Dropping pistols on a hard surface - polymer vs. metal?

[Irfan]

I recently had the opportunity to see two Glocks at my local gun store that the owners had dropped on hard surfaces, concrete or ceramic tiles. One was a Glock 41 that fell directly on the magazine release button which resulted in a broken part inside. The button either broke or the magazine release button spring, so that the button no longer sits firmly on the pistol frame.
The other model was a Glock 19X that was dropped on a lanyard loop that cracked leaving a few millimeters of the round ring missing...

My question here is: what guns have you had the chance to see that have been noticeably damaged by being dropped on a hard surface, and do you think metal guns (steel or aluminum) hold up better than those with polymer bodies?

[JPedersen]

I am curious as to real world experience with this as well ! Will be following thread. Thank you for posting.


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[TCinVA]

I've been told by a number of folks that a revolver's trigger guard will bend pretty severely when it makes contact with another person's skull with some force behind it.

The top of the frame and barrel used similarly holds up very well.

[blues]

Closest I came was knocking my J frame (642) inside a Harry's Holster "Icon" on to a tile floor from about four feet. Nothing. No damage to grip, gun or holster.


I don't plan to drop it on the tile floor without the holster to see what difference it would make.

[JTQ]

Here is Earnest Langdon dropping one of his M9A1's on concrete, repeatedly.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aQ_YNd35zk

[JTQ]

I'm pretty surprised the Glock in the OP that landed on the mag release broke anything.

[JTQ]

Another with an LTT RDO. The mags seem to take a beating.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzADdfWjv6I

[blues]

Backing the late 90's when I was working operations along with the City of Miami P.D., they had an officer named Armando Valdes who was a very highly rated competition shooter with Glocks.

One day at their range, I saw him take his firearm and throw it off concrete walls and floor with force and then shoot a perfect smiley face on his target from 25 yards or more.

He used to do all kinds of destructive tests on Glocks for the department...and this certainly qualified as abuse. Different generation in the late 90's, but still, impressive.

[SCCY Marshal]

I blew out the side magwell edge, about 1/4" in height, of a 2nd generation G19 with a loaded drop onto hardwood. After confirming the absence of cracking, I just ground both sides on a sanding drum to have high speed looking scallops for ripping magazines out. The current owner still carries it. The 3rd generation G23 I had kick out in a ~45mph ski crash on icy hardpack was fine when I caught up to it but no trees were hit. Landing on an OWB-carried 3rd generation G27 after going over mountain bike handlebars into an asphalt drainage at about 20mph was fine beyond a large hip bruise. A 9mm USP compact survived a good parking lot digger off a skateboard with nothing more than a gouge up the side of the grip when a couple other things were torn off my belt.

And a CZ 75 SP-01 I saw snatched from the owner, unloaded, and thrown about fifteen yards into a gravel pit for muzzling the offended party one too many times - after a couple warnings - was alright beyond some scratching. The attached light also survived.

Not an auto, but a Ruger GP100 was unharmed when a snowboarder acquaintance landed on it on the bare ice edge of a halfpipe. He limped for a while, though.

[jandbj]

Backing the late 90's when I was working operations along with the City of Miami P.D., they had an officer named Armando Valdes who was a very highly rated competition shooter with Glocks.

One day at their range, I saw him take his firearm and throw it off concrete walls and floor with force and then shoot a perfect smiley face on his target from 25 yards or more.

He used to do all kinds of destructive tests on Glocks for the department...and this certainly qualified as abuse. Different generation in the late 90's, but still, impressive.

I got a video from our local Glock LE rep throwing his 509T equipped G45 pkg gun from about 5 yards at steel silhouette targets until it landed optic first. Still holds zero.

At demo shoots after guys get comfortable with their zero on a demo gun, he clears the gun, inserts an empty mag and tell them to throw it as hard and as far as they want downrange... Then confirm zero hasn't changed. Optics have come a LLOOOONNGG way in recent years.

[Default.mp3]

At demo shoots after guys get comfortable with their zero on a demo gun, he clears the gun, inserts an empty mag and tell them to throw it as hard and as far as they want downrange... Then confirm zero hasn't changed. Optics have come a LLOOOONNGG way in recent years.The trick isn't to throw them as far as they want, it's to throw it up in the air as high as they can.

[jandbj]

The trick isn't to throw them as far as they want, it's to throw it up in the air as high as they can.

Some do that too. Its sporty on indoor ranges, where everything is concrete or steel.

[blues]

When I witnessed the event that I posted about earlier, I didn't know that I was in for that "show", and the detectives I was was working with at the time were falling over themselves laughing...saying "you should have seen your face".

What they didn't know is that I thought the guy was having a meltdown and was preparing to engage him if need be.

That would have been quite a story in the Miami Herald.

[SW CQB 45]

I dropped my empty MCOP 1911 that was in a in a duty holster equipped with QLS and it landed on black hardtop hard on the grip safety edge.

I was carrying boxes to my car at work and I always try to make it one trip. I cant recall, but I think I was wearing another gun and my duty MCOP was at work. my hands were full, so I had them place my 1911 on top of the box and I head out to my ride. Boxes start to slip out of my hand and I saw my 1911 slide off the box top and everything fell out of my hands.

I observed my 1911 land on the grip safety tail and it landed hard enough to jettison the factory ambi thumb safety.

I still have the image from 6 years ago. My MCOP was pretty back then. You can see the impact mark on the grip safety. I would have thought it would have cracked it but still going strong today. That the holster it was in when it fell.

I lost the plunger tube detents and spring. You can see the lever in the background. I felt I hurt that thumb safety, so I found a WCBP ambi and fitted it as a replacement.

https://i.imgur.com/FEMMKgVh.jpg

Here is the same gun 8 years later

https://i.imgur.com/TkPK0ghh.jpg

[the Schwartz]

I recently had the opportunity to see two Glocks at my local gun store that the owners had dropped on hard surfaces, concrete or ceramic tiles. One was a Glock 41 that fell directly on the magazine release button which resulted in a broken part inside. The button either broke or the magazine release button spring, so that the button no longer sits firmly on the pistol frame.
The other model was a Glock 19X that was dropped on a lanyard loop that cracked leaving a few millimeters of the round ring missing...

My question here is: what guns have you had the chance to see that have been noticeably damaged by being dropped on a hard surface, and do you think metal guns (steel or aluminum) hold up better than those with polymer bodies?

It's all about flexural modulus versus fracture modulus.

[rmfnla]

Dropping sounds pretty bad, but what about getting chewed by your dog..?

[Doc_Glock]

The worst I have seen from a drop is bent/moved iron sights and a shattered optic that still worked. Otherwise it's just scrapes.