what are the pros of all-metal-framed handguns?

[reppans]

Safety...

I couldn’t carry my Glocks anymore after converting to AIWB and violating rule #2 24/7 - just couldn’t get comfortable with the idea of the striker being ‘partially cocked’, or that their internal safeties are dependent upon a precise interface between the metal slide and plastic frame. Every time I bent over to tie my shoe laces, with my gut trying to bend the gun around my belt, it just made me just cringed.

Some examples of Glock ADs in this thread... primarily due to broken frame rail that upset that precise slide/frame interface:
https://sigtalk.com/p250-p320-p320-x-5-pistols/325324-firing-pin-spring-tension-pressure.html?amp=1

 

[simonrichter]

I couldn’t carry my Glocks anymore after converting to AIWB and violating rule #2 24/7 - just couldn’t get comfortable with the idea of the striker being ‘partially cocked’, or that their internal safeties are dependent upon a precise interface between the metal slide and plastic frame. Every time I bent over to tie my shoe laces, with my gut trying to bend the gun around my belt, it just made me just cringed.

though it's somewhat compulsory to be a Glock fan as both Austrian and member of their Armed Forces, I'm absolutely able to relate to that... Whenever I carried or kept ready a Glock privately, I did so the Israeli way, half loaded and ready to rapidly rack...

 

[Kreyzhorse]

They are heavier and that amounts to less recoil. A good gun belt will make the additional carry weight a non issue as well.

 

[Drm50]

A thousand years from now when explorers from another planet are poking around in our ruble they will find two cases. They will open the first one and it will be full of a sticky substance similar to sheep snot. That would be what’s left of one of the plastic fantastics. The other they will find a 1911 45. This will put them down in the jaws because they can still be bought new and don’t have much collector value.

 

[ballardw]

A thousand years from now when explorers from another planet are poking around in our ruble they will find two cases. They will open the first one and it will be full of a sticky substance similar to sheep snot. That would be what’s left of one of the plastic fantastics. The other they will find a 1911 45. This will put them down in the jaws because they can still be bought new and don’t have much collector value.

A 1911 figures prominently in one part of a David Weber book about Honor Harrington set about the year 4000AD.

 

[dahermit]

The tree huggers tell me that a thin plastic grocery bag will take hundreds, if not thousands, of years to bio-degrade.

If this is even remotely true, I don't think a Glock frame will fail for at least 200 years.
Glock put steel where steel is needed and plastic where steel was not needed.

There are plastics then there are plastics.

I had a nylon (a plastic) gear on the end of a distributor in a car some years back that become brittle and shattered. Having been a machinist, I have observed that new nylon is tough as hell.

I drove garbage truck at one time and observed how garbage bags would deteriorate in direct sunlight after a period of time.

So the problem as I see it (and have observed), is that new plasic maybe very tough, but aged plastic may or may not become brittle with age...the only way to tell for sure, is to wait those years. It seems, as others have mentioned, that steel on the other hand, has been time tested and found to be unaffected.

I own no plastic guns save for the stocks on an AR15. Nevertheless, if I were a young person who was required to be armed, I would have a Glock on my belt, but would prefer that the department pay for it.

 

[jmr40]

I have no problem with STEEL handguns or modern PLASTIC. Both types have proven to hold up to in excess of 300,000 rounds with no major parts breakage. Plastics were used widely for a lot of products going back to the 1930's and many of those items are still serviceable. And modern plastics are even better. A steel pistol will rust away about the same time a plastic pistol will degrade if both are left in the elements. Both will be around for my great grandkids if taken care of.

I have no use for aluminum alloy in handguns. Aluminum frames have a life expectancy far less than either steel or plastic. Those are the guns that won't be around for my great grandkids unless they are put in a box and rarely used. The aluminum parts used in AR's and many shotguns is in areas that don't see a lot of stress and tend to hold up better than handgun frames.

But I will say this. My steel guns are for range use only. My carry guns are all plastic.

 

[jrothWA]

I have a Colt Combat Commander a co=worker has a LW commander, the recoil is different between the two, heavier allows a quicker second shot.
A non-metal frame is lighter to carry, but the second shot with be slower.

 

[Hal]

If - I have to explain the pros of all metal to you, then it's something that I'm afraid your just not going to get.

I'm in no way saying rubber grips & metals that don't rust & plastics don't have their place....far from it. They make great tools.

 

[JohnKSa]

I drove garbage truck at one time and observed how garbage bags would deteriorate in direct sunlight after a period of time.

Many (perhaps all) garbage bags are specifically designed to degrade in sunlight.

So the problem as I see it (and have observed), is that new plasic maybe very tough, but aged plastic may or may not become brittle with age...the only way to tell for sure, is to wait those years.

There are other ways to know for sure. Accelerated aging tests provide good information.

Also, nylon has been around a long time now--85 years. Its long term aging properties are not exactly a mystery, and there are simple fixes for some of the known issues that cause degradation. For example, UV degradation can be dealt with very cheaply and simply--and it's why the nylon used in guns tends to be black.

 

[peacefulgary]

A thousand years from now when explorers from another planet are poking around in our ruble they will find two cases. They will open the first one and it will be full of a sticky substance similar to sheep snot. That would be what’s left of one of the plastic fantastics. The other they will find a 1911 45....

Well if the containers themselves survived a thousand years and remained structurally sound, then the contents of those containers would also remain structurally sound.

So they would see a nice new-in-the-box Glock 21 and a nice new-in-the-box 1911.
Unfortunately, all of the lubricant would have evaporated or migrated and both pistols would be extremely dry.
When they tried to chamber a round the G21 would chamber just fine and be ready to rock.
The 1911 would make a sound of metal on metal and fail to go in to battery.
The discovers would smile and marvel over the 1911...and proclaim that with proper lubrication and a little TLC, the 1911 could almost be made as reliable as the Glock.

 

[HistoryJunky]

I've always preferred metal over plastic guns, at least for range use.

I have a great steel reinforced belt from Bigfoot GunBelts and could carry my all steel CZ85b without issues if I wanted to.

It is definitely easier to carry any of my polymer pistols. They just aren't quite as enjoyable to shoot.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[elsancudo]

Nothing beats my East German Makarov for function, reliability, accuracy and comfort of carry. Re-barrelled for .380. If some manufacturer would make this pistol with a button push mag and de-cocker, they would sweep the market.

 

[AgedWarrior]

What are the pros of all metal handguns?
Answer: They are all metal!

 

[reppans]

Nothing beats my East German Makarov for function, reliability, accuracy and comfort of carry. Re-barrelled for .380. If some manufacturer would make this pistol with a button push mag and de-cocker, they would sweep the market.

Walther PPK has the button push mag release and decocker.... also (I understand) was the original inspiration for the Makarov.

 

[Rembrandt]

Metal can be thinner and stronger whereas plastic requires thicker mass for it to equal the tinsel strength of the same part. Metal can checkered and engraved. Polymers do not keep tolerances due to temperature changes where metals will hold tolerances better.

 

[Metric]

It's easier to cut, gouge, or wear smooth polymers over time. Not a short-term issue, but it can be a long-term issue. Depends on how you want the gun to age with time.

IMO, Sig-Sauer is onto a very neat approach where the polymer grip module is replaceable, while "the gun" (the frame) is solid steel. Potentially the best of both worlds.

 

[peacefulgary]

It is definitely easier to carry any of my polymer pistols. They just aren't quite as enjoyable to shoot.

I guess it's just where you get your enjoyment when shooting...

When I shoot, I get my enjoyment from making tight groups, difficult shots, quick strings that group real tight, accurate 1-hand from the hip shooting, etc...
It really doesn't matter if the handgun is all metal or not.

I've never once thought "That was fun, but it would have been more fun if my handgun had been all metal".

 

[zeke]

Another believer in empty all metal is better impact than empty polymer, and you can make steel frames thinner (more expensive). Am also associating most of the all metal pistols owned with sa trigger and visible hammers resulting in significantly better trigger pulls. With the way the current political environs and overall young peoples attitudes are changing, having a metal frame seems an advantage for several more generations having access to firearms.

Didn't buy a glock till the 4th gen, but it also has some advantages, but certainly not the trigger pull or width for concealment.

 

[Cheapshooter]

what are the pros of all-metal-framed handguns?

Gun snobs will consider you a worthwhile human being. That's about it!