I'm in CA so buying a new M&P is a challenge, can't be had through the usual FFL dealer stock route. Used ones are expensive - as in $800.00 to $1,000.00, no thanks. I know barrel swaps alone can't go from 9mm to 40 but with a barrel, slide and recoil spring can I go from 9mm to 40?

Found lots of info on what I can't do, nothing on this specifically or why.

In a word, Yes. The M&P lowers are exactly the same between the 9 and 40.

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Minimize the variables

Start with 40 then all you need is the mags and a barrel


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Plain M&Ps, not the custom shop, are that expensive in California?


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The recoil spring assembly is the same for 9/40/357. The slide assemblies interchange and function, but you'd also need mags.

I was issued the .40, bought the 9. I'd stay with 9 mm. However, if you just gotta have a .40, you'd need slide, barrel and mags. There are machining differences between the 9 & .40 slides, you don't want to bet your butt on reliability with a caliber parts mix & pray approach.

Yep. And they sell too. A few other examples just saw last week at my LGS. A used Kimber SOLO - $1,500.00. Springfield XDS - $1,200.00. I've got some fairly hard to find Smiths like a 610 no dash, 3" 657 no dash and the amount of $$$ I get offered is way over the top. Any "no lock" Smith rates $600.00 for starters, so long as it's in good shape. A 1006 would probably rate a kidney transplant.

I go home a few times a year, make it up to the Kittery Trading Post in Maine and would buy up everything Smith if I could, prices seem so low. Then I remember they're normal, CA isn't.

Four years and I'm gone. Haven't been so eager to leave anywhere since I was on a C 123.

Thanks all for the info.

Did the micro stamps big thing go in to effect or something? Why not just buy a CA compliant one online and ship through an FFL in Cali?


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I'm not surprised. I met a guy that is a cop in California. He was visiting NC and standing in a large sports shop drooling over all of the choices and prices. He made California sound like a 3rd world country. He was planning an escape as well



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Yes, the Microstamping went into effect a few years ago. The Shield is currently the only M&P on the CA roster. We peasants can't buy anything "off roster" from an FFL (new or used). There are a few exceptions but they don't apply here. However, I can buy almost anything via a "private party transfer". So market forces here jack the prices up to stratospheric levels.

An M&P 2.0 will go for about $1000.

+1 on a Shield 40 with conversion barrel. Way cheaper.

RCH27834, did you take your friend to Hyatt's? That place is impressive.

That blows.


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So back on track, to the OP. IMO, if you want a .40, buy a .40. You might find a 1.0 in .40 for a bit less. 9MM barrels seem to be cheap and plentiful. A barrel and a mag (or a few) is all you need. OEM .40 barrels are becoming scarce. OEM .357 SIG barrels are already scarce.

Any S&W M&P in CA is going to easily cost about $800.00 - 1.0 or new version, even slightly used. Since I already own an M&P in 9, bought a few years back used for $650.00, the additional few hundred for a 40 upper is the best way for me to go. I was going to add a 357 Sig barrel, have a Sig 229 and BHP MkIII in 40 and 357, a few other multi-caliber guns. Having a 3 caliber pistol would be a little different.

Yup, you will need a barrel, slide assembly and 40/357 magazine(s) for your conversion. The lowers are common to the 9mm, .40s&w and .357sig as is the recoil sring.

It's unfortunate that your M&P wasn't a .40s&w. Then all you would have needed would be a 9mm conversion barrel and Mags. Not sure how difficult it will be to find a complete 9mm slide assembly. I don't know if they can be ordered directly from S&W or not and I'm not aware of any aftermarket sources. .

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I've done a 9mm barrel in a 40 slide, don't like the idea of barrel hood lock up slop.

I have an M&P Shield 9mm and a 40 slide.

Ah, I bought my FS and Compact (both 9s) when they were still on the roster. I recently bought a ported CORE top end in 9mm for the FS.

dsf,
Bottom line is yes, you can replace the M&P9 slide with and M&P40 slide, barrel and magazine and you will now have essentially an M&P40. I went the other way around and first got an M&P40 and have been enjoying both 9 and 40 with just a barrel and mag swap.

People in the free world don't understand that you simply cannot "just get an M&P 40" out here. The "safe gun roster" is a political tool to eventually outlaw the sale of handguns to law abiding citizens in this state and the ever dwindling number of guns still on the roster is proving it is true.

S&W could have kept the M&P9, 40 and 45 on the roster by simply freezing the design just like Glock, Ruger, Springfield, etc. but they made a corporate decision to abandon us and just sell Gen1 Shields and SDVE's in California so we're stuck with what we have or get a PPT at many times the worth of the gun in other states.

True, most folks don't understand that all new model semi-auto pistols, including rimfire, are prohibited from being sold in CA via the usual FFL dealer stock. I see that one of the Carolinas is considering adopting the CA model and I expect it will be quickly voted down by their legislature, as well it should be.

I don't blame a gun company for moving on. Ruger has only one semi-auto pistol "certified for sale" in CA, Colt has none. But it's a lousy situation. I have to remind myself when I go to a LGS - Wild Bills, RCGE for example - and find something "off roster" to not feel grateful for the find, but rather PO'd that we have to deal with such infringements.

I bought a Fullsize (FS) and Compact M&P9 when they were still on the roster (2013). A few months ago I bought a 5" ported CORE slide kit for my FS. Sure beats paying $1000+ for a CORE.

LEO's are exempt from the CA Roster so they have nothing to worry about. They can still go about buying any pistols they so please. Some shops cater's to LEO only sale and M&P's can be had for a very great price ($400 and under). The sad part about it is that majority of the sellers that are listing these M&P's for $800+ are LEO's. They buy them for retail and tack on an additional 100/200% on top of it. Sucks, but it is what it is.

I've been fortunate enough to score on a few great prices for the 2.0 models in CA.