Reading this thread is somewhat of a bummer… when our state changed over to Glocks for primary and back-up guns approximately two years ago, we had an opportunity to buy our S&W .38/.357 back-ups and SIg P226/P229 .40 DAKs (vast majority of us where happy to ditch the DAK SIGs, especially since most were spoiled by the perviously issued DA/SA guns). I had seen a few interesting variations in the field, especially carried by some of the old school troopers, who carried the same compact .38 for 30+ years (some were in beautiful condition).

We had the option of buying only our issued gun, and could not buy another Trooper's gun. The distributor who processed our turn-ins were located in another state (Indiana). If we wanted the gun, our name would be taken down with serial number and purchaser's credit card information. The guns went to the distributor in IN to be "processed. Then the purchased gun would shipped back to a MI based FFL for transfer a couple months later (yeah…stupid). I recall the cost was around $350 for the gun + shipping to FFL back into MI + FFL transfer fees. If you were lucky enough to carry one of the older generation guns (don't know the model #, it was a .48 with shrouded visible hammer and smaller diameter grip) the cost was $450. My 640 was well worn (though refurbished and reliable) when issued five years prior, so I passed. I might have kept it, but the BS extra expense and twisted my drawers. It was tough seeing some beautiful guns getting turned in and not having a shot at them.