plastic pistols

To my mind, the question isn't whether plastic will outlast steel, but whether it will outlast me. I suspect that it will, too. I had a long-time aversion to plastic pistols, but I appear to have recovered. As much as I like park'd steel and wood, I've grown to appreciate the lighter weight of plastic.

And yeah, I'm man enough to carry steel, but I try not to make life any harder for myself than I have to.
 
I own both types but find that only the blue steel and walnut, (OK, I do really like my Smith M60, M69 & M629) rings the bell for me. A vintage Model 19, Flat Top Rugers, a cpl SSA Colts, a slew of 1911's, & one very special Hi-Power, all bring a happy smile to my face when I holster them and head for our farm range. Those guns speak to me of lineage& tradition, craftsmanship and pride of ownership that is just lacking in one of the wonder polymers.

But I gotta admit, my wife's G23 is sure light on the hip; there's no way that a similar capacity steel and walnut pistol would weigh short of 5 lbs. LOL. If you need that kind of capacity that poly allows, (your duty belt already weighs close to 20 pounds), a Glock or something similar makes a lot of sense...you just won't get all misty-eyed telling your pals how you managed to find it on GB for $100 off.

But it's important to remember, that we're all shooters...strong supporters of the 2nd Amendment, and as Americans, one and all, we support each other's choices, be it manly steel and walnut or soulless plastic!

YMMV, Rod
 
Amen Rod!

ShootistPRS - Ive been enjoying this conversation from the back row.

I have to say. I own metal and plastic guns. All the plastic guns I have the slide rides on metal rails embedded into the polymer (plastic). Some of these are are even replaceable. So all wear is metal on metal. I don't know of any polymer to metal wear surfaces. There are polymer to metal parts but these are usually a spring hooked to polymer or a rod off some sort...

What do you do when your 1911 is so loose it rattles? Ive seen many in this condition. For my FNX I replace the internal wear parts and its back to as new.

Just putting forth the polymer (plastic) side of the discussion.
 
Love this topic.
I see the usefulness of the plastic pistol. What I dont see is the value. All plastic frames cost about the same to produce and its less than $5 in quantity including the mold. They are popped out 4 at a time but completely unskilled labor into a pile to be de-flashed and assembled. For the most part even the slide has no character. Im not buying to make money for the manufacturer. I want the finest handgun I can afford to buy every time I buy, and its several a year. You can argue that modern guns from CNC shops are no different. But you would be wrong. Taking a forging or a billet and cutting away at it even with a CNC is still sculpting. No matter what a plastic gun will never ever have the character of 1903, 1911, Luger, PPK, etc.. It cant. So if you want a tool to be worn and abused in a tool belt (like a hammer) then maybe the plastic gun is ideal.
 
What do you do when your 1911 is so loose it rattles?
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That doesnt happen until hundreds of thousands of rounds in a quality gun. At that point you hang it in a frame on the wall. Let it die a noble death as it has served its master well. Or pop a new barrel, bushing in it and go another 20k rounds.
 
Im not buying to make money for the manufacturer.
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But you are though, or they wouldn't sell it. You can argue that the manufacturer is making a lot less and maybe they are, but I've never seen the invoices to prove that even if I'd believe it myself.

I want the finest handgun I can afford to buy every time I buy, and its several a year.
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To me the quality is in the function.

You can argue that modern guns from CNC shops are no different. But you would be wrong. Taking a forging or a billet and cutting away at it even with a CNC is still sculpting.
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It's machine sculpting. To me that's not much different than molding a polymer frame. It may well require more work I grant you that, but idk that I consider it "craftsmanship".
 
Love this topic.
I see the usefulness of the plastic pistol. What I dont see is the value. All plastic frames cost about the same to produce and its less than $5 in quantity including the mold. They are popped out 4 at a time but completely unskilled labor into a pile to be de-flashed and assembled. For the most part even the slide has no character. Im not buying to make money for the manufacturer. I want the finest handgun I can afford to buy every time I buy, and its several a year. You can argue that modern guns from CNC shops are no different. But you would be wrong. Taking a forging or a billet and cutting away at it even with a CNC is still sculpting. No matter what a plastic gun will never ever have the character of 1903, 1911, Luger, PPK, etc.. It cant. So if you want a tool to be worn and abused in a tool belt (like a hammer) then maybe the plastic gun is ideal.

Wow, just $4. I wouldn't have guessed that. With all the metal inserts and everything is it still $4? Would you mind sharing your cost data from each manufacturer? I assume you're an industry insider so you may not be able to disclose this overtly.
 
From a reliable source (who still posts here) a number of years ago, but I don't know if today's steel/polymer prices have the same cost differential (emphasis mine).

...From 3 human and 5 technical sources, Glock uses an out-sourced proprietary hybrid polymer mix with a base of Nylon 6. The frames are cast and offer high strength, wear resistance, abrasion resistance, and good resiliency, good ductility and toughness. Fracture mechanics are excellent with defect ratios below 1. Do not compare to extruded Nylons because it is different. Commerical price for hi-grade Nylon 6 is about $3.50/lb. Commerical price for hi-carbon steel is about $1.50/lb. Sounds to me like the Glock is actually a better buy than most steel guns. The Glock is considered highly-intricate due to imbedded metallic components...
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Wow, just $4. I wouldn't have guessed that. With all the metal inserts and everything is it still $4? Would you mind sharing your cost data from each manufacturer? I assume you're an industry insider so you may not be able to disclose this overtly.
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I have been in manufacturing for over 22 years, engineering, estimating, etc.. . I have a pretty good idea of costs. With molding it makes little difference weather its a baby bottle or a handgun frame. Molds now come almost exclusively from China and are tuned in the area of manufacture such as US or Austria. The frames are all variants of 6/12 nylon. Glass or mineral fill to help retain shape, color and heat resistance.
 
What do you do when your 1911 is so loose it rattles? Ive seen many in this condition.
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So it rattles. This "rule of thumb" re: the dreaded rattles is something I have read for years. In my opinion this is a myth, right up there with unicorns, leprechauns, virgins, and other fairly tales.

This 1911 rattles like a pocketful of loose change. Nothing wrong with it. Best shooting I have ever done with a 1911 type, in fact. 1918 production Colt Model of 1911, somebody put a target front sight on it decades ago. I had put new grips on it for the range trip. The originals are too smooth.

 
I am sure the list of places where a handgun should not be stored would be quite long, regardless of the frame material. You can't fix stupid.
 
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