Remington R1 1911

Remington 1911 R1 Centennial

Remington honors John Moses Browning's greatest invention and the world's greatest pistol ever by starting to make them again.

It is now 2014 as I write this 102 years after the U.S. Military adopted the 1911 as their service pistol. It was ahead of it's time then and still is today. The 1911 has won two World Wars, The Korean war, served in The Vietnam War and countless other conflicts. As well as saving many civilian lives. The 1911 has helped to make and keep America the greatest nation in the world.

                  Eliphalet Remington 

The Remington R1 1911 is the first 1911 I've ever owned. The famed and rightly ( I now know ) respected 1911, has been around for 103 years and still ahead of it's time. 

The Colt 1911 .45 ACP caliber was invented by John Moses Browning, the firearms genius, from Utah. The ACP stands for Colt Automatic Pistol.

               John Moses Browning

Browning had invented many firearms, almost all of which were a huge success. In the first decade of the of the 1900's, America knew it was going to wind up in WWI, knowing so, they wanted a state of the art semi automatic pistol for the military. Colt got Browning's invention and won a new government contract to build what would become the 1911 pistol. 

The first 1911 pistols came out of Colt's factory in 1910, but the military started issuing them in 1911, hence the name. The pistol held 7 rounds in a clip that slips into the grip and, once cocked, can fire the seven rounds as fast as a soldier can repeatedly squeeze the trigger. It also came with at least 2 safeties, the thumb safety and the grip or "Beavertail" safety.

The thumb safety is simply a lever that is flipped up and locks into a notch in the slide, making the slide immovable, that way it can't fire. The grip safety nicknamed a Beavertail, has to be pushed forward when you put your hand around the grip, squeezing it forward. So if my hand isn't around the grip, even if the thumb safety isn't engaged, the gun can't and won't fire. The third safety is a firing pin safety, so that if the gun is dropped, the firing pin can't hit the primer to fire the cartridge or bullet.

The Beavertail safety was originally a more modest size, but over the years companies have offered a more exaggerated version, because of what some people with big hands call "hammer bite", which is when firing the weapon, having the hammer or slide knock the web of skin between the thumb and index finger. I have fairly large hands, but I've found that, with a proper grip, hasn't been much of a problem.

I own the Remington R1 1911 Centennial  Edition, which is, essentially an exact copy of Remington's WWI pistol with some fact engraving, the word Centennial and also the engraving saying 1911 - 2011 on the slide. It also has some very high quality maple grips with an R logo badge inset in the grip. It is an absolutely beautiful, commemorative handgun. 

Below are close up pictures of the original Beavertail and the larger version.

                                                          Original Beavertail SAFETY

                                                                  Larger Beavertail safety offered on some models.

                                                   

THUMB SAFETY

With all of these safeties, the pistol can be carried cocked and at the ready for a soldier or person for fast protection or defense. All of this is very important to a soldier or anyone in a high stress situation where seconds count.

The 1911 is also a very accurate firearm, in 1911 and even still today. The accuracy come from a stable, bushing supported barrel that is a standard five inches long, a descent weight that helps with aiming and taming the recoil of a .45 caliber cartridge and a trigger that even out of the box is crisp. All of these reasons are why today, 103 years later, some military, police and some of the best competitive shooters in the world, still count on the 1911. 

During WWI, Colt couldn't keep up with the military demand, so they sub contracted Remington and other companies to make more pistols. Although the standards for the 1911 were to be met, some of the companies turned out better product than others. Remington being one of them. Remington was and is the oldest firearms company in America, probably the world, so they know how to build very high quality firearms. Besides the fact, that they were also making rifles for American Military, they were also making the ammo for the 1911, rifles and shotguns for America and our allies. Now that is a highly respected company.

                        Remington 

A picture of the original Remington 1911 prototype from WWI. Now housed at the Remington Museum.

Now with that important history given, I'll begin the review on my Remington R1 1911 Centennial Edition.

First and foremost, this is the finest, most accurate, beautiful handgun I've ever owned or shot. I don't say that lightly, I feel that I own or have shot some of the best handguns ever made. I own Smith & Wesson, SIG Sauer, Uberti Colt and have not had a problem with any of them, however this not to say anything bad about them. It is just to say that Remington makes great guns, whether it be an 870 Wingmaster or a 700 Sporting Rifle, Remington guns are made to such high exacting standards that they are hard to beat. Also, Remington has price ranges to suit most any ones budget.

Remington is America's oldest gun maker, since 1816, so they have had plenty of practice and it shows on my 1911. I took my Remington 1911 R1 Centennial to shoot and gave myself one clip to get used to the gun and on the second clip I took serious aim, hitting 3 bullseyes and with the 7 shot clip, I kept a 1 1/2 inch group that is unheard of by me. I'm a pretty good shot, but not that good normally. I was amazed. I believe the accuracy of the pistol made the difference.

Target of second clip

Close up

The pistol shoots so smoothly that the follow up shots are easy with a good shot picture. The recoil or kick is soft for a .45 caliber pistol. It feels comfortable in my hands thanks to the checkered maple grips.

Like said earlier, this is my first1911, but I now understand why some people favor this pistol so much and most pistol companies make a 1911 pistol in some version. We all have our favorite  guns and manufacturers. I have been a long time Remington fan, so I feel with the combination on Remington's quality and the 1911's design, I have the best pistol money can buy.

The Remington 1911 R1 Centennial gets a 5 star rating, the highest possible.

Cost - 5 stars - With the least expensive R1 version staring out at roughly $500, and going up from there, just depending on how many bells and whistles you want, Remington has made an R1 for almost every one's budget. Even the least expensive R1 come with a stainless steel match grade, that's a fancy phrase for completion ready or very accurate, barrel. Solid Maple checkered grips, great sights, an awesome trigger, 2 magazines, a bushing wrench, high quality bluing, a Platinum Service Plan with a 7 day turnaround time and a custom case. With all of that and Remington quality, the 1911 R1 can't be beat by any gun company.

Ammo - 5 stars - There is almost a countless variety of .45 ACP ammo available by an almost countless amount of manufacturers. You can get everything from range, self defense, military and hunting types of ammo, but that's just a sampling of what is out there. The price ranges come from very inexpensive to very expensive. All of these options make the 1911 an even more versatile pistol.

Some inexpensive range ammo, also pretty good for self defense.

Great self defense ammo

Shootability - 5 stars - The shootability of this pistol is excellent. The sights line up very easily, the balance is impeccable, the trigger is crisp with very little travel before or after engagement, it is so light feeling it's almost a hair trigger, but not so easy as to be a dangerous. Remington doesn't call it a competition trigger, but it really is. The barrel truly is a stainless steel, 5 inch, bushing balanced competition barrel. the barrel bushing on the R1 is truly useful and really does need the provided bushing wrench to remove the bushing. The spring is strong, thick and well made.

The accuracy is the best I've ever shot, out of my 2nd 7 round clip I shot 3 bullseyes and all 7 shots in a 1 1/2 inch group. The recoil is mild and allows easy re aiming. The clip easily removable and easy to replace, which is great in an emergency.

Weight and Size - 5 stars - The weight being 38.5 ounces or 2 pounds 6 1/2 ounces makes for a beefy, solid, all metal pistol that is not very heavy at all. At 8.5 inches long by 5.5 inches in height, the R1 is easy to carry open or concealed. After all, people have been doing just that with the 1911 for over 100 years.

Additional Accessories - 5 Stars - The holster options, for open, concealed or service carry are almost endless. Their are so many parts made that easily interchange that I couldn't even begin to mention them all here. A 1911 can be outfitted to be a competition accuracy handgun, a hunting, self defense or tactical handgun. The options are pretty much up to what you can imagine.