Can I have a 5 inch barrel threaded for my compact in .40 cal ?

[Canyon Man]

I want to put a threaded barrel on my 2.0 compact. The problem is, since .40 cal isn't popular any more, I'm quite sure S&W will never come out with a factory threaded barrel for it. Is it possible to purchase a 5 inch barrel, and have someone thread it for me ? Ideally, I'd like to cut it down to about 4.75 inches too. Is this possible ? Does anyone know a place that does this kind of work ? Possibly S&W's performance center ?

 

[DBasye1]

Just curious

Will you buy a suppressor?

I also shoot an M&P40C...love the gun

I was thinking about getting a 9mm threaded barrel (and mags)
they supposedly fit right in

Will you plan to shoot suppressed?

 

[vipermd]

Storm Lake makes a barrel for the compact' Be Safe,

 

[Canyon Man]

No I will not be shooting suppressed, not for a couple years any way. Too many other things on the get before that list. For the moment, it's just because I like the way threaded barrels look. I know I know, pretty stupid reason lol. I do prefer the longer barrels too though. However, I don't know if the benefits from a slightly longer barrel's velocity makes a real world difference or not, but I do prefer all I can get out of my pistol velocity wise. To put threads on a barrel seems like it would be fairly easy. I wonder about the process of would it need to be refinished too after the threading is done.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

You may be able to find a threaded after-market barrel for the gun in the caliber you want, and that makes more sense than getting a longer barrel and then having it threaded. (Sometimes longer barrels won't WORK/fit into a slide designed for a shorter barrel -- so be sure to check THAT out before you spend your dollars!)

You'll get a little velocity improvement from a longer barrel, but with the right ammo, you'd be better served by spending your extra dollars on getting better sights or improving the trigger -- because a higher velocity due to a longer barrel isn't going to have much more effect on the target (be it human or a different type of critter) than a round from a shorter barrel, if both rounds go where you aimed them.

 

[Bkreutz]

No I will not be shooting suppressed, not for a couple years any way. Too many other things on the get before that list. For the moment, it's just because I like the way threaded barrels look. I know I know, pretty stupid reason lol. I do prefer the longer barrels too though. However, I don't know if the benefits from a slightly longer barrel's velocity makes a real world difference or not, but I do prefer all I can get out of my pistol velocity wise. To put threads on a barrel seems like it would be fairly easy. I wonder about the process of would it need to be refinished too after the threading is done.

Since you are considering this for appearance reasons, I suppose it could be done, it would have to be done by a gunsmith or machinist on a lathe as a die wouldn't work. You could also have it refinished, but in the end it would probably be costlier than buying a threaded barrel. Barrel lockup might also be affected, but that's just a guess on my part.

 

[Canyon Man]

I'll check out Storm Lake to see if they make it in .40 cal. I have the five inch 2.0 pistol too. I put the barrel in the compact to see if it would even fit. It did. I didn't shoot it like that though. Aftermarket barrels seem to always have tighter chamber tolerances, which makes me wonder about reliability. I figured using a factory barrel would offer me the best reliability. But it may indeed be cost prohibitive. There has to be a reason I've never heard of anyone else doing this lol. I sent an email to Smith and Wesson last night. I'll wait and hear their response first, and see if they'll even do it, and what price they might charge. My gut tells me this will have to come from the aftermarket world. You can find anything in 9mm. .40 is like a foreign land or something lol.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

There has to be a reason I've never heard of anyone else doing this lol.

It might have something to do with there being relatively few people who are willing to spend a $150 - $200 to make their gun look different with an enhancement (threading) that they'll never really use. With some of these guns, you need a thread protector for the end of the barrel, and that just slows the take-down procedure.

I got a free barrel once from a forum member (who had sold the gun for which he had bought it) that was threaded (and in a different caliber). I wasn't willing to buy the federal sticker for an attachment, and eventually had a local gunsmith cut off the threads and recrown the barrel.

 

[Canyon Man]

I shot off an email to Smith and Wesson. They don't offer the service of threading barrels. I appreciated their prompt response though. I have threaded barrels on a couple other pistols I have and love them. Aftermarket barrels all seem to be "match grade". I don't really care for match grade barrels. The tolerances are tighter. Although that leads to greater accuracy, I'm not a good enough shooter to notice the difference. For the moment, I have my financial cup full. I will geet Apex triggers for two of the three 2.0 pistols I have. (9mm and .40 compacts, and 5 inch .40 cal) I also still need holsters and extra mags. I know of a gunsmith here locally that I'm pretty sure will thread a barrel for me. I'll compare that cost as opposed to just purchasing an aftermarket threaded barrel. I know there is no real need for it - it's just a want - I've enjoyed shooting the M&P's the last couple three months. But I will most definitely venture into a threaded barrel for it. I'll post regarding my journey. (I need a new phone to send pics to my email to get pics posted - I guess my phone is just outdated now, and won't send them to my email) I appreciate the input from everyone. : )