In a low-cost firearm, the frame of the weapon comprises a laminated structure in which operative grooves and recesses having a base wall and one or more sidewalls are formed by laminating the sidewall to the base wall, so as to avoid the necessity for forming the grooves and recesses by performing expensive machining and finishing operations on a unitary frame structure. The sidewalls and the base walls are formed of separate materials that may be different from each other. For example one of the materials may be plastic, to provide light weight, while the other may be metal to achieve desired rigidity and/or strength. The laminations are coupled together by either mechanical members such as screws or rivets, or by bonding agents such as welding or high-strength adhesives or by a combination of both.