Army's Take on its new M17 Pistol

[Wyo]

Army says new war-ready M17 pistol will change modern combat | Fox News

They make it sound like a cross between a small nuclear device and a laser death ray. Hey, it's a pistol! That's all it will ever be.

 

[Steve_NEPhila]

I read in an article a couple of months ago that pistols will be issued all the way down to team leader positions in the combat arms soldiers. I do not think it will change much on the battlefield other than more pistols will be lost on training exercises. I cannot see a possible change in strategic application due to a pistol. However, this article was written by reporters and they rarely bother understanding the details...

 

[BAM-BAM]

Wow.......who knew a pistol could do all that........... I mean who ever heard of shooting a handgun with only one hand or even left handed!!!!!!


Sounds like it might even have a "shot" at replacing the M-4 and SAW!!!!!!!

I was going to wait to replace my 3913 and PC Shorty-9 with a Phaser but it's clear........ I needs to gets me one or two of those........."Wonder Nines"


Got to run;.... need to get some old obsolete Berettas into the trash...... and to think this past summer I just got one of Wilson Combat's 92 Centurions .

 

[getoff]

wow... looks like i need to fire sale my glocks, Hi-powers, 1911s, and especially ALL my (gasp) s&w revos. all i need evidently is an xm17, and 18. i been doing it wrong for far to long. all kidding aside, i have a 320rx and its an awesome pistol. i'm glad the DOD has seen the light and moved to a truly modern pistol, even if it ain't a glockinspiel.

 

[Absalom]

You can’t shoot the M9 with one hand? That’s news to a lot of folks, I think.

We just have to accept that journalists with a pro-gun tilt can be as gullible and clueless in their reporting as anti-gun reporters.

 

[BAM-BAM]

LOL......... now the Special Operations Command will allow operators to individually "upgrade" from the 1911 to the Beretta 92.

Give me a Beretta 92 Centurion (4.2" barrel) with the radiused backstrap (last 15 years or so), D-Spring(factory on DAO guns), ultra thin G-10 grips, Wilson "Hackathorn" tritium with orange ring front sight and factory or Mec-gar 17,18 and 20 rd magazines....... and I'm pretty much and good to go!!!!

 

[murphydog]

I suspect an Internet search from 33 years ago will find an article much like this one - just substitute "M9" for "M17" and "1911 .45" for any current reference to "M9" and you'll be good to go .

 

[BAM-BAM]

Been hearing for years that the 92s are pretty much worn out........ same thing we heard about the WWII 1911s still in use in the 70s and 80s.

Guess if I was clearing caves and houses old school I'd prefer a H&K MP-5K..... with a side folder stock. with the short 15rd magazine...... and a suppressor.


Thou the MP7A2 is kind of cool

 

[hkcavalier]

Least important weapon in the entire inventory. Yet everyone gets all emotional about it.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Typical Pentagon PR release. In my day (1967-1971) small arms training was given short shrift, the firearms enthusiast was dismissed as a "nut".

 

[billwill]

I saw that article also...just think of the cost $$$$$ to retain our troops with such a improved
weapon. It will take years

 

[Rifleman harris]

A pistol is generally useless for an infantryman, just more weight to carry. In my experience a pistol is only necessary when you're armed with the M16.

 

[cgt4570]

The article I read also said the new pistols would be used with 147gr JHP in order to be more effective. I know none of the middle eastern 'policing activities' have been actual declared wars, but I assumed we were still adhering to the Geneva Convention's requirement for FMJ.
Am I wrong?

 

[murphydog]

My understanding is expanding bullets were prohibited for military use by the Hague Convention and the USA was not a signatory but complied with its terms. This expanding round 'may' be used against non-state combatants, against whom we have been fighting quite a bit for the past 17 years or so.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Read this article earlier today. Made me laugh.

 

[HardToHandle]

Least important weapon in the entire inventory. Yet everyone gets all emotional about it.

The pistol may be the least important weapon system, but the pistol has an increasing level of pertinence. This video and three dead servicemen demonstrating why pistols are very important in modern warfare.

Families of slain Green Berets file lawsuit against Kingdom of Jordan

 

[Absalom]

The pistol may be the least important weapon system, but the pistol has an increasing level of pertinence. This video and three dead servicemen demonstrating why pistols are very important in modern warfare.
....

One needs to distinguish two kinds of “importance” when talking about the role of the handgun in modern warfare. This actually applies to warfare going back to at least World War I. Folks who disregard this end up talking past each other.

On an individual level, having an effective a handgun can be vitally important to the survival of the individual soldier and make the difference between life and death. It’s a bit like your car’s seatbelt. You rarely need it, but if you do, you need it badly. The situation shown in the video linked is an example.

However, on the battlefield level, the handgun is irrelevant. If on Sept. 1, 1939, a magician had made every handgun in Europe and the US disappear, World War II would not have lasted a day longer or shorter. Even as far back as the Little Bighorn, the archaeological evidence, specifically the ratio of carbine bullets vs. revolver bullets found, indicates that very few of Custer’s troopers ever got around to using their Colts.

 

[Kanewpadle]

No offense to Sig and their new pistol, but I fail to see how a plastic 9MM handgun will change the way we fight.

It ain’t gonna happen. Especially after all the complaints about how in adequate the 9MM was in Afghanistan and Iraq.

 

[LVSteve]

Give me a Beretta 92 Centurion (4.2" barrel) with the radiused backstrap (last 15 years or so), D-Spring(factory on DAO guns), ultra thin G-10 grips, Wilson "Hackathorn" tritium with orange ring front sight and factory or Mec-gar 17,18 and 20 rd magazines....... and I'm pretty much and good to go!!!!

Look what you have to do to get the Beretta 92 to a point where it is easy to handle? The 92 has a HUGE and awkwardly shaped grip with the stock grip panels for anybody that does not have huge hands. The M17 comes in a size and shape that more folk can handle and handle easily.

Is it is "game changer"? Probably not. Quite a bit of hyperbole there. But if I was in a situation where I needed to shoot one handed or had to swap hands quickly, I would want almost ANYTHING other than a Beretta 92. Your mileage (and hand size) may vary.

 

[usmc2427765]

In my humble opinion, a pistol will never change the dynamics of warfare, especially a 9mm. A 45 acp with quality defensive ammo is what I would want to carry in harms way. As a example, a woman once asked a Texas LEO if he was expecting trouble because she noted that he was carrying a 1911 cocked and locked. He replied that he was not expecting trouble and if he was he would have brought his rifle. Sage advice from an old time LEO!!