Posted on 05/04/2015 9:47:01 PM PDT by skeptoid
MILLSTADT, Mo. -- At first glance, it seems absurd to suggest that a small company on the outskirts of St. Louis could be a serious player in the race to provide the U.S. Army with its next handgun.
This is, after all, a major event in the realm of military weapons -- having happened only twice in the past 100 or so years. And it's expected to draw the attention of the industry's most powerful names, including Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Ruger and Glock.
And then there's tiny Detonics, a five-person operation in Millstadt that fashions itself more tech company than gunmaker.
(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...
It turns out that the adoption of the Glock 17/19 by MARSOC is because the acquirement of the Colt M45 CQBP is quickly being regarded as a big mistake. I'll let everyone do their own reading elsewhere on the subject of the problems they encountered with it.
I do think this spells the end once and for all of the 1911 in military service, sort of like bringing back a beloved movie star way past their prime to play the lead role in a new action movie. Just a miserable thing to watch.
Nothing terribly wrong with the 220, though the early ones had some problems, now long-resolved. But I like something with a bit larger bore diameter.
I never really left. Though I'll sometimes carry something else instead or as well, the M1911/ M1911A1 has served four generations of my family, and I may see that extended to a fifth.
The MK 23 MOD 0 was built as an "offensive" handgun for U.S. special operations forces under USSOCOM, as per request made in 1989. Military versions of the firearm have the writing "MK23 USSOCOM" engraved on the slide. The first MK 23 production models were delivered to SOCOM on May 1, 1996. The first use of MK23 USSOCOM handguns of which I'm aware was by the US Military Advisory team in El Salvador circa 1987-1990, who were restricted by congress from carrying rifles but could carry handguns. Both the MK23 and H&K SP89 handguns were fortunate results of that limitation.
And whose paper-wrapped cartridges were semi-waterproofed with pigfat rendering, unlike those for the Land Pattern Brown Bess musket, which utilized beef tallow. .
The sailboat always gets there when the power boats are out of gas.
I'm talking about the new 'Mk 24 Mod 0' pistol that replaced it.
I have heard of the myriad issues the M45 CQBP had. An extremely beautiful gun, but unfortunately one with enough issues to make service wide adoption problematic. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that alone probably killed all chance of a 1911 adoption, although to be honest even with the M45 issues the fact would still have remained that there are better modern weapons available today than the 1911.
That's only two sets of needs and already it's nearly impossible to meet them both. We cheat on procurement a little by opening the options for the special operators, and I'd open them even further if I were making the decision. But even for them it simply isn't a primary weapon.
So do we arm sentries and the like with, say, a short-barreled .357 magnum revolver? Consider the training advantages (OTOH, consider the painfully slow reloads. Does this matter for a sentry?) I tend to doubt that would satisfy all the needs, but we won't know if we don't ask.
Whatever the US Army chooses, it's going to be a DA/SA gun with an external safety or a single action with a long long trigger pull and it'll have to fit in the hands of a little girl.
That newish SIG 320 with the modular trigger group design might make the most sense, but SIG-Sauer isn't exactly the stellar company they used to be.
This project is going to require years of field testing before they settle on a winner and the US Army has already balked at choosing a new sidearm in recent years after making every manufacturer spend a wasted boatload of R&D cash in return for nothing.
Sawed-off M79?
Yeppers! With the barrel just long enough to run either HEDP rounds or the longer flares, including the nifty infra-red aerial flares invisible without night vision.
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.