsinFN SCAR 16S and 17S
I love your magazine, and after many years it is the only one that I subscribe to due to the more objective nature of the publication (i.e., not taking industry advertising dollars!). I would love to see the SCAR 16S and 17S compared to some high-end AR-15 and AR-10 platforms, respectively. If you did this already, I could not find them after searching the archives. Thanks and keep up the great publication!
– From an 0311,US Marine, 87-93
For a Marine Rifleman, only the best will do. We have so far avoided the FN SCAR, a semi-auto rifle used by U.S. special operators, that is chambered in 5.56x45mm (16S) and 7.62x51mm (17S). Fully-ambidextrous operating controls on both models make them suitable for both righties and lefties. They come with receiver-integrated MIL-STD 1913 optical rails, three accessory rails, and its telescoping, side-folding polymer stock is adjustable for comb height and length of pull. Great idea, and we appreciate the interest. – tw
AR-15 Sights
Im on the verge of completing my first AR build, and I was doing research on the various sights on the market. I was curious if you had or are planning on testing some of the iron and polymer sights for the AR platform, such as the ones offered by Magpul, Diamondhead, Troy Industries, Spikes Tactical, and so on. A lot of us AR owners would also be interested in the detachable-handle rear sights for flat-top AR uppers.
-Ramon Urias
I have referred this out for development. These items are surprisingly expensive, and, obviously, crucial. Well see what we come up with. – tw
Circuit Judge Carbine?
Your magazine is tremendous, the only gun publication that I rely upon. A recent letter said you did a review on the Circuit Judge .410/.45 crossover carbine in January 2014. I am considering buying one of these, but I cannot find my January issue nor can I locate a review in your Internet archives. Can you please point me in a direction to locate this review?-Larry
Hey Larry: I took the unusual step of putting the back-issue listing below so you can see we actually tested the Rossi Circuit Judge 45 LC/410-Bore Revolver Rifle, not the Circuit Judge carbine, in the January 2014 issue. Also, thanks to reader Jan Gerstner, Ive corrected and revised the language on page 5 about how print subscribers can get archive access.
So now you know when the similar Rossi review was published, and you already have archive access, so it should be a snap. Let me know if it isnt. – tw
Re Outside-the-Waistband Holsters: We Test 20, Part I,June 2014
Love your magazine, keep up the good work. I was very surprised that Stoner Holsters werent listed in your article. I have six of these holsters in the FBI Slide version. They are fantastic.
They keep the gun close to my body, at a correct draw angle, and they are all custom made. I have everything from a SIG P938 to a Para Expert Carry 45 ACP. The price is great as well, $50 each. Do I get my name in your great magazine? LOL. Please say yes. I want to be famous too.-Ben Harper
Bossier City, Louisiana
Hey Ben: Wish granted. I forwarded your request for a Stoner review to Bob Campbell. – tw
Re 1911s: Buy New or Used?We Test Three 45 ACPs to Find Out, July 2014
GTs review of the RIA Tactical II Compact paralleled my recent experience. When I was at the range, the owner let me try his RIA, which was his carry gun. Really nice shooting 45 ACP in a concealable package. He had added a magazine-well extension.
Anyway, the gun shot fine until the last round, when the case did not eject, but in fact was driven back partially into the magazine. A portion of the case was held by the mag lips and the other portion was resting on the feed ramp. It was impossible to clear the jam as the extractor could not grab the case. Additionally, the magazine well extension made it impossible to get any purchase on the magazine floor plate to rip the mag free. This was finally resolved by inserting a knife in the ejection port to force the case back far enough into the magazine lips to allow the magazine to be withdrawn.
The owner said he had never seen that happen before. Neither have I in all my years of shooting Glocks.
As a retired police officer and FI, the lesson is that reliability is critical. Faster reloads are of no use if you cant clear a jam. You will die with a jammed gun. Leave the competition accessories to the matches and KISS.
– Mike DeBoer
Amen to that. – tw GT
