[MR Mannex]

How is the life a pistol defined? Once you put "too many" rounds through it, what fails that makes it ready for the scrap heap? And have you just tossed an old frame into the waste can?)

And how does this relate to frame material? Does a steel framed gun last significantly longer than one made of aluminum? How about polycarbonate - I guess they use metal inserts at the impact points, so does this give them equal life as compaerd to than a metal framed gun? Or greater, due to the base frame springing a bit?

 

[MR Mannex]

Thanks for the info so far, but I'm not really looking for anecdotes, but rather a description a mechanical functioning (pistolsmithing) point of view as to exactly what fails, and how? Accuracy gradually drops off? Reliability drops? Suddenly or gradually? For example, if the frame fails, how?

Thanks,

Mark