Army's new sidearm

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Last article I saw on the matter was in June and in Popular Mechanics....it stated that very little had been done as of yet. FN, CZ, S&W, Sig, Glock, and Beretta are all still in the running. 9mm, 40S&W, and in the case of FN the 5.7 are all contenders still at this time.

One must remember that the 1911 was up for replacement in the 50's and it took 3 decades to finally do it. Things move very slowly in the U.S. military with arms changes, especially with pistols.
 
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In the military the only time you should be using a pistol is to get back to the long gun you should have never put down in the first place.

Paraphrasing the late Jeff Cooper here.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Last article I saw on the matter was in June and in Popular Mechanics....it stated that very little had been done as of yet. FN, CZ, S&W, Sig, Glock, and Beretta are all still in the running. 9mm, 40S&W, and in the case of FN the 5.7 are all contenders still at this time.

One must remember that the 1911 was up for replacement in the 50's and it took 3 decades to finally do it. Things move very slowly in the U.S. military with arms changes, especially with pistols.



http://www.popularmechanics.com/military...ng-new-handgun/
 
Originally Posted By: Al
I importance of sidearm type is on a scale of 1 to 10 a "1". And really the need for a sidearm is zero.


Is everyone issued the side arm or only the officers?
 
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
.40s&w


For ball ammo it makes sense over 9mm, although I would say 45acp would make more sense. Since we cannot use expanding ammo, the bigger the hole the better.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
In the military the only time you should be using a pistol is to get back to the long gun you should have never put down in the first place.

Paraphrasing the late Jeff Cooper here.


Yeah, in the field maybe. But sidearms have their uses and there is certainly a need for them. I sometimes carried the Beretta and it was okay, but I never felt like it was the best choice the Army could have made. I don't think special operators use it much, and I think the SEAL's have a saying: "you ain't a real Navy SEAL until you've had a mouth full of Italian steel" - after an incident where a slide came off an M9 breaking a SEAL's jaw...
 
Originally Posted By: Al
I importance of sidearm type is on a scale of 1 to 10 a "1". And really the need for a sidearm is zero.


Pilots & aircrews? MP's/SP's? Ship crewman? Special operations? Um, yeah there is a need for pistols. Soldiers are always trying to scrounge them in wartime as a backup, "defensive weapon" and they're considered the symbolic weapon of an officer....
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Originally Posted By: Al
I importance of sidearm type is on a scale of 1 to 10 a "1". And really the need for a sidearm is zero.


Is everyone issued the side arm or only the officers?


Military police, special operations people, intelligence types, certain crews of vehicles and aircraft, snipers (AFAIK), and certain support troops such as mortar crews have often been issued sidearms. They're also useful in policing occupied areas...
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
.40s&w


For ball ammo it makes sense over 9mm, although I would say 45acp would make more sense. Since we cannot use expanding ammo, the bigger the hole the better.


A lot of adopting the M9 9mm had to do with compatibility with NATO forces that almost all use the 9mm...
 
Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
In the military the only time you should be using a pistol is to get back to the long gun you should have never put down in the first place.

Paraphrasing the late Jeff Cooper here.


Yeah, in the field maybe. But sidearms have their uses and there is certainly a need for them. I sometimes carried the Beretta and it was okay, but I never felt like it was the best choice the Army could have made. I don't think special operators use it much, and I think the SEAL's have a saying: "you ain't a real Navy SEAL until you've had a mouth full of Italian steel" - after an incident where a slide came off an M9 breaking a SEAL's jaw...


SEAL's use a H&K .45 ACP

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_HK45
 
Originally Posted By: Balrog006
Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
In the military the only time you should be using a pistol is to get back to the long gun you should have never put down in the first place.

Paraphrasing the late Jeff Cooper here.


Yeah, in the field maybe. But sidearms have their uses and there is certainly a need for them. I sometimes carried the Beretta and it was okay, but I never felt like it was the best choice the Army could have made. I don't think special operators use it much, and I think the SEAL's have a saying: "you ain't a real Navy SEAL until you've had a mouth full of Italian steel" - after an incident where a slide came off an M9 breaking a SEAL's jaw...


SEAL's use a H&K .45 ACP

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_HK45


So do Army special forces, although I imagine they sort of have a golf bag like armory of weapons and I think it might be up to the individual operator on what they carry to some extent. I believe at one time the Sig Sauers were popular...
 
Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Originally Posted By: Al
I importance of sidearm type is on a scale of 1 to 10 a "1". And really the need for a sidearm is zero.


Is everyone issued the side arm or only the officers?


Military police, special operations people, intelligence types, certain crews of vehicles and aircraft, snipers (AFAIK), and certain support troops such as mortar crews have often been issued sidearms. They're also useful in policing occupied areas...


All these are legitimate uses, I can see the need for it.
 
Whatever we do it's for sure going to cost millions more than it should have. Let special forces units pick whatever sidearm they think gives them an advantage. Everyone else, like MPs, would be well served with whatever US made modern police service style 9mm we could get for the best price in bulk.
 
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