Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Are metal framed legacy handguns doomed

My big gripe is the new cost of say a Glock. The poly pistols are great but way overpriced for what you get in the way of materials.

One example of going backwards is what S&W did in the 22lr offerings. At one time they made the excellent 422 and 622 series of 22lr pistols. They were great lightweight rimfire pistols for the trail and not overly expensive. They were fantastic rimfires for lightweight carry and I'm happy to have picked one up. In the meantime they have introduced a big ol' Victory model but that more of an large heavy target pistol and the M&P style rimfires just aren't close to an outdoorsman trail pistol as the old 422. They really took a step backwards on this one because the 422/622 series are fine handguns even if they had an strange design. The 22lr pistol S&W offers now just doesn't fit my needs and the old era pistols were far better pistols to pack on the trail

I doubt any plastic framed pistol costs more than a Benjamin to manufacture.
Best mark-up might be the Ruger LCR.
Third Gen Smiths and 422s were brilliant but probably gone forever.

Yeah, and I guess I forgot they'll pass through a metal detector as well.

I don't see the weight difference from aluminum as significant, and corrosion just doesn't rise to the level of a major issue.

How are they going to pass through a metal detector?

FWIW, I do like the designs where the plastic frame and grip is not the part with the serial number.

But my most recent purchase is a Ruger Bisley .45 Colt/.45 ACP. So there!

Anybody can go through any metal detector with any firearm ever made. It's not setting the damn alarm off that's the difficult bit.

Not with a steel barrel & ammo loaded..................................just sayin'.

MM

He’s being sarcastic. When Glock first hit the market, the Fake News Media claimed they’d pass through a metal detector at the airports, and that the number of hijackings would increase dramatically. Guess the media idiots were too dumb to realize that Glocks had a metal slide and barrel. Or they were just blatant liars as usual.

When you run dry nothing can replace mass (weight) when you have to whack someone on the head!

Lower left in photo.

That'l do!!!

Yep. Much better.

With an Old Hickory Sticking Knife backup?

That's tellin' 'em.

Can't say much bad about a lot of the new plastic pistols. But I have to wonder how they will fare as heirlooms. Will your grandson swoon over that old G17? Idunno...maybe.

Plastics are still kind of new on the geologic scale. I know they're better than 50 years ago, but what will the effects of time, chemicals, and the elements be, compared to that stainless model 66? Just musing......

I liked my double stack 1911.....until I started carrying a Glock 19.

The difference is night and day.

You might be surprised. I work in a gun shop and most of the younger customers (<30 yo) think that anything with wood and bluing is old fashioned and don't want to have anything to do with it. If it's not black and plastic, it's not kool.

Damn. How are we going to fund our retirements by selling all our old classics, then?

Sell them now and just keep the ones you need, use, or like an awful lot. Let someone else be stuck with them.

Long after we are dead, they will be collectors' items..........or contraband. Or both.

Yeah, but....will it be cool after Gramps has shot the hell out of it and worn the casting marks and grip texture off the plastic?