Aluminum Glock frames?

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NIGHTLORD40K said:

So, I can't wrap my head (or hands) around plastic guns......just cant do it. Ive tried. Really.

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Then don’t. there are so many great metal guns out there to chose from. Just pick one, or two, or ten.

One of the things that makes a Glock a Glock is the plastic frame. Without the plastic frame it’s just not a Glock. It’s just weird.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

So, I can't wrap my head (or hands) around plastic guns......just cant do it. Ive tried. Really.

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I'm with you on that but agree with rskent, pick a (or another) real metal gun.

I hate DAO worse than plastic guns but I own 2 that are DAO and plastic ... go figure?

Just splurge and get the new Walther PPQ Q5 SF (steel frame), if you want a Glockish steel framed gun.

I personally think like @rskent, seems to be pointless. But never-the-less, I'm intrigued to see what users of said metal framed Glocks say.

rskent said:

Without the plastic frame it’s just not a Glock. It’s just weird.

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and likely unreliable..

Those aluminium frames also have aluminium rails, right? We are talking about parts, that are designed to be made of steel and are already quite thin... And we want to substitute that for an inferior (in every aspect, except weight) metal? I think I will pass on that - just get a "normal" G17 and be happy with it. I don't like polymer framed guns also, but Glocks are OK - reliable, somewhat shooter friendly, proven for longevity... I don't see a simple reason why one would want an aluminium frame instead of the original polymer one - they simply work and work OK for quite some time. Just get it - if you don't like it you can always sell it later to some delusional fanboy .

It wouldn’t surprise me if Glock internals may need the bit of slop/flex that polymer provides to work correctly. The point of a frame is to hold other parts in the correct relation to one another and guide their relative motion. If you change from a rather flexible hold to a rigid one, you might have problems. Or maybe not.

I also struggle to see the point of an aluminum frame, which lacks the weight-related benefits of steel.

FWIW, I don’t particularly like Glocks and don’t own one. Would sell one if given to me.

People complain about the Glock Fanboys but good grief, there's enough Glock hatred to last into the next election. Lighten up folks. If you don't like a gun, don't buy it. That way you vote with your dollars.

Dave

Next thing you know, people are gonna want to know about polymer-framed 1911s. Cats and dogs, living together, the end of the world as we know it.

As a G17 owner, I'm kind of interested in hearing about them too, because eventually, the volatiles will leach out of the polymers and become fragile. Be nice to have a solution ready at hand, although then we might need metal mags as well.

Dave T said:

People complain about the Glock Fanboys but good grief, there's enough Glock hatred to last into the next election. Lighten up folks. If you don't like a gun, don't buy it. That way you vote with your dollars.

Dave

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What hatred? Most of the people advising against it are in fact glock owners.

RedlegRick said:

Next thing you know, people are gonna want to know about polymer-framed 1911s.

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They exist too

Ive never seen one for a Glock but I dont care for aluminum frames. I have sig 22x and beretta 92/96 variants with aluminum frames. They have massive frame rails compared to a glock and they are still known to have accelerated wear. No way a thin frame rail (and to fit in the glock slide it would have to be thin) would hold up. I'd guess the aluminum frame has steel inserts? Just my guess though. Who knows.
My highest round counts are on a couple Glocks. The frame rails and internals show no real wear even though the slides and barrels look like hell. I have aluminum Sigs that look new but show rail wear.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Already got a full basket of metal pistols- 1911, bunch o SIGs, BHP, Beretta, Luger......you name it.

Just looking for a new toy, probably wouldnt carry it or anything.

And I like weird, as long as its reliable.

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Canik TP9SFX. Yeah it's a polymer frame, but it's way different than a Glock.

As I was the first to bravely mention the "fanboys" I think I own at least an explanation - Dave T, the sad truth is that Glock fanboys usually dress in 5.11 or compatible tacticalistic clothing that is incompatible, or at least highly unwelcome, with the good and well mannered taste of a fine gentleman (that do care about REAL guns made of steel). In other words - repulsive and ill mannered!

P.S. In case you missed the three winking emoticons in my first post, I added and a neener one to my last...

Of all the ones that I’ve seen, Alpha Foxtrot seems to be the best. They use steel rails just like Glock.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Im going to visit my LGS tomorrow and see if he has a cheap "cosmetically challenged" G17 donor gun to base my build on. Ill keep y'all posted.

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Get a pink one then you can sell it to a "delusional 'fangirl'."

Alum. cracks while polymer just flexes.

Dave T said:

People complain about the Glock Fanboys but good grief, there's enough Glock hatred to last into the next election. Lighten up folks. If you don't like a gun, don't buy it. That way you vote with your dollars.

Dave

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Dave, to the extent that I’m one of the subjects of your post, you misunderstand. I wanted to convey that my skepticism of a metal frame for a Glock was not born of fanboy-ism or a belief that nothing about a Glock should ever be changed because of perfection.

So polymer guns are for those that shoot a lot (allows for flexibility under fire), and aluminum/steel guns are for those who don't (fatigues under heavy volume, but doesn't get brittle sitting in the safe).

I remember when Glock hit the market. Everyone was talking about how they would never last.
Now every major gun manufacturer has a polymer frame gun on the market. Colt is the only one that doesn’t have a high capacity 9mm on the market. I guess the flop of the 2000 was to much for them.
I had given some thought to building a pistol with the Alpha Foxtrot frame back when I first saw them, but ended up building one with the Polymer 80 frame. I may end up building one just for the hell of it, some time in the future.
I understand that some don’t care for polymer frame guns. Most that don’t care for then are older guys.
And there are those that don’t care for aluminum frame guns. Those will mostly be the guys that like steel frame guns.
What I have never understood are the haters. For some reason they feel compelled to let everyone know that they hate this or that, like it’s going to change how people feel.
I’m not talking just about Glock haters. There are haters for just about every gun on the market.

There are a few guns that I don’t care for, but I have never felt the need to find ever post about those guns, just so that I can let everyone know how much I don’t like the gun.

Now I do like most Glocks and own a few, but I also like other guns and own some of them.
To each his own.

If you don't like Glocks, buy something else.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

The material in Glock frames is very similiar to that used in modern intake manifolds, thermostat housings and the like, and guess what, they warp and split all the time. Aluminum engine components rarely fail unless subjected to extreme overheating,

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But you likely won't heat and cool your gun frame in thousands of cycles either. From freezing to hot to freezing. Day in day out...Nor run glycol or ethanol or..... lol
And that polymer is far harder and more brittle (and far more heat resistant) than any glock frame. Try to stipple a tunnel ram intake or thermostat housing with a soldering iron. Exponentially more steel car parts have failed than every other material known to man. Doesn't mean we can't trust a steel handgun frame. Has nothing to do with one another actually.

The rails on a glock are steel because they need to be. Mine are .060 inches (g22) and show no wear after many tens of thousands of rounds. My beretta 96 has aluminum rails .180 inches and have little wear after a few thousand. My 226 has aluminum rails that measure .115 and are known to be a main point of failure. Ive seen glocks fail, but other than kabooms it was never the polymer.

I like a stainless steel frame personally. No question. But with gen 1 glocks having hundreds of thousands of rounds and when they fail it's generally the slide, I can't see going and getting an unproven aluminum frame and calling it an upgrade. (even on a gun forum where guys have 10 korths and 7 pythons and 5 p7s. And an ac cobra trunk full of p210s.....there still isn't a line of people saying "I have one")

GunnyUSMC said:

They use steel rails just like Glock.

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I'd at least want steel rails if I got one. Surely no one uses aluminum rails do they?The inner channel of a glock slide is .065 or so. so the rails are going to be very small. Half of what the Sig 226 has and even it has well documented weakness. And 249 bucks for a frame....my last 3 glocks were only 299 each.


Dolling up a Glock is the equivalent of putting a v8 in a pinto when buying a mustang or Camaro with a v8 in it would be cheaper and better, but that's just my opinion though.......and that 351 in that pinto didn't handle for crap and vibrated a bit but it sure was fun. Lol