I have been considering the same thing recently, and toying with the idea of sending my gen 3 slide out for milling, or going to an aftermarket to avoid the hassles of a spare frame that will inevitable grow into another full build...
They are somewhat local to me, but I have been looking at
Maple Leaf for the milling. They are not too costly, so paired with an OEM slide I am way below the cost of any of the big name slides. I was eyeballing the Scout cut, with the idea of asking them not to cut all the way through on the side windows. same option with the War Hammer cuts mentioned above, and even if you throw in something like a basic Alpha Wolf slide from Lone Wolf, you are below the base costs for most big name bling slides.
And I know nothing about them other than seeing them the other day, but Midway is carrying a cheap slide, at about $175, with basic front and rear serrations. And it seems really cheap compared to everyone else, but I dont know if that is realistic pricing for a slide (If you are dropping in a $150 barrel and a $80 parts kit, you are close to a $400 slide package), and the others are just charging a premium for the extra profits. Seems like a reasonable cost for a basic slide.
But along your thoughts in the original post - if you can find a police trade in gen 3 22 or 23 for $330-350, and sell the frame off for $75 or $100, that might be the way to go. You know, if you dont mind a conversion barrel and .40 on the slide...
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