New steel/alloy body pistols

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BoogieMan

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So pretty much all 1911 manufacturers offer steel body guns. SIG, CZ, Browning, Beretta offer models that are steel or alloy frame. What else is out there on current production non-1911 steel/alloy body pistols?
Anything from HK or FN?
 
Tanfoglio/Witness, the Grand Power series, the Rex Zero One, the Cougar now made in Turkey, there are still Tokarev derivatives in production.
Surely others, those are just off the top of my head without doing free literature searches.
 
From HK no. If I remember correctly aren't the Browning Hi Powers sold stateside actually from FN factories overseas and just licensed by Browning? So you could sort of consider them from FN. But other than that nothing else from FN. The Hudson H9 that was at this year's SHOT Show has a steel frame so that's a newer product with a metal frame.
 
Looks like with the exception of the Hudson and High Power they are all derivatives of the CZ-75, 1911 or SIG 226. Rimfire excluded.
 
Yea if your point was "new" designs based on a metal frame then it's relatively unusual. And a lot of those people making the non-1911 versions are based overseas.

Most everything out there now is some derivative of the Browning tilting barrel design in one guise or another. Polymer equals a lower cost for the manufacturer and for the end user. With everyone basically making the same thing (especially since everyone is now in the striker market too) price point becomes a big factor for sales competition. You have to have some kind of argument for the higher cost. It looks like Hudson is going with the "unique" argument. I'll be interested to see how they do.
 
BoogieMan said:
Looks like with the exception of the Hudson and High Power they are all derivatives of the CZ-75, 1911 or SIG 226.
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The Sphinx metal-frame models can probably be counted under the CZ-75 category.

The Beretta 92 series is the most obvious omission from your list. IMHO the Taurus PT-92 (mentioned by Cheapshooter) counts as a Beretta 92 derivative.

The Beretta/Stoeger Cougar series (mentioned by Jim Watson) is substantially different from the 92 and the other pistols mentioned; I would count it on its own.

I can also think of several other currently-offered metal-frame pistols that aren't in one of these categories.
  • Bersa Thunder .380 series
  • Walther PPK and PPK/S (supposedly back in production under Walther Arms auspices rather than S&W, although I haven't actually seen one yet)
  • Beretta Series 80/81 aka Cheetah (released in fits and starts so availability is spotty, but supposedly still in production)
  • Beretta 21A Bobcat (ditto the above)
  • Beretta 3032 Tomcat (ditto x 2)
  • Desert Eagle (the "Daddy" not the Baby ;))
  • Lionheart LH9 (Daewoo K5/DP51 derivative)
  • SIG P238 (Colt Mustang copy, itself a Star DK copy)
  • SIG P938 (kinda-sorta Star BKS copy)
  • S&W Model 5946 (not officially cataloged but inexplicably spotted in the wild recently at numerous Cabela's)
  • [EDIT TO ADD] Kahr K and MK series
I'll admit that the majority of these pistols are small-caliber, .380 or smaller. Not sure this is what you were after.
 
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I have a hard time finding a PPK that's not historical and $1500+ or in poor condition. PPK/S are all over but don't interest me. I will check out the SW 5946. Small caliber centerfire pistols as well as small frame. PPK size is a min.
 
BoogieMan said:
I have a hard time finding a PPK that's not historical and $1500+ or in poor condition.
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Likewise. FWIW it's probably been ~3 years since I've seen a new-production PPK on a dealer's shelf, and this was a "pre-divorce" S&W Houlton pistol; I've yet to see a single one marked Walther Arms, Ft. Smith, AR. That said, the PPK is listed on the Walther Arms website, and AFAIK they announced at SHOT 2017 that production had commenced at the Ft. Smith plant. Time will tell!
 
@cheapshooter the R51 is interesting. I will look for one and see what's up. It looks to be about PPK size. Is it steel/alloy frame or nylon?
 
While the Gen 2 of the R51 does seem to be an improvement, the reviews are still mixed. It's not all bad, but the percentage of complaints is still concerning to me. Handling one in a shop didn't endear it any more to me personally. There are other options I'd go with first, but as always YMMV.


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Remington R51 is aluminum alloy frame with steel slide.
I really need to get to the range with mine to give it a try, and write a review. I do like the feel quite a bit. Once you learn the take down, and re-assembly procedure correctly, it is no harder than any other gun.
 
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