US Army looking for a new pistol

[chaim]

I am not the biggest .40S&W fan (I like .45acp much better if I want a bigger bore, or 9mm for cheap practice and effective JHPs), but I think they should consider it. It is a bigger bore so it should be better than 9mm since they are stuck with FMJ. As for the better penetration with the higher velocity, you have that too because the .40S&W is a high velocity pistol round. Also, it may cost a little less than going to .45ACP because it may be possible to retrofit all those Beretta 92s they have to Beretta 96s (though I'm not 100% sure).

If the Berettas can't be retrofitted (I am far from a Beretta expert so I don't know if they can be safely switched) I would lean to the .45ACP. As someone said, most of the time you need the penatration you go with the rifle, the handgun is usually used for last ditch self-defense. I think the slightly larger bore gives the .45ACP the edge here since no HPs are allowed.

A little out of the box- how about something along the lines of the Desert Eagle (but maybe a little smaller) designed to use .357mag. Then if you load it with JSPs they aren't hollowpoints and might pass the Hague Conventions, but the soft lead face of the bullet just might expand a bit.

 

[medmo]

I don't think there are many servicable 1911 frames left in the USMC. They converted most of the stored ones for a special op's capability 45acp (officially the MEU SOC 1911 .45) and have been issued. The 1911's that were issued in the 80's were in absolutely terrible condition. They were nothing but "parts guns" left over from WW2 stock. Those specimens had to go and I was happy with new M9's. The trend seems to be taking special op's designed weapons and distributing them to the masses. I hope this also follows the trend and the USMC special op's capable 1911 is mass manufactured and distrubuted. I had no problems with the M9, qualified expert with it every time and had 100% confidence in it. The MEU SOC 1911 .45 is pretty sweet and I would much rather carry it.

 

[45auto]

I hope they don't spend millions of dollars and years debating the merits of 9mm, 40 and 45. I could send them a lot of magazine articles over the years(free) that boil down to "whatever works best for you".

I wonder how many different goverment agencies are testing the same guns at the same time??

 

[bountyhunter]

Ah, relearning old lessons - big holes are better stopers than small holes.

Unless the typical target is wearing multiple layers of heavy clothing and the big round loses too much energy going through... then small and fast is a lot more lethal.

Why don't they follow the Feds lead and switch over to SIG .40's? There are .40 defense rounds available with over 490 ft-lbs of muzzle energy... which is as good as any .45 defense load I have seen. And the smaller .40 has better penetration.