U.S. Army Continues To Use The M9
US Army Awards New Beretta M9 Pistol Contract
Posted on September 17, 2012 by Ammoland
Accokeek, MD -The US Army announced today that Beretta USA has been awarded a contract for up to 100,000 M9, 9mm caliber, pistols.
An initial order for over 4,600 pistols has already been released to the company.
To read the rest of the story click the link below.
http://www.ammoland.com/2012/09/17/b...#axzz26lyPYZtw
Steve
After today, it's all historical.
Sad, very sad.
It would not have been my choice but, if it works I guess it works...
Doobie Doobie Doo..
I thought the .45 was decided on?
Marine Corps picked a modern Colt .45 Auto, not the Army.Originally Posted by 1 Patriot-of-many
Marine SPECIAL OPS selected a limited number of Colt .45 autos.
The rest of the Corps will continue using the M9.
Nothing wrong with the Beretta 92 I had one back in the '90s.
Stone cold reliable and very good accuracy.
Yeah I'd like to see an American company get the contract or maybe go back to a 1911 but all-in-all the M9 is a pretty good pistol.
I can't think of any modern domestic designs. What, a Ruger? Maybe an M&P. That's about it.
Good point.
Unless they're gonna go with a 1911 like the Marine units the picking are mighty slim.
The M&P would probably be the only serious domestic contender if they're sticking with 9mm, and really what's the big advantage you'd get by going to an M&P instead of sticking with the M9?
We'd be talking a whole new platform which means new mags, holsters, spare parts, etc.....plus re-training the armorers on a new design.
IMO, the best option for our servicemen's secondary weapon system would be a 45ACP that held more than 10 rounds in the magazine.
I agree, even though I like the 9mm and love my 92FS. If the military isn't going to use good quality defensive ammo in their 9s, and they won't, then we really need to return to the 45. The M&P 45 would be an excellent choice.
The M9 is manufactured IN America. So too are quite a number of Beretta models. This means AMERICANS are employed. This was part of the original contract requirement that whomever was selected, they would produce the gun in the United States. The benefit of this to the average consumer has been to drive the price of Beretta products down compared to other brands, including other "Domestic" brands. Glock also manufactures pistols IN the United States as does Sig...obviously anticipating any future military contracts on top of existing police sales.
Way back when the Army conducted trials, there were "Domestic" brands entered....they did not perform as well as the Beretta. At the time Glock was still on the horizon otherwise you'd probably be carping about it in 9mm.
Part of the testing was a direct comparison to the model 1911 in military spec (which is far more reliable than current civilian models).
As for caliber...everyone is free to "believe" what they want. Some will choose to carry a 1911 in .45ACP with 8 rounds, two spare mags with 7 rounds each for a total of 22 shots. Others will choose to carry the Beretta 92 with 16 loaded and two spare 15 round mags for a total of 46 rounds.
When both are loaded with "original spec" (not bulk economy) ammo the 9mm shades the .45ACP in kinetic energy, yet the two are so close as to be ballistically indistinquishable. While 9mm chambered pistols can digest large quantities of +P and +P+ ammo due to superior (more modern) design, the 1911 "platform" is under serious strain as +P loads push beyond 500 lb.-ft.
I've had the fortune to own a number of 1911's and have even built my own starting with machining my own frames. Along the way I've discovered all the little twists and turns one must know in order to put together a "reliable" 1911, and it is by no means a "parts bin" process. On the other hand....
All one need do is take-down any modern 9mm service pistol and compare it to the 1911....the frame rails on my Sig's are twice as massive as on my 1911's with greater surface area, and the barrel locking system is FAR more robust than the original link design which on the 1911 is positively puny compared to the Sig's broad engagement surface area. To show just how strong, GLOCK barely even bothers with frame rails at all! Just tiny steel pads to stabilize the slide, with a massive, barrel slide lockup design and Glocks have proven to be virtually "forever" guns....fewer parts, INSTANT field strip with no "fiddling" and even easier reassembly. A Glock can be dismantled to it's component parts within seconds using nothing more sophisticated than a 3/32" punch, and every part is "drop in" user replaceable...no fiddling, no "fitting," and the totality of evidence validates Glock reliability. I mention Glock because it came just after the selection trials that ended up with the M9, and while the M9 more "conventional" in design and construction, the Glock pretty much re-wrote the book on combat handguns, and a comparison between it and the 1911 really serves to point out just how far fighting pistols have come. WhatEVER caliber I'm in love with, I would NEVER choose to carry (for real) one of my 1911's (much as I appreciate their "lore") over one of my Glocks.
For those in love with the .45ACP, any GLOCK version is a superior choice. The same holds true for 9mm.
As for the M9 and any desire to "go back" to the 1911....why? Why would anyone want to go back to a less reliable, harder to fit and make reliable, overly heavy, yet with a weaker locking/cycling system? Even if the Army were to suddenly want to return to the .45ACP, there are FAR, FAR superior platforms. One need only glance at the G21SF to see how much more robustly it is built than the 1911. Same with the XD45. If the United States decided to "go rogue" on caliber there are also far better choices than the .45ACP OR the 9mm. The .40S&W will fit any 9mm size frame and can handle hotter loads than the .45ACP....easily exceeding 500lb-ft of kinetic energy without even straining (something the 1911 was NOT designed to do and cannot do routinely without uprating everything on it). The 10mm...the REAL 10mm produces over 800lb.-ft. of kinetic energy in top loadings and is barely straining at 600lb.-ft.....some 250lb.-ft. more powerful than the .45ACP. Whereas 1911 based 10mm platforms are NOT recommended to handle such loads, the Glock G20 can bust 'em out all day and all night.
While I would agree that many pistols these days are technicaly better than a 1911 there is more to a gun that technical specifications. I would take a 1911 any day of the week over a glock. It is just a personal preference thing. I can shoot a 1911 better than a glock. Both are good and I would have to conced that the glcok is probably more robost and relible that by no means makes the 1911 unrelible. It still think it is a good dependable and relible gun, despite its weekness.
Doobie Doobie Doo..
And yet for all its supposed weakness, the 1911 is still alive and kicking and killing bad guys 100 yrs after it was first adopted. And yet it's a good enough design to handle everything from .22LR to .357 Mag. The VC even converted them to fire 7.62TOK. Say what you will about the 1911, but the design is absolutely brilliant. Peace be upon John Moses Browning.
I know a guy here who's retired AF, and in his early 80s. Served in Berlin right after the Airlift. He was chosen to be a representative at a shooting competition between the members of the Allied Sector. He used a stock WW2 issue 1911A1 and shot the best score of all those in the competition. This with the crappy sights present on the GI 1911. He still has the certificate, presented by a British Sgt Maj.
Be that as it may, I've fired the M9 and I absolutely hate it. It has THE WORST trigger on any pistol I've ever fired. This is saying something because the first auto-loading pistol I fired was the M9. It wasn't until I shot my first 1911 (one made in 1913) that I found out that there was something better out there. Maybe they should go with a M&P. Who knows. But the M9 is not the answer. Not in my book.
How do you compromise with someone when their idea of compromise is to give them what THEY want?
Thunder River Home
NRA Lifer since Apr 2009
Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.
Did the FNP .45 go nowhere? I thought it had promising specs although I've never shot one.
And there in lies one of the 1911's greatest attributes and reasons for it's longevity.....the trigger.
A 1911 trigger properly tuned and set-up is one of the the sweetest triggers on any gun. It is the gold standard by which pistol triggers are judged.
Combine that with great ergonomics, a simple easy to work on design, classic good looks, and a potent well respected cailber and it's not hard to understand why this weapon is just as popular as it's always been.
Are there better more advanced designs???
Yeah but they don't have the mythology and mystique, the alllure of that big ol' 45......or that sweet-ass trigger.
Anybody know why Glock hasn't been a contender for our service weapons?
No manual safety.
"I'm fucking furious, I'm violently angry, and I like it. If you don't know what that feels like then I feel bad for you"
No manual safety eliminates Glock from the competitions.
I see Funky beat me to it. Should of read down further.
Gotcha! Thanks!No manual safety eliminates Glock from the competitions.
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