The issue of 9mm vs. 45 calibers is relatively unimportant in the military (any military) of today. It really is like the US Army worrying itself sick about a saber for the cavalry. Some companies attended up with a lot better treatment for the pistol for today’s soldiers and Marines that don’t need or desire to carry an assault rifle. LOAD and LOCK! A few thoughts and hopes. 1st-“Don’t count your chickens ’til they’re hatched” We need to write/contact/input the testers and decision makers and let them know WE want the .45 ACP.
Second-For the hundred, no thousand plus time a 9mm bullet is .355 cal, a .45 is BIGGER thus it creates a BIGGER hole in the mark. This means more blood loss- which means the enemy gets killed and the American hopefully comes home and tells his grandkids about reality land versus the “High-Tech” star wars game players.
3rd-For the devoted 9mm types out there(yes you with the coco-puffs) read the FBI report about the “Miami Shootout”, and they traded within their 9mm pistols, due to facts of bullet wound examinations. 4th-Check-out the winners of all all pistol matches: Everyone runs on the 1911/1911A1 in .45 ACP! Remember folks-We are talking about the MILITARY of the USA…Sight Picture/Sight Alignment!
glock 19 a vendre will find a reason that a lot of of the militaries which have tested it have rejected it. Now, if the military wants a smaller primary weapon, the weapon already exists in the inventory. It is the SOCOM pistol created by HK, which for offensive purposes is a whole lot better than the P90.
Remember that this contract has been let by USSOCOM. Which makes it for a sidearm, not just a primary weapon. And as a sidearm (meaning a second weapon carried by someone who also posesses primary weapon, usually a rifle), the M1911 .45 is more advanced than the P90 and to the HK and definitely to the Beretta. Don’t be surprised if a Glock wins this contract.
I don’t expect Glock to win a US military contract – the American military doesn’t appear to like the idea of a pistol without multiple external safety levers and mechanisms. Glock pistols, great because they could be, use simple, idiot-proof internal safety mechanisms. If the Army did go with a Glock, it would be interesting to see should they would adopt the new 45 GAP cartridge.
Same caliber bullet, even available in exactly the same bullet weights, loaded into a shorter case – to permit for an inferior handgun that takes benefit of modern propellants. Personally, i don’t like Glock. I’ve large hands and shoot pistols with a double handed grip. I personally like the Colt 1911A1 series because of its balance, weight, and comfort. But that’s me. Think about the USP .45? SOFs of course have been using the Mk23 for quite a while.
Who buys isn’t always who gets. The Army’s Automotive Tank Command has bought pistols for the USAF for instance.SOCOM is the buyer; everybody is going to get these. That’s what the “joint” in Joint Combat Pistol means. SOCOM sure doesn’t need up to 645,000 pistols over 10 years. Some things already are set. They spent the last year or so with market surveys, field suitability tests, etc considering what’s out there, trying stuff, deciding what they wanted.
THE NEAR FUTURE Handgun System program wanted adjustable grips, accessory rail, threaded bbl, modular/variable trigger operating-system (SA to DA to DAO). The SOF Combat Pistol program wanted a 45 ACP and could have settled for another 1911. Those were combined into this Joint Combat Pistol (JCP) program.
They want a 45 ACP, not just a 45 GAP. Don’t be surprised if Glock can’t even compete depending on what the details are for the trigger operating system. Some folks think that they had the HK USP full size and compact Tactical/P2000 in mind when they wrote the specs. Details will undoubtedly be in the RFP (request for proposals) that comes out next.