My little cherubs and seraphim tell me that the final specs for the new military Combat Pistol — the sans-Army version of the joint military pistol — should be out in April, with the trials taking place at your proverbial major East Coast facility in April, supervised by the SEALs.
Come last quarter of 2006, the little c&s'es tell me, the contract for roughly 50,000 pistols will be let, with deployment early in 2007. This, kiddies, is what we refer to fast tracked. We're still looking at a .45 ACP, 8-round magazine minimum [pay attention to that word minimum], a light double action or some sort of safe action, a quick-release suppressor and holstering system, etc.
Now 50,000 people is not chopped liver, but one of my cherubs hummed a pretty song about the Marines looking longingly at the SOCOM specs and lusting mightily for the new piece, whicih might mean an additional order for 50,000 of the tasty new cookies...not to mention the potential law enforcement collateral purchases.
Something to look forward to end of summer!!!
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3 comments:
"Something to look forward to end of summer!!!"
Summer? It's the start of Spring! Can't worry about summer just yet, there's the Spring Shoot to attend! :) Are you still planning to be at Knob Creek this weekend (Fri/Sat/Sun)? I was sure I'd heard a rumor that it was on your todo list this spring. It's one of the joys for me of living in and around Louisville, KY my entire life. Twice a year, I get to have a blast at KCR for the Machine Gun Shoot, and the rest of the year I get to drop by there and plink w/ my AK, AR, M1, etc. Heck, if you need time at an indoor range while you're there, I can point you to a local landmark, but I don't want to pseudo-spam your forum w/ anything that might be viewed as a commercial posting (I volunteer my time there to run indoor GSSF matches, etc, for no compensation, but still, rules are rules, to me).
Hope to see you at the MGS if you're going to be there. Bring a BIG shopping bag, tho!
Sean McPherson
http://www.bluegrassglockers.com/
You betcha! We'll be filming at Knob Creek on Saturday.
I'll be there all day Friday shooting everything I can lay my hands on.
mb
Regarding the selection of a new military sidearm, I believe the ideal weapon is one that has just been introduced commercially.
Now, I'm going to qualify my choice up front by saying that I have something of an obsession with collecting vintage S&W revolvers, and while I own and shoot a number of autoloaders, they are exclusively blued steel guns of classic designs; 1911s, Hi-Powers, and the like. When the first Glocks arrived back in the mid-80s, I viewed them as a sure sign of the impending apocalypse. In addition to these admittedly personal taste issues, my preferences are further dictated by a more practical natter: I have notably compact hands, and have never found a double-stack, double-action, major caliber pistol that would allow me to take a satisfactory grip.
Okay, having said all that, I will now say that I believe Springfield Armory's new XD-45 is about as close to being the perfect general purpose military/LE sidearm ever produced. I work full time as gun dept. product specialist at a large retail sporting goods store, and with a few decades of experience in handling guns, on both recreational and business levels, I can confidently say that when this gun first arrived in the store recently, I was as impressed with it as I've been with just about any new firearm in many, many years. I never would have believed that I could ever take a proper firing grip on a pistol holding 14 rounds of .45 acp ammo. Grip ergonomics are superior to just about any other autoloader out there, except perhaps for the Hi-Power. My past experiences shooting the XD in 9mm and .40 S&W, in all three barrel lengths have been nothing short of impressive. The design has been around long enough now that long term durability can be assumed as a given. And on top of all that, the gun is cheaper than anything else currently worthy of consideration. The U.S. military should immediately run this gun through the necessary trials, which I have no doubt it would pass without a hitch, and get their initial order placed. Our guys out in the sandbox deserve a decent sidearm, and the sooner the better.
Alright, that's just about enough outta me...
Steve
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