Future 'new' US army standard issue pistol

D

defox

New member
If a fresh military trial was to be held this year to select a new US army pistol which pistol do you think would win? Do you think the Beretta would be dethroned; and if the rules were changed to allow guns with no 2nd strike capability and external safety to enter do you think Glock would win or even pose a serious challenge?

All in all, I think the H&K USP if they become price-competitive would win hands-down. The USPs are competitive in the 3 major calibers: 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP.
 
Sig P226, without a doubt; cuz it almost won out during the last trial's.



Lost out cuz it was a tad too expensive.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
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The reason why the Beretta was selected was because the government had to kiss the Italians' butts in order to get those missle silos installed in Italy. Today if there was a new handgun competition the winner would be of either Israeli or Saudi manufacture.

;)
 
OK, we are sort of at war. So why are we wasting recourses testing for a new side arm when the one we have is more than adequate? I stress the word sidearm. :barf:
 
BTW, the USP is indeed price-competitive, just not at normal retail. The HK's are about as cheap to manufacture as Glocks, however they didn't sell too well at first when priced competitively. Then the light bulb came on in some HK rep's head, and suddenly they jacked up the price to give the image of an elite gun, complete with full-page ads showing Navy SEALS and Delta Force operators holding one. Suddenly every armchair commando and Rainbow Six computer gamer had to have one. :rolleyes:
 
the 9mm Parabellum is NATO standard since 1962, not bloody likely they'll change. Simpler logistics when SMGs and pistols can all use the same ammo.

The possible canidates that could threaten 9mm standard would be:

.224 Boz: A subcaliber based off 10mm, it would have the penetration of a subcaliber, commonality with other .223 caliber barrels. One interesting feature might be the possibility of using a wide variety of civilian ammunition (sounds good for behind enemy lines commando stuff) by being converted to use 10mm Norma, .40Auto, or .357SIG ammunition.
http://www.civil-defence.org/products/ballistics/boz224/boz224.html

5.7x28mm: Fabrique Nationale's subcaliber which has already shown good use in both an SMG and pistol. It was actually created with asperations of becoming NATO standard http://www.remtek.com/arms/fn/p90/data/concept.htm . The HK competitor 4.6x30mm won't win just because they're both so similar (ok, the HK has slightly more penetration but the FN has slightly better pentration) but the FN cartridge was created earlier, is more popular and already proven in two weapon systems.

6.5x25mm: created by Saab-Bofors, it's a subcaliber conversion to 9mm Parabellum. Not much is known but there was an interesting article about PDWs in the October 2000 issue of Guns and Weapons for Law Enforcement in which this cartridge was mentioned. This would be the most economical way of getting better capabilities in a sidearm or SMG and in my opinion the way the US and NATO should follow. In my opinion the M9 is a fine weapon that will last many years and if they do modest upgrades (like they did with the M16 becoming the M4) by changing to this subcaliber and possibily replacing aluminum frames as they wear out with titanium frames (I'm crossing my fingers hoping that Beretta is moving in this direction with the Tomcat Titanium) the M9 will last even longer.

Both the p226 and the 92fs won, the 92fs was just a bit less expensive. they still like the sig enough to adopt the p228 but the weakness of 92FS slides has been an issue and SIG slides (mostly before the 229) are weaker than the 92FS's

I like the second strike requirement in how the US military defined double action. You can't always depend on the quality of your ammunition Glocks and Berettas are both very reliable, the Glock is extremely durable and the Beretta is reliable even with very low quality ammunition (strengths and weaknesses).
 
OK, we are sort of at war. So why are we wasting recourses testing for a new side arm when the one we have is more than adequate? I stress the word sidearm.
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Because we are gun enthusiasts. If we were the workout type, we would be going on endlessly about which protien supplements were best, which workouts best worked out specific muscle groups the fastest or the best, etc.
Or we could be car enthusiasts, talking about cars most of us couldn't afford to touch, much less drive, etc, etc.
 
Well I think my friend Ala Dan has a point but is exactly two digits off ;) Seems the Sig-228 (designated the M-11) already has a foothold in the millitary even without it being the "official" sidearm. I think that would give it a significant advantage.

Although I also think DSK has a really good point about politics. Ohh no..what pistol does Afghanistan make???:eek:
 
I think if we do change, we are going to stay with 9mm, because of the NATO thing. As much as I dont like the handling of the Glock, I think it would be my first guess as the new pistol, after all, it is VERY reliable, well made, and other countries have been "testing it for us" for years.
 
I think the US could adopt something like a subcaliber pentrator bullet and have a good chance of it being adopted as NATO standard later. The US military is something of a trend setter. (.308 used to be NATO standard until we created and popularized .223).

it's not like the US military is totally in love with 9mm, remember to USP .45 Tactical.
 
Because we are gun enthusiasts. If we were the workout type, we would be going on endlessly about which protien supplements were best, which workouts best worked out specific muscle groups the fastest or the best, etc.
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That would be nice, IF we were the ones doing the testing.:D :D :D

My original question still stands.:cool:
 
I think that due to the Glocks fantastic popularity with American PD's and its outstanding reliability track record, the Glock would definitely be in the running.

7th
 
Walther P99. It's the newest toy on the block so we all know the military procument people will want it. ;)
If not, then everyone who needs a pistol gets a HK USP 9 with the jet funnel, 18 round magazine and +5 basepad for a total of 23 rounds.
 
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