When I enlisted as an MP in 1978 we were issued 1911’s (females .38s), for the non-shooters the qualification scores were pretty low with quite a few bolo’s. We qualified annually and it was the same thing, the non- shooters had issues, most troops didn’t have privately owned handguns, never mind their own 1911 to train on. So they carried a pistol that they got to shoot once a year.
After that enlistment, I went to school and came back in in 1987 as a Field Artillery 2LT. My first assignment was with the 11th ACR in Germany and we had 1911s when most of the Army had moved to the M9. Same thing, troops had issues qualifying with the 1911 for many reasons.
Just prior to DS I was assigned to 1ID which had M9s, when going through qualifications the 1st time with the M9 “Gos” were significantly higher than any time I’d qualified with a 1911. Again these were mostly non-shooters that were issued a weapon they got to fire once a year, but more of them could hit what they were aiming at then I’d seen previously with 1911s.
You can chalk this up to worn out 1911s with dismal GI sights, but IMHO that’s not the only factor. The .45ACP cartridge is also somewhat to blame. It’s not an easy cartridge for new or non-shooters to shoot; the recoil does bother them to some extent. What folks need to understand is that the majority in the military are not “gun” people or “shooters”, they just don’t shoot that much (if at all) beyond their qualifications.
I retired in 2005, but now work as a DA Civilian in an organization that has quite a few active military flow through it. Since I own my own range I periodically invite some of the ”guys” out to my place to shoot. Most don’t even own their own pistol; occasionally one will bring a 1911. Most don’t shoot that well. A friend of mine and some of his friends run a shooting course for some of the Majors that are interested in training and facing another deployment after graduation. I’ve RO’d for him a couple times and he tells me the same thing, the majority just aren’t shooters.
So, if I were faced with coming up with an issue sidearm for the average soldier, knowing that most wouldn’t either take the time, or have the time to become proficient with it, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t choose the 1911.
Chuck