How do you feel about polymer framed pistols?

I only own 1 and it goes in my pocket.

Polymer guns are cool.......for other people. I don't see lasting value or artistry
or craftsmanship in them honestly. Maybe the toolmakers who make the molds are good machinists, who knows.
In the end they are a tool. Buy what you like.

Polymer for me, not that I dislike metal framed guns, I can just get the same performance out of a polymer gun and save the weight. I guess if you planned on handing your gun down through the generations you'd want something different, I buy my guns to shoot, not worry about what my great great grandson cares about it.

Metal framed pistols will always have more appeal to me then plastic just for durablity, but since almost all makers of pistols are goin to polymer it is inevitable that I will own one, one day. I love guns so still goin to buy them even if they change just a little bit. Im sure when they went from black powder to cartridge loads there were lots of people that didnt appreciate them at there time. But it was a great move in the long run.

I will continue to buy poly guns and steel guns.....just more poly because they cost less.
I like poly guns and respect steel guns.

Half mine are steel (3) half are poly's (3) ....

My next pistol will either be metal or poly, I don't know yet.

I guess if you planned on handing your gun down through the generations you'd want something different, I buy my guns to shoot, not worry about what my great great grandson cares about it.

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Comparing some price differences between metal vs polymer pistols, you could shoot the heck out of your polymer pistols now and BUY new polymer pistols for them later (many of your "old" polymer pistols would still be operational by then too). I wonder what kind of pistols we would be shooting 10-20-30 years from now?

On the flip side, I do love and cherish metal pistols (1911s, Sigs, etc.) and would be proud to pass down some to my children, especially historical pieces (M1 Garand, M14, etc.).

No rust, lighter weight, cheaper. There's some good reasons to like, especially for a "field" gun. For the same reasons my stainless hunting rifle has a polymer stock.

Many polymers are actually composites as well. Ruger uses glass fiber reinforced polyurethane. A large portion of modern airplanes are composite as well.

^ +1. Those are all good features.

Add scratch-resistance. At least for the GLOCK polymer. I would also argue comfort. GLOCKs are very comfy to me. Not only is polymer softer, but it's injection molded. That means there are no sharp edges left from machining, such as you might find on a metal framed gun. And if you want to make changes, you don't have to refinish the gun.

i have 3 handguns, and they are all polymer framed.

Metal is outdated, inefficient technology for auto-loading pistol frames, I will never own a metal framed gun unless it is a revolver or I find an extremely good deal

I think metal is superior. Particularly steel. It has an infinite service life if not overstressed beyond the design limits...unlike plastic.

I see the practicality of plastic for a carry gun, and I own a few for that reason, but it doesn't make me like them. I prefer metal guns.

I think metal is superior. Particularly steel. It has an infinite service life if not overstressed beyond the design limits...unlike plastic.

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With proper design those pistols (and rifles and shotguns) made from recycled milk jugs will outlast us all.

I just like my metal guns.

I like all guns. However-

Metal frames are for show

Polymer frames are for go

There is a place for Polymer and for Steel. I have both.

Polymer is lighter for CC. I love my Steel, too, for aesthetics, form and design.

Ya'll must be puny fellas....... I have no problem CCin' steel! Comfortable too!

Cold steel on a hot day..... nice.

Plastic is so..... well...... plastic.

But some will like their ballistic tupperware!

So many emotions revolving around a tool.

I pick the best tool for the job. Interestingly, I have just as many steel as I have polymer.

I have some quite beautiful pistols that are all steel and stay in the safe. Down here in the deep south, a polymer gun with stainless slide and barrel are far more practical while I'm playing with dogs down by the river on a 98 degree day. A work of art would be out of place.

Az

ProCarryNAustin said:

"I know that people claim that the plastic will still be around when humans are extinct. I know better, I have seen so many wonder-plastice become brittle or change as to become unusable after a period of time."

I have not seen this with any of the polymers used for firearms inlcuding quite a few early Glocks that will be coming up on 3 decades soon. I don't see them as heirloom pieces either, but they don't seem to be disposable either.

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Im sure they are more durable than some polymers. But sub-30 years is a tick of a clock for a gun in my estimation. Also bear in mind that most people that are not LE or in some other service industry that have Glocks or any other pistol for that matter shoot them very very little. Its likely that they would never notice any deterioration until failure. Also LE replace their Gocks on a ridiculously frequent basis. They never get a chance to get old.

ProCarryNAustin said:

"Why do people insist on calling plastic guns, polymer?"

While plastics are a type of polymer, not all polymers are plastics. The polymers used in firearms frames are specifically suited for use in said frames and are not plastics. It is a matter of using the correct word to describe the material being used. I am not aware of a single manufacturer that uses a plastic frame.

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That is such BS. All plastics are a polymer of some sort. You are splitting hairs by saying a polymer is not a plastic. You can call Silk or Cellulose a Polymer, those are not plastics. Glock uses a thermoplastic...or polymer.

my opinion of them has recently changed, at one point in time I would have never touched one, I was a revolver guy and liked the feel of all steel but I came to the conclusion one day that the poly framed pistols just were better suited for ccw so i went out and bought a glock 19, my opinion was from then on changed. I will always like the steel alittle bit better but for cc the polymers are hard to beat.

akadave said:

That is such BS. All plastics are a polymer of some sort. You are splitting hairs by saying a polymer is not a plastic. You can call Silk or Cellulose a Polymer, those are not plastics. Glock uses a thermoplastic...or polymer.

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The hair originally being split was done, in my opinion, to push an agenda. I simply asked that we use the correct current industry terminology. Feel free to check the website for any of the manufacturers in question and you will find the word the industry is using to describe the materials in question and it is correct. Yes, silk and possibly cellulose are also polymers and you would be correct in using that word to describe them. Is it the best word? Probably not, but it is more accurate than saying that firearm frames are plastic. The question then becomes... do you only use a correct word when it suites your purpose?

What a misleading poll.....so all that vote have to dislike polly.