Are all steel guns soon to be a thing of the past?

At one time more armies used the Browning Hi Power than anything else.

Both are excellent guns that do the exact same thing.
The Glock is easier to break down, lighter, and butt ugly.

The Browning is nearly double the cost of a Glock (retail). How much longer do you think the market will support it's continued manufacture?
 
Never say never. At one time I said I would never own an alloy gun, now have a few and really love them. Long time before I go tupperware though ;)
 
The quartz vs. mechanical watch analogy is great. If you look at the offerings in gun stores, most of the guns are now polymer, with the odd steel/alloy firearm thrown in almost as an after thought. More, and more younger shooters only know polymer. Gun store salesman push Glock, XD, and other polymers because they are more affordable, and readily available. They also go bang just as well as other pistols.

Steel may be becoming a niche, but I prefer it over polymer almost solely due to feel. That doesn't mean I don't think polymer guns are good or have a place in my gun safe. Different tools for different purposes.
 
Sgt Pepper said:
What is this? An Andy Rooney segment?

The hang up on steel is just a nostalgia thing. Without meaning to offend, it's a non-scientific based personal preference. Heck yeah, steel will be completely out the moment that a suitable replacement is found. It's like anything else. In fact, it is already almost completely out as most semi-autos these days are alloy or polymer framed. Offhand, other than some 1911 formats and a few CZ's (and some of their knockoffs), who makes "all steel" guns anymore? Although they are still out there, they are already "a thing of the past."

Whilst I am putting on my flame retardant suit, please note that 1/2 of my semi-auto collection is steel on steel. The other half is a mix of alloy and polymer based platforms. FWIW.
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I think you forgot to consider the handgun hunting community. I am going to hunt with a steel 44mag or 45 colt not a poly 40.

You said it is a non scientific opinion and I disagree. Hunting with a poly framed 44 mag is "scientifically not smart"
 
I agree with the comment about aluminum being the big looser between steel and plastic guns. There will always be an appeal for steel and stainless steel guns, especially in the larger calibers. However, most plastic frames are stronger than aluminum and wear much better over time too. No matter what you do to aluminum, it scratches too easy, gets dinged and is difficult to re-finish. Regular carry of an aluminum frame gun will mar the finish - no way around it. I don't have any experience with S&W's "scandium",but I'd bet that it's just another "tough" finish over soft aluminum that doesn't do too much for ware.
 
LMAOOOOOO One made of Melmac.. best laugh all week.

Steel frames will be around as long as there are men with steel in them.
 
nope

The focus of the question is a tad short sighted. It seems that "guns" is taken to mean semi-autos such as one might carry or use for self defense.
What about revolvers and single shots (like the Thompson Center guns) chambered for high pressure cartridges? Someone mentioned the 500 S&W for one. There are quite a.few other cartridges of similar ilk. The 454 Casull, the 475 Linrbaugh, any of the JdJ cartridges. I have trouble imagining a polymer wrap.
 
At some point, they'll find a way to incorporate weights into a super strong polymer that allows polymer guns with enough weight to tame the recoil of those calibers. Maybe some sort of polymer/steel/tungsten matrix type thing. I don't know.
 
Someone earlier mentioned market forces. I think this is the major part of it. Others mentioned large bore calibers too. The question has to be, are these large bores leading the market. I don't think so. Many may own a S&W 500, but it is a one off, whilst that same person may have several .38s, 9mm, .40 .45 etc, all of which could be polymer.

Also, in most countries in the world, the biggest market drivers are government and corporate contracts, not civilian purchases, so again, are they, in the long term, going to choose steel or polymer, semi or revolver?

It will probably be polymer and probably a semi....
 
All steel as in carbon steel?
I can't see any manufacturer making all carbon steel handguns, because of the extra step needed to put a finish on the weapon. Polishing for Plating, Blueing or Phosphate coating, too much work and chemicals to be disposed of for the modern factory. Stainless Steel and other alloys for light weight and/or no finishing, that will still be around and for sometime to come.
Rubber, plastic and wood laminates for grip panels or stocks, will be around, too.
Eventually injection moulding will be the norm, MIM and polymers for most every lower stress parts.
 
Carbon steel is available in a niche market for high end revolvers and those that cost too much. There's always the 1911 makers to keep the steel going strong. Most aluminum alloys have some kind of finish on them to keep them from oxidizing. Wood and carbon steel used to be the best things on a gun. They also happen to be pretty. Durability goes up when polymers get involved, and maintenance requirements go down. I would be willing to bet that if the AWB were to pass again, the sale of all steel guns would go up considerably. More would buy 1911s and revolvers. That's a market driver there as well.
 
I hope steel is not a thing of the past. I have not yet decided what 1911 style 45 auto I want to buy. But if I ever do find one, I expect it to be all steel except for wood grips.
 
This is just another bogus question right along the lines of "are revolvers a thing of the past?". There are many types of gun owners but 2 of the main ones are SD nuts and gun nuts. Not saying you can't be both and many are but, especially here at TFL, many lean more towards SD nuts. You go over and ask this same question over at most other gun/outdoor sites and you'll have most folk screaming from the roof tops "hell no!". See, the modern plastics are great for guns. They're durable and can be less maintenance intensive. But plastics and alloys will not replace steal as the primary gun material in our lifetimes. Sure, for someone looking at only at SD oriented guns than it would appear that most of the new introductions are plastic or alloy but when you look at things as a whole it's far from the truth. Another example would be if you only visit gun shops that specialize in AR's. Being the case you'd likely come away thinkin pretty wood stocks are a thing of the past. Well wood isn't a thing of the past, neither is steal in the production of handguns. Just need to look outside your box.
 
Just need to look outside your box.
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And by doing that should it not be clear that the handgun-market is not solely influenced by the US domestic enthusiast market?

The US is undoubtedly the biggest world domestic market, but worldwide, as I posted before, I think the likely drivers of demand are governmental contracts as well as corporate clients. Worldwide, I suspect that the private owner is rather small fry.

Therefore, going back to trends in demand. They are probably not for all steel handguns. More likely they are for cheaper to bulk-buy, easier to maintain, lighter to carry firearms where a very high round count over decades of ownership may not be crucial....
 
Anything should be cheaper in bulk, wouldn't you think? I'd have to say that cost is the prime consideration. Things generally cost more than is usually appreciated and pistols are hardly an exception. When thousands of units are involved, cost is even more important and the matter tends to be studied rather extensively. Even so, the results are usually not what you wish they were.

Here's an example of the strange turns of events that can happen sometimes.

Norway at one time used the Colt .45 auto, some being manufactured in Norway presumably. Apparently Colt used to be better at selling things than they are now but that's another story. After the Germans occupied Norway in 1940, they lost their stock of pistols, among other things. When the war ended, Norway got the stock of arms that the Germans in Norway had, which included sufficient Luger pistols for them to continue using them until replaced a few decades later.

When the decision was made to replace the old pistols, some new .45 automatics were manufactured as part of a cost study. I don't know any of the specifics concerning the study but the pistols were actually sold on the open market. While the .45 auto was a slightly dated design, I suspect it was considered expensive to manufacture.

They adopted Glocks.
 
How long has the Glock been on the market? 32 years? It's been sold in the US for maybe 27 years? If polymer was going to kill off metal frames, then it would have done it by now.
 
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