Posted on 12/04/2014 8:47:56 AM PST by PROCON
After about 30 years of using the Beretta as the primary sidearm pistol for the U.S. military, the Pentagon is seeking a new gun contract.
For gun manufacturers, this kind of a contract is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
While the Beretta lasted three decades, the U.S. military's first semiautomatic standard-issue sidearm, the M1911 from Colt, lasted nearly 90 years. It was issued during the U.S. war in the Philippines through the World Wars to Vietnam and beyond.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
The military (other than perhaps MPs) needs handguns so rarely that the choice is not that important, within reason. They should stick with the 9mm they have to save money, or go back to the .45 ACP 1911 as existing 9mm weapons wear out or are damaged. A “search” for a handgun for soldiers is rather silly.
Now choosing a good combat rifle is a very big deal and is worth the search.
When I first qualified with the M1911A1 in 1970, the instructor gripped it with his thumb & forefinger & easily fired it.
IIRC, The Army in the Philippines switched from .38 Colt to .45 Colt revolvers to stop hopped-up Moros. The .45 round’s effectiveness was later incorporated into the .45 ACP.
Anyway, we need to go back to the .45 round. Always thought the H&K USP in .45 ACP was a likely successor to the M9.
“war fighters” ???
Is that a politically correct term for GI?
Personally, I’d rather be called a GI or even a grunt; “War Fighter” sounds to sissy boy wannabe.
Oh yeah? Hope you and I can team up to stop the next Ferguson rioters. You just pull on the cloth belts to give the 1917 some tension for me will ya? Here they come!
What we really need is to have our military carrying pistols that can shoot the .50 GI round!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.50_GI
It has similar recoil as a .45 ACP. You can get them anywhere from 185 gr. of weight all the way to 300 gr.!
/johnny
“...people love to cock for dramatic effect.”
I’ve noticed Hollywood is big on having actors cock Glocks.
9mm JHP defense rounds are the best out there
I also have 40s&w pistols, but they have special recoil systems Beretta PX4 Storm has rotary barrel, and H&K P30L has a recoil buffer, both reduce recoil felt by at least 30% making 40S&W almost as easy to hold as 9mm.
I thought of getting a 45acp, but would rather carry 15rounds instead of 8.
I really like Berettas. They are heavy but that makes them very easy to shoot. Pretty much bullet proof. How about an M-9
in .40?
I used to have a Beretta .380, looked like a scaled down version of an M-9. Maybe a “Cougar”. Can’t remember exactly. Lost that one in the “divorce of ‘87”. Heavy as a lot of full sized 9mm but it was a shooter.
Guncrafter Industries - if any of Santa's little elves are reading this, I've been a very good boy this year. Well, I mean, compared to all the other years. And ignoring June. That wasn't entirely my fault and anyway they told me they deleted the video files.
Uzi............................
The most accurate .40 cal I have ever shot was a damn brick. HK P10 I think. The .40 cal version of their awesome, accurate, weird P7 grip-cock pistol. I thought I was shooting all over the target when we realized that I was shooting through the same hole(s). NICE pattern, but was HEAVY, and doubled as a close-combat blunt instrument when you ran out of ammo.
That .380 would have been the Model 84! Good gun!
“Ive noticed Hollywood is big on having actors cock Glocks.”
From the amount of Glock cocking you see in the movies, Israeli carry is apparently very popular. I’ve also noticed that very frequently the Foley guy thinks the slide needs to be racked even when the actor doesn’t move his hand off the grip.
Hollywood loves to do all those things especially rack the pump shotgun for dramatic effect.
I notice it is almost always in a situation where the protagonists would always have a round already chambered for some time. A good example is the bad guys are holding someone at gunpoint. Clearly they would always have a round in the chamber and the hammer cocked.
BTW, I have read somewhere that 9mm is much easier to use some sort of propane device to work the slide and make it appear the gun is firing. That is the reason they use a Star model B instead of a M1911.
It looks like a .45 but is chambered in 9mm. The external extractor is the giveaway. Of course they could just use a 9mm Colt but they must be fairly rare. I once had one.
And after racking that slide, Hollywood likes to show that deadly pinhole of light coming out of the barrel.
So many people who really know handguns have said the same thing for so long that one would hope that it eventually sinks in.
Mr. niteowl77
Anyway, we need to go back to the .45 round. Always thought the H&K USP in .45 ACP was a likely successor to the M9.
Hadn’t thought about it but I have never fired a .45 other than a 1911. I hear good things about the H&K. I’m a big fan of the .40, but if you’re stuck with ball ammo the .45 makes more sense.
Mr. niteowl77
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