Stainless or blued/black slide

[AZ40]

What do you guys prefer? I'm on a waiting list for a sr40c through a specific ffl dealer here, mainly because his prices are very cheap compared to big name stores and he offers a life time replacement warranty through his company on top of the manufacturers warranty (basically if the gun breaks for whatever reason, instead of sending it to ruger, or any other manufacturer, I bring it back to him, sign it over to him and he does the paperwork and I get a new gun). Now he has not had an all black (blued) sr40c for the last 3 months, he does have over a hundred stainless slide sr40c's though in stock at his warehouse. I really want to hold out for the blued slide so it matches my full size sr40 but this is my christmas present to myself this year and I am getting tired of waiting around. That being said, this will also be for cc use after a few hundred rounds are put through it and I am comfortable in its operation and reliability, and in my opinion the blued would be better than the stainless. I know that for cc the slide color should not matter as no one should ever know you are carrying other than yourself but in the event that your shirt comes up a little bit higher than normal (reaching for something high up for an example) to me I would think that all black would be less noticeable than a glimps of stainless steel.

So what are your opinions on it? Or do you even care?

 

[carbonyl]

I really prefer the looks of the black slide but chose stainless in both of my guns. I’ve had them for over two years and carried both quite a bit especially through two record breaking HOT summers. Although at times they had lots of sweat on them with no more than a quick wipe of a rag they were ready for the next day. Both guns look as good as the day I bought them. I wish they made the P95 and SR9c with the blackened stainless slide. Maybe the Nitride finish will be as durable but I know what to expect from the stainless.

 

[Clovishound]

What do I prefer?

I like the look of the black. That is what I got in an SR9c. I like the idea of the stainless slide, just not the way it looks.

I have had no problems with the coating so far. Had it a little shy of a year. Occasional carry in a leather holster.

 

[22/45 Fan]

From what I gather early black SR9s had a coated stainless steel slide but current black ones have a nitride finish on a carbon steel base. If the nitriding is done well it should be extremly durable. Glocks have always had nitride treated carbon steel slides and they seem to last forever.

That said, my preference is stainless steel so that's what I have. YMMV.

 

[cjs1945]

I have the BSR40c with the black slide, and it looks as good as the day i bought it after carrying it for a year and a half in a Mitch Rosen leather holster. I prefer the black and have no regrets about choosing black although the stainless looks really nice too.

 

[Rei40c]

Kydex will mark them up a bit. I've been carrying mine in a DeSantis Intruder for about 8 months or so. The scratches are very small and only apparent when you tilt the gun in certain light to see the small scratches in the stainless steel reflection, but they are there. I'm very careful with the gun out of holster and the only time the scratches could have formed was when it was going in/out of the holster.

It seems logical the leather would be much better on the finish of either model (stainless or blued). I still would prefer the Kydex, even with the small scratches, but that's just a personal opinion. I don't plan to display any of my carry guns in a case one day or something. The scratches are mostly around the muzzle, and the rear of the slide if I bump into something for instance while carrying, that part is not protected by the Kydex.

I just didn't want anyone to get the impression this gun is immune to wear in stainless, it is not. But it brings up a good point about an advantage to a leather holster over Kydex.

 

[boomer1]

All of my SR pistols are stainless.

 

[Ruger Nut10]

My stainless seem to hold up well. carry it every day for over 2 years but only a few tiny spots have shown up and they are hard to see. I do use leather most of the time and Kydex part time. Galco IWB, White Hat IWB Kydex/leather, Fobus OWB are the 3 used for my SR's.

 

[TXRuger]

For concealed carry I prefer the stainless. My SR9 and SR9c are stainless.

 

[AZ40]

Ended up getting the stainless, be here tomorrow