Allow me to clarify, why do they have to be such jerks and require people to buy firearms to upgrade to the latest versions that are out. Specifically, I already have a shield. I love my shield. However, I love the 4' slide on the shield and would love to upgrade my current shield to that.

I have been looking for a two months now since I have decided to do it. I can locate a bare slide, the eternals I can swap from my 1.0, can nab a guide rod no problem, but attempting to find a barrel, no bueno.

Can't believe I am saying this, why can't they be like Taurus. When Taurus dropped their G3XL, they offered the complete upper without having to buy a new firearm all together.

Come on S&W, work with the people here.

Ok, my rant is over

IBTL - I don't expect this one to go far.
New people whose only reason for joining is to air a grievance usually aren't around for long.

__________________
Send lawyers, guns & money...

Well,he certainly isn't new to this Forum after 6yrs. His opening line is an eyecatcher. Not everyone feels the need to post unless they feel it warrants it. I can agree with WHAT he's saying although maybe not the WAY he says it.

If the thread gets locked and/or he gets dinged I doubt he'll care with only 3 posts in 6yrs.

And as far as the difference between Taurus and S&W why sell conversion kits for the "few" when you can sell a whole firearm to the "many".

It doesn't have to make sense to us. It's called CAPITALISM.

stylnprfyl84 You poor ole whinny person. You should sell any s&w firearms you have and go buy taurus then . Maybe be sure you research future firearms well .

Sounds like you have a personal issue.

__________________
John

Number of guys here have built 3rd Gen. FrankenSmiths myself included . with a pair of 6915s. 6906 frames matted to a 915 upper.

Also have .22 conversions kits for the Browning HP and Beretta 92.

I like the combo.... but ya .... how many actually do it!

Buy yourself a 100+ years old Colt 1911 and be done with it.

Thankfully, Smith & Wesson is not like Taurus. Taurus is geared toward the kind of consumer who values quantity over quality. They’re like the harbor freight of firearms. A Smith & Wesson is a firearm for someone who knows what they want, and intends for it to last them a long time. If you are living in a place where you are legally restricted from owning more than one handgun, it would make sense to go with something that you can easily adapt to different configurations with readily available parts. Otherwise, I find it far preferable to acquire a variety of high quality tools, each specialized toward a particular task.

I’ve got handguns that are best suited for range use or perhaps home defense only. I’ve also got those that work well for concealed carry. I’ve even got some that work well for carrying a gun when you absolutely can’t allow anyone to know that you’re carrying a gun. All of them are Smith & Wesson handguns, and they all work extremely well for their intended purpose. Besides, nobody gets all excited about showing off their collection of Taurus handguns.

I work for the largest FFL in the SE. At any gun show we promote, we have 100 tables, & sell between 400-600 firearms on a weekend depending on the political situation that week. Chaz works in the Taurus section, & sells 100 a weekend, while Chris sells maybe 30 S&W’s a weekend. Since I work next to Chaz, I see all his customers, & I’ve never seen anyone complain about the Taurus they bought from him at any previous show. I have an original Shield as my night stand gun, but my carry is the Taurus GX4, & I can afford anything. GARY.

A 4' slide has to be a bear to conceal, but I bet it gets a lot of attention from the Babes at the club.

It’s like the old saw about automobiles. They build a new car to sell to Smith…then next year make changes to sell Smith a new car but not so different they can’t unload Smith’s now used car on Jones down the street.

Consumer products…same sales techniques regardless of the product.

There's much to be said about the validity of this advice. Then there's the Sig P365 which is the newest Barbie for boys. And it's an excellent weapon at that.

Smith, like all manufacturers, is in the business of making money by selling finished products at a competitive price. Parts are not a profit center, unless they're priced so as not to cut sales on finished products. Too, parts inventories are kept for warranty work, and custom products. Rod

__________________
Vote the bums out!

Looks like the OP should switch to SIG. With SIG's P320 or P365 switchable fire control unit system, it's possible to switch slides, barrels, grips, and even calibers (with the P320) to your heart's (or wallet's) content.

__________________
What, me worry?

The delivery might have been a little rough but there is some merit to it. I have a Shield plus and recently got into RDS and would like to buy a optics ready Shield plus slide or maybe a 4” compact slide. Can I do that today not sure.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You just basically described all Glocks.

The difference between Glock and Smith and Wesson though, is that Glocks go bang every time, but if you DO need customer service, they are there for you every time.

OP, read the room. You won't get a lot of sympathy here, for a variety of reasons too numerous to list.

Here's some advice:
1) Buy a new Shield that has what you want; and/or
2) Go directly to S&W customer service and voice your complaint.

Having been issued Glock pistols for a portion of my career at a medium sized LE agency, I always get a bit of a chuckle when people praise all Glock pistols as if they never fail. I have witnessed no more and no less failures on the range with issued Glock pistols compared to the SIG Sauer handguns that I was also issued. The single most problematic firearm I have ever personally owned was a Glock model 36 which was a complete lemon. That doesn’t mean that they are all lemons, but it does mean that Glock pistols aren’t entirely without problems. They are also ugly as sin in my opinion, have trigger pulls that feel like you’re operating a staple gun, and have become so generic at this point that to own one is like saying that you own a pair of socks.

Now, if someone REALLY wanted a pistol that you could count on to fire EVERY time, I’d look into a SIG P320. From what I hear, those things will not only fire every time you want them to, but they will allegedly also fire when you drop them, look at them sideways, or in some cases… even when they are riding in your holster.

All joking aside, I have owned a little of everything and Glock makes a very good handgun for the most part. With that said, I do prefer the looks, and feel of the Smith & Wesson guns, and I greatly prefer to buy from an American company versus an Austrian one, even if the Austrian company does have a factory in the states. In terms of performance, my experience has been great with both brands aside from the Glock model 36 I mentioned.

When was that? They had a range of serial numbers (on 36s) with issues that they fixed. I had one also. Mine was not one of the affected ones.

As you, Id take a Sig any day also.

Well thats your problem to figure out .

Ah, the airing of grievances. It must be Festivus!

__________________
VCDL, GOA, NRA

My collection (accumulation) is mostly blue steel and walnut be it long guns, handguns and I used to despise fantastic plastic to the nth degree.

Then one day one of my daughters became a LEO in another State and when she was home happened to bring her issued duty piece, a horrible looking, downright ugly, all black Glock 21, Gen 4 in 45ACP. Off to the range we go for a little father-daughter "competition" and she cleans my clock with her Glock.

What's a Dad to do? I bought a Glock 21, Gen 4 in 45 acp & next time she was home? She cleaned my clock again!

What gun does she really prefer when range shooting at home? My Model 66-6 with full load maggies aboard...REALLY cleans my clock when that one is out!

I got to thinking that Hey....wait a minute...that Glock wasn't my first plastic gun. Heck I've had 2 in the safe for years. Remington Nylon 66, one in Mohawk Brown, one in Seneca Green.

Now my conversion to plastic is complete..I got a deal on a S&W (ever hear of that brand which supposedly sucks) M&P 2.0 Compact in 9mm and it is slowly replacing my EDC J Frame S&W.

OP's entitled to his opinion (it's still America, 1st Amendment still valid last I looked)........BUT.....ya get no sympathy here.

Attached Images

	Glock 21 -b.jpg (32.5 KB, 17 views)
	Nylon 66 MB4.jpg (71.4 KB, 17 views)
	Model 66-6 a.jpg (45.0 KB, 19 views)
	M&P 2.0-B.jpg (111.8 KB, 17 views)
	Nylon 66 - A.jpg (50.7 KB, 20 views)

__________________
Charlie B
SWCA#3083, SWHF#570

I guess so but would be easier if Smith had a store for none ffl parts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It was quite a while ago… perhaps 2012 or so. Maybe earlier. It wasn’t my first Glock pistol, nor did it prevent me from buying others. It was an eye opener though. Until that experience I was one of the “Glock’s work every time” guys. That pistol in particular has more problems than any I’ve owned before or since. Total garbage.

The M2.0 Compact you mention is a phenomenal handgun. Mine is without question, my favorite plastic pistol I’ve ever owned, and I like it better than a fair number of my non plastic pistols as well. It really is a great gun.

Ok- mine was close after 9/11- I think that was when they first arrived on scene. So your issues would be ten years later.
I never did have issues with mine, and I don't remember what the issue was with them in 2001 or so. Again, it was a specific serial number range, which mine did not fall into. I think it had something to do with discharges.

I won't claim anything is perfect, but I have had no issues with any of mine, and so many of them out there same story.

Anyway- I guess the 36 had issues all along- because ours were ten years apart. I liked it a lot but abandoned it for the size and low capacity- which in 2001 was not a concern!

Thanks for the response! Didn't mean to hijack the thread. Love Smith and Wessons, but not what they have become!

You're right. He didn't just join. He just never had anything to say for 6 years until he had a gripe to post.

Six of one half a dozen of another.

__________________
Send lawyers, guns & money...

Seriously? I'm betting you know nothing about this person. With all the negativity about certain posts lately it's no wonder some people stay away.

I like pretty much all firearms if they go bang.

Currently have S&W,Colt,SIG,Beretta,Heritage,Taurus,Makarov,Springfield,Keltec and Walther.

And they all get monthly range time.

what.......no Yeet Cannon? this is not a snide remark about Hi Point. from what i read they make very reliable pistols that go bang every time. they are ugly as sin, and no, i don't own one, but at the right price i'll buy a Yeet Cannon.

the OP has a valid gripe.. why can't you get parts easily from S&W? I know "they are in the business of selling guns".. but they are made from parts.. most manufacturers make it easy to sell the stuff they make.. if Brownells & Numrich can make a profit, so can S&W..
the OP's mistake was saying Taurus.. that is a trigger word for some...

Query....Why in the world would you want to put a 4" slide on a Shield frame? Not that it makes you a bad person, but the perferred combination does lend itself to inquiry.

__________________
Forum consigliere

I think the OP got treated pretty poorly in this thread. Why? He's entitled to his opinion without being disparaged.

I do like Taurus ok. They make some very good guns for the price point. They have also made some garbage in the past. By the way, try just buying a barrel from Taurus. You can't.

It's the old story that the butt of the pistol is the tough thing to conceal, not the barrel. I used to conceal a 4" Walther PP clone with no difficulty. Having a 4" barrel gets you nearer the "on the box" velocity of most ammo.

__________________
Release the Kraken

If you're really dead set on making this change and all you need is the barrel, try looking at kkm barrels or remsport. I just bought a .357sig conversion barrel from remsport for my .40 shield and they had a lot of options, so maybe they'll have your 4" 9mm barrel too. Definitely worth a shot. If you still cant find one, maybe start looking for a good deal on a used 4" shield.

__________________
Please no more EZs...

Then there are those with over ten THOUSAND posts-

guess they have TOO much to say.
Six of one half a dozen of another.

Opinions vary.
11,700 posts over a period of 9-1/4 years is just 3-4 posts a day.
Doesn't seem excessive to me. With over 15k "likes" on my posts, some might even call that being an "active participant in the community".
FWIW none of those posts are whining and bashing S&W because they don't sell exactly what I want the way I want it.

__________________
Send lawyers, guns & money...

Your very first two words say it all.

And please excuse me, I wasn't aware that you had 15 thousand likes. How many "likes" a day does that come to? Please forgive what I said. Had I noticed the 15 thousand likes, I never would have said it. After all, the "likes" is why we are all here. Thats the important part!

"Opinions vary".

Yup. They do.