Posted on 09/03/2011 12:42:43 PM PDT by smokingfrog
“The M9 is at the end of its lifecycle,” declared Maj. Art Thomas [not shown], small arms branch chief at the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, GA. “It is an old weapon.” Pig pile on Beretta! True story: armytimes.com comes not to praise the Beretta M9. They come to well and truly bury the Maryland-made 9mm handguns. Here’s the bullet point version of why our men in uniform need to ditch the b*tch for something better . . .
• The[M9's] slide-mounted safety. When solders rack the slide to alleviate a jam or stovepipe in the M9, they often inadvertently engage the safety — and won’t realize this until they reacquire and squeeze the trigger.
• The open-slide design, which allow contaminants and dirt into the system.
• The lack of a modular grip, integrated rail and night-sight capabilities.
• The inability to suppress.
• Limited service life — replacement should have a service life of at least 25,000 rounds.
That last one really sticks in the Army’s craw. “Service life is a key issue,” Daryl Easlick told the times. The project officer for close effects (“How was work today honey?”) reveals that the M9 is only required to fire 5,000 rounds. “We are looking for a threshold capability in the magnitude of five times better than that.”
But wait M9 fans! There’s less!
(Excerpt) Read more at thetruthaboutguns.com ...
I really dislike my M9.
The 1911A1 .45 has been around for over a hundred years and used in five wars.
I’ve owned a Beretta 92FS since 1992.It’s never failed to fire and has never jammed.My main fault with it is it’s a 9mm,a nice plinking round but not my choice to carry into a shooting situation.
I have no idea why the 5000 round figure got out there. I never did like the grip on the Beretta but it simply is a very very reliable gun.
I recall some of the old Star model 28 and 30 models went over 100,000 rounds at rental ranges.
Any opinions on the Beretta PX4 Storms, either the .40 or 9mm, now that they’ve been out for a while?
Now if I had my proverbial druthers, I'd have carried my H&K USP .45. That thing is a beast and it's never failed me. Lots of SOF folks get their hands on Glocks or HKs, but with big Army, the decision will be highly political.
Really? I’ve never fired one, but seems like it would be a fun gun to shoot. I’d definitely prefer a larger caliber in a combat situation if not allowed to use decent hollow point ammo though.
I've shot it and like it. I also like that you can afford to shoot it with factory ammunition.
Neither he nor I have ever used it in combat. I was able to hit my target despite my aging depth perception. He passed his markmanship test two or three years running with it or one just like it the Navy gave him for the test.
Maybe it's only a toy, but it's a fun toy.
The M9 is an outcome of PC in the army.
Just like easier physical fitness tests for female soldiers. And quotas for hard to get slots. And when they get pregnant they are non-deployable.
But who needs an army that can fight anyways?
Just wait until the new gay army...
Sig 229 is a masterpiece.
the storm pistols are fine. theyre much lighter than the M-9 series of sidearms.
I really like my M9.
None of the drawbacks listed in the article bothers me, and I like the safety.
“But women can shoot the M9. They can’t shoot anything with a bigger round.”
BS with oak leaf clusters. Many Texas women carry .45s and they are quite good with them. Why?
‘Cause it’s silly to shoot twice.”
The 1911 is my second choice. I use a revolver so I don’t have to pick up brass.
It’s sort of like a polymer Cougar.
The subcompact model looks pretty nice for CC but don’t know anything about their reliability. The adjustable sights look nice.
The Joint Combat Model is available in .45 ACP but looks kinda fugly.
I remember when the first tests were conducted back around 1980 by the Air Force. All the pistols went through the regular series of torture, reliability, mud, dirt etc. and the Beretta won easily.
The Army refused to accept the Air Force results and did their own. The Beretta won again tho the SIG P226 was just about as good.
Smith & Wesson persuaded some politicians to have the tests done again and the Beretta again came out on top tho both the S&W and SIG did well, some say just as well.
Whatever one thinks, the Beretta is reliable and performs well under stress tests.
I think the open slide has a lot to do with it. Yes, maybe it does let more dirt in, but is also more forgiving if the weapon gets dropped in the mud or something.
Does the 5,000 round figure only apply to the barrel or what?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.