By John Farnam
Ft Collins, CO –-(Ammoland.com)- On pistols for the USMC, from a friend in a position to know:
“Most of the USMC has been using the 9mm M9 Pistol (Beretta 92F) for the last several decades, but Force Reconnaissance companies and some other special units, who have sufficient political autonomy to be able to get specific equipment, wanted to stick with the 1911 (and the 45ACP round), and were ultimately able to get their way!
However, new-production pistols were deemed necessary, because 1911 pistols in the existing inventory date from the 1930s. Most have been ‘rebuilt’ so many times, they are little more than scrap metal!
So, Colt won the contract to produce a new 1911 pistol in 45ACP for the USMC. It was an “ID/IQ” arrangement (Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity), hardly a ‘contact‘ at all! Window was 4k to 12k pistols, delivered on an indefinite schedule. Price per copy was $1,875.00 (including spare parts).
A small number of Kimber 1911s also made their way into the system.
The plot thickens!
When SOCOM subsequently ordered, and starting issuing, stock G19s (much less expensive than Colt’s 1911s) to other special operations communities, the USMC quickly joined in!
It is now generally accepted that, with modern high-performance ammunition, arguments over ‘effectiveness’ of various pistol calibers have become mostly outdated and irrelevant.
Again, it is only certain special USMC units who were issued the Colt 1911 (and now the G19). The rest of the USMC has been using Beretta pistols all along. And, presumptively Berettas will now be replaced with SIG 320s, the pistol recently selected by the Pentagon for global issue.”
Comment:
Will the G19 and the Colt 1911 stick around within special units, or be replaced with the SIG320 across the board?
Stay tuned!
/John
About John Farnam & Defense Training International, Inc
As a defensive weapons and tactics instructor John Farnam will urge you, based on your own beliefs, to make up your mind in advance as to what you would do when faced with an imminent and unlawful lethal threat. You should, of course, also decide what preparations you should make in advance, if any. Defense Training International wants to make sure that their students fully understand the physical, legal, psychological, and societal consequences of their actions or inactions.
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I’d be interested in Mr. Farnam’s take on this issue to include such questions as: The efficacy of buying and issuing a new model, albeit from Sig. The effectiveness of FMJ rounds from .45 and from 9MM? The proximity of the thumb safety to the slide lock? Weight of the pistol and ammunition loadout? And any other relevant questions/information on the choice of Sig over Glock? And a comment on the choice of Colt over Kimber and SA, including the price of the Colt vs. Kimber and SA guns of the same design.
Modern ammo is irrelevant when you’re required to use FMJ. I’ll take a 230 grain FMJ .45 acp, over a 124 grain FMJ 9 mm everytime given a choice of the two. For up close social work the choice of the two is simple for me. Big hole, massive blood loss, and greater tissue damage wins here. I’d prefer a Glock 19 with expanding HP ammo if ammo choice was not an issue. Actually, my G19 is always chosen over any of my 1911s for EDC.
All part of “having a war” where no one gets killed! Anyone knowing the background of the 1911 development knows it was designed to KILL EFFICIENTLY! The carry more ammo theory came around after WWII, obviously with the m-15/16, but so did the idea of “incapacitating the enemy fighter, and taking him/her out of he fight”. So, those who protect us are armed with rounds, and the guns who deliver them, which are measured in millimeters instead of inches, such as .38, .380, but are still 9mm…….a hundred years ago proven to be ineffective. More efficient powders, and higher velocities… Read more »
So can we expect all those trade ins to make there way onto the civilian market now?
“It is now generally accepted that, with modern high-performance ammunition, arguments over ‘effectiveness’ of various pistol calibers have become mostly outdated and irrelevant.”
So does this mean that our troops will be supplied with expanding hollow point ammunition?
Because FMJ bullets are still about the same as they were 70 plus years ago
I’d say give these units the choice.
Personally, having owned both a Glock and a Sig P320 I’d definitely take the Sig.