Posted on 07/03/2014 7:51:01 AM PDT by US Navy Vet
The U.S. Army is moving forward to replace the Cold War-era M9 9mm pistol with a more powerful handgun that also meets the needs of the other services.
As the lead agent for small arms, the Army will hold an industry day July 29 to talk to gun makers about the joint, Modular Handgun System or MHS.
The MHS would replace the Army's inventory of more than 200,000 outdated M9 pistols and several thousand M11 9mm pistols with one that has greater accuracy, lethality, reliability and durability, according to Daryl Easlick, a project officer with the Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia.
"It's a total system replacement -- new gun, new ammo, new holster, everything," Easlick said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
You’re talking about an FN 5.7....yep, it’s a blaster round.
The FN 5-7 isn’t a 10mm. It’s a 5.7mm. Just for the record.
Beyond that, I don’t know much about it. I’ve seen them, I’ve seen brass on the ground at the range, but never fired one.
Honestly, I have zero problem with Berettas either. My Model 85 has never given me any problems, nor has my 92.
I also have a SA 1911A1, which I absolutely love - it was THE very first handgun I ever learned to shoot (and a Garand was the first rifle I learned how to shoot).
That being said, I carry a G19 Glock every day. It’s just lightweight, rock-solid reliable, and easy to keep concealed (when I’m inclined to conceal it).
Also have a Glock 21 in .45ACP.
They’re just damned fine handguns all around.
I certainly wouldn’t expect any of my Glocks to do this. I just don’t trust the embedded steel-in-polymer rails to stand up for that long.
“The 10mm was the right cartridge, introduced in the wrong pistol ... then the FBI caved in to the pansies, and we’ve been saddled with the .40SW ever since. It’s not a bad cartridge, but the full length, full power 10mm is better. It would also make a dandy carbine cartridge; IMO more suited to that purpose than the 9mm, .45ACP, or .40SW. “
I have read that the 10mm is even more destructive to the weapon than the .40 S&W is. All I can say is my Sig 229 .40 doesn’t seem to be affected by the round it fires.
I”ve got a G21 in 45 ACP that has been camouflaged in BRD (Desert Storm “birdsh!t”) camo motif using the dip-process. It is mucho cool looking. A good shooter, too.
Another vote for the .45 - it doesn’t have to be a 1911, although if you’re looking for a track record that one will be a little tough to beat. The pistol has a fairly limited combat utility but if you need one the bad guys are up close and personal and putting a great big hole in them trumps a little bitty hole.
Find yourself a reloading manual, and compare the powder charges, bullet weights, and muzzle velocities between the .40 and the 10. The 10mm is a beast. For reference, the .45ACP is also a beast, but of a slightly different sort. Both can be tamed, by appropriately designing the pistol. IMO, the 10mm is essentially a .40 Magnum, relating to the .40SW the same way that the .357 Mag relates to the .38 SPL.
Too many wimps complained about the recoil. Not a joke. I knew several officers who didn't like the pistol for that reason only.
I have everything you mention and more. My son bought me my G19 Gen 1. It is a very good shooter, but I won’t carry it.
I don’t care who says it has a safety; they are deluding themselves. Their trigger safety is nothing more than what you see in 1911s in the Model 80 or later version - firing pin safeties. Additionally, there are some quick draw kydex holsters out there that actually lock in on the trigger housing......very dangerous.
I worked with a guy who had been part of the selection committee at the time the 9mm was selected. He had been in the Air Force, and this was the cold war era....so they fixated on the pistol’s ability to kill a polar bear...in the event a U2 pilot or something similar had to bail over the arctic after spying on the Ruskies.
So, it became a game of “how small can we go, and still kill a polar bear”. Apparently the break point is 9mm. I have no idea how this was tested, or where on earth you would shoot a polar bear, but allegedly the 9mm will do the trick. And, since a polar bear is bigger than a man, it was assumed the 9mm would be perfectly good for killing men too...nobody accounted for body armor, etc.
Why were they looking to switch from the .45 in the first place? First, I remember being trained on the 1911...even while taking it apart and doing function checks, etc. it became obvious that our 1911 inventory was old, loose, and worn out. There wasn’t an option to just keep what we had - a purchase had to be made. As an example, I first hit the range with the M9 and scored expert...as did 90% of the people in my group. I never scored expert with a rifle, but did it right out of the gate with the pistol. It was obvious that the pistol range (pop up targets) had been set up for the Army’s inventory of worn out and inaccurate 1911’s...and it was almost too easy with an M9. Just another indicator that any pistol would be an improvement over the current inventory.
So why the 9mm? For starters, NATO was causing a standardization of calibers. Also, the 9mm holds more rounds. And I think this one is important - higher rate of fire. I have tested this many times on paper targets - I can get accurate shots off more quickly with the 9mm than I can with a .45. Its just a matter of recoil.
I liked the M9 when I was in the Army enough to own a civilian version today. So I was satisfied...and honestly never too concerned about its stopping power. I was a tank commander, so this was my personal ‘oh crap’ weapon...its not like I was planning on kicking down doors and clearing rooms with it - which may have given me a different perspective.
I think the Army may be leaning towards a .40 caliber. Some federal agencies are already using this, and it seems to hit the ‘sweet spot’ between mass and velocity, as far as stopping power goes. I don’t see many police departments, or federal agents using a .45....so I really have no expectation that the Army would go back to that, or anything like the 1911.
con·tam·i·nate
[v. kuhn-tam-uh-neyt; n., adj. kuhn-tam-uh-nit, -neyt]
noun
3.
something that contaminates or carries contamination; contaminant.
One could argue that maintainers of online dictionaries rush to canonize common grammatical errors, I suppose.
This may be a repeat, but leaving the 9mm behind also reduces or eliminates the ability of our guys scarf up ammo from the bad guys in a bad situation with no other options. Someone correct me, but I think we would then be the only nation using .45 ACP.
After I’ve a abandoned all bigger calibers and settled on 9mm...ironic.
My daughter shoots a S&W 686 in 357 magnum and she conned me out of the S&W Model 625 in 45 ACP. She shoots them at the range regularly and is now trying to con me out of my Colt Defender and/or the New Agent. She’s shot pretty much all my pistols and handles all of them well.
Whatever you do, don’t Google pics for “Gay Handgun”.
“the 10mm is essentially a .40 Magnum, relating to the .40SW the same way that the .357 Mag relates to the .38 SPL.”
I’ve seen what you are saying. All the so-called “nomenclature” on ammunition gets uncovered when you look at the actual dimensions. I understand that the .40 S&W is a 10mm Short. I was just responding to an earlier comment that the current batch of .40’s on the market are simply re-barreled 9mm’s. While I can get a 9mm (or a .357 Sig) barrel for my 229, it’s a larger frame than my wife’s Sig 239 9mm. There is no question, however, that the 9mm is a whole lot more comfortable to shoot. the .40 is very snappy.
I have a shoulder rig for cold weather, and a hip-paddle for warm weather.
While it’s true Glocks don’t have a safety like the 1911, I’ve never had an ND with it - ever. And my G19 is an older Gen 2 Glock.
Just keeping the finger off the trigger until ready to fire is pretty much the safest bet, always.
I’ve trained people to shoot on Glocks, and they haven’t had any problems.
But, it’s all preference. I have a buddy who won’t even consider them because they’re not 1911s...
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