Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Polymer frame guns durability vs steel/alloy?

I know Glocks have a huge reputation, but overall, do the metal frame guns hold up better without parts breakage?

This question is not a "Glock vs non-polymer" - as I know Smith's also seem to have a good record with polymer frames.

I seem to hear few or no issues with guns like old Brownings or CZ's......

I'm more curious about the durability of old aluminum alloy frame pistols. Obviously these haven't seen much military action that I know of, likely due to to superior durability of the steel and polymer framed guns. But I doubt that I would ever wear one out.

Properly designed I don't think there is a difference between a polymer frame and steel framed auto in terms of durability. You can add the Ruger P series plastic pistols to the list of very durable handguns.

I have do statistical basis, but it is possible that polymer frames could be more durable than steel frames. To a small degree the polymer acts as a shock absorber to the battering of slide coming back vs. a steel frame, and as such could provide a longer service life.

The aluminum framed M9 has been in service now for over 30 years. I don't recall any chronic issues with the aluminum frame.

I agree, in part, with the statement above. I know the polymer frames soak up a lot of the perceived recoil of handgun rounds. I can shoot 45 Super out of my Springfield 1911 A1 and it's a stout recoil. I can shoot the same load out of a Glock 21 and it feels like +P rounds in the steel frame gun. Much tamer and easier to shoot from the polymer frame gun.

No.

I guess I thought those were steel.😀 Was thinking more along the lines of a 24 ounce S&W.

+1

Properly designed and executed, no significant difference. However, there are more steps in the design and execution of a polymer frame with steel rails with more chance of problems. Both Glock and Kahr (at least) have had significant problems with rails failing in the past.

Good info gang, thanks all.

Not heard much on Rails failing, but no doubt they take the wear which is why they are there. IIRC Smith has a lifetime warranty and would surely replace anything broken correct? And perhaps Glock, not positive on that, but someone probably knows. I know Hickock45 shoots a lot and has a "parts kit" for common items that wear.

They’re definitely not as resistant to impact, if you ever plan on impacting something with it.

It depends on the gun...some guns just don't really have any frame cracking issues, and some do. Steel frame 1911's will go an extraordinarily long time before any frame breakage. S&W 3rd Gen pistols with aluminum frames are known to develp cracks in a couple of places, but they end up being rather innocuous. They are flex points and once the crack goes so far, they tend to stop because they now have the flex they want. When I worked at a range back in the '90's we had two aluminum frame 3rd Gen's with cracks on the frame, that were still going tens of thousands of rounds later.

Glock frames tend to wear very well. Because it's a polymer, the flex factor is built in, and they will often go many more rounds than comparable steel or aluminum frame guns. The greatest threat to polymer frame guns is impact, and according to a former Israeli armorer I met, after decades of exposure to the sun, the polymer will become less ductile and eventually break. But I wouldn't lose any sleep over this one, it would take years of abuse before this ever became an issue.

Steel tends to go much longer than aluminum because it's a much more ductile (flexible) material.

As for the Browning Hi Power. When fed the ammunition it was originally spec'd for, they last a LONG time. With NATO pressure, pre-MK III guns will eventually break the slide in a much shorter period of time. It should be noted that the Beretta M9 and Sig 226/228 both had significant issues that requried some re-designing once everyone settled on NATO pressure ammo. So it's not as if the Hi Power was any kind of a flawed design...just that someone changed the rules decades later. Mk III's handle NATO pressure ammo much better, but the Hi Power's slide is still a little under-weight for gazillions of rounds of NATO pressure ammo.

Glock's are not all they're cracked up to be.

Great info by all.

I have seen frames flexing in slo-mo video and no doubt that flexing absorbs energy that might otherwise do damage. That said, one might think there is a limit to how many "Cycles" of flexing a frame can take, depending on materials, design, ammo pressures, etc. Interesting on the sunlight factor - but I know how light can degrade materials so not surprised.

P_W - no doubt Glock like all others, are prone to Murphy's law. They do however have a very respectable history of durability, from what I have gathered. That said, other brands and models do too.

Thanks for the great insight folks.

Properly designed, steel will have an infinite fatique life, i.e. with normal loads it will never crack. Aluminum does not have an infinite fatigue life, i.e. after enough rounds it will crack. Polylmers can also display infinite fatigue life though as noted they can be damaged by means other than shock loading that will weaken them which will result in failure. There also appears to be an aging process where polymers loose strength over time even if not exposed to UV or chemicals that would damage the hydrocarbon bonds and weaken the polymer.

There are several Glocks out there with 300,000 rounds documented through them with no major parts breakage. I've never seen any documentation of a steel framed gun with that many rounds through them. I've seen some guys with somewhere in excess of 100,000 rounds. I believe that a steel framed gun can equal the life of the plastic guns and may well exceed it. But I've not seen any documentation to prove it yet. The expected lifespan for aluminum allow guns is 30,000-50,000 rounds. They certainly have the shortest life expectancy. You do hear of, and I've personally seen a few aluminum guns with cracked frames from normal use. Never seen that with plastic or steel.

Either way it isn't something I worry about. If I can afford to buy 30,000 rounds of ammo to wear out a gun, I can afford a new gun. Much less 300,000.

Impact resistance. If you hit one of the plastic guns hard enough to break it, you will also break aluminum and bend steel to the point where the gun is unusable.

Good stuff guys. Thanks for the input.

From what I have observed there is not a lot of difference between the two until you blow a case...then polymer frame guns usually will have major damage.

.40 S&W Glocks have a reputation for blowing case webs. I was standing right behind someone when a standard factory round blew. Cracked frame. One of my teaching partners had the same thing happen with his G23...totally out of commission. Was standing behind another shooter when a .45 ACP blew on a G21...again the gun had to be returned to the factory for frame replacement.

In several hundred thousand rounds of .38 Super I've blown 5 cases...worst thing that has ever happened is the grips cracked. Friend at an IPSC shoot back in the 1980s put a second round up his 1911 .45 after there was a squib blocking the barrel. Blew the barrel, blew the grips, blew the mag out of the gun and bent the dust cover. His smith straightened out the dust cover, put in a new barrel and new set of grips and he was good to go... I've known and read about several others who have done the same thing and although the gun was out of commission, minimal parts replacement was all it took to get them back running...

As to aluminum. Have carried and shot Colt Commanders since 1980...zero issues and they get shot all the time...one has close to 10K through it. Also carried S&W 6906s since the 1990s with zero isues...

I only own three polymer frame guns, two G19s and a G40...that is all I plan on owning....

Bob

I've seen one old Colt 1911A1 that developed a crack in the slide stop hole. This gun had fired nothing but ball - but it had fired a ton of it! Gun was still being used.

I cracked the frame on a Colt GM after roughly 100,000 rounds, but it was in a non-critical place and still functioned beautifully. I shot it in IPSC competition for nearly 20 years, 3 times a week, at that. (yeah, I was 'et up' with it). I worked that gun HARD, and it never faltered. I have no doubt it's still running like a top.