Meh. We'd have a marginally better pistol than the 92FS. What really matters is whether or not the US military decides to buy quality mags from Sig, rather than buying POS 3rd party mags and getting ripped off.
When you really get down to it though, does it really matter? A wondernine is a wondernine.
Minimal difference. Pistols are for civilian cops & pilots who have relocated their aircraft behind enemy lines (and even in their case a PDW is better), not soldiers.
Of course, maybe we would have been spared the odd fixation with the 9mm that seems to have finally run its course in both military and police circles. That would have been a good thing.
Minimal difference. Pistols are for civilian cops & pilots who have relocated their aircraft behind enemy lines (and even in their case a PDW is better), not soldiers.
Of course, maybe we would have been spared the odd fixation with the 9mm that seems to have finally run its course in both military and police circles. That would have been a good thing.
While I agree this change would make no real difference. I disagree with the rest of your statements.
How is adopting a the NATO standard pistol round a "odd fixation"? I find it funny the US get criticized for forcing the 7.62 NATO on the organization and then again for switching on its own to 5.56 but then again for finally picking something its allies wanted. That's a little damned if you do, damned if you don't.
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While a pistol is a "last ditch" weapon, and as a medical officer that's all you got until recently when docs in the field (MDs not corpsmen) were issued with M4's if for no other reason than to make them look like everyone else, IF you need to use it you need it to do the job. The .45 ACP round is good for doing the man stopping at pistol range, and the 1911 or mods (I own a Kimber) is accurate if not screwed with &/or having loose barrels with worn grooves/lands. NATO standardization is generally a good thing, but not when you trade a weapon that does its job well, is reliable and solid for a POS that is a big step down.
As I understand it the US military is looking to go to a .40 or .45 replacement for the M9 - and the SEALS, Marine Recon & others never got rid of the .45 round...
The 9mm was, and is, an utter waste of time as a military round, at least in a handgun. As a police round, or maybe even in a SMG it is okay, albeit for different reasons (a law enforcement weapon is not really meant to absolutely kill, but to disable, and the Nine is good at that, while a SMG tends to burn through ammo since it is usually used in a three round burst setting and 9mm is somewhat lighter than .45 or 10mm so you can carry an extra mag).
Handguns are pretty useless in a true military sense, a PDW is far better, but if you are going to carry one, at least carry one that will knock down whatever you hit. Even if the target is wearing a vest, the .45 (or to a degree the 10mm) will have a better chance of knocking the target off his feet than the 9mm.
As far as common rounds, I understand the utility of having the same ammo for all troops in an alliance. The 9mm, unfortunately, was, and is, a POS (rather like the 5.56mm NATO although that is an entirely different discussion).
The Corps has already grasped the nettle and ordered over 4,000 modernized versions of the M1911 from Colt in .45 for issue to senior officers and others who carry handguns as issue.
http://militarytimes.com/blogs/gearscout/2012/07/20/usmc-orders-4036-m45-cqbp-pistols/
The 9mm was, and is, an utter waste of time as a military round, at least in a handgun. As a police round, or maybe even in a SMG it is okay, albeit for different reasons (a law enforcement weapon is not really meant to absolutely kill, but to disable, and the Nine is good at that, while a SMG tends to burn through ammo since it is usually used in a three round burst setting and 9mm is somewhat lighter than .45 or 10mm so you can carry an extra mag).
Handguns are pretty useless in a true military sense, a PDW is far better, but if you are going to carry one, at least carry one that will knock down whatever you hit. Even if the target is wearing a vest, the .45 (or to a degree the 10mm) will have a better chance of knocking the target off his feet than the 9mm.
As far as common rounds, I understand the utility of having the same ammo for all troops in an alliance. The 9mm, unfortunately, was, and is, a POS (rather like the 5.56mm NATO although that is an entirely different discussion).
Minimal difference. Pistols are for civilian cops & pilots who have relocated their aircraft behind enemy lines (and even in their case a PDW is better), not soldiers.
Yeah, it's long past time something like the Gwynn Bushmaster or IMP. The .30 Car was a step in the right direction...AdA said:All pistols are becoming outdated for military