U.S. Brings Back the .45

Strategy Page ^ | January 27, 2006

[John Jorsett]

After two decades of use, the U.S. Department of Defense is getting rid of its Beretta M9 9mm pistol, and going back to the 11.4mm (.45 caliber) weapon. There have been constant complaints about the lesser (compared to the .45) hitting power of the 9mm. And in the last few years, SOCOM (Special Operations Command) and the marines have officially adopted .45 caliber pistols as “official alternatives” to the M9 Beretta. But now SOCOM has been given the task of finding a design that will be suitable as the JCP (Joint Combat Pistol). Various designs are being evaluated, but all must be .45 caliber and have a eight round magazine (at least), and high capacity mags holding up to 15. The new .45 will also have a rail up top for attachments, and be able to take a silencer. Length must be no more than 9.65 inches, and width no more than 1.53 inches.

The M1911 .45 caliber pistol that the 9mm Beretta replaced in 1985, was, as its nomenclature implied, an old design. There are several modern designs out there for .45 caliber pistols that are lighter, carry more ammo and are easier to maintain than the pre-World War I M1911 (which is actually about a century old, as a design). The Department of Defense plans to buy 645,000 JCPs.

SOCOM will, with input from other branches, handle the evaluation and final selection. This will take place this year, and if the military moves with unaccustomed alacrity, troops could start getting their JCPs next year. But don’t hold your breath.

[SkyDancer]

Is a hydra-shock the same? Now that I have my pistol permit to carry I use the .32cal version ...

[ASA Vet]

.45's don't have clips.

[Fiddlstix]

......(ever shoot a .454 Casull or a .44 magnum for that matter. .45 ACP is a cakewalk in comparison)

LOL! Very True! Very True!

[Cobra64]

Seems to me that a .357 SIG or .40 would be better. Lighter ammo, higher capacity, and heck of a punch. Flatter shooting, too.

I agree. But (referring to above post) I'm just a pansie wussy pussy who likes his Sig P226 9mm for self defense. Series, I'd have gone for the .40 S&W years before the caliber was developed and therefore bought a Browning HiPower in 9mm. I have so many rounds of 9mm that I didn't want to introduce a new "flavor" in my inventory mix. Ergo, I bought the P226 last year in 9mm.

[Uriah_lost]

Wow! Thank you Mr. Hyperbole!

[Vaquero]

not necessary at handgun ranges and the guns can be made much more accurately than the original 1911, which as anyone knows has been made very accurate in guns like the colt Gold Cup.

I own a WWII 1911A1 Remington Rand....always shoots, never jams and up to 25 yards is a guaranteed man killer (not pretty groups but good enough) further away than that and you should have your Rifle or Carbine out and ready.

[Phsstpok]

I'd rather use a 22.

especially if you have 100 rounds in a helical magazine. A .22 is larger in diameter than an ice pick. Does anyone think that getting several punctures from an ice pick are nothing to worry about? How about 20 or 30?

Rate of fire, boys and girls. Rate of fire.

Way back when the old arquebus (matchlock) used in the 30 years war in the mid 1600s was an .80 caliber monster. Give me a .22 pistol with large capacity mag over one of those single shot (and horribly innacurate) monsters any day. Of course a pump shotgun with extended capacity would be even better.

Now, the ideal is a reasonably large caliber round with accuracy, capacity and stopping power. A modern .45 should do just fine.

Though I do have a fondness for the extremes:

The "F" in BFR is supposed to stand for "finest." Yeah, and the "Fs" in BUFF really stands for "fat fellow."

[Lion Den Dan]

Just change the bullet to a hollow point and the 9mm would do the trick.

Please continue to dazzle us with your exquisite brilliance and unmatched expertise.

[conservativecorner]

Awesome move to improve our soldiers killing power on those who would kill our troops. Lock and load BUMP!!

[Phsstpok]

Darn, my picture of the Calico .22 showed up fine in preview. Sorry about that.

[76834]

Beg to differ: Here is a pix of my protector

Great big ole S&W .357
158 grain hollowpoints.
More killing power than a .45ACP

[Cobra64]

I had a brandy-new Beretta when I was in college back in the 60s. It was a POS... as was the Walther... constant mis-feeds and jamming. Even with round ball ammo.

[Vaquero]

not the penetration or stopping power you need in war (just ask the Germans during WW 1 whose puny Lugers were no match for the 1911....they wanted them banned by the geneva convetion). Now the .38 super...now thats a .355" bullet that will do some damage.

[ghostcat]

I tend to think less highly of the Glock .45 and .40 s. There have been disturbing reports of a fair number of Kb's in those calibers. (Kb's = Kaboom!!!). The probable cause is lack of case support near the case web. Glock has made at least 3 alterations on the Quiet to the design of the barrel to address the issue but has refused to publicly acknowledge that there is a problem. I only know of 1 Kb in a glock 9mm. The 9mm glock barrel design is definitely Superior to the design of the .45 and .40 barrels. Incidentally these are factory ammo Kb's not with reloads.

[RadioAstronomer]

I like my Glock 10mm. :-)

[Vaquero]

ABSOLUTELY!!! .357 MAG RULES....makes the 9mm look enemic. Loaded with the light 125gr hollow points and you will flip your opponent...with the 158 gr rounds youll kill them through cars.....

[shield]

About time...one shot of a 45 is all it takes. The 9mm just doesn't do the job...one shot many times doesn't slow 'em down.

[Wilhelm Tell]

It was a standard issue M1911 .45 out of the armory.

That explains it. The M1911's the military had were not made after 1945. That is, the military did not procure any new M1911's after 1945. So what you were shooting was a gun that had been used and abused for many years and was probably rebuilt once or twice. It was half worn out. A new 1911 or an old one that had not seen so much use should be accurate enough.

[processing please hold]

Would not trade my M1911 .45 for another gun, period.

Neither would my hubby. He swears by his.

[ghostcat]

"You lose accuracy with a heavier round."

Hogwash!!! many of the paper punchers prefer the .45 over the smaller rounds because of its accuracy.