I bought a .25 Raven today

Muddyboot

Muddyboot

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Yes, I spent good money on one of the maligned guns ever made. I have no excuse, $75.00 made it mine. I had one 30 years ago, ( one of my first semi auto pistols) and it worked just fine. I didn't need it, I'm not sure what I'll do with it, so let the mocking begin.....

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Neat, there's no shame in owning a Raven Arms, especially considering it's more of a "just because" thing than anything else, and it was cheap too.
Folks collect all sorts of firearms, including infamous Saturday Night Specials like that Raven.

There's a (sick?) part of me that has been repeatedly tempted to buy a Remington R51, which is an infamously low quality pistol in its own right, plus it's extremely difficult to disassemble/reasonable, most likely even LESS reliable than your Raven, and it costs upwards of $250!
So yeah, you could do worse.
 
"There's a (sick?) part of me that has been repeatedly tempted to buy a Remington R51, which is an infamously low quality pistol in its own right, plus it's extremely difficult to disassemble/reasonable, most likely even LESS reliable than your Raven, and it costs upwards of $250!"

My experience with the R51 is somewhat different. It seems dependable and it is not that difficult to disassemble if you practice a bit. But again, I am very partial to the original Remington Model 51 of the early 20th Century and the Model 51 and the R51 disassemble in much the same manner.

There are collectors of the Saturday Night Specials (and quite a few of them) just as there are collectors of other types of handguns. They do serve a purpose for those of limited means, but they are probably best if they don't get much use as many don't have long lifespans. I have a .380 Jennings which performed quite well during firing of the first box of ammunition I fired through it. Then the problems began. Die castings don't hold up very long.
 
DWalt said:
My experience with the R51 is somewhat different. It seems dependable and it is not that difficult to disassemble if you practice a bit. But again, I am very partial to the original Remington Model 51 of the early 20th Century and the Model 51 and the R51 disassemble in much the same manner.

There are collectors of the Saturday Night Specials (and quite a few of them) just as there are collectors of other types of handguns. They do serve a purpose for those of limited means, but they are probably best if they don't get much use as many don't have long lifespans. I have a .380 Jennings which performed quite well during firing of the first box of ammunition I fired through it. Then the problems began. Die castings don't hold up very long.
Click to expand...

Maybe Remington finally managed to hammer out all the kinks by now, a shame that it is likely already too late, if such is the case. I would actually prioritize buying one if they came in .40 S&W or .45 ACP. If nothing else, it's a unique-looking firearm with its retro meets modern aesthetic.

Nowadays Hi-Point seems like the go-to brand for bottom-dollar, budget-priced firearms, although personally I'm the sort who would prefer to spend a bit more for a Taurus, Bersa, or Rock Island Armory firearm than settle for a Hi-Point. The only firearms I'm comfortable with using die cast components are chambered in .22LR, modern die casting with high purity alloys like ZAMAK seem to at least be suitable for that much without having to be made absurdly thick/heavy.
 
friend had one. found a box of ball ammo for it that had a small ball bearing in the ball bullet. actually saw a box at walmart, same ammo w/ ball bearing in the bullet several weeks ago. made by Remington.
 
The city that I worked for had an auction and among the things sold were the found, confiscated and seized weapons the PD had accumulated over the years. A number of folks developed "auction fever" and were bidding prices around $50 for .25 Ravens that had been tossed from cars, found in the street, etc. This was when new Ravens sold for $29.95!!
 
I would gently disagree on the Raven being the original Saturday Night Special.

The RG revolvers might hold that distinction.

I do recall a saying “Hotter than a $2 pistol on a Saturday night.” that was way before my time.
 
DWalt said:

My experience with the R51 is somewhat different. It seems dependable and it is not that difficult to disassemble if you practice a bit. But again, I am very partial to the original Remington Model 51 of the early 20th Century and the Model 51 and the R51 disassemble in much the same manner.
Click to expand...


I picked one up for $279 when the rebate was on, so my all-in cost was $179. I had problems that were attributable to the magazines, which Remington replaced without question. So far it has not run 200 rounds trouble free, but the only hitch in the last 200 was a single lock-back with one round in the mag. The least objectionable bottom-feeder fail, IMHO. Will I put it in the carry rotation? Not yet. Is it a POJ? Not hardly.

I worked with officers who carried Ravens as "Onion Field" guns. Mine was a High Standard .22 Mag derringer. They may not have been elegant, but they were functional and they were always there.
 
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