After waiting 4 months I finally got the call that our R1 had arrived and was ready for pickup. I quickly headed off to my Classic Pistol to retrieve the new piece as I was very anxious having waited so long.   I paid the tab, shot the bull with the guys and actually paid little attention to inspecting the gun in the store.  At first glance it looked like it was OK so I put it back in the box observing gun shop etiquette as the shop was packed.  Once I got back to the office I had a better chance to look things over in private and check out my new gun. Initially, like I said, it looked fine, however on closer inspection things were not so good.  The fit of the slide and barrel were nice and tight and the black oxide finish was flawless. There is a significant amount of trigger creep but it’s a new gun and that can be corrected. Then I turned the pistol over and looked at the frame. It settled all argument as to the machined vs cast argument. The casting seam was still visible on the front strap as it had not been finished properly and the strap had ripples in the metal.  Secondly the machining of the finger recesses in the frame for the trigger look like they were final finished at an airsoft factory by an amateur, not Remington Arms in the good ole USA.  After debating with myself as to the importance of the flaws I started looking at some of our other 1911’s.  Not one of them from the Springfield Mil Spec to the Kimber TLE had any similar flaws. Then I read the description on the Remington R1 site again “produced with ultra-tight tolerances on equipment representing the height of modern technology.” That settles it for me. Remington certainly did not intend to build a sub standard 1911 and it warranted a call to Remington customer service to see what they had to say. I mean after all it’s been heralded as their first handgun in 90 years and a special deal. The “service” representative seemed bothered by the whole thing. He actually made me feel guilty for calling like I was bothering him. Finally I said “well if you don’t care, that’s it, I guess that’s the way it is”. Dead silence. Finally after saying hello several time he asked me if I wanted them to look at it and said “if that’s what you want me to do I can send you a return label” which he said he was going to do although I haven’t seen it yet.  I realize that the gun is not a custom or even considered “high end” in price or features but you would think that with a brand new product that Remington would be on alert for issues from customers. We’ll see how it goes and I’ll update as things progress. I also wrote a very nice letter to Remington Corporate to update them on the issues with the gun but there again I haven’t heard any response from them yet either.  So much for Remington Customer Service and their brand new pride and joy. If they ever fix it I’ll shoot it and give you a range report. — Gunner