Posted on 12/05/2014 7:48:00 AM PST by shove_it
For almost 30 years, the Beretta has been the sidearm of choice for the U.S. Army — but now the Pentagon wants a new pistol, and has put out the word to gun manufacturers: Let the bidding begin.
An Army spokesman said to CNNMoney that officials will be requesting a proposal for a new standard-issue sidearm in January. Smith & Wesson and General Dynamics have already put their names in the ring, and announced the entrance of the M&P to the competition.
Beretta is planning to fight for the contract, too, CNNMoney reported.
A U.S. Army contract is not only a financial windfall, but a boon to the maker’s reputation. Guns chosen by the military frequently hit cult status and are often portrayed in Hollywood action flicks, from James Bond dramas to more modern-day, fast-action thrillers.
The Beretta M9 has been used by the Army since 1985 — and was actually the “lethal weapon” in the 1987 hit, “Lethal Weapon.”
[...]
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
With a new sidearm in the works, if it doesn’t come out as a .40 Cal, there’s going to be a lot of surplus ammo on the market since the gubmint bought millions of .40 cal rounds a year or so ago.
No need for quality sights or optics on a weapon designed to be used at <20ft.
A far more important feature would be DA with de-cock while preserving the single-stack thin and 5+in barrel.
THAT would be the winning platform.
Dual Tec 9’s.
Might as well go full Chuck Norris.
I handload, so it eliminates that issue. I can’t justify paying $1 a round for factory ammo. The last lot of 40 cal I loaded for $0.26 a round using Speer 155gr GoldDots.
No argument here.
What we have works for the job, why spend money on a non problem?
40W watt*hours of energy is roughly equal to an ounce of dynamite. That sounds like an acceptable amount of damage per shot.
” I would have carried my Randall 45;”
I’m a port sider and have two left handed Randall’s. Have the Match (adjustable rear sight). And, also the Curtis LaMay. I pack the LaMay quite often. Wish Randall had not gone under :(
In addition to its stopping power the 1911AI is reliable in very adverse conditions, eg rain dust mud extended use without cleaning etc
I’ve got a different take on the “get rid of Beretta” BS the war department is trying to do. Beretta recently told the union anti-gun state where it was making handguns to f... off and moved to the Great State of Tennessee to set up shop, in a right to work environment. Do you think maybe there’s some Obama vitriol oozing out somewhere?
Of course....... there is only one way to end the Obama corruption
You never go full Chuck Norris.
A question for the overall good of the debate. Would you rather enter a combat zone with a guarantee that you will encounter the enemy, armed with a 20 mm anti tank gun and a single round of ammunition, or a .22 LR with 500 rounds of ammunition? Just curious. I know which one I would choose.
That’s a possibility. Another possibility is that there are pistols that are much better designs than the M9 out there. The S&W M&P series is good, the XDM series, the Glock, FN, SIG, are all better pistols than the M9.
Another possibility is that some full bird colonel in acquisitions is getting close to retirement and wants to suck up to the industry to guarantee his post retirement job.
If the enemy comes at you with a lightly armored vehicle will the 22 LR do the trick?
Thank you for the enlightenment. I was thinking in terms of light and light bulbs and didn’t think to compare it to any kind of explosives, never worked with any.
Maybe sort of Robert Blake?
Another great video, this on with a homemade 50BMG PISTOL! What could go wrong? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bm0QbqSywU
I’m talking generalities, just like how the Army needs to plan on how it issues standard equipment to infantry soldiers. We can drill down on special warfare later, but for now, just the 10,000 foot view. A single 20mm round, or 500 .22LR?
Ha! I like it.
We’re old.
When I was in 2nd ACR we only had the M1911 and I looked it better than the Beretta we were trained with in basic. I always scored expert with it and found it to be a better weapon than the Beretta. I only had one malfunction with it when the receiver broke in two while qualifying my first time. The back half hit my kevlar and an inch lower I would have lost an eye or worse. Considering that the serial on it was 50000 it was a very old weapon so that is probably why that happened.
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