I'm puzzled by this trend as well. I bought a P99 QPQ in 9mm a month or so ago. I thought it's DA feature and fit would be an ideal personal pistol for my girlfriend and/or my daughter. After shooting it, I was so impressed by its low recoil, fast sights, superb accuracy and ergonomics that I bought another in .40 QPQ for carry in warm weather. It, too, was very accurate, particularly with Federal 155 gr. HydraShoks. After 500 rounds, I experienced the problem of the slide locking back with rounds in the mag and returned it to S&W under warranty. After repairs, the slide still locked back twice in the next 120 rounds, but is perfect with the Federal carry loads. I haven't decided if more work or more shooting is in order. Last week, I bought another P99 in 9mm as a spare. I haven't shot it yet, but plan on doing so this afternoon. As a user of Glocks, 1911's and USP's, I still am a big fan of this Walther design. I shoot the P99 9mm as well as my G34, and it conceals better. With 17 rounds of CorBon 115 +P, it still conceals better than my alloy Commander sized ParaOrdnance with 11 rounds of .45. I find myself sticking it in a Hume belt slide in jeans and tee shirt weather. The .40 still needs some sorting out, I fear. Nevertheless, I'll continue to work with it until it delivers the reliabilty of its smaller caliber siblings. God bless.