OK, was planning on purchasing a 40C this week with a S&W sale coming to my local dealer.

One of the HUGE pros for me was after firing a rental model, I actually out shot my Glock 27 which I loved and think is a great gun.

So I decided to do some research; changing barrels and magazines, based on multiple threads in this and other forums, seems to be very popular and a great pro to buy.

I had a chance to buy a used model for a very good price and decided to call customer service to check on warranty for a second owner. They said there was none. Original owner only, all others are zero, nada warranty.

I asked about the multiple caliber capabilities. They said they do not sell barrels (which many people said to buy original vs OEM), and ANY change would void all warranties. Just stick with the original caliber or no warranty, no service.

So, help me here folks, should I buy this or not? I can get multiple barrels and mags for my Glock, but if Smith is a one caliber only deal, why spend the $500 bucks?

Thanks in advance for any input, the sale is Friday and Sat so I need to decide what to do pretty soon. I just hate to buy a one trick pony here when I already own a multi-capable Glock.

BTW, I own multiple S&Ws, but want to move away from my Shields since they consistently give me failure to return to battery problems, making them unreliable IMHO.

Ease of versatility is why I chose Glock.

I love my FS M&P 40, shot another perfect score on my 3rd semi annual qualification. But the lack of aftermarket compared to Glock is disappointing.

Sent via phone

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MSP - Retired

I think mostly what Customer Service was telling you on the phone was just to cover themselves.

Their official position is that the lifetime warranty does only cover the original purchaser, but from what I understand they will usually cover any warranty work whether or not you are the original purchaser (besides, no one said you have to tell them you are not the original owner - they have no way of knowing unless you tell them!).

as far as the barrel goes, every now and again you can find factory S&W barrels for sale (I just picked one up from Midway last week, but they are out of stock again) and I have heard that they usually work OK, but understand that there is a dimensional difference between the 9mm and .40 barrel, so the 9mm barrel may have a bit of a sloppy fit in a .40 slide.

KKM and Storm Lake make conversion barrels that are a more proper fit in the .40 slide, and they generally work quite well. They can be had for about $160, where the S&W factory barrel runs about $70, but again the factory barrels don't come up for sale that often and the KKM/Storm Lake barrels are usually widely available.

Having said that, if for some reason your gun blows up while using a caliber it was not designed for I highly doubt S&W would cover it under any warranty what so ever.

I'm not going to get into a caliber debate, but in my opinion you should just get a 9mm pistol and be done with it - the .40 offers very little real-world advantage over a 9mm.

Whatever you get, I hope you enjoy your new pistol!

appreciate the info and practical advice. I have a couple of 9's but shoot the 40 a lot better. Go figure. Was hoping to get a gun that could perform multiple roles, as I hate to stock up on ammo and only have one weapon in that caliber, just in case something happened. But then again, life has no warranty that comes with it....

i own a FS40 and a 40c.
i bought them based on how they felt in my hand and their ability to shoot multiple calibers.

my FS40 has a SL 40 to 9 conversion barrel and a OEM 357 Sig barrel. had no problems getting them.

haven't decided whether to do the same for the 40c yet.