Posted on 08/03/2014 9:04:43 PM PDT by AlmaKing
Dumping Beretta
Last month, the Army announced plans for an "industry day" at which gun manufacturers such as Smith & Wesson , Sturm, Ruger , Colt, and Glock would be invited to show their wares and compete for a new contract. Its objective: to replace the M9 Beretta semiautomatic pistol.
The U.S. Army holds more than 200,000 M9 Berettas in its inventory. If it proceeds with plans to use a new handgun, tentatively monikered the "Modular Handgun System," all of these M9s could soon be replaced. In fact, Military.com reported that if other armed services follow the Army's lead, one lucky gun company could soon receive an order for as many as 400,000 handguns -- a significant contract in an era of declining civilian handgun sales .
According to Military.com , the Army's main concerns with the M9 are that it's insufficiently accurate, lethal, and reliable for the service's purposes. That's not entirely Beretta's fault. Project officer Daryl Easlick at the Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia, was quoted in the Military.com article as saying that many of the Berettas it has in inventory today are "old," adding that "it's costing us more to replace and repair M9s than it would cost to go get a new handgun."
Some critics cite a lack of killing power in the M9. Simply put, the 9mm full-metal jacket round fired from a Beretta M9 isn't big enough to stop and drop every opponent a soldier encounters. This raises the odds of the Army's next standard-issue handgun being a .45 caliber weapon such as the M1911, which Beretta's M9 replaced in Army service in 1985. Lots of companies make .45 caliber weapons that the military could consider and companies might be submitting news designs for the Modular Handgun System.
(Excerpt) Read more at nasdaq.com ...
AHA!
If this Administration gets to decide, a fly swatter.
Documentation File on the 2014 Impeachment of B. Hussein Obama, aka Barry Soetoro a former Foreign Student from Indonesia, and still a legal Citizen of the Sovereign Nation of Indonesia.
Right up you’re alley...
Declining civilian handgun sales? Say what? Didn't Ruger stop accepting new orders a year or so ago because they couldn't keep up with demand? Aren't all gun manufacturers selling at record levels? Ammo can't be found at any price. Right.....
Or a white flag. I hear the French army’s out of business every time the white flag factory goes down.
“Army’s main concerns with the M9 are that it’s insufficiently accurate, lethal, and reliable for the service’s purposes”
What kind of tests did the Pentagon put the Beretta through that they couldn’t figure it out before they decided to buy it?
Shouldn’t “accurate, lethal and reliable” be a requirement for every gun they put into service?
Or a squirt gun with a red painted muzzle...probably a “smart” squirt gun...
“...a significant contract in an era of declining civilian handgun sales.”
I’m a bit confused here. Haven’t they increased just a tad in the past couple of years?
Regarding replacing the M9. Just pull the 1911 back out. They’re easy to fit with ambidextrous safeties, easy enough to maintain, and there’s a lot of Green Berets, MARSOC, and the like who use the 1911 platform who can school up some competent pistol instructors. But we’ll likely get some expensive, polymer framed abomination that’s overly complicated that the mall ninjas and gear queers will swoon over.
Apparently, it’s been fine since 1986 or so according to the article. Then, all of a sudden, it’s not good enough.
Is the military using FMJ for combat ammo? If that is standard, I don't think a larger caliber is going to improve the take down capabilities.
When my kid was a cop they carried 40 caliber Sigs. P226, I *think* but I can't swear to it. She liked it a lot, but when she left that line of work it was out of her budget for personal use.
its about time. but under the obummer as commander in chief he will order sling shots. the cougar 45 is an awesome weapon. b doesn’t make em anymore but i think Taurus does.
This quote from the article gave me a WTF moment.
“The slide-mounted safety doesn’t do well when you are trying to clear a stoppage — you inadvertently de-cock and safe the weapon system.”
In the Marine Corps we were taught “Tap, Rack, Bang” to clear a stoppage. Tap the magazine, rack the slide, and pull the trigger. Not once did I ever inadvertently de-cock and safe my weapon while performing Immediate Action. This guy is smoking something, or he never spent a lot of time firing this weapon.
The M-9 is a 30 year old weapon, it is time to retire it.
LOL. We are talking the government here. You could almost put a sarcasm tag after that question.
M: "Yes, I thought so. This damn Beretta again. I've told you about this before." (to the armorer) "You tell him, for the last time."Maj. Boothroyd: "It's nice and light... in a lady's handbag. No stopping power."
M: "Any comments, 007?"
James Bond: "I disagree, sir. I've used the Beretta for ten years. And I've never missed with it yet."
M: "Maybe not, but it jammed on your last job and you spent six months in the hospital in consequence. If you carry a double-O number, it means you're licensed to kill, not get killed... From now on you'll carry a different gun. Show him, armorer."
Maj. Boothroyd: "Walther PPK. 7.65 mil with a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window. Takes a Brausch silencer with very little reduction in muzzle velocity. The American CIA swear by them."
I don’t believe the part about the M9 being unreliable. I kept up with all 3 sets of the joint services tests. The Beretta came out on top of all of them for reliability with the possible exception of the Sig P226.
It may be the most reliable pistol ever made. The locking system with dropping blocks from notches in each side of the slide allows the magazine to feed directly into the chamber instead of needing to hit a feed ramp.
If I had to choose one right now in .45 cal. it would be the Sig double column model, I think it is the P227 but not certain.
They could go back to the M1911.
I don’t know the history, I was just interested by the timing after Beretta announced their move.
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