Colt Awarded Contract For New MARSOC Pistol

4,000 seems like an awful lot of pistols for such a small command. MARSOC has, what, like 2,700 Marines on its T/O? And its not even up to 100% yet. Are they planning on giving every swingin dick a .45?
Probably.
Is MARSOC Looking to get bigger? 4K might be in anticipation of an increase, or just an aknowledgement that the pistols will fail and they are buying maintenance spares ahead of time :D
 
Why?
There are so many capable .45 systems available, why go with one that was initially deemed unacceptable?
Is the Marine Corps so steeped in tradition that they ignored more capable systems so they can claim to be the last Combat Force using a 1911?
My comment wasn't about any particular ".45 system", it was about the round itself. I suppose this all goes back to the days of raging debates when the military first went from the 1911 45acp to the Beretta 9mm. I happen to be of the Jeff Cooper mindset that the 45acp round itself is superior in putting people down.
 
My comment wasn't about any particular ".45 system", it was about the round itself. I suppose this all goes back to the days of raging debates when the military first went from the 1911 45acp to the Beretta 9mm. I happen to be of the Jeff Cooper mindset that the 45acp round itself is superior in putting people down.

Disclaimer- I carry a .45 ACP daily, and so my bias should be clear.

With that said...

Given modern bullet technology, and given a good hit, calibers other than .45 ACP will get the job done. To paraphrase Larry Vickers, caliber is fine but accuracy is final.

Put a modern 9mm JHP in the heart, spine or brain and you'll put the bastard down. Better yet, put several in and around the same place.

The biggest mistake the military made when they transitioned to the 9mm was not so much the caliber but the platform.
 
One of the issue is the(US) Military's insistence on an external safety, so that killed a large number of vendors, IIRC the RFI also called for a single stack magazine which killed all the good striker pistols off.

Hope you guys enjoy it.
 
Etype said:
This is such a BS line. I can't believe, with everything we now know about ballistics, quotes like this are still so common. Unless you are shooting 180 or 165 gr .45, it's still a subsonic round- so the only difference is you're punching a 2mm larger hole, but you are sacrificing the hydraulic shock achieved by a supersonic 9mm round. If the bigger bullet argument had any significance, then a revolutionary era .75 cal musket would have better terminal ballistics than a modern .308, but that's just not the case.


It's about fucking time the military at the institutional level gets smart on these kinds of things and stopped proliferating bullshit that we knew to be untrue 20 years ago.

That was beautiful.
 
...also called for a single stack magazine which killed all the good striker pistols off.
That's right in line with my post about the military being 20 years behind the curve and believing the BS of a past era.
 
Now, I love the 1911. In fact, for my mission it is just about perfect. But the needs of a MARSOC Marine or Special Forces Soldier are different than mine.

It does have a few deficiencies compared to some other modern .45 ACP pistols. Chief amongst these are lower ammo capacity and the need for a higher (and more technical) degree of maintenance. The Glock 21, M&P 45, HK USP45 and HK45 are all examples of reliable .45 ACP platforms that are boringly reliable, and very accurate (the HK45 probably leads the pack here). Each also has higher ammo capacity (but let's face it, it's a .45 ACP pistol and the size of the round is a factor in capacity).

I agree that specifying a single stack magazine and thumb safety pretty much dictated a 1911. If they'd left the magazine style open, they could have had a pistol with a thumb safety and higher capacity that also required less maintenance. But it wouldn't have been a 1911, and clearly that's what they wanted.
 
I agree that specifying a single stack magazine and thumb safety pretty much dictated a 1911.
It seems as though the contest was decided before it began.

Carrying military issue 234 gr M1911 .45 ball is stupid, there's no other word for it. It's a less effective round than M882 due to it being subsonic and it weighs 205% more. They be much better off going with a 9mm 1911.
 
It seems like the specifications were specifically made to only allow for a .45, and most likely a Colt. Single stack? .45 caliber? external safety? Yeah, that considerably narrows the field.
 
Colt, Springfield, Kimber, STI, SVI, Nighthawk, Sig Sauer...there are a few companies that make a single-stack, ext. safety, .45, etc. handgun. As soon as you put "single stack" in for the magazine type your options drop significantly.
 
I guess this is sill 1960.

Slick polymers have yet to be created so double stack magazines are unreliable. It's either the 1911 or a revolver, and everyone knows revolvers are for policemen.
 
I guess this is sill 1960.

Slick polymers have yet to be created so double stack magazines are unreliable. It's either the 1911 or a revolver, and everyone knows revolvers are for policemen.

Bwahahaha!

When I hit the street, back when streets were hard packed dirt and horses were tied to posts outside the general store, I was issued a S&W Model 10. And I was grateful, damn it! :D
 
When I hit the street, back when streets were hard packed dirt and horses were tied to posts outside the general store, I was issued a S&W Model 10. And I was grateful, damn it! :D
I bet. Those brass cartridges were really fast to reload, and you could even get them wet!!!
 
heh...I miss my S&W 686 .357. Looked cool with the wood grips........but it was the late 80's and porn mustaches were also in style...
Revolvers definitely compliment a certain style. There's something pretty cool about an over-the-hill, over-weight detective in a suit with a cross draw revolver.
 
Were the Marines asked for their input? Did they test the pistols on trail? or was it some civil servant who decided?
 
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