I recently dug out an old copy of Shooting Times from 1988 that focused on the second round of tests for the US Service Pistol contract. As some might not know, S&W sued the government after the 1984 tests were complete and the Beretta was selected, claiming their candidate pistols were unfairly rejected. They were able to get the government to agree on a fresh competition for the follow-up contract for new 9mm Service Pistols, which resulted in a second round of tests. The competition featured the Beretta, Ruger P-85, and the S&W 459 (modified to suit the DoD requirements). SIG bowed out of the competition at the last minute, deciding that the follow-up contract was too small to justify setting up production facilities in the US. This was of course during the time that the slide breakage issue with the Beretta was a hot topic among the gun-savvy.
In any event, I never managed to find any follow-up articles on exactly how and why the military again selected the Beretta. The only thing I remember reading was that supposedly the Beretta was the only one to successfully complete the tests, but it seemed so sudden and I can't help wonder if the DoD pulled the plug on the whole thing and re-awarded the contract to Beretta. Does anyone have a link to reliable information regarding the tests' outcome?
Having shot my recently-purchased 915 (a very similar pistol to the military prototype 459) I'm struck by how it seems like such a handier pistol than the overy-large Beretta, and I wish S&W had won the contract instead. It also seems to be a more robust pistol with no weak points prone to breakage unlike the 92FS, and more ergonomic as well. It would've been nice to keep American soldiers armed with a completely American made and designed pistol as well, but that is just personal bias.
In any event, I never managed to find any follow-up articles on exactly how and why the military again selected the Beretta. The only thing I remember reading was that supposedly the Beretta was the only one to successfully complete the tests, but it seemed so sudden and I can't help wonder if the DoD pulled the plug on the whole thing and re-awarded the contract to Beretta. Does anyone have a link to reliable information regarding the tests' outcome?
Having shot my recently-purchased 915 (a very similar pistol to the military prototype 459) I'm struck by how it seems like such a handier pistol than the overy-large Beretta, and I wish S&W had won the contract instead. It also seems to be a more robust pistol with no weak points prone to breakage unlike the 92FS, and more ergonomic as well. It would've been nice to keep American soldiers armed with a completely American made and designed pistol as well, but that is just personal bias.
