S&W M&P - your opinion on a minor detail

[peacefuljeffrey]

Leaving aside all the controversy over S&W (does any company but GLOCK have as much??) I was looking at the ad for the Smith and Wesson M&P line in this month's "America's 1st Freedom" (which arrived today)...

On the left side of the slide, for both of the autos (there's a full size and what they are calling a sub-compact) stamped into the slide is the word "STAINLESS".

Does anyone else feel the way I do, that stamping "STAINLESS" on the gun is pretty stupid? I mean, they don't stamp "High-tech polymer" on the frame of a GLOCK.

This reminds me of how some car companies put really silly marketing/gimmicky things on odd places on their cars -- singling out some feature of the car's design that is so incidental to the overall car as a whole as to be ludicrous. Like door handles that have the words "dual overhead cam" written into them, or on the back of a Chevy Lumina where the little plastic logo glued on says "anti-lock brakes". (In a world where ALL new cars come with ABS, cars like that look really silly.)

The fact that S&W put "STAINLESS" on the slide in big, noticeable letters like that really puts me off the gun. Well, I wasn't on my way out to buy one anyway, but this sort of clinches my decision.

Obviously this is a personal-taste issue: I recognize that it doesn't affect the functional use of the gun one iota. But how do you feel about these gimmicks, and why?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[JimmyC4]

Would you rather they had imprinted, in large letters, some safety message like: "DO NOT DISCHARGE PISTOL WHILE POINTED IN AN UNSAFE DIRECTION", or "THIS FIREARM NOT TO BE USED IN THE COMMISSION OF A FELONY"?

STAINLESS sounds like a pretty benign marking to me, given the possibilities of what could be there... You're right, it's a personal taste issue, for it doesn't bother me at all.

On the upside, I've heard good feedback about the M&P. A shooting friend whose opinion I respect has done some shooting with one and told me it would be an excellent buy. I've handled one at Gander Mountain and really liked the feel; I look forward to shooting one sometime.

[JKFrost68]

I am sure for S&W it is strictly a marketing decision so the "less informed" purchaser won't worry about rust... The finish on my Glock 23 was worn off years ago and I can't tell you how many other shooters at the range have commented on that I should get it refinished so it doesn't rust...

[peacefuljeffrey]

Well, it's not like it WAS a choice between those two things. They could have just printed nothing more than what is usually on a gun's slide, like make, model, serial number, caliber...

Sure, it's better than a big billboard of a warning, but why do either?

[JimmyC4]

Sure, it's better than a big billboard of a warning, but why do either?

I retired from a career in sales and marketing, so whenever such a question enters my mind, I consider that they probably know more about the marketing/sale of firearms than I do, so I then roll over and go back to sleep.

[pogo2]

Actually, it is fairly common for manufacturers to put the word "stainless" on the stainless steel slides of semiauto pistols. Besides the S&W M&P, Sig does this on the P229 model, and Kimber on the Custom Stainless II model. I suspect there are others. I presume that they consider it a selling point because of corrosion resistance.

[QKShooter]

I wonder if they picked that up from the Knife Industry...since historically all of the Stainless knife blades used to be stamped STAINLESS STEEL.

[peacefuljeffrey]

Now, with knife blades, they often stamp the kind of stainless steel used (or the carbon steel used, for that matter) since there are so very many; and lots of users like to know the kind used because they are informed about the properties of this steel or that steel and may want a specific one for a given purpose.

I still don't get it, as far as a gun slide is concerned. I think it just looks gimmicky and tacky. I was not aware that it was done by Sig and Kimber, though -- that was news to me. Ugh.

[Exodus]

It didn't turn me off. While not necessary (for me) I think it is functional information for care of the gun. Gun care issues aside, some people might treat a stainless gun differently than a non-stainless gun. I doubt there are many firearm enthusiasts who know enough metallurgy to tell the difference between a stainless or carbon steel slide (especially when it is covered in melonite or something similiar), though I could be wrong. It is stamped on the slide in case the manual is lost or not transferred with the firearm. Or it could be a blatant marketing ploy.

[JimmyC4]

After I looked at Pogo2's pictures I was reminiscing and flipping through some pictures from a trip west this summer...IT'S EVERYWHERE!

[peacefuljeffrey]

Waiiiitaminute!

[nn]

So you know the slide is not alu alloy

[CLASS3NH]

well...Sig mentions that the 239 frame is "Made in Germany" though I can differ with what they're saying, as I've seen the frames being made in a location, other than Germany.......MUST be a marketing ploy for BOTH Comanies (Smith and Sig)

[rocky]

So ya know it cannot be suggled thru airports like those plastic glocks. .................Atleast it doesn't have a hemi......

[JKFrost68]