His design used innovative wax lubricated cases and a toggle-bolt system much like that of the Luger pistol but eventually lost out to the M1 Garand.

The complex trigger and safety mechanisms made the handgun more expensive than the Browning-designed competition, and the Model 51 was not much smaller.

Furthermore, Remington was a company known for their long arms; their handguns had previously been limited to revolvers less common compared to Colt in terms of sales.

Subsequently, the Navy ran extensive tests on the M53 and concluded it was “...a simple, rugged and entirely dependable weapon, which should be suitable in every respect for a service pistol.”[4][5] In the 1970s and 1980s, inventor Ross Rudd designed and prototyped a .45 ACP caliber pistol based on the Pedersen layout but with an inclined surface in place of the locking surface.

[6] The Italian firm Benelli produced limited numbers of B76, B80, and B82 pistols similar to the Rudd pistol; however, they utilized an inertial locking system[7][circular reference][8] The Remington R51 is a redesigned Model 51 initially released in February 2014[9] before supply and recall issues by Remington, believed to be built by Para Ordnance, a company recently acquired by the Freedom Group.

Despite its shortcomings, the design was recommended for adoption by the Navy Board during the First World War as the scaled-up .45 caliber Remington Model 53.

[10] Remington demanded a large advance payment to tool up for the gun, but negotiations were cut short by America's entrance into World War I.