plastic pistols

One might want one because the physical configuration is so pleasing. I felt that a polymer 3913 LS that could be SA only would be the neatest thing.

I don't collect these - I buy ones that work.
 
Call it plastic or polymer, which ever, but they are here to stay. I own two of them (Glocks) but the rest of mine are stainless steel. I must say that the Glocks have never failed me and the Model 26 is my main carry gun. I would not hesitate to buy another one today and would trust it just like I trust one of my Sigs or Smiths.
 
Using the term plastic instead of polymer is blasphemy, this is akin to calling a magazine a clip. :D

Polymer pistols are here to stay because of the lower manufacturing cost compared to all metal designed pistols. All metal designed pistols will continue to decline and those that stay will have skyrocketing prices (I am looking at you classic Sig P-series).

I know we all may want a 60s and 70s muscle car, but the reality is the majority of us can't afford one, that time has passed.
 
Revolvers are my favorite. I've tried lightweight and polymer varieties but they're not pleasant to shoot.

Polymers have their place. They will always be widely popular for value. I suppose that is why there's a surge of customized variations these days. They fit the user's personality.


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I'm in the same boat as the OP; I've got three plastic guns (no idea why people insist on using the term 'polymer') and I'm done with that. They work well, yes, but that's all. I never look at my Glock or Shield and think to myself, "wow, that's a nice gun." Ultimately, in my eyes, they lack character. They're like Honda Civics; nice little everyday commuters that will run forever with minimal maintenance, but if you're a car guy a Civic is just blah.

On the other hand, I love the lines of a 1911 (without the rail) or a Colt SA revolver, or a S&W M29; they just speak to my sense of aesthetics (i.e., 1965 hi-po mustang fastback). And I believe this is true of most gun people.

As an example, when I go to the range with my Glock, no one ever comes by and asks me if they can get a closer look at it; it's a Civic. But if I show up with my dad's 50's-era 1911, or my Vaquero, people will practically stand in line to talk to me about them.

Now, it's a given in my mind that most plastic guns will perform as well or better than any all-metal ones, and they're lighter, easier to maintain, etc. But, and you'll excuse me for saying so, but if I'm going to lay down several hundred bucks of my money, I also want the thing to give me some sense of pride-of-ownership. 1911s, Hi-Powers, revolvers, etc. give me that as no plastic gun can.

Of course, that's just my opinion, and as the saying goes, everyone's got one . . .
 
I'm in a different boat than most. It's old, slow, doesn't hold very much, and a bit leaky, but it gets me where I want to go.

I don't own any "Browning tilt barrel plastic framed striker fired" pistols. And I don't plan to. All the claimed advantages to them are meaningless to me.

I have lots of pistols with plastic grips, but only two with plastic grip FRAMES, a Tec-9, and a Remington XP-100. ;)

I'm at a point in my life where I don't give a rodent's posterior about what is currently popular and stylish. I don't care what dominates this or that market niche. I don't even really care about the price, as I'm no longer a buyer, I have more than I can use, already, and the new stuff simply doesn't interest me.

To paraphrase an old lyric, "I don't know, but I've been told, plastic framed pistols ain't got no soul..." :D
 
Polymer guns MIGHT last for years without degradation- no one really knows.
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Flesh and blood people MIGHT last for years without degradation- no one really knows.
Neither will likely last for centuries.
 
I have a 2nd Gen Glock that I've had since the early '90's. I'll let everyone know when the polymer starts to degrade. Still going strong - I don't really have any other poly pistols. Would consider a Grand Power K100.
 
Plastic pistols

I'm 74 and those new plastic pistols remind me of the cap pistols I had a long time ago. I believe those cap pistols of long ago were better built than some of the plastic pistols of today. Most of today's plastic pistols are bought by younger people that would not know good workmanship if it looked them in the face. The older colt 1911,colt and sw revolvers are the only guns that you can really depend on with your life.:p
 
This is a subject that comes up often. It is funny to me that 'plastic' pistols are always found to be cheaply made and inferior to the guns of yesteryear. While I have steel and wood guns, the ones I use most and carry daily are polymer framed. They are accurate, easy to maintain in all environments, and significantly lighter than their metal counterparts. They are also completely reliable and less expensive.

For those who collect and take great pride in ownership of their guns, good for you. For many of us who are only concerned about the best tool for the job, polymer is a better choice. And for the record, I am old enough to remember the cap guns of yesteryear...
 
I believe those cap pistols of long ago were better built than some of the plastic pistols of today.
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No they weren't! Not even close. I have several antique cap guns from the 50's and 60's. I have a Daisy Red Ryder from the 1950's/60/s.

I'm not a Glock fanby, although I have a Glock 17. Let's be real here, there truly is no comparison. While I also appreciate the workmanship of forged steel and nicely machined parts, Glock and a select group of other poly-pistols are extremely well made in their own right. Which guns made today will be the last to survive 1,000+ years into the future............the world may never know.
 
I'm 74 and those new plastic pistols remind me of the cap pistols I had a long time ago. I believe those cap pistols of long ago were better built than some of the plastic pistols of today. Most of today's plastic pistols are bought by younger people that would not know good workmanship if it looked them in the face. The older colt 1911,colt and sw revolvers are the only guns that you can really depend on with your life.
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I'm 77, and I think you need to educate yourself. Do you have facts, or is that just a preconceived opinion?
 
As a Life member of SNM-Sons of Neanderthal Man- I am strictly a Steel and Walnut Man. Not a shrimp or a lightweight-5'10", 200 + lbs-but I prefer the recol dampening feel of steel. I look at polymer frames as I do diet soda-if others enjoy it, fine.
 
I prefer the recol dampening feel of steel
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I see this written both on this forum and others repeatedly. I honestly don't feel like a polymer framed pistol has notably more recoil than a steel framed pistol. I feel the steel transmits the energy to you as it's a rigid body, whereas the polymer flexes slightly and thus absorbs some of the energy. To me the slide might flip less on a full steel pistol, but I actually feel the recoil in my hands and arms more. Idk.
 
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polymer/plastic flexes so you don't feel the recoil is exactly why I don't want one. People complain about plastic stock having flex in their rifles and replace it or reinforce it but think it's an advantage in a pistol.
Horse feathers! I don't want a flexible gun. Let's face it, a gun is supposed to deliver a bullet to a target with accuracy and if the gun is flexing it can't do that. A pistol that is made of steel will outlast any of the light weight guns out there. Plastic/polymer is for axe handles and boom boxes not for guns. If you are so weak that you can't carry a steel handgun then you have more problems than I do with a broken back and ten years of recovery from two back surgeries at 66 years of age.
I would love to go 50 years in the future to see how these plastic gun hold up. A steel gun will hold up for 100 years and the proof is the many guns that were made at the turn of the century that are still in use and still being made.
 
I'm old and crusty and prefer steel/wood to plastic but my instincts tell me that you'll be able to measure the life of the fantastic plastic in half-lives while the steel will always be prone to corrosion and erosion. Bury a Glock and a 1911 in your back yard and dig it up in 25 years and see which one comes out in better shape. My money is on the plastic but give me steel and wood any day because it will out last me.
 
Burying a gun will rust the barrel and action, unless its a Ruger or other stainless gun and the material of the frame will make little difference in the functionality of the gun. I am talking about a gun that is in use and maintained well. The plastic guns are never going to last as long as a steel gun.
 
I do find it amusing, the argument about how the plastic frames will outlast steel as they don't rust or corrode. I see it as a red herring.

Because, IT DOESN"T MATTER if the plastic outlasts the steel, the "plastic" pistols really important parts are STEEL. Steel, with all the rust and corrosion "weakness" they claim makes the steel frame inferior to the plastic.

A GLock with the barrel and slide rusted together is just as non functional as a an all steel gun with the barrel and slide rusted together.

And, ok, they put reeeally good coatings on the steel so that's not going to happen to the combat Tupperware, right? Again, so what? The same kind of coating could be applied to any steel gun as well.

The point I'm trying to make (and probably badly) is that the vital components of both plastic framed and steel/aluminum alloy framed guns are the same materials. I don't see how the claims about "virtual indestrucablity" can be anything but hugely exaggerated. Not saying (the right) plastic isn't durable enough for service & duty use, they've proven their worth for that. I just don't buy into the "mine will work when yours is rusted junk" thing automatically.

I also don't believe any of them are "perfection". (neither is anything else :p)
 
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