Polymer 80...what am I missing here?

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Vonderek

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Okay, so I was intrigued about a Polymer 80 frame kit and DIY handgun project. However, the frame and jig kit is $150 and a Glock 19 upper is more or less $450. So what's the point? Just to have an off-paper/no serial number autoloader? It doesn't make sense to me. Please educate me on what I'm missing here.
 
Some people just like projects, and want to build a gun from the ground up themselves entirely from aftermarket parts. I've done it with Harleys- except they weren't Harleys. The titles end up saying "special construction", "custom", or the name of the manufacturer of the frame- depending on when and what state they were titled in.
 
There's really not much point. I bought one when they were on sale for $50, and I have most of the basic internals from customer or personal rebuilds, AND I have no intention of building a factory clone with it. If you're building a $1,000 custom pistol, you really shouldn't be building on a Polymer80 frame, as it's a $5 horse with a $40 saddle - it's not really up to snuff for a quality custom build.

Building a factory glock clone doesn't really make sense either. You can put together parts kits and uppers a lot less than $450, but with the standard priced Polymer80 kits, you'll never beat factory Glock pricing for a simple clone.

The Lone Wolf frame is a FAR better product, and the Polymer80 grip feels like a pressure treated 2x4. I wouldn't recommend them at all, even if it were a money saving alternative.

I finished my Polymer80 with G34 and G35 uppers so I can swap between 357sig, 40, and 9mm, I'm saving up to replace the grip frame with a Lone Wolf...
 
Ever seen a Colt Government 1911A1 customized? When they sold for $25 lots of gunsmiths made a living at tweaking them and selling "comp race guns." There is a market for you and me where we can buy one of these, finish the interior shaping, then fit the gun to our ideas of how it should handle and look. You can build a Ruger 10/22 with nothing more than the serial numbered receiver, all other parts custom, same as an AR15. No two finished guns will look alike.

It's really no different than sporterizing all those milsurp rifles left over after WWII. And in case we missed it - opened up a copy of Rod and Custom magazine lately? Nobody builds a factory stock 1932 Ford Coupe any more.

On the other foot, there are some things we simply cannot afford due to rarity and limited supply. So - it's a replica kit or nothing at all. Plenty of kit Cobras running around, in fact, if you see a Cobra on the road - a 1965 427 Shelby Cobra - you are likely seeing a completed kit with about zero original parts. Tens of thousands of kits exist, only a few hundred originals were built.

Are their little glitches or some functional issues cropping up? You bet. However, the owners live with them as that is the whole point, how to figure out building the contraption and make it run better than stock. In some cases we deliberately trade off performance in one area to enhance it in another, take a look at a open class 1911 race gun and you will see it's nearly impossible to reasonably use one as a CCW.

So, just like a 32 Ford, if you want to chop and channel a Glock or 1911 or AR15 or Mauser 98K go right ahead, tens of thousands of others do and have been since the 1950's of recent note. They even hot rod LED flashlights, ink pens, and computers. Ask your techy buddy about Ubuntu on a laptop. There is a whole world of folks modding stuff because they don't see factory stock as all that, and in some cases, it's actually an improvement.

Now and again.
 
Okay, so I was intrigued about a Polymer 80 frame kit and DIY handgun project. However, the frame and jig kit is $150 and a Glock 19 upper is more or less $450. So what's the point? Just to have an off-paper/no serial number autoloader? It doesn't make sense to me. Please educate me on what I'm missing here.

Nope.

Some people just like to build, but not everyone has the equipment or know-how to start with raw stock. 80% kits and jigs make it possible for those who want the experience of DIY without investing tens of thousands of dollars and hours gaining the tooling and experience to truly manufacture.

Some of us do go the whole 9 and build from scratch, and it's absolutely not about economy or "staying off the radar"

If you don't "get it", it's not really something that can be explained in a way that will make sense to you.
 
However, the frame and jig kit is $150 and a Glock 19 upper is more or less $450. So what's the point?
Do you know how many people spend $100,000 on airplane kit, engine, avionics, and then work for years to put it all together, only to sell the airplane for $30,000? The whole point of the project is the fun of making things.
 
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The Lone Wolf frame is a FAR better product

Entirely a matter of opinion. IMO the Ploy80 frame is a solid, solid frame. Metal rails front and back and superb ergos. Can't really imagine that the Timberwolf frame is going to be objectively better and it still has #$%!* finger groves. Moreover, the Poly80's beavertail, trigger guard undercut, and forward thumb "shelf" make me conclude that the new Poly80 is better thought out--again, all IMO.

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I havent built one of these, but I have built other firearms related projects similar to this.

They are fun. It is something to do in my spare time that doesn't involve television. I am not mechanically inclined. I don't think I could ever be a real gunsmith. But doing stuff like this allows me to dip my toe in the water and I get a real sense of accomplishment when its done.

To some people, everything is about money. And those people can't imagine that there are other people who don't base every decision in their life on money.
 
Here I thought folks were buying these to build into a carbine with one of those complete upper thingees......just as soe folks have done with ther 80 percent 1911A1 frames. That way they have their original pistol AND the PC carbine.

-kBob
 
So you should mention which generation of Polymer 80 you're tlaking about. Your's is their first generation model. They've come a long way since that model...

The one pictured is the Gen 1.5. I do see the new Gen 2's are on the market now, but the 1.5 was the "current" model no less than 6mos ago, and still available in the exact form as pictured above from multiple retailers.
 
The one pictured is the Gen 1.5. I do see the new Gen 2's are on the market now, but the 1.5 was the "current" model no less than 6mos ago, and still available in the exact form as pictured above from multiple retailers.

The one you pictured is NOT a version 1.5. The 1.5 is the compact that I pictured above. The version 2 is the full sized.
 
I'll just say - you're wrong. Period. I bought them, I own them, says 1.5 on my assembly instructions, says 1.5 on my invoice, still says 1.5 on the midway site...

Midway Polymer80 PF940v1.5

I'm willing to admit that I appear to be wrong on the version numbering--my source for the differences regarding the 1 vs 1.5 vs 2 was a Polymer80 customer service guy who told me that what I had was a 1.5. I took him at his word but now that I look at my frame it only says "PF940C" (although Midway is listing it as a "V1" which only makes it more confusing).

Nevertheless the pertenent point remains--the current offerings from Polymer 80 (both the compact and full-size frames) use metal rails and have better ergos than any generation of Glock I've handled. I also agree with you that their "Spectre" model (the one you pictured) certainly looks half-baked and is nothing I'd spend my money on; more like a beta version.
 
Looks like a fun project for those that want to get hand's on. Been debating even though I've not been a Glock shooter. This in part because CA legislation is out to take more away and that drives some level of curiosity. :)
 
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