I don't like plastic pistols

[GunnyUSMC]

I hear that wood degrade faster then polymer.

[vintage hunter]

I hear that wood degrade faster then polymer.

Do you believe everything you hear?

[rcathey]

Do you believe everything you hear?

Well it’s not untrue...but there’s so many variables.
In some environments wood is much more durable than plastic. In others, plastic is much better suited.
Ya just need much more detail to make sense of that statement.

[vintage hunter]

Well it’s not untrue...but there’s so many variables.
In some environments wood is much more durable than plastic. In others, plastic is much better suited.
Ya just need much more detail to make sense of that statement.

My day job is in the wood industry and to unequovically state that wood degrades faster the plastic is untrue. Certain species are naturally rot resistant and even those that are not, once properly treated, will last for many decades, even centuries. Theres numerous R.R. tressels in my area that span swamps/rivers that were built in the 1890's, some are still in use today. Then theres the U.S.S Constitution, built in the 1790's iirc and spent its entire life in the water.

[rcathey]

My day job is in the wood industry and to unequovically state that wood degrades faster the plastic is untrue.

You’re in wood and I’m in plastics. Together we could solve all the problems!
The longevity of wood in those situations is certainly amazing. The Constitution still doing it’s thing is really amazing to me!

[pocketshaver]

You’re in wood and I’m in plastics. Together we could solve all the problems!
The longevity of wood in those situations is certainly amazing. The Constitution still doing it’s thing is really amazing to me!

if that's the case, what came first,,,, the plastic wood pecker, or the plastic pecker wood as ol sam peckenpah used to say?

[Verdha603]

Man, not even a minute into joining this place and I run into one of the "age old" arguments; I don't like my polymer!

While I agree with a great many folks that polymer framed pistols are not the same as older, metal framed handguns, I certainly wouldn't dismiss them; they made the bar to entry in firearms ownership significantly less, because for better or worse most people just entering the firearms community (at least in the US), are coming in from the desire for a self-defense firearm, which means they're looking for a reliable and affordable center-fire handgun instead of looking for a .22 or a shotgun to start with, and don't necessarily want to enter the market dropping a grand on a 1911/Sig/HK.

Used Glocks sell for 300-400 USD, and dozens of companies make their own off-shoot of striker-fired, polymer framed handgun that competes against that price point, while a decent all-metal handgun starts at a CZ for 600 USD and goes up from there to a decent revolver starting a 700 USD. From a financial perspective I can't blame new folks from jumping on the Glock band wagon.

I'll readily admit I enjoy my all-metal handguns, considering I sing the praises of Sig Sauer, CZ, and Star to anyone who will listen, but polymer has it's place as well. My regular carry gun is an M&P Shield, because nobody seems to make an all-metal subcompact 9mm that weighs 22 oz. yet, it's accurate enough that I can put the entire magazine into a 3x5 card at 15 yards, and if the police take it as evidence after I actually have to use it, I won't lose a second of sleep over it and can walk to the gun shop to buy another one the next day.

I'll also admit to owning a Glock namely because I may as well be familiar and reasonably competent with the most common semi-auto handgun next to the 1911, and if I'm going to introduce new shooters to the firearms community, chances are they're going to want to shoot a Glock before they buy one.

Heck, I'll even admit to being pleasantly surprised with one polymer handgun, the Sig SP2022, because it's still pretty hefty (30 oz.), it's DA/SA hammer fired, which earns it bonus points, and the mags were dirt cheap sitting in the used bin of every gun shop I walked into in my area that I couldn't say no to keeping one at that point. Compared to shelling out 40 USD per P226 mag, I'll say hell yeah to picking up new and used SP2022 mags for 15 USD a pop on the clearance shelf.

As for the assertion of "EVERY veteran hates the 5.56 cartridge and the M16 and immediately wants a 'mans rifle' in .308", I'm going to have to laugh in the face of that since the person making such a bold claim most likely has never met a veteran that left the service past the 1980's. Most of the vet's and current service members I deal with praise the AR/M16 platform, with the only general complaint being that many don't like how many people take the platform and go slap on everything but the kitchen sink just because they can instead of attaching items for a specific purpose.

Hell, the only reason I'm not the biggest fan of it is because it's gotten boring looking at wall to wall racks of AR's in gun shops and after building a half dozen of them my interest becomes one of "What's a 5.56 semi-auto that ISN'T an AR to shoot?"

The 5.56 is a suitable cartridge for what it was expected to accomplish for the military and later the police; consistently put a round into a 150-250 pound person out to 300 or 500 meters (depending on whether its the carbine or rifle), have low enough recoil for the average shooter (because most military's are comprised of POG's) to be capable of putting multiple rounds into the same target quickly, cause enough damage to take the target out of the fight, and designed in such a way so that the soldier can carry as much ammo as possible in as light and compact a package as possible.

The .308's been put to pasture in the hands of regular riflemen and only see's continued service in the hands of select marksmen and machine gun crews; the former because if your looking for something that puts more energy into a target further away on a regular basis, and your not concerned about lugging hundreds of rounds of ammo on you, it works well, and the latter because if your going to go heavy, may as well have it shoot out a round that turns most natural forms of cover into concealment at a rate of 600 rounds a minute on cyclic.

[TDH]

my two cents for what it's worth

I have an XD in .45 and a couple of years ago I had a chunk of the frame blow out right above my trigger ginger the replacement frame was 78 bucks. It still shoots fine but I really don't trust it much anymore. I also have a couple of Taurus pocket pistols and they run great but I still prefer my 1911's.


the M16/M4 they put one in my hands in 69 and I hated it then and I hate it now and would only own one if it was given to me and then I would try and talk them into trading it for a real rifle. I do have a couple of Mini's for the 223. When talking to those that love it (the m4) I usually win the argument with if you have a guy hiding behind a tree a 100 meters away you have to wait for him to come out to shoot him with my M1A I'll shoot through the tree

[usabaker]

The M16/M4 they put one in my hands in 69 and I hated it then and I hate it now and would only own one if it was given to me and then I would try and talk them into trading it for a real rifle.

I echo that with the M16A1 in the 70's and 80's rinky dinky, pencil barrel, trouble-prone, cleaning intensive, unreliable, tinker toys. Even with the added weight, I would choose my PIG over the A1.

[rshaw]

I have also a basic dislike for "polymer weapons." Why? Even though the one I tried (that was a while ago, cannot recall the make and model) shot well, it just doesn't have the "heft" and the "feel" of a quality all steel and wood firearm. The closest to a "polymer" handgun I have is a 1943 P38 with bakelite grips. So technically one could say that this gun is also "plastic" but even so, only the grips are made of this material. The rest is steel of course; it shoots great, it has a history to it, and I'm not about to part with it. It is true that the more recently made polymeric weapons have their place, and one can maybe argue that they are well made and reliable, BUT... still.... there won't be one in my safe. Purely personal I guess... just doesn't feel like a real gun!