First reported here back in November of last year, the Remington 1911 has finally become a reality and will be introduced to the world at next month’s NRA Show according to The Shooting Wire this morning.
The 1911 R1 will be the first 1911 produced by Remington since 1918. The guns will be manufactured at the company’s New York plant. The R1 will reportedly have an MSRP of $699, shipping with two 7-round magazines.
Specifics from the Shooting Wire:
The Remington-branded 1911 R1 is an A1 variant of the 1911 with modern upgrades. Like the original 1911, the 1911 R1 has a flat mainspring housing, short trigger and double diamond grips. 1911 devotees will appreciate the modern enhancements on the 1911 R1, such as a flared and lowered ejection port; beveled magazine well; loaded chamber indicator; high profile dovetailed single-dot front and two-dot rear sights; a crisp 3.5 – 5 pound trigger pull; and a match grade stainless steel barrel and barrel bushing. It also has the Series 80-style firing pin block safety.
Remington plans to have the pistol on dealers’ shelves this June.
Remington certainly has the ability to produce a solid gun in mass numbers for a good price. The question is whether any company can produce a solid, reliable, durable 1911 in mass numbers for less than $1,000. Good luck, Remington. You’ll need it.
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
STI has the Spartan which is in a similar price point and recieves fairly favorable reviews. The Taurus has the PT1911 reviews are generally hit or miss. The Rock Island Armoury ones also seem to get favorable reviews and is slightly cheaper than either.
Every time I think about getting a 1911 I look at the cost of .45ACP and I decided to pass on it, though after having shot a few I can certainly see the appeal.
I was just thinking that the shooting market needed another 1911 manufacturer. Next thing you know, Remington will be making ARs too. Oh wait…
Sigh…I was looking forward to this gun until I read the above. Loaded chamber indicator? Really? And I should have seen the Series 80 thing coming, but hope springs eternal. No thanks, Remington.
Just like so many other companies, they keep changing the recipe to “make it better,” then wonder why their guns aren’t nearly as good as the original design.
I love it when ancient technology gets “upgraded” again and again. Ya know, there’s a new slide-rule coming out too! Give a break, please. It’s time to produce the 2011, not the 1911.
i like 1911’s but prefer revolvers to everything. i never really understood why people shun any 1911 styled gun with an external extractor or loaded chamber indicator. most semiautomatics nowadays have both and most seem to function fairly decent with those additions. it must be a “1911 thing”, like the infernal locks on revolvers or MIM parts. the model T worked fine too but i wouldn’t want one for my primary vehicle today.
I used to work for a premium 1911 manufacturer up here in Canada years back, and had I wanted to I could’ve built my own gun, with every possible cool thing on it. But I’ve never seen the appeal. Even the new STI/SVI guns, I just don’t get it. And I really don’t understand why anyone would jump into the game making new ones now. But I guess their marketing people figure it’s a good idea?
I know its heresy to say it but the gun manufacturers need to work on perfecting the polymer single stack NINE in a very small HIGH quality package with real night sights and an internal laser. HK, Sig, Glock, Smith, etc offer NOTHING in these areas–only Walther in the PPS comes close to something nice and while very thin its dimensions are just a little too big to interrupt the 380 craze (I think it could be made just tad smaller). Am I missing anyone other than Taurus (709–mediocre quality) and Kahr (PM9–awful trigger) who is making a light and small POLYMER single stack nine (or 40)?
Premium 1911’s were made in Canada? Was that a WWII production thing?
I just read a review on the new Remington 1911R1 yesterday in “Shooting Times,” I think it was…
The pistol malfunctioned time and time and time again. Alas, the reviewer, whose name escapes me, gave it a stellar review and “highly recommended” it. I see this time and again in the gun rags. 1911 apologist writers recommend 1911’s that don’t work simply because that’s what they grew up with and are therefore biased.
Frankly, and hopefully not being overly dramatic, these writers who “highly recommend” malfunctioning 1911s for self-defense are going to get people killed.
P30man said “Am I missing anyone other than Taurus (709–mediocre quality) and Kahr (PM9–awful trigger) who is making a light and small POLYMER single stack nine (or 40)?” I’m with you, man. I’ve screamed for years that Glock should make a PM9 and can now they have manufacturing capability in Smyrna. They’d sell millions of them. The Kahr PM9 1) costs too much, 2) quality is low, hit&miss.
Haha good burn. Dlask is a well known 1911 builder, or was. His top shelf 1911s sold very well against other well known US makers. His magnesium triggers with titanium bows were at one time the pinnacle of such parts. He was reasonably well known in the US, his true left hand version of the 1911 11P1 being one of his most famous. But it is in Europe that he is best known.
P30man – My Rohrbaugh R9 is the best I’ve ever seen. But I’m with you. I wish Glock would step up and do it right. I would buy 10 off the bat.
Rob,
Fair enough:-) I’ve heard of Dlask, but don’t really know anything about him/it. Google wasn’t that helpful. Still in business?
Not to be too far off track but what is with all the itty-bitty-singlestack 9mm desire.
I too would love a single stack, or maby better a semi-double stack(like the M&P45) 9mm that held 11rds or so in a full/mid sized package. Thin guns are easier to conceal but I cant bring myself to carry something I cant get a full grip on.
Some people like to say that you should shoot what you carry(mostly in IDPA/USPSA) but I believe someone should carry what they can shoot. People often use the excuse that they cant shoot their “carry gun” as well/fast/accurate because its not as easy to shoot as something more accomadating. Unfortunately if, God help any of us, we have to use it we wont want to be further handicapped by Our Own Choices than will already be the case.
Sorry about the rant, I will refrain from further off-topic post for now. I will also step down from my soapbox 🙂
Series 80 safety and a hideous roll mark on the slide. No thanks. They should have kept the classic roll marks such as ‘Remington Arms”
“I too would love a single stack, or maby better a semi-double stack(like the M&P45) 9mm that held 11rds or so in a full/mid sized package. Thin guns are easier to conceal but I cant bring myself to carry something I cant get a full grip on.”
Depending on how you grip the gun this shouldn’t be an issue. While I know thumbs-forward is really popular – and I’m a believer in the technique – it definitely limits you to guns that leave adequate room for the support hand. Thumbs curled down, by contrast, works (for me anyway) on just about every gun out there. I find that if I use that grip I can transition from my Glock/M&P to my little 442 without skipping a beat. I would imagine that for those who grip the gun in this fashion a slim 9mm could run just fine.
Lots of reliable 1911 models out there for less than $1000. Rock Island Armory and Springfield Armory come to mind.
One question: Name a pistol that’s served with high esteem in EVERY major conflict the United States has fought in, from WWI to OIF/OEF.
Solid? Yep. Reliable? Yep. Durable? Yep.
Way off topic question, (in terms of new pistols being released.)
Back in January Todd metioned an upcoming M&P .22lr pistol. I was wondering if there was any more information available?
The cost was acceptable , the gun looks great, i am a fan of the 1911, have been for many years,..i have fired this gun a few times i am not disappointed, good quality .. the trigger pull is a little longer , but i still love the gun
I purchased the Springfield mil spec. new, and put 300 rounds through it. It had FTF problems on almost every magazine I loaded into it. I could have sent it in for repair, but would never trust it, so I traded it in on a Remington 1911 R1. The Remington has worked flawlessly for 850 rounds through it so far. It is accurate, and very well made.The R1 is a great gun. I dont give a crap about the series 80 safety, or the so called “hideous roll mark” on the slide. The gun is a damn good shooter.
Not to be mean, but a sample size of “1” doesn’t a large statistical universe make.
There are starting pitchers with batting averages of 1.000 in the 4th inning of Opening Day. 😉