Plastic with soul?

[jar]

Only ever owned one tupperware gun, a SIG P250C.

Gotta admit it was pretty nice, never felt cheap and shot great. Stupidly sold it to my buddy, who still has it and wont sell it back.

Ive shot my Daughter's Walther PPS quite a bit, and it has a certain German charm to it which is not entirely soulless.

But for the most part, plastic fantastics do seem less like companions and more like tools.

I had one of Sig's first plastic guns, a Sig P2009 and it was a wonder. Sold it along with a P226 and P225 after moving down to Texas about twenty years ago.

I also find the S&W Body Guard 380 and the Beretta Pico have the feel of all metal guns.

 

[Hartkopf]

Put the words “soul” and “plastic” in the title of a thread and things get deep quick!

 

[halfmoonclip]

I like poly guns, and have confidence in them, but don't treat them with the same range queen status reserved for their steel counterparts.
Doubt I even have a holster for most of the more traditional stuff, tho' the Centennials do get called for carry duty on occasion.
Maybe its their tool-like nature that appeals to me with the new stuff; they work, and there is no sin in using them. Few things are as hard on a gun as actually carrying it; perspiration, grit, hard knocks.
Moon

 

[Armored farmer]

Maybe one of the colors or camo or custom color would satisfy?

I think my poly guns are more utility than vanity.

 

[Pat Riot]

In reading more responses in the thread this morning something dawned on me. A few years ago I had a Gen 3 Glock 34 and a Gen 3 Glock 19. I did not like the G19. It didn’t fit my hands. The G34 was a tack driver for me from the start. It was the most “pointable” gun I ever owned. It hit where I pointed it. Loved that gun, but, because I had to have an S&W 19 I sold it.
A week later I regretted that sale. I went back to Cabela’s in the hopes of getting it back. It was gone. I have missed it ever since. I bought 2 G34s to make up for it hoping to find that one of them matched my first one. They don’t quite…yet. Glock doesn’t make G34’s the way they did in the mid-2000’s. They now install G17 assembly parts, it seems.
My first G34 had “Soul”. That G19 definitely did not.
People talk about wood and steel guns that have “soul” and “Tupperware guns do not”. Well, I have had some wood and steel guns that had less soul than my any of my Glocks, believe me. In my opinion, let me repeat that, my opinion, if a gun has “soul” you know it pretty quick after buying it or modifying it. Sometimes you know it at the gun counter, even when you’re handing back to the counter guy to put it back because you can’t afford it.

What has “a soul” for me may just be a piece of junk for you. Why do you think guys fuss and argue things like “Glock vs 1911” or “Ruger vs S&W”? Because certain guns speak to certain people. That’s all.

For me, if a gun doesn’t have “soul” it doesn’t last long in my safe. As a matter of fact I have a Marlin 1894 (2019 model) in my safe that will find a new home soon. It’s just wood and steel to me. It has no soul. Yet sitting right next to it is a Winchester 94 Trails End that is a terrible choice for Cowboy Action, but I would use that gun over the “much better for the game” Marlin, because that Winchester has soul and I love that rifle.

Soul is in they eye of the beholder.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

Browning black label medallion pro. The lower is plastic. I love mine.

 

[22250Rem]

I really like utilitarian guns. Something that you are not afraid to subject to normal usage. Something that won't get scratched easily or have the bluing wear start to show after a couple years. There is beauty in function; like the Glock 19 I got in 2012. Has enough of the right metal in the right places to keep me happy. The rest is a high quality polymer; I don't use the term "Plastic", as lots of folks still consider that a derogatory synonym for cheapness or lesser quality. Bet I could learn to love that Browning Black Label Medallion Pro. It's too gorgeous to have somebody think in terms of it being sub-standard quality just based on what the lower is made of. .

 

[doubleh]

I like the full size S&W M&P and owned one until my wrist deteriorated to where I couldn't take the the snappy recoil of the 40 caliber it was chambered in. I should have just turned it into a 9mm but instead my #1 grandson has a nice M&P which he graciously offers to let me shoot when we go to the range together. I always decline as the wrist hasn't improved one bit since I gave it to him. Strange as it is, 45 ACP doesn't bother me at all, just the 40.

Last year I found a Sar B6 at the LGS, handled it, and discovered I really liked how it felt and took it home with me. I really prefer semi-auto guns to have a hammer and a side safety. This gun fills both those bills and with traction grips covering most of the plastic frame I don't even notice that is part plastic. With the available spring kit and the grip cover I am very satisfied with it.

1911's have spoiled me when it comes to triggers. I have found no other semi-auto trigger that can compare and that always enters into my like and dislike of a gun.

 

[halfmoonclip]

doubleh, I'll toss in SIG P210s and S&W 52 for really extraordinary auto triggers, but yeah, 1911s are great, and 'smiths know how to work on them.
Speaking of triggers, one of the things I like best about poly SIGs are their steel trigger parts. I've great faith in Glocks, but their squishy plastic triggers (and fugly triggerguards) aren't two of their better features.
The steel SIG triggers have a much more substantial feel. BTW, SIG's alloy version of the P320 is a mighty soulful modern pistol.
Moon

 

[Charlie Martinez]

Plastic with soul? Never heard of it.

 

[Mosin77]

I’ve never liked plastic. As a matter of fact I don’t even like alloy frames that much.

But I’m slowly coming around to the idea that a well-made piece of Tupperware might have a place in my personal arsenal. What they do, they do really well, even if they aren’t pretty. That being said, I still can’t see myself grabbing one to hit the range with… and if I won’t train with it then it’s utility is questionable.

 

[Old_Grouch]

To the OP - you won’t ever find a polymer pistol that floats your boat because you don’t really want to or don’t believe they exist. It’s called confirmation bias. Every time you try a polymer pistol that you don’t like it further reinforces to you that a polymer with soul doesn’t exist and that is because deep down you don’t believe there is such a thing. Save yourself the disappointment and stick with 1911s and Hi Powers. FWIW, I don’t know anyone who has fired a Sig X5 Legion and not liked it.

I think that is one of the most insightful posts in this thread.
I don't like Glocks. I have had 4 or 5 of them over the years. Every one of them has functioned flawlessly. They all worked exactly as designed. I don't like them for one simple reason; I don't want to like them.

 

[The Night Rider]

arguably has the most potential for stopping threats ASAP and in case of bears, .... in the Publix parking lot.

I grew up in Florida Bro, bears at Publix (or Winn Dixie) is a real thing that happens.

 

[The Night Rider]

Plastic gun in a plastic holster. I carried it at work for a long time

 

[Thunderchicken]

Full size Beretta PX-4. Has the cool rotating bolt and an actual DA/SA hammer. With a decocker. It is my favorite partly-plastic pistol and seems to have at least *some* character.

 

[Electricmo]

I would like to find one of these on the shelf. Might be a possibility. Will have to see how the grips feel.

 

[Electricmo]

Does anybody have one of these? All 3 polymer frames. I wonder about the balance. Grips look changeable. Might be a conflict of interest.

 

[mcb]

Whether a gun has "soul" or not has far more to do with what I have done with it than what it is made.

 

[Blkhrt13]

I like the shape of my kahr P9. I lusted after them when they were released. They actually still don’t have the grace of a Leight weight commander.

 

[jmr40]

Glocks simply work. But there are several plastic guns that I find to be aesthetically pleasing.

Sig 320 series.




HK


FN

 

[Buzznrose]

This might sound kind of silly, but as I mentioned in another thread, my wife and I are planning on going over to a friend's ranch on Monday to shoot ground squirrels, and I'll be carrying my Glock 44 for the "close range" (20 yards or less) ones. I just love that little .22. I bought it because I already had a Glock 19, and it is the exact same size, only lighter.
However, once I got my Glock 44, I learned how much fun it is, how reliable it is, and how accurate I am with it. It has replaced my old Model 63 Smith as my "kit" gun - the gun I carry along on fishing trips to shoot at impromptu targets when the fish aren't biting, and it works just as well as my Model 63 for pests like ground squirrels. The fact that it feels like my concealed carry gun (my Glock 19) is just icing on the cake.

I like my G44 for all the same reasons and rarely shoot my Mk3 anymore.

 

[CDW4ME]

About the notion of a handgun having a soul, wouldn't that be tied to its owner.
A Ed Brown or Wilson Combat 1911 in 45 cp that never gets shot or carried could be soulless.
A derringer that is carried everywhere is so lacking of capacity it is probably doomed to purgatory.

We shall assign soul based not only on the handguns characteristics but the owners actions as well.
Soul (enlightenment) of the handgun is leveled and the owners actions play a part.
Derringers & Mouseguns 22lr/32acp - lowest level - soulless
Snub / pocket 380 - if carried everywhere a flicker of soul, they simply lack the capacity to achieve higher levels.
1911 / Shield / 10 round Glock - its not the handguns fault if the owner lives in a 10 rd state (NY/CA) if carried consistently its reached enlightenment.
Glock 17/19/20/21/22/34/35 - carried everywhere these plastic handguns embody enlightenment.

 

[Old_Grouch]

All of them have their place. It's all a matter of individual perception. I started thinking about what type of restaurant different guns might be served in if they were food. Some would likely be served in Michelin Star restaurants, some in a fine steak house or a cozy Italian eatery, and others would more likely be served in a Denny's or Perkins. The plastic ones would come from something between a street vendor's hot dog cart and McDonald's.
Just my perception.

 

[Pat Riot]

The proper term for these soulless, evil, abominations to you all that can’t fathom even considering touching one versus owning one is “Polymer”.

 

[Old_Grouch]

The proper term for these soulless, evil, abominations to you all that can’t fathom even considering touching one versus owning one is “Polymer”.

I have a few of those soulless, evil, abominations. I just don't have any whose brand name starts with "G". I've a very, very good reason for not owning one. It's because I choose not to (okay, a small part of why I choose not to may be to irritate the "if you own anything other than a Glock you don't know anything" crowd. )