Longevity of a "Tupperware" handgun

Since no one else has, I guess I will.

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LOL, thats a real danger around here. Our dogs seem to be able to destroy pretty much anything they get a hold of if they have a mind to, especially if they are bored. :)

Glocks or any of the polymer guns would be in danger, as would anything wood. And don't go thinking your metal guns would be safe either. Seeing what they have done to things like their SS dinner bowls, a couple of metal rifle mags that they got ahold of, and a few other things, the alloy framed guns probably wouldn't fair well, and if you want to pony up a 1911 for the test, we can see how that goes. :rofl:
 
Here's my view on plastics. I would never buy a motorcycle with plastic front forks or fly in a plane that plastic wings.
 
Structural "carbon fiber" is polymer with carbon fiber reinforcement. This gives higher strength in some applications at lower weight , but is expensive, can be brittle, and comes with its own compromises. All materials used for tools are compromises. Steel oxidizes, aluminum alloy corrodes and fatigues more easily, stainless can rust, and polymer is relatively soft with a lower melting point, to name but a few drawbacks. Notwithstanding the claims of certain manufacturers, perfection is a concept, not a fact.

Modern polymers, especially when reinforced, exhibit amazing toughness and strength, especially for the weight. As with other materials, the quality of the finished product depends greatly on things not immediately apparent, such as appropriate design for the materials.

If the makers do a good job, the guns will outlast us, and our successors can buy replacement parts much cheaper than machined metal parts.
 
I’m a reformed Glock Hater who never owned a polymer pistol until about 15 years ago. (Never mind that several of my shotguns wore Choate polymer furniture… 🤦🏼‍♂️) With that said, and knowing that my round count is comparatively very low overall, I see no reason my polymer pistols won’t outlast me. I’m fairly sure that they’re in more danger from my patented Spats McGee Zero Maintenance Plan* than the rounds I do put through them.

(*=I kid, I kid. They’re not actually on ZERO maintenance. Just very, very low maintenance…)
 
Attached is a link to an AR15.com post regarding a Glock 17 with a 100,000 round test done with it, and if you read through the posts someone mentioned that the round count was up to 270,000 rounds. That's impressive.


And another article about one with 325,000 rounds through it.

 
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But 30,000 rounds are 600 boxes of 9mm ammo. At $15/50 rounds that's almost $10,000 in ammo at today's prices. If my gun breaks after $10,000 in ammo I can afford $600 for a new pistol.
if the purchase process is protected by the same legal framework 30-50 years from now.
 
I was well over 100k rounds of NATO spec 9mm through my Glock 17 before a slide rail went AWOL,Not sure when it broke because the gun still worked fine missing a slide rail. Glock replaced the frame for free though- even though I had stippled the frame myself with a wood burning pen. Good luck getting a metal gun to take that level of abuse and still fire or even be repairable, not to mention what type of free warranty work after the fact may be provided. I estimate that gun is probably around 120K rounds at this point, and it only exists as a training gun for the range. I would say I have got my $ worth out of that 17, and BTW it is still running fine. Which reminds me, I should probably clean it- I don't think I have done that in about 2K rounds, and its all been steel case so I bet the insides are pretty dirty.
 
I have a couple that have mostly plastic slides and so far, so good, they seem to be doing OK. :)
 
if the purchase process is protected by the same legal framework 30-50 years from now.
So are you not going to shoot for the rest of your life worried about what ifs?
I certainly won’t be around in 30-50yrs but I don’t let that make my purchasing decisions.
 
The only composite or plastic gun parts aging out that I know of are the plastic stocks that came on Stevens/Savage/Springfield shotguns from I think the ‘30’s to the ‘50’s. It was also used as grips on lower priced handgun brands

They called it “Tenite” and it would become brittle in some cases and shatter. Exposure to cold made them brittle and in some case heat affected them badly, also. It was made from wood pulp and early cellulose compounds.
 
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