Remington 1911-I'm Impressed

[old doc]

After considering the new Ruger, The SA Range Officer and The Kimber Custom II, I finally settled on the Remington R1 and purchased the Talo version. To me, it represented reasonable price, good quality, as well as being the closest thing to an original 1911 but with good sights.
After cleaning it, I took it to the range today. I went through 100 rounds of Winchester hardball, evenly distributed between 3 magazines, the factory mag, a Novak and a Wilson. It functioned perfectly with all three and locked back, when empty, every time. At 50-60 feet, it had no trouble finding gallon milk jugs. Target accuracy was less reliable, as I made the mistake of shooting 80 or so rounds off hand before setting up a target. I'm not the world's greatest shot anyway and after 80 rounds, my old hands were shaking pretty bad . For that reason, I will have to leave comments on target accuracy to others but all things considered, I'm more than pleased.

[smitty_bs]

Good to hear. Is the only difference with the TALO version the 8 round vs 7 round magazines, and the rosewood grips? Those are the only obvious ones to me but I didn't know if there were other features that set the TALO apart.

[old doc]

Far as I can tell, those are the only differences. Oddly enough, my dealer had the standrd R1 priced twenty dollars higher than the Talo ??

[smitty_bs]

Sounds like you got a real deal then!

[Toforo]

Originally Posted by old doc

Far as I can tell, those are the only differences. Oddly enough, my dealer had the standrd R1 priced twenty dollars higher than the Talo ??

Got pics?

[chuntaro]

Where is Quack when you need him. If he was here he might say you stayed at a holiday inn express last night. Congratulations on your Remington. The more I see them vilified on the Internet the more I like it.

[old doc]

Why I bought the Remington.... I have by last count, 5 Colt 1911's, plus an older Gold Cup, that I foolishly traded away. Several of them have been tuned by well-known smiths. It was the 100th anniversary, that gave me an excuse to get back into the market for another. In the good old days, you could buy a Colt for $400-$500, put another $200 worth of parts and labor into it and have the equal of what now goes from a custom or semi-custom shop for $2000-$3000. There is at least one shop out there, that is charging $4000-$5000 for a slicked-up 1911. What in heaven's name can you do to a $500 gun to make it worth $5000 ? The profit margin must be enormous!
On top of that, when researching which 1911 I wanted, it seemed like the more expensive the gun, the more forum talk there was about problems with it and discussions of who has the best customer service. Years ago, when I was the new doc on the block, I would listen to the older docs in the lunchroom talking about their Mercedes and their Rolexes. What they talked about most was where they got them fixed. My brother, years ago, bought a Toyota Camry from a Mercedes-Toyota dealer. When he went to pick it up, he was admiring all the beautiful Mercedes on the lot and allowed as how he hoped one day to be able to afford one. The salesman at that point invited my brother back to the service bay, pointed inside to a row of Mercedes in varying states of repair and asked, "How many Toyotas do you see in there"? Many years later, I drive a 4-Runner. There are people out there who are convinced that if you pay twice as much for a product, it must be twice as good. There are others, who are happy to take your money, if you feel that way. My point is I have plenty of nice guns, expensive guns, that I have been fortunate to acquire over the years. I know quality, when I see it and don't mind paying for it, as long as my wife doesn't find out, but I don't see $2300 difference between my Remington or for that matter, my Taurus 1911 and what is being hawked for $3000 and up these days.

[Toforo]

Originally Posted by old doc

Why I bought the Remington.... I have by last count, 5 Colt 1911's, plus an older Gold Cup - yada yada yada another thousand words....

...a picture speaks a thousand words!

[old doc]

Originally Posted by Toforo

...a picture speaks a thousand words!

Of what? MY aircraft carrier ?

[chuntaro]

Remington could start a new marketing campaign. When the job or training mission is too small for the navy, the r1 is ready for the task.

[Toforo]

Originally Posted by old doc

Of what? MY aircraft carrier ?

No - a pic of your "TALO R1" -

We "R1" folks are proud of that gun - show it off!

(or, just continue your string of 35 posts talking about what you want... it's all there for everyone to see - all 35 of them)

[Rbrad1]

Yeah! a pic would be nice...I am very fond of my R1. It is a very well put together 1911!

[ceekay]

The Talo features 8rd magazines with bumpers and Rosewood grips. That, according to the sales rep at a local sporting goods store. They both sell for the same price usually, but then again it's the same pistol with fancier grips and an extra round per mag.


- CK

[chuntaro]

I find it interesting Remington jumped on the eight round band wagon. Are they flush fit or extended?

[ceekay]

I believe they would be flush, but they have bumper floor plates.


(Talo package)

tbh, with grips being sold as factory aftermarkets, and magazines being magazines, it's not really much of an 'exclusive package...' Maybe if they did beavertail, hammer, trigger, bushing, maybe Cerakote or Duracoat frame in OD or FDE or DT or whatever..... But no, just grips and mag floors.

Originally Posted by chuntaro

The more I see them vilified on the Internet the more I like it.

People say I'm an idiot for ordering an R1 instead of an RIA......

[GKC]

I'm sure this has been asked before, so excuse me but I couldn't find it...is the R1 a "series 70" or "series 80" ? (Yes, I know those are Colt terms, but you know what I mean.)

[chuntaro]

It has the series 80 style system but they did such a good execution of it at the factory on mine, there is little difference in trigger sense between it and my series 70 colt gunsite.

[SemperFi1977m]

[QUOTE=ceekay;3303085]I believe they would be flush, but they have bumper floor plates.


(Talo package)
QUOTE]

Thats not a flush magazine, its like the 8-rounder that came with my Ruger....in fact it looks EXACTLY like it lol. I can see the body of the mag hanging down between the pistol and the bumperpad in the pic.

By the way...congrats Doc! The Remingtons are sharp looking pistols and I wouldnt mind having one myself someday soon :-)

[ceekay]

Ah, I see it now! Sorry, newbies shouldn't be giving protips.

[old doc]

As stated earlier, the Talo has 8 round mags with floorplates and the standard R1 has flush-fitting 7 round mags.. The 8 rounders that came with mine seem very well made. As you load it, the rounds go in very smoothly and there is no sound or sense of scraping as the spring compresses. Excuse me. I have to go continue filing my aftermarket main spring housing so that the grip safety will work.

[GKC]

Well, I bought an R1 today...the "regular" model, not the Talo model (I've never seen one of those in a gun shop around here.)

Something interesting: in the materials supplied by Remington in the box, there is a printed label attached to the manual, giving the specs, and it says the capacity is 8...but it came with two 7 round magazines and in another place in the manual or accompanying brochure, it says "Shipped with two 7 round magazines." I find that kind of odd.

Oh well, I plan to use 8 round mags in it anyway...I like KimPro Tac-Mags, but I have some ACT mags that came with my SW1911 that I like as well.

[old doc]

For what it's worth, I had to take mine to the vet (gunsmith) yesterday. I have been trying to fit a arched mainspring to it and I finally managed to dislodge the sear spring enough that when you assembled the gun, the hammer would not stay back when you cocked it. Not wanting to tear the gun down further, I took it to him. It was the first one he had seen and he remarked several times, how impressed he was with the overall fit and finish of the gun.

[40 cal]

Originally Posted by GKC

Well, I bought an R1 today...the "regular" model, not the Talo model (I've never seen one of those in a gun shop around here.)

Something interesting: in the materials supplied by Remington in the box, there is a printed label attached to the manual, giving the specs, and it says the capacity is 8...but it came with two 7 round magazines and in another place in the manual or accompanying brochure, it says "Shipped with two 7 round magazines." I find that kind of odd.

Oh well, I plan to use 8 round mags in it anyway...I like KimPro Tac-Mags, but I have some ACT mags that came with my SW1911 that I like as well.

IMO 7+1 in the pipe, cocked & locked = 8

[GKC]

Originally Posted by 40 cal

IMO 7+1 in the pipe, cocked & locked = 8

well, that's true...maybe that's what they meant! In any case, I think it's a fine pistol, and I'm very glad I got it. The gun shop where I bought it has a gun smith onsite, and they offer their own life time warranty on anything bought there...as long as they stay in business!