Functional Differences between M&P's.

[Eschaton]

I was at Cabela's yesterday afternoon and they had the standard black M&P .40's and then a bi-tone M&P.

The bi-tone was stainless steel and was $80 less than the mono-color.

The guy behind the counter (who, I swear my 4 year old nephew with 0 gun experience knows more about guns) said the difference was because the bi-tone had a stainless steel slide and the black one had a regular steel slide.

My thinking is, stainless steel is more lasting.

Am I wrong?

Would there be any functional differences between the guns or just cosmetic?

 

[REAPER4206969]

All Smith & Wesson Military & Police auto pistols have a stainless steel slide. If you look on the left side of the black pistols slide in the middle it will say “STAINLESS”. The only difference between the two is that the black one has a Melonite treated and blacked slide/barrel, that is why it costs more than the “in the white” model.

 

[REAPER4206969]

See?

 

[Eschaton]

Yes, I understand that

Is there a functional or performance difference between the two?

 

[GoodKat]

The guy behind the counter (who, I swear my 4 year old nephew with 0 gun experience knows more about guns)

This is an all too common problem, I rarely go to my local gun shops because I'm embarrassed by the salesmen's severe lack of knowledge.

Is there a functional or performance difference between the two?

It won't pit, for one thing.

 

[REAPER4206969]

Tenifer is a trademarked name for the end result of a chemical bath nitriding process that embeds nitrogen into an iron-containing alloy to create a corrosion-resistant finish that is a dull grey in color and extremely hard. The generic term for this type of process is carbonitriding. Other trade names for carbonitriding include Melonite, Sursulf, Arcor, Tufftride, and Koline.

Glock, an Austrian firearms manufacturer, utilizes this process to protect the slides of the pistols they manufacture. The Tenifer finish on a Glock is the third and final hardening process. It is 0.05 millimeters thick and produces a 64 Rockwell C (diamond cone) hardness rating via a 500 °C nitride bath. The final matte, non-glare finish meets or exceeds stainless steel specifications, is 85% more corrosion resistant than a hard chrome finish, and is 99.9% salt-water corrosion resistant. After the Tenifer process, a black Parkerized finish is applied and the slide is protected even if the finish were to wear off. Several other pistols also use this process including the Walther P99 and Steyr M/S series.

.....

 

[rbernie]

Is there a functional or performance difference between the two?

No - both pistols will shoot and last the same. Some folk claim to see glare off a stainless slide and prefer matte; I've never found it a problem but am willing to accept that it can be.

 

[Eschaton]

No - both pistols will shoot and last the same. Some folk claim to see glare off a stainless slide and prefer matte; I've never found it a problem but am willing to accept that it can be

So the melonite process results in an $80 difference?

 

[Mr. S]

Does Smith and Wesson actually make a bi-tone M&P??
I've never seen one in their catalogs or in any shop.

 

[Eschaton]

Does Smith and Wesson actually make a bi-tone M&P??
I've never seen one in their catalogs or in any shop.

Yep they do. They had them in full size 9mm and .40 at Cabela's this weekend. If you have a cabelas near you, see if you can snag one of their advertisements, they are running a special on them for $500.

 

[rbernie]

So the melonite process results in an $80 difference?

The salt-bath nitriding (Melanite, in this case) doesn't leave a strong color, so it's usually followed by a coloration process. I would imagine that a 'non-black' slide has been nitrided but not colored.

Does Smith and Wesson actually make a bi-tone M&P??
I've never seen one in their catalogs or in any shop.

Their current web site does not show a bi-tone version. I wonder if the cheaper bi-tone pistol was a Sigma and not an M&P?

 

[KyJim]

Possibly one had a thumb safety and one did not? There's no difference in MSRP but maybe Cabela's thought one was worth more.

 

[Eschaton]

Their current web site does not show a bi-tone version. I wonder if the cheaper bi-tone pistol was a Sigma and not an M&P?

Negative Ghostrider. I've done a lot of research on the M&P's and the pistol I was holding didn't feel like a pile of plastic

 

[Legasat]

There has also been a price jump in the newer M&P's. I saw two M&P 45's in a display case that were identical, but one was $90 more money. Newer production guns got the price hike, was the answer I got.

 

[REAPER4206969]

The bi-tone is a Cabela’s exclusive.

 

[Uncle Mike]

You may have seen a M&P 9 Pro Series-
5" barrel, upgraded sights, slicked up trigger.....