Posted on 12/11/2004 6:12:01 AM PST by Mr. Mojo
The Coast Guard is trading in the 9 mm sidearms it has used for 18 years in favor of a more powerful pistol, the Sig Sauer .40-caliber automatic.
Lt. j.g. John Strasburg of the Office of Cutter Forces at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., said the service has started to take delivery on the first of 12,000 handguns to be purchased under a $4.2 million contract. Field units will start to get them next September.
“It's going to take a while to get all the weapons out to the fleet,” Strasburg said. “The transition plans are still in development in terms of who's going to get them first. The target date of September 2005 is only when we're going to start the transition. It may take a year after that to get it out to the entire Coast Guard.”
Eventually personnel authorized to carry sidearms at Station New London and the Coast Guard Academy will have the guns.
He said 22 Coast Guard marksmen helped to evaluate 46 models of handguns from six major vendors, firing 15,000 rounds during three weeks of tests in Altoona, Pa., and Fort Benning, Ga. The guns were each rated on 53 characteristics, and the shooters kept detailed logs about the rounds they fired.
“It was a very extensive evaluation,” Strasburg said. “It's all they did for three weeks.”
The testers were looking for a gun with a low-profile hammer so it would not catch on life vests at sea, and they wanted a particular type of rail that would allow the service to mount lights for a laser sight or illumination on top of the gun.
He said this is the first time the service has adopted a handgun other than the one used by the Department of Defense, which still uses the 9 mm.
The acquisition program coincides with the acquisition of new guns by the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of the Coast Guard. The department is outfitting its offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security Administration and Federal Law Enforcement Training Center with Sig Sauer and Heckler & Koch handguns in 9 mm as well as .357- and .40-caliber.
At the time it was put into use, the 9 mm was hailed for its large magazine — 17 rounds — and long-range accuracy. It replaced the .45-caliber automatic, which was heavy and had limited accuracy, but had enormous stopping power.
One Coast Guard officer said the Sig Sauer .40 makes more sense for boarding teams and other law enforcement functions because its heavier round provides greater stopping power, and when it is used it will probably be at close range and in a situation where the Sig Sauer's 12 rounds will be more than sufficient.
Strasburg said another problem is that the 9 mm pistols are aging. They were designed to fire up to 5,000 rounds, but Coast Guard guns fire an average of 500 rounds per year, mostly in training, so the average 9 mm in service now has fired almost twice that number of rounds.
“The Berettas have gone long beyond their service life,” Strasburg said. “We're getting a lot of frame failures, and there are other unreliability issues.”
The .40-caliber Sig Sauer emerged from the tests as the top choice of the testers, he said.
“The .45 has the stopping power, the 9 mm has the penetrating power, so this gives us something in between,” Strasburg said.
The gun that the Coast Guard has selected is a variation of the popular Sig Sauer P229 known as the P229R-DAK.
This will also be the first time that the Coast Guard will provide its forces with three different types of ammunition, which can be tailored to a particular mission. The types will be:
•Jacketed ball ammunition, the only type that is in use now, which is designed to pass cleanly through a target. This will be the only ammunition authorized for use in joint operations with the Department of Defense.
•Hollow point, a type of bullet designed to mushroom on impact, causing a more devastating wound.
•Frangible or “soft” rounds, made of ceramic or metal powder that are designed to break apart into dust when they hit something hard, to prevent ricochets during close-quarters combat.
“The reactions so far have been phenomenal,” Strasburg said. “We have a lot of experienced shooters in the office, people with a lot of trigger time, and they all say it fires great.”
Oh, I love SIGS, I used to own a P220 in 9mm. Now I'm a 1911 fan though. Would love to own a GSR some day!
Dunno, no experience with it. Mine is pretty conventional.
Before I bought my Taurus, I learned that they are made in Brazil from Baretta machine tools and specs.
I like mine.
Built by David Clements??? How much is it and what's the name of the gunshop??
Freep me the details as soon as you can. Thanks.
Here is the info on the shop They are closed sunday
I thought they had a website but I cant seem to find it now.
The .50 they have there is a custom and looks just like the one you posted
Thanks!
I agree with you on the virtues of Glock and they make sense for the Coasties since the tennifer finish would be nearly impervious to the salt water. Plus, they're dishwasher safe! But I think that the FBI has also gone to the Sig IIRC. Except HRT which uses 1911 45's.
I have a Glock M27 and some of the M22 Hi-Caps to use for backup on trips. But I prefer to use my Sig P245 for my usual carry gun. Something more ummmmmm authoritative about a .45! I've owned both a Glock 21 and a Glock 30, but I find them a bit too blocky in the ergonomics area. Like holding onto a 2x4. But then, I have rather small hands. So I like the Sig P245 (w/tritium night sights) and I use Sig P220 8rd mags as backup. I'll eventually get a Sig P220 with an integrated rail so I can also mount a SureFire X200 gunlight and perhaps some Crimson Trace laser grips. This will become my dedicated house gun. On long trips, I'll take it as a compliment to the P245 and for my wife to use in a crunch.
I do now I had a cop check it out.
gunner's mates are going to smell like cosmoline anddry cleaning solution for a month...
hehehe. always loved new boxes
hell of a lot better than that damn beretta
Guess the torch has passed Jack. I tried to love my 1911. I really did. I just couldn't get past the feel. Whereas my Glock 30 felt like I was holding a champagne flute, that thousand dollars Kimber felt like I was holding a carburetor.
Very, very disappointing.
I was hoping to get a line on a Clements custom without the seven month wait and Mickey has a used, factory made, rubber gripped Magnum Research chambered in 500 Smith in his shop.
Sorry brother, glad you got through to micky though
My apologies, I never really looked that closely at the big gun, Im sorry if I wasted your time and dime.
to much whoop for my grip. hell Im skeered to shot a .50 rifle L0L I saw one dislocate a guys shoulder
No problem about the time or effort. I had already looked it over. I just didn't know you were posting about Ammo Depot until you described the gun and named the shop.
I suppose I should have put two and two together because I think it was you who mentioned your favorite shop in Caddo Mills.
That puppy is fast. That sure would remind you to keep your finger out of the trigger guard.
Ah, the 40. Travis calls it the 40 Short & Wussy, but I never call a 155 grain Speer Gold Dot screaming at 1250fps, "wussy". It doesn't mind being called "short", though.
just curious but I wonder how many Red Mustache folks have been shot by dope smugglers?
http://www.guncrafterindustries.com/50_gi.htm
My new toy......ordered , yet to arrive. Pricy but one of the gotta have toys.
Report forthcoming....the 45ACP was just so small after I saw this beast......;o)
Stay safe !
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