Polymer vs Metal frame

[ianS]

A fair point, but I think in general, buyers of polymer guns generally don't care. Polymer guns to most people are a tool for daily use, not an heirloom.

Shh, you can actually own both. But let's keep that between those of us "in the know".

[Carcassonne]

When you refer to metal do you mean steel and aluminum, or just steel (Some guns are made of other metals also)?

Plastic doesn't rust, but plastic guns have metal parts that can rust. Untreated metal will rust or corrode. I do not know enough about age hardening or hydrogen embrittlement of steel, but there is a possibility that they may cause steel to crack even if it is never used.

Both metal and plastic will be damaged by heat. Plastic will most likely be damaged at a lower temperature than metal.

When something in a plastic gun brakes it is usually the metal parts in the gun and not the plastic (except a plastic guide rod).

I do not know whether a plastic gun will last as long as a metal gun. Chances are you will be dead before your plastic or metal gun disintegrates back into the dust from which it came.

I think a metal gun is more rigid, and therefor can be made more accurate than a plastic gun. For general purpose use, I don't think there is a difference if you are paying under $1000 for either. My Glock 21 is just as accurate as my Springfield 1911-A1 (non-custom/special).



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[beerman]

I say steel cause they're better for "pistol-whipping"

[Jimmy's]

Steel over poly but poly over aluminum.

[IVC]

There might have been time when polymer wasn't good enough or at least people thought it wasn't. These days it's just a preference.

[Lead Waster]

For ME (and maybe not you) if I had to carry a handgun everyday as a duty weapon (or whatever), I'd certainly choose plastic framed. Why? It's light and highly durable. If you dropped it or scuffed it against a concrete wall or whatever, it doesn't really matter as aesthetics is not important for a duty gun. Mostly I'd not want to get weighed down by the extra frame weight on my belt all day.

A nice steel gun is great for range and shooting sports (as is a plastic one). And they just "feel good". Since it's a hobby, that stuff is important.

So hobby versus duty.


Most handguns have been around long enough that any durability issues with whatever model has been noted and corrected, or avoided.

[fritztkatt]

For regular use, there's a few things. Most has already been stated. They all work just fine, they will all out last our grandchildren (ok, for some of us, that's not very far away, but for me it is LOL).

Polymer is great for weight. It's cheap. IMO the frame flex does absorb recoil.

Aluminum is also great for weight, if you're into a metal gun but not the weight... IMO it has more recoil than steel and plastic. It could be argued that corrosion is less of an issue than steel. Can be used as a hammer. Could be considered more accurate because it doesn't have the flex like plastic.

Steel, has more expected service life if properly maintained. Extra weight helps with recoil. Can be used as a hammer. Same argument for accuracy as aluminum vs. plastic.

I like steel and plastic guns. Aluminum, as stated, has too much recoil for me. I fully expect my glock to do everything I want it to until the barrel has been shot out.

I've heard arguments that aluminum will not last as long as steel simply because it's softer, the slide could eventually eat it. Polymer guns seem to all use steel inserts for the slide rails (I may be wrong on this).

As far as ridiculous torture tests go, of course the plastic will melt. Run it over with a truck and the steel will probably bend. I suppose if you're concerned about living in a mud pit being attacked by rabid Mac trucks and have a belt-fed pistol, maybe the torture tests are ok.

I'm not going to worry about it. Just get something that's a quality gun, and take care of it.

[CandG]

I wonder if steel and alloy guns do better than polymers in those mag dump torture tests where thousands of rounds are fired, and the polymers melt.

I'm sure some polymer ones do better than some metal ones, and vice versa - but it's sort of irrelevant, mag dump torture tests are purely for entertainment, they have zero real-world value. Nobody would ever fire any pistol to the point of melting, it would be far too hot to even touch way before reaching that point, so it doesn't really matter what happens if/when it melts, since it would never happen except on youtube. Other torture tests like dipping it in mud or dropping it on the ground are a lot more useful in quickly measuring a gun's real-world reliability.

It's kind of like torture-testing car engines to see how long you can run them without coolant before it fails. Neat test, fun to watch, but hardly useful for anything.

[BigPimping]

Glock is polymer frame. Go ahead and Google Glock reliability and then let me know.