I purchased the pistol new and out of the box it started having jams. Some double feeds with the spent cartridge on top of the next unfired round, some stovepipes, some failure to load the next round from the magazine, etc. When I would remove the mag both would fall free out of the bottom of the grip. When I brought it home I noticed that the ejector was loose to the point of falling out (with the pin still in the pistol). The pin was too short. I called Remington Customer Service and they sent a new ejector and pin. I installed them and went back to the range. It helped but I was still having numerous jams. I estimate about 20-25%. I tried Wilson and Remington mags, no difference. I also tried different weight (115, 124 and 147gr) and brands of ammo, no hollow points, all ball ammo. The pistol had about 600 rounds through it and is not the least bit enjoyable. I haven’t had a new pistol perform so poorly, ever!
I noticed that the pistol came with a flat wire recoil spring. I tried a normal spring but no difference. I reinstalled the flat wire recoil spring. I thought that the 9mm 1911s didn’t come with a flat wire spring?
After another range visit and cleaning I checked the extractor tension using an empty 9mm case. The extractor doesn’t even try to grip the case. Something major is wrong with this pistol. I asked for Customer Service to return the pistol and to please fix it and return it fully 100% functional. They said they had mixed up the 9mm and 45 acp extractors and that was probably the issue. They said that they would send me another extractor. I took out the old extractor and compared it to the new one, they looked and measured the same but I installed it. No difference still jamming. They sent me another with the same result.
After the last round of jams and failure to extract, eject, fire, etc., I called Remington Customer Service but instead they sent a new extractor for me to install and test. The new extractor hook looks different (deeper) but the length looks shorter. The new extractor was installed and it still would not pass the extractor test either. There should be zero space between the back of a case held by the extractor and the face of the J-cut. The new extractor still has at least 60 thousands of an inch space between the back of the case and the face of the j-cut on the slide. I went to the range again and experienced an average of two or three failures per magazine. I fired 250 rounds of 115g 9mm and experience at least 60 failures to cycle properly. Failure types were all different kinds.
I have spent my time and money on four range visits and 1,000 rounds of ammo. This equates to an additional $350 dollars of added costs for a pistol that consistently malfunctions because of the issues at the Remington plant plant. If any competent gunsmith looked at the extractor and ejector they should have seen these things. Also they obviously never did an extractor test which takes all of 30 seconds or they would have seen these issues.
I finally saw on this forum that others with the 9mm were having the same issues. They recommended the Wilson Combat extractor which I ordered and installed (another $35.00). The gun ran pretty good and I shot 120 rounds without issue. On round 121 the gun would not go into battery. It was about 1/8" from going in. The hammer was back, I gave the back of the slide a slight tap and the gun fired. The barrel was down range and no one was injured but it sat me back and rattled me a bit! My finger was outside the trigger guard and not touching the trigger in any way. This was my first unintentional negligent discharge I have ever had and I'm 61 years old and have been shooting since I was eight.
You may ask why didn't I send it back. The return policy at Remington is they will only pick up and return to my home and they expect me to take a day off from work so the shipper can pick up my pistol and then take another day off to sign for it when I get it returned. Also CS informed me that Remington can't repair their 1911s at their plant or facilities, they wanted me to ship it to an independent third part gunsmith. Seems unreasonable.
I'm at a loss. At this point I don't want to trade it and have someone else get a dangerous gun. I've spent way more than the gun is worth and I'm not taking two days off from work to satisfy Remington Customer Service. Could be a parts gun? Bummer!
Now for those of you that think I'm just a Remington basher, I was a real Remington fan and have had may Remingtons over the years, I still have some of their shotguns. I was looking forward to getting another but after the recent issues with Marlin, the R51, Para and now this I can't say that I'll ever be a Remington fan again.
PS - I originally wanted the pistol as a competition gun but since I couldn't get it cycle I bought a Springfield Range Officer in 9mm. The gun ran at the first match straight from the box and ran flawlessly! and its accurate as can be. I'm very happy with the Range Officer.
I noticed that the pistol came with a flat wire recoil spring. I tried a normal spring but no difference. I reinstalled the flat wire recoil spring. I thought that the 9mm 1911s didn’t come with a flat wire spring?
After another range visit and cleaning I checked the extractor tension using an empty 9mm case. The extractor doesn’t even try to grip the case. Something major is wrong with this pistol. I asked for Customer Service to return the pistol and to please fix it and return it fully 100% functional. They said they had mixed up the 9mm and 45 acp extractors and that was probably the issue. They said that they would send me another extractor. I took out the old extractor and compared it to the new one, they looked and measured the same but I installed it. No difference still jamming. They sent me another with the same result.
After the last round of jams and failure to extract, eject, fire, etc., I called Remington Customer Service but instead they sent a new extractor for me to install and test. The new extractor hook looks different (deeper) but the length looks shorter. The new extractor was installed and it still would not pass the extractor test either. There should be zero space between the back of a case held by the extractor and the face of the J-cut. The new extractor still has at least 60 thousands of an inch space between the back of the case and the face of the j-cut on the slide. I went to the range again and experienced an average of two or three failures per magazine. I fired 250 rounds of 115g 9mm and experience at least 60 failures to cycle properly. Failure types were all different kinds.
I have spent my time and money on four range visits and 1,000 rounds of ammo. This equates to an additional $350 dollars of added costs for a pistol that consistently malfunctions because of the issues at the Remington plant plant. If any competent gunsmith looked at the extractor and ejector they should have seen these things. Also they obviously never did an extractor test which takes all of 30 seconds or they would have seen these issues.
I finally saw on this forum that others with the 9mm were having the same issues. They recommended the Wilson Combat extractor which I ordered and installed (another $35.00). The gun ran pretty good and I shot 120 rounds without issue. On round 121 the gun would not go into battery. It was about 1/8" from going in. The hammer was back, I gave the back of the slide a slight tap and the gun fired. The barrel was down range and no one was injured but it sat me back and rattled me a bit! My finger was outside the trigger guard and not touching the trigger in any way. This was my first unintentional negligent discharge I have ever had and I'm 61 years old and have been shooting since I was eight.
You may ask why didn't I send it back. The return policy at Remington is they will only pick up and return to my home and they expect me to take a day off from work so the shipper can pick up my pistol and then take another day off to sign for it when I get it returned. Also CS informed me that Remington can't repair their 1911s at their plant or facilities, they wanted me to ship it to an independent third part gunsmith. Seems unreasonable.
I'm at a loss. At this point I don't want to trade it and have someone else get a dangerous gun. I've spent way more than the gun is worth and I'm not taking two days off from work to satisfy Remington Customer Service. Could be a parts gun? Bummer!
Now for those of you that think I'm just a Remington basher, I was a real Remington fan and have had may Remingtons over the years, I still have some of their shotguns. I was looking forward to getting another but after the recent issues with Marlin, the R51, Para and now this I can't say that I'll ever be a Remington fan again.
PS - I originally wanted the pistol as a competition gun but since I couldn't get it cycle I bought a Springfield Range Officer in 9mm. The gun ran at the first match straight from the box and ran flawlessly! and its accurate as can be. I'm very happy with the Range Officer.