Tool Steel Or Stainless Guide rod

[Ky Larry]

I have a CZ PCR that has a plastic guide rod. My pal is a machinist and has offered to make me a steel guide rod. I keep seeing threads on several forums about people using stainless to make guide rods. Will stainless make a better guide rod than tool steel? Thanks.

 

[HSMITH]

I haven't done an autopsy on a PO1 so I don't really know a lot about them. What exactly is wrong with the stock guide rod? Glocks use a plastic guide rod and they last 20K rounds PLUS. Lots of guys put aftermarket rods in Glocks and 1911's only to have problems when the stock parts ran fine, so I am just curious as to what is wrong with the stock parts. Thanks.

 

[Ky Larry]

Nothing so far. I'm probably trying to fix something that ain't broke. I just don't like plastic parts inside my guns.

 

[Black Snowman]

Plain steel is fine. Stainless is just lower maintainence.

 

[Jim K]

Just a thought. I don't know the innards of that gun, but some guns have the end of the guide rod rest in a tiny thumbnail cut in the barrel. Plastic does not wear that notch, where hard steel would. I suggest taking a good look at the gun and considering other factors (including extra weight) before changing to steel.

Jim

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Nothing so far. I'm probably trying to fix something that ain't broke. I just don't like plastic parts inside my guns.

Folks used to feel that way about their cars, too.

I've got a bunch of CZs, some with full-length guide rods, some with standard length guide rods. All plastic. (One bought used came with a metal guide rod/shock buffer, but it wasn't IDPA legal so I removed it.)

I've got some CZ "clones" -- that all came with metal full-length guide rods.

I honestly can't tell any difference in performance between any of these guns that can be attributed to the guide rods.

The only "kink" I've ever encountered in a handgun recoil spring was in a custom 1911 with a full length metal guide rod. That "kink" somehow managed to lock the gun up. I think this was just a catastrophic failure of the spring itself, and would have happened with or without a FLGR.

I would argue that there's really NOT a lot of room inside that slide for recoil springs to kink-up much unless the spring metal fails.