Steel Frame pistols

Most of my guns are steel framed, and all my favorites, except one, are steel. The weirdo exception is my SAR CM9. I like it better than my Custom CZ P-07, and about as much as my Sig P226 SSE. My favorite, by a nose over another almost identical gun, is my Tanfoglio TA/90 9mm, an all steel nickeled Israeli surplus gun I got pretty cheap. All my fullsized CZ clones, including my two Jericho 941's are all clustered at the top of my favorites list. The only plastic or rubber part of them are the grips on some of them.
 
The "Alloy" slang bugs me, every steel framed handgun is also alloy, an alloy of iron and carbon, possibly many other elements. That term "Alloy" to imply aluminum is lazy/cool, like "Tacticool!" BTW, the bullets and the cartridge cases are also alloys.
You won't find non alloy pure iron gun frame nor a pure aluminum gun frame, they are all alloy.
But plastic is plastic. :-) (P.S. I carry a "POLYMER" [plastic] framed pistol, It's just another tool, But not a cool tool.)
 
HisSoldier said:
The "Alloy" slang bugs me, every steel framed handgun is also alloy, an alloy of iron and carbon, possibly many other elements. That term "Alloy" to imply aluminum is lazy/cool, like "Tacticool!" BTW, the bullets and the cartridge cases are also alloys.
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While it bugs you, the use of the term alloy is not exactly slang. It's a wide-spread gun industry way of saying aluminum alloy. Proof? If you have a copy of the Fjestad Blue Book read through the description of guns with which you're familiar, or visit various gun maker websites. If you do you'll see the term alloy is almost never used when describing steel-framed guns, only with frames that are primarily aluminum.

If the buyer is technically savvy, he or she will know that the frame is not pure aluminum, but a mix of Aluminum and small amounts of other metals; if the buyer isn't savvy, it likely doesn't matter.

Aluminum is NOT as flexible or resilient as steel when dealing with repeated impacts or attempts to flex the material -- which is why some alloy frames don't have the service life of steel-framed guns.​

Forged aluminum frames are apparently a bit more resilient and durable than cast frames and anodizing any aluminum frame increases its hardness, lubricity, and corrosion resistance. Aluminum does corrode but just not from all of the same environmental or contact issues that cause steel to corrode.
 
44 AMP said:
Kind of the odd guy out, here, ALL my handguns have either steel or AL alloy frames. No plastic. And, my striker fired pistol is a Luger!
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I'm right there with you, with one solitary exception. The exception is a Browning 1911-380, which has a polymer frame. The reason I bought it was that I wanted the 1911-380. Browning offers their scaled-down 1911-22 with a choice of aluminum or polymer frame, but they only offer the 1911-380 in polymer, so I had no choice (other than not buying the gun).
 
HisSoldier said:
The "Alloy" slang bugs me, every steel framed handgun is also alloy, an alloy of iron and carbon, possibly many other elements. That term "Alloy" to imply aluminum is lazy/cool, like "Tacticool!" BTW, the bullets and the cartridge cases are also alloys.
You won't find non alloy pure iron gun frame nor a pure aluminum gun frame, they are all alloy.
But plastic is plastic. :-) (P.S. I carry a "POLYMER" [plastic] framed pistol, It's just another tool, But not a cool tool.)
Click to expand...
No, you are falling into your own trap. Just as most metals (and I think all metals used in making firearms) are alloys, plastics are also all compounds. Within the general category of "plastics" we have thermoplastics and we have thermo-setting plastics. Look at the recycling triangle on most "plastic" products and you'll see a number. The numbers go at least as high as number six, and maybe more. Each number designates a different type of plastic. "Plastic" can include:

  • Polyethylene terephthalate
  • High-density polyethylene
  • Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
  • Low-density polyethylene
  • Polypropylene
  • Polystyrene
  • Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
  • Polyamide
  • And then there's "All Others"
So, if you think it's wrong to use shorthand and refer to aluminum alloys as just "alloy" even though everyone knows what is meant, I respectfully submit that it's just as wrong to refer to non-metal gun parts as "plastic" -- especially since it's NOT possible to deduce from that word and the context what particular type of plastic is intended.

What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
 
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