Ruger Polymer-Framed Revolver

[Bigfattyt]

I carry one of their Sp101 spurless hammer models in stainless .357. It does drag the pocket down. I would like to shoot one of these. My cousin had an ultralightweight smith and wesson (which ever model is the lightest). They are supposed to be down right painful with full house loads.

I 100% feel that polymer frames do absorb more recoil than metal framed (speaking from autos here). It is pretty danged durable stuff as well. I think it takes knocks and bumps and drops better than aluminum, which can mar or bend easily it seems to me.

Judging from the number of times I have dropped my glock and had the polymer frame smack on the metal edge of the safe frame, and not mark the polymer at all, I think the durability is there.

Another good thing about Ruger, as has been said, they really stand behind their products if you manage to break something.

My dad finally managed to break an extractor on a MarkII target pistol, even though he was not the original owner, and the gun was old and had many thousands and thousands of rounds through it, they fixed it no questions asked, the service guy also told my dad if he wanted to sell it, to call him as it was a model no longer in production and a hard combination to find, and told him if he ever did sell it, not to take below a certain amount. (seem like good people to me).

 

[jill jackson]

This new Ruger weighs 13.5 OZ unloaded, my S&W Airweight is about the same.
I don't think I'm gonna worry about replacing mine to save no weight.

 

[338375]

In the picture it looks like the high stress areas are still made of steel, just the grip frame made of polymer.

I didn't look to see if the internal trigger components are steel, I would assume that they are.....

Somehow I can't see this being developed if Bill Ruger was still around.

I gotta give them credit for being creative and offering new products.
If its even half the gun the sp101 is, it will be fine.

 

[DPris]

Polymer, aluminum, steel.
It never would have seen the light of day when the Old Man was still running the place.
Denis

 

[daveinvegas]

This pistol strikes me as a silly answer to a question that nobody was asking.

And it's ugly. It's been said that life is too short to own an ugly gun. I absolutely agree.

I've also heard that a lot of people don't carry a gun all the time due to weight and that a gun that you will carry, no matter the caliber, is better than a better gun that you don't always carry.

In my opinion, small guns like that should be a second gun anyway. I have never understood why people think they can't carry a full size gun. I carry a full size Colt all the time with no problem. Bigger is always better when it comes to caliber and that almost always means a bigger gun.

 

[zenheretic]

In the picture it looks like the high stress areas are still made of steel, just the grip frame made of polymer.

I didn't look to see if the internal trigger components are steel, I would assume that they are.....

Somehow I can't see this being developed if Bill Ruger was still around.

I gotta give them credit for being creative and offering new products.
If its even half the gun the sp101 is, it will be fine.

Polymer, aluminum, steel.
It never would have seen the light of day when the Old Man was still running the place.Denis

Yes of course, a man known for innovation would never embrace such fads...

 

[mwerner]

Although "plastic" may be offensive to the sensibilities of some; it can't be argued that the huge success of Glock may set much of that feeling aside.

 

[timcsaw]

Yes of course, a man known for innovation would never embrace such fads...

Who'd have ever thought that he'd approve of the use of ammo filled with "smokeless powder" in any of the guns he designed...

 

[ExMachina]

Glocks introduced polymer frames, first and foremost, as cost-saving measure. Any other benefits (less weight, shock absorption, etc) were all coincidental. The LCR looks to be trying to do the same thing with a compact revolver and, at $375 (dealer cost of the non-laser grip LCR) the LCR seems to be teetering on the cusp of being economically competitive.

If it was $100 cheaper, Ruger would clean up!

 

[TR Graham]

Glocks introduced polymer frames, first and foremost, as cost-saving measure. Any other benefits (less weight, shock absorption, etc) were all coincidental.

Sorry friend, but this is wrong. Gason Glock is a chemical plastics engineer who built his pistol using the most modern manufacturing techniques available in 1980. The polymer frame was intentionally designed to be a lightweight, recoil-absorbing part of the pistol - not because plastics were "cheap". The polymer that is used in the Glock frame is patented.

BTW - It might surprise you folks to know that Glock was NOT the first to introduce polymer frames on firearms. Neither was H&K.....although they had the first "plastic" handgun.

Anyone know who came out with the first "plastic" firearm?

I'll give a hint : It was a long gun, not a pistol.

TR Graham
The Glocksmith

 

[BlackHills]

BTW - It might surprise you folks to know that Glock was NOT the first to introduce polymer frames on firearms. Neither was H&K.....although they had the first "plastic" handgun.

The 'Buck Roger's ray gun' as you called it in a different thread was produced long before the Glock.

Anyone know who came out with the first "plastic" firearm?

I'll give a hint : It was a long gun, not a pistol.

Though it's probably something I've never heard of I'll say the Nylon 66.

 

[ExMachina]

Sorry friend, but this is wrong. Gason Glock is a chemical plastics engineer who built his pistol using the most modern manufacturing techniques available in 1980.

when a plastics engineer, the founder and owner a plastics company with a history of supplying plastics to the military decides to manufacture a firearm made out of plastic, then that is an economic decision.

this article agrees with that point of view

Glock pistols were the first to have major portions of their structure made of polymer. I doubt Mr. Glock did this to make history. An inventive engineer with limited firearms experience, Glock used polymer to build his pistol because it made sense to do so. He had invented and obtained patents on other products, so he was aware of polymer's strength and versatility. Tradition always demanded that firearms be made of steel, but tradition had little to do starting with a proverbial blank sheet of paper and building a gun.

so no, Gaston Glock did not set out to make a pistol that was light and that reduced recoil.

he set out to make a polymer-framed pistol...cuz that's what he knew...plastics...and that's what was cheapest for him to manufacture

 

[DPris]

Bill Ruger did not want his company to participate strongly in the concealed carry market, and wasn't much of a fan of polymers.
Innovation aside, there were certain designs and sizes that he would not have approved during his lifetime. The LCR and LCP could only have been made after his death. You'll also notice the reversal of the long-running Ruger policy against selling 20-round Mini-14 magazines to non police buyers. That also would not (and did not) happen under his management.
Denis

 

[jill jackson]

Pistols with polymer frames, the first was Heckler & Koch and the designation 70 was for the year of the first edition: 1970. It was the first polymer-framed pistol and predates the Glock 17. The weapon weighed 820 g (28.9 oz) unloaded, lighter than most other metal framed pistols of the time. Although it was the first polymer pistol, the Remington Nylon 66 rifle was the first polymer-framed firearm in production.

 

[DPris]

Somebody named Rem something or other did a Nylon something or other....
Denis

 

[TR Graham]

when a plastics engineer, the founder and owner a plastics company with a history of supplying plastics to the military decides to manufacture a firearm made out of plastic, then that is an economic decision.

this article agrees with that point of view



so no, Gaston Glock did not set out to make a pistol that was light and that reduced recoil.

he set out to make a polymer-framed pistol...cuz that's what he knew...plastics...and that's what was cheapest for him to manufacture

Again, sorry friend, but you are incorrect. For the last 20 or so years I have made my living working with and on Glock pistols. I have worked with and for Glock in the past. I teach an advanced Armorer's course on the pistol. I have written a number of published articles on the origins and history of the Glock design. And on top of all that, I have seen the original design specifications of the Glock for myself. Cheap had nothing to do with the design. In fact, the slide and barrel were (and still are) manufactured using relatively expensive materials, using relatively expensive processes. Polymer was used in the frame to reduce overall weight of the pistol, and to both reduce the amount of recoil and to reduce the amount of maintenance. The polymer that Glock developed was not cheap, and was not used just to cut down on the cost of the gun. The goal was to make the pistol fast to manufacture, NOT cheap to manufacture.

TR Graham
The Glocksmith

 

[TR Graham]

Pistols with polymer frames, the first was Heckler & Koch and the designation 70 was for the year of the first edition: 1970. It was the first polymer-framed pistol and predates the Glock 17. The weapon weighed 820 g (28.9 oz) unloaded, lighter than most other metal framed pistols of the time. Although it was the first polymer pistol, the Remington Nylon 66 rifle was the first polymer-framed firearm in production.

Very good. Yes, the VP70 was the first polymer framed handgun, and pre-dated the Glock by 10 years. And the Remington Nylon 66 is correct. Polymer framed firearms were first an AMERICAN idea.

Jill, you know your firearms and you (and BlackHills, who posted first) win......... a brownie point!

TR Graham
The Glocksmith

 

[jill jackson]

Jill, you know your firearms and you (and BlackHills, who posted first) win......... a brownie point!

TR Graham
The Glocksmith

Thank you Glockmeister, It's very lovely and most befitting for the occasion.

 

[BlackHills]

You'll also notice the reversal of the long-running Ruger policy against selling 20-round Mini-14 magazines to non police buyers. That also would not (and did not) happen under his management.

What do you expect when the man that said "I never meant for simple civilians to have my 20 or 30 round magazines or my folding stock" was running the company? I think Ruger makes some good firearms but old Bill's actions prevent me from ever purchasing one. Yes, I have a long memory.

 

[AWGunS]

This pistol strikes me as a silly answer to a question that nobody was asking.

+1

There are plenty of lightweight snubbies out there, with proven aluminum frames and steel cylinders, with very similar weights. All can use Crimson trace LG's as well.