It seems to be a dead topic. Plastic—carbon fiber—is the accepted norm these days. Certainly plastics provide some advantages over metal when it comes to making handguns, or maybe not, depending on what you’re after in a pistol.
The alloy vs steel debate IMHO is similar. If lightweight matters, alloys rule but it won’t last as long which the Air Force’s experiment with air weight S&Ws air crew revolvers in the 60’s indicated(of course steel has it’s drawbacks in the cockpit as well, but for the sake of argument let’s assume that we’re going to be driving F-106 Delta Darts around.)
The crux of this thread is Plastic vs. Steel for the long haul.
Steel, with enough use, does wear—even a lot of Uncle Sam’s 1911s wore out to the point of replacement being preferable to rebuilding, so my issue is one of which can be expected to last long enough to equip your descendants with a defensive firearm?
There are museums bulging with Civil War sidearms (1861 Colt Armys 1851 Navys and 1857 Remmys were steel, IIRC) but Glocks haven’t been around long enough to compete. The trigger guards on Mossberg .22 training and match rifles were plastic (albeit an early 20th cent. compound) and not many have survived intact.
I think this should tell us something if you plan on leaving your pistol for your great grandchildren’s 2A birthright.
How long will an artificial knee be expected to function?
I have all steel type guns , granted i bought them before plastic guns were a thing, i go by the old saying if its not broken don’t fix it , living in the great state of Arizona and keeping my weapons clean and lube i have no rust or any jamming on them. Stay Alert Don’t Get Hurt.
Modern Polymers will most likely last as long as steel. The functional components of the Polymer firearms are still all metal and will most likely wear out first.
Of course it depends on how well it is maintained but I can see them going for a very long time.
I think with modern coatings and plastic compositions that both steel and plastic firearms are capable of surviving multiple generations. It will come down to use and care as to rather or not a gun lasts.
Full metal Glock! I grabbed a Glock frame from Matrix Arms that is all aluminum except the grips, kinda the best of both worlds and functions perfectly. Highly recommend for those that fear plastic
Remember the advantages of plastic are (1) Cheap and easy to make and (2) lightweight. The only advantage to the consumer is the lighter weight. The other belongs to the manufacturer. I’m betting #1 is the reason you see so many plastic pieces.
