Plastic guide rod in Sig 220?

**arjohnson** · October 17th, 2011, 07:36 PM

I see no problem with polymer guide rods, Glock has been using them since day one and issues with them are pretty close to none.

**SCBaldr** · October 17th, 2011, 08:33 PM

I had a P220 Stainless Elite that came with a poly guide rod. It didn't seem right. A $1000 gun whose attraction is the stainless frame and you get a plastic guide rod in it? I replaced it with a stainless one from Rhinotek that had a checkered end. $30 to make the gun right was just fine with me.

**orionz06** · October 18th, 2011, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by silkworm

I had asked the guy at my local shop the same question, according to him the claim is it cuts down on friction therefore reducing slide recoil and cyclical rate. BTW I believe Glock's gen4 pistols actually have a 2 piece rod, claiming it reduces both even further.

Whether it reduces friction is iffy, there are a few ways it could work. Reducing friction should increase the cyclic rate, not reduce it.

As for plastic guide rods in general, the rods do nothing more than hold the spring in place. Most guns can function with a broken guide rod anyway. No need to worry.

**WWGunslinger** · October 19th, 2011, 09:42 AM

My CZ P-01 has a plastic guide rod as well. no problems with it so far, although I don't shoot it heavily.

I've seen pics of P-01s where people replaced it with a SS one and it damaged the frame of the gun.

**silkworm** · October 19th, 2011, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by orionz06

Whether it reduces friction is iffy, there are a few ways it could work. Reducing friction should increase the cyclic rate, not reduce it.

As for plastic guide rods in general, the rods do nothing more than hold the spring in place. Most guns can function with a broken guide rod anyway. No need to worry.

I had meant to say increase.

**625** · October 19th, 2011, 12:45 PM

The plastic (polymer) versus metal guide rod threads are plentiful here. I believe the pros for plastic are: lube is less important, if the pistol is dropped while the slide is locked back, the chances of breakage are probably lower than the chances of bending a metal one. The bent metal one will cause a complete failure to function unless the bend is extremely minimal. Plastic is lighter, duh. The cons are: plastic is lighter, duh. Good for carry, but not as good for muzzle control during rapid fire. Plastic tends to melt at lower temps than metal although I have no idea why you would ever want to shoot a pistol so much in such a short duration.

Metal is stronger, but as already mentioned here, guide rods aren't high stress parts.

I have pistols with both and have no interest in changing from one to another. Plastic isn't as cool, but I think it is better than many people seem to think it is. My .02