I my son pulled the SW out from the safe, and alerted me. "Dad, did you know this gun has damage on the grip?" WTH?? He then shows me a chunk of several millimeters taken out of the lower right portion of the backstrap insert. I think he banged another gun into it, and I'm a bit peeved, LOL.

Then, I began to finger with it, and the whole entire backstrap began breaking into little bits and pieces rather easily. Only the tang on the bottom remained in place, secured by the roll-pin. The thing had a gummy, grabby feel to it, like the composition was rotting away. I don't think I've ever heard of a Glock frame aging out this way; but...I digress.

I call S&W Service, and was put on hold. The young lady speaking with me said that they were out. However, she said I should call Walther CS, and request a backstrap insert for the P99. She reiterated that I should NOT mention Smith, or they'd cut me off immediately. I then recalled how the guns were nearly twins, and thanked her for the tip.

Next day, I call Wather Service. Ask if they have backstraps in stock. If I needed to buy three, fine. However, if I could get just a small, so much the better. Nice guy said yes, if they had them on hand. He came back from a hold, and said they did have one. He paused while getting my information and then asked: "By any chance, you don't intend this for a Smith and Wesson SW99?" Hmmmmm....(I pause only briefly), NO..why do you ask? He explained that customers seem to think they fit, but they don't, they're incompatible with one another. I figure that ONE Of the two was wrong, and I bet on Smith. Worst case, I was out like $22, shipped.

In summary, it fits like a champ, and Smith was right. This leaves me to wonder if the Walther rep was just repeating bad info passed on to him. Or, for whatever reason, were they trying to discourage me somehow? Hopefully, this will pop up in search for any other owners needing backstraps in the future.