There's something I forgot to mention above...we did get to T&E the M&P40 prior to adoption. Going in, the attitude was "Another ****** plastic pistol." After trials, EVERYONE was enthusiastic about the change.

Following transitional training a very large number of our personnel went out and paid their own money for a personal firearm. That had never happened before. Not everyone bought the .40, but it was still an impressive vote of confidence.

VT, I hate to break it to you, but price does matter to a slew of folks. Yes, some folks are still making their old designs. While several types of firearms (1911, etc) have die hard fans, it'll be interesting to see how long those designs (other than icons) persist. All those makers have new designs on the market and the new US service pistol isn't metal framed.