Remington Model 51 In The Box

[muddinman04]

That is a beauty of a pistol. Shouldn't the box be marked .32?

[james m]

The Remingon Model 51 is one of the finest "pocket" pistols ever made. I have a couple of them including one still in the box but,unfortunately, mine is missing the owners manual. I used to carry one and they are great for this purpose as they are extremely thin and therefore very concealable.
The production number on these were relatively low(under 50,000 as I remember it) when compared to the Colt Model 1903 which was a competitor. The major drawback to this pisol is takedown is somewhat complex.
I wonder if the box was a factory mistake or it was changed at some time as this is clearly one of the rarer 32auto examples.
Congratulations on a really nice find.
Jim

[RonR]

I wonder if the box was a factory mistake or it was changed at some time as this is clearly one of the rarer 32auto examples.
Congratulations on a really nice find.
Jim

Jim,

Many thanks for those kind words.

The instruction booklet which was packed with the pistol clearly identifies it as being the .32 caliber model, so perhaps they did not print special labels since so few were being produced.

I believe that I read somewhere on the internet that actually only 11,000 were made in .32 caliber.

A closer look at the wording on the instruction booklet.........


...........

[james m]

I believe the 11,000 number is correct Ron. The box will probably remain a mystery. These are great shooters but I don't recommend shooting one in this condition.
Remington made casts of dozens of hands before coming up with this unique grip which is very comfortable. The price on these has remained IMO very modest but I don't think that will last forever.
Jim

[Douglas Jr.]

Outstanding find for a still underrated nice gun.
Congratulations, Ron.

[Johnny Peppers]

At the beginning of WWI Remington tried to interest the U.S. military in buying the Model 51 pistol in .380 ACP, but since the standard U.S. sidearm was in .45 ACP the military rejected the offer to purchase the Model 51.

Remington then developed a pistol of similar design in .45ACP in hopes of getting a military contract. The .45 pistol was the Model 53, but in a series of on again off again negotiations no pistols were ever bought.

The Model 51 and the Model 53 were developed by John Pedersen, who was responsible for developing the "Pedersen Device" which converted the Model 1903 Rifle to a semi-automatic firing a .32 ACP cartridge.

[Ronnie Fry]

Johnny,
Wasn't the Pedersen you speak of also kin to the Pedersen of Irwin-Pedersen of M1 Carbine fame?? Cousin or something??

Ronnie

[Johnny Peppers]

Johnny,
Wasn't the Pedersen you speak of also kin to the Pedersen of Irwin-Pedersen of M1 Carbine fame?? Cousin or something??

Ronnie

The John Pedersen that had worked for Remington Arms is the same one that secured a government contract along with the Irwin brothers to build the M1 Carbine. The venture was not to be though.