A professional's prediction re: Army pistol

[zzzippper]

This is from a friend of mine who worked in the Army in weapons developement. Now he is highly placed in developement with a big armament manufacturer. Need to say I respect his opinions. This is what he says about the new pistol selection:

"My prediction – it'll be the SIG 320 that wins and you can shoot either 40 or 9mm in it. Gov't will adopt 40S&W but with large legacy stocks of 9mm still hanging around it will never go away. Hardcore pistol users (MPs, CID, etc.) will be able to pick their desired caliber (even if that is not considered in the actual down-select criteria) so everyone wins. In my opinion .45 is a mistake. Too fat, too heavy, and generally too much recoil for small people."

 

[Grayfox]

.45acp has too much recoil and they're opting for the .40? Seems a bit backwards to me.

 

[Bob R]

About the only prediction I will make is it will be a striker fired weapon.

If someone can't handle the recoil from a .45, how will they deal with the recoil from a 10mm Lite (40 S&W)? Grayfox is right, something doesn't add up.

bob

bob

 

[zzzippper]

.45acp has too much recoil and they're opting for the .40? Seems a bit backwards to me.

That struck me as odd too. But like I said, this guy knows his stuff.

 

[Erich]

He may be a weapons developer who know his stuff in that area, but what does he know about pork, earmarks and currying favor with other countries who have firearms factories that need employment as well as other assets our country (or politicians) need?

I mean, which high-level weapons developer would have called the Beretta for the M9 if asked back in '79?

 

[Harrison]

It's funny, having shot USPSA/IPSC and IDPA for decades, there are a lot of petite women and youth shooters that are able to accurately shoot and handle a full size 1911 in 45apc quite well and the recoil doesn't seem to bother them. My 5"3" wife is one of them. Of course if someone shoots less than a box of 45 ammo a year, he/she isn't going to do well. But than that also stands for 40, 38spc/357mag and 9mm. You need to shoot and practice to be proficient.

Personally, having shot both the 45 and 40s&w, in competition, I prefer the 45. To me, the 40 has a much sharper recoil impulse. Otherwise they are both about the same recoil wise.

 

[Stirling]

Wouldn't surprise me if its something like the FN Five-Seven.

 

[ladyT]

.45acp has too much recoil and they're opting for the .40? Seems a bit backwards to me.

It does, don't it.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

He may be a weapons developer who know his stuff in that area, but what does he know about pork, earmarks and currying favor with other countries who have firearms factories that need employment as well as other assets our country (or politicians) need?

I mean, which high-level weapons developer would have called the Beretta for the M9 if asked back in '79?

Spoken like a truly jaded lawyer

 

[ChuckS1]

Well, knowing a bit about how the DoD procurement and contracting processes work, both in theory and practice, I would wait until the Request for Proposal comes out and see what the requirements (aka tech specs) are. If this whole procurement rumor is even close to being true, you can bet there's a small army of business development guys from all the major manufacturers out there trying to find out what's going on. Then there will be full blown marketing campaigns to "shape the bid" so that the requirements favor one company's design over another. Finally, after the RFP comes out, there' ll be an "Industry Day" with the Army to ask questions and get clarifications on the RFP. At some point thereafter, bid/no bid decisions will be made by the interested contractors. Proposals and protoypes will be submitted and an award made , only to be delayed by the inevitable protest that'll take 6 months to adjudicate. All said and done, unless this a strictly "off-the-shelf" procurement, it'll be 5 years before the first one gets to a soldier. If you really want to know, check out the Commerce Business Daily website and download the RFP when it comes out.

If I was betting, I'd put my money on FN, just because I like their logo.

 

[scooter123]

I am a Sig owner and one of my favorite pistols is my P239. However, my P229 has a grip that I would describe as FAT and I have hands that run to the Large side. I don't know about the P320 because I haven't had the opportunity to handle one but every single double stack Sig I have handled features a grip large enough to be problematic for those with Small to Medium sized hands. If the new P320 continues that trend I don't see it becoming our next Military Sidearm.

 

[therevjay]

If your using FMJ ammo I really can't see a .40 being any more effective then a 9mm. (Unless you can get the enemy to stand in line)

 

[goldenlight]

Any new handgun adopted by the military will be 9mm. Adding another caliber that ISN'T NATO standard would be foolish at best.

It might be a striker fired pistol, but it WILL have a manual safety. You just don't read about soldiers getting 'Glock leg', from their Beretta 92's

I personally think the DA/SA semiautos are the safest for troops to carry, and a manual safety will almost certainly be a requirement, if it's a striker fired pistol.

Personally, I can't understand WHY the military wants to change to another pistol. The M9 (and M11) are excellent firearms, and the 5 inch barrel on the M9 gives NATO spec 9mm ammunition some extra velocity and energy.

if the .mil would issue the M9 with *HIGH QUALITY* magazines (Beretta factory, or Mec-Gar magazines, who makes the 'factory magazines') that would take care of most of the current problems with reliability.

I'm sure a significant percentage of M9's have or are nearing the end of their service lives. Replace them with new M9's.

Seems simple to me.

 

[SJshooter]

I am going to predict .357 SIG. It makes no sense at all, but Obama administration officials will insist on it.

 

[Farmer17]

I think a dual caliber gun is an excellent solution! There are a lot of guys who like the 9m/m and the couple of extra rounds in the magazine. Its NATO standard, there are stock piles of existing ammo, and there is world-wide availability. But the guys who want a little more power are typically happy with the .40 and it still hold 15 or 16 rounds, is lighter to carry than the .45acp, and is pretty good at hard barrier penetration. If a half million barrels were mass produced the cost would be very low so the accountants would be happy. Go ahead and make it an M&P Pro with the thumb safety to keep everyone safe and to put a light Apex type trigger on it. And a compact version for concealed carry with threaded barrel for suppressors might come in handy. Also might as well do something different to keep things interesting,... like make the frame Desert Tan, since most of our trouble in the future will be in the sandbox.

Heck, I might buy one of those!

 

[Waywatcher]

I predict yet another false start. This is, what, the third time now they've talked about doing this?

I predict the Beretta M9 in 9mm will "win."

 

[hatt]

I am going to predict .357 SIG. It makes no sense at all, but Obama administration officials will insist on it.

I like that idea. We are going to waste money anyway. At least that would help me feed my .357 down the road.

 

[REM 3200]

This is from a friend of mine who worked in the Army in weapons developement. Now he is highly placed in developement with a big armament manufacturer. Need to say I respect his opinions. This is what he says about the new pistol selection:

"My prediction –---- In my opinion .45 is a mistake. ---too much recoil for small people."

I shot my first 1911A1 in 1946 when I was 5 years old. Still shooting them at 72 years. No problems with recoil, then or now. My 5'4", 104 lb. wife also shoots a 1911A1 and is not bothered by recoil.

IMO your "expert" is wrong.

 

[venomballistics]

Too much recoil for small people .... ..
PC for female enlisted.
Again, and until this wives tale starts to break.
Women can make effective use of a 45.
in fact, more often than not, most ladies I've shot with do just fine with full house 44 magnum loads.

sorry bud, but your guys stock went down when that load of bull was parroted.

 

[A10]

I am betting polymer hi cap suppressable with a manual safety and a rail. My money is on the FNP .45.