Originally posted by sigfreund:
quote:
Originally posted by maxwayne:
I thought the 229 9mm slide was the same size as the .40 slide. I will of course stand by your answer.
There have been at least a couple varieties of 9mm P229 slides. I have only the original version myself, and I know that although the gripping ridge is the same width as the 357/40’s slide, the top section is a little narrower. Also, the lightening cut on the bottom of the 9mm slide is a little deeper. In measuring two otherwise identical slides (solid FPPP, short extractor in both), a 9mm slide weighs 350.3 grams and a 357/40 slide weighs 393.6 grams. The difference, 43.6 grams, is equivalent to 1.53 ounce. I don’t know anything about the P229-1 slide, however.
Something similar is true of 9mm and 357/40 P226 slides. The shapes of the upper slides are the same, but the 9mm slide has much more extensive lightening cuts on the bottom.
The difference between the two original P229 slides caused much confusion and angst back when the P228 was still a factory offering. Most people used the 357/40 weight specification in comparing it to the P228, and were appalled by the fact that the 229 weighed a few ounces more than the svelte P228. Some of them evidently couldn’t imagine humping those few ounces around for more than a couple of nanoseconds. If, however, the
9mm P229 is compared to the P228, the 229 still weighs a bit more, but the difference is less than most people realized, and was almost bearable for those who couldn’t manage a 357/40 229—assuming, of course, that they actually attempted the task.