Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Your picks for the next US service pistol.

HK 45

http://www.hk-usa.com/civilian_products/hk45_general.asp

Interesting question.
I would place my bet on Polymer framed, interchangable griped, striker fired, external safety pistol with a barrel length of atleast 4 inches.

For ammo, if NATO is not the concern then .45 acp. If NATO is a concern then we will stay with the 9mm or all swap to the 5.7 round with an FN or HK platform.

If we stay with the 9mm then the M9 will be here for awhile longer. If not the M9, my bet is on something like the SW XD or MP platform, or something similar from FN or HK.

I'll bet a month of my military retirement that in 20 years the M9/M9A1 and the M11 will still be the standard pistols.

Excluding the Special Operations Command who will be mostly using 5.7mm and .45ACP pistols

You may be right, like I said, they have pretty much figured out how to keep the M9 alive, and Beretta has improved it a whole lot also; it's a pretty solid pistol despite what some people may think.

I think one of the better things the military can do is have more than one pistol just like you said, 5.7 and .45, which covers both sides of the spectrum, and seem to be the better performers. Still, I would love to see what kind of cartridge development can be done to improve the body armor performance of the 7.62 To, I think that's a very interesting cartridge.

In the BIG ARMY the obvious default for the M9 is the M11.

But just like in WW2 a Carbine beats a pistol in the hit ratio. The M4 is a better troop issue weapon than any pistol.

If only the Infantry was issued more 7.62 Nato battle rifles over M4s and M16s. Sigh...

My opinion is that the M9 will continue to be the pistol selected by the military. I have no complaints at all with the pistol itself, as it is easy to shoot accurately and very reliable (although some of the non-Beretta magazines the Army purchased proved to be poor). The standard ammo has been questioned, and I believe that there is a possibility for bullets of "harder hitting" shape to be developed. Any new ammo would have to equal the reliabilty of feeding that the current ball ammo shows. As sensible as it might be, I don't think that there will be a return to .45 caliber ammunition.

Ruger Superblackhawk in .44mag for the troops and a Freedom Arms .454 Casull for officers. Special forces get the BFR .45-70
lol

I think there is zero chance the military ever adopts the Glock. A safety/decock of some type would be in the specs for any service wide issue.

IF the M9 was replaced I could see something like a Sig variant or Beretta PX4 winning.

I would vote for the S&W M&P in 9mm or .45 ACP

+1

I'm surprised it took this long for someone to bring this one up. In about 5 years, it'll be the S&W M&P in .45. They've been looking at it and testing it since it came out. Some units are already using it. Before I got out, it was being touted as the next one. We'll see, procurments being what they are, but my money is on the M&P .45.

Sub-sonic and suppressed are niche guns and already have their place.

OK, being serious:

I think for those operators who depend upon pistols for their roles as warriors, the .45acp and MEUSOC 1911 pistol will continue to evolve. There was an "old style" and there is a "new style". Same basic concept utilizing different manufacturers' parts (King's on the old, mostly Brown on the new).

Of course, other SOCOM units carry HK, Sig, etc, some in 9mm and some in .45acp.

For general issue, I would think polymer and Made in America. I do think that they will stick to the specs issued a couple years ago: .45acp, double action, optional manual safety.

The 24/7 OSS seemed to be designed around those specs and would have been in the running had the idea not been canceled.

However, I would think that the Springfield Armory would churn out something in the way of a modified XDm which would likely look like a crossbreed of a current XD/XDm and a MEUSOC 1911.

Josh

So how did you end up nominating a Brazilian and Croatian pistol?

Sig 220
M&P 45
XD 45

I'd like to see American troops carrying an American designed and manufactured pistol.
It should be in .45 ACP.

I wonder why the 40 S & W has never entered the arena?

or at least a plant on us soil making which ever weapon they choose

Could not agree more. Saw where the M-14 (improved) has made a come back in the Army, Navy and Marines as either a quad or platoon marksman weapon. Believe the Army issues two per squad and the Marines one per platoon. I'm guessing the Navy uses them with the Seals, but not sure how they deploy them.

The Sig P220 in 45 ACP would be my pick for the US Service Pistol.