Plastic Fantastic Pistols…..Which ones do you own?

[Rimfire Fanatic]

Ha ha. I have several. I am going to be doing an article about them. It will be awhile for the article to be completed as I have a few more plastic pistols incoming.

Currently, I have:
1 Glock 19X
1 Ruger RXM
1 Ruger P345
2 Ruger P95’s
1 Sig P365 Snakebite
1 SAR9X
1 SAR9
3 S&W Sigma SW40F’s
1 S&W SW40V

So that’s 12 out of the 30 handguns that I currently have at present, that have polymer frames. The only one that I don’t have a holster for yet is the P365 as I am waiting to find a leather one that I like that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. All of my plastic pistols were really low priced.

My RXM was $369.00
The SAR 9X was $250.00
The SAR9 was $180.00
My P365 was $450

The above pistols were purchased new. The rest in the list were purchased 2nd hand, except for the Glock 19X. The Glock 19X I received as a gift from my wife.

Plastics that I have had in the past were:

Sig Pro (SP2022)
Walther P99
Glock 21
Glock 23
Colt All American 2000
HK USP Compact 45
HK USP 40

That is 19 plastic pistols over the course of 34 years. In that 34 years, I have had well over 100 handguns. Buy. Sell. They have came and gone, and at this stage in my life, I am not buying something to try it. If I buy it these days, it’s meant as a keeper for myself, or as a gift for my son’s or wife.

I have been picking up guns from my past for nostalgia’s sake, and when I do they are usually cheap. For example, the first handgun that I ever purchased was a Taurus Stainless 66 revolver. I just picked up a 2 year old one, like new for $400 bucks, with really nice wood grips.

Anyway, back to plastic, which ones have you owned and which ones do you currently own? What do you like about them?

 

[MisterEd]

which ones have you owned

An early Glock 17

which ones do you currently own?

None

What do you like about them?

Well, nothing specific exactly. I guess if ALL I thought about handguns was that they were first and foremost for self defense ONLY then I guess I MIGHT say I like the lightweight factor of them for carry but comparatively speaking to all steel guns AND the fact I do NOT simply regard handguns for self defense only I cannot say I like anything specific about them.

Taurus Stainless 66 revolver. I just picked up a 2 year old one,

Great looking Taurus! Hows the fit & function?

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

An early Glock 17

None

Well, nothing specific exactly. I guess if ALL I thought about handguns was that they were first and foremost for self defense ONLY then I guess I MIGHT say I like the lightweight factor of them for carry but comparatively speaking to all steel guns AND the fact I do NOT simply regard handguns for self defense only I cannot say I like anything specific about them.

Great looking Taurus! Hows the fit & function?

I seem to be having a lockup issue. One cyl has a primer strike off center when firing double action. Going to see if the ejector rod is gunned up. All primers struck dead center on single action.

 

[MisterEd]

Check the 'hand' or 'pawl' as it is sometimes called.

These can wear quickly if not properly fitted will NOT properly rotate the cylinder into the proper position.

Try this as well. WITH THE CYLINDER EMPTY Hold your finger lightly on the cylinder to let it 'drag' when you are cocking it. Once the hammer is locked slightly try to move the cylinder in the direction it rotates. If it moves and 'clicks' into the locked position this is possibly a worn 'star' as well.

To double check this load six EMPTY brass into the cylinder and try this again. If it locks properly on each cocking of the hammer then it's most likely a worn 'Star'.

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

Well I checked that. I put in some new snap caps. All strikes in the center. Also the ejection rod is dirty. So I will give the gun a proper cleaning. The previous owner had only cleaned the barrel.

I think part of the problem is that I have arthritis and my hands aren’t very strong. I wasn’t pulling the hammer back hard enough sometimes. If I pull back hard, I can get it to index properly.

I will start with some soft staged lead .38’s the first time I fire it, just to make sure it won’t be spitting. I think it will be ok. Also there is no cylinder movement after dropping the hammer double action or single action when running it empty. These grips are really nice. I will have to see if they fit my Python.

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

The hand looks perfect by the way. The previous owner had only shot a few boxes of 38 through it. It’s a 2024 or 2025 model, but he may not have been the original owner.

 

[MisterEd]

Sounds like a complete teardown, COMPLETE cleaning and properly lubed is in order.

Some of the Non US gun Mfgs. use 'mystery lube' on their new guns and it's not intended to be left on after delivery but some don't understand this, don't give the new gun a COMPLETE cleaning and it can turn hard, almost clay like and cause problems.

I learned RIA uses Cosmolene but it is water soluble and a boiling of all parts removes it.

Bottom line is a lot of people 'cuss' Taurus but all those I have seen looked and operated great!

I only had ONE once, a 2" Mod 605 Snub and it looked great and everything well fitted and it was very accurate!

 

[SuperTrooper]

1 Ruger LCP *
2 Ruger LCP Max
1 FMK 9c1 g3 *
1 SIG P365 XXL (metal Icarus)
1 SIG P320 M18 *
1 SIG P320 X-Five Legion *
1 SIG P320 AXG Legion (metal sorry)
3 SIG P320 X-carry
1 SIG P320 X-pro
1 SIG P320 AXG/X-Five Legion hybrid
2 S&W M&P-30 Shield EZ
1 S&W M&P-30 Shield Plus

*Traded in the last 6 months

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

1 Ruger LCP *
2 Ruger LCP Max
1 FMK 9c1 g3 *
1 SIG P365 XXL (metal Icarus)
1 SIG P320 M18 *
1 SIG P320 X-Five Legion *
1 SIG P320 AXG Legion (metal sorry)
3 SIG P320 X-carry
1 SIG P320 X-pro
1 SIG P320 AXG/X-Five Legion hybrid
2 S&W M&P-30 Shield EZ
1 S&W M&P-30 Shield Plus

*Traded in the last 6 months

Nice! We will have to hit the range soon and shoot our plastics! I forgot to mention my plastic rifle….S&W M&P 15-22.

 

[SuperTrooper]

Nice! We will have to hit the range soon and shoot our plastics! I forgot to mention my plastic rifle….S&W M&P 15-22.

The closet to a plastic rifle I have I guess would be a Ruger 10/22 with a carbon fiber barrel

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

The closet to a plastic rifle I have I guess would be a Ruger 10/22 with a carbon fiber barrel

My M&P 15-22 will do 1 1/2 inch with irons with cheap Aguila at 100 yds.

 

[Rustybore]

All steel here.

 

[MisterEd]

All steel here.

Me too!

Nothing against 'plastic fantastics' but nothing that appeals to me.

I have a rifle (Ruger PCC) with a plastic STOCK but I don't believe that qualifies it as a 'plastic fantastic'!

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

Me too!

Nothing against 'plastic fantastics' but nothing that appeals to me.

I have a rifle (Ruger PCC) with a plastic STOCK but I don't believe that qualifies it as a 'plastic fantastic'!

Definitely not…

 

[Rustybore]

I also have synthetic stocks on hunting rifles but that doesn't qualify as a "plastic" gun.

 

[Citified]

My most recent purchase is a G40 MOS with a Holosun green dot and I installed an Edge trigger unit. Recoil is a little snappy but it is accurate and lighter than my steel 357s and 44mag revolvers.
The thing about Glocks is usually a terrible trigger. It is correctable by various means and then becomes a pleasure to shoot. I am somewhat spoiled as a 1911 fan. All of those have trigger jobs and they are great.

 

[MisterEd]

All of those have trigger jobs and they are great.

Yep, pretty easy to do by oneself as well.

I gave my new RIA 1911 a moderate 'trigger job' - but it didn't take much.

A little spring adjustment and polishing the appropriate parts and it now has a very crisp trigger in the 3.5 lb range.

It also helps to slather the trigger parts with some Gunslick and shoot it, cycle it, dry fire it in the evening while relaxing, watching TV, WHATEVER and after a few months of this take it apart and clean the Gunslick off. You will likely find the parts have been polished glass smooth due to the Gunslick!

AND many years ago I did the same to my Series 80 Colt 1911 with the FP block that is known to inhibit the exceptional trigger the Series 70s have. Well, while this IS true they CAN be dramatically improved with some careful, patient work. I have mine functioning to about 85-90% as that of a quality stock Series 70 1911 trigger.

 

[Citified]

I shot IPSC as a hobby for about 10 years so most of my 1911s are at about 2.5 lbs. Lots of magazine
changes per stage when using a single stack in tactical. My Para and hold a lot more though
Caspian

 

[Citified]

I never competed with a Glock but some friends did.

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

Yep, pretty easy to do by oneself as well.

I gave my new RIA 1911 a moderate 'trigger job' - but it didn't take much.

A little spring adjustment and polishing the appropriate parts and it now has a very crisp trigger in the 3.5 lb range.

It also helps to slather the trigger parts with some Gunslick and shoot it, cycle it, dry fire it in the evening while relaxing, watching TV, WHATEVER and after a few months of this take it apart and clean the Gunslick off. You will likely find the parts have been polished glass smooth due to the Gunslick!

AND many years ago I did the same to my Series 80 Colt 1911 with the FP block that is known to inhibit the exceptional trigger the Series 70s have. Well, while this IS true they CAN be dramatically improved with some careful, patient work. I have mine functioning to about 85-90% as that of a quality stock Series 70 1911 trigger.

I sorta do the same thing with Novus on the rails of my Kimber’s and Ruger’s (1911’s).

Hand cycle withe the Novus in the rails. Then clean and put Flitz metal polish in. The abrasive is so mild. Shoot about a box of ammo, disassemble and clean everything and reassemble. No out of battery jams and trigger smooth as glass.

 

[MisterEd]

Then clean and put Flitz metal polish in. and trigger smooth as glass.

I assume you use the Flitz in the trigger mechanism parts as well?

Interesting Idea however. Using a metal polish to smooth up parts!

I might have to get some Flitz and give this a try. Hopefully it's cleaner than Gunslick!

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

I assume you use the Flitz in the trigger mechanism parts as well?

Interesting Idea however. Using a metal polish to smooth up parts!

I might have to get some Flitz and give this a try. Hopefully it's cleaner than Gunslick!

Not sure if it’s cleaner as I have never used Gunslick. But yeah, it is good to, after you have done it, completely break down the gun, wife all of the excess Flitz off and then put the parts in an ultrasonic cleaner and then blow dry the parts like the slide and frame with a blow gun.

Then clean it again any hand and oil the surfaces and wipe them, reassemble and lubricator the gun as you normally would after a field strip.

The Novus products are really only good for slide to frame fit. I have had Kimbers and Rugers that were so tight that with the fram and slide stripped, you could put the slide on the frame and point it muzzle down to the floor and the slide would stay on the frame.

I used to hand cycle the slide and frame, but that requires hundreds of repititions. The Novus comes in different grits. It is clear and gle like. It is actually a plastic polish. The lighter grade stuff is great for polishing Perspex. I use a little heavier number on the slide rails only as it usually polishes things up inside of a box of ammo. Then Flitz it.

 

[Jcloer]

Glock 17
KelTec PMR30
KelTec P17