[Havok]

Marines Choose 9mm Glock 19 Over .45 Colt 1911

Figured I would share this for the people on this forum who kept trying to tell me I was wrong when I said MARSOC was no longer using the 1911.

 

[WebleyHunter]

Well, they are called Jarheads...

 

[bigpapa]

Interesting to hear that they are going with the 9mm, I love my G19 and have just rotate to my G23 I was planning on taking my G23 on this 1600 miles trip I have coming up or maybe I may need to get mine G19 back out, don't over think this, taking both. Lol!

 

[PhaedrusIV]

I read a version of the story (sorry, I don't remember where) that said USMC actually wanted the Sig P320 (or the P320C.)

Then they wrote an RFP with specs that perfectly matched that pistol.

Glock saw it/read it, tweaked the G19 until it met all the specs in the proposal, then underbid Sig, substantially, and got the contract.

Bottom line: the Corps actually wanted the Sigs and, instead, got Glocks. In the end, they'll probably like them better, 'cause "Perfection" you know.

I don't know whether any of this is true but I did read it somewhere. And if I saw it on the internet, it MUST be true, right ?

 

[farsidefan1]

Glocks are so easy to maintain that even I can do it. Simplicity was probably a major part of the decision (and price:image035. I love my 1911 but if I'm about to get in a fight I want my 19.

 

[wdbailey]

Glocks are so easy to maintain that even I can do it. Simplicity was probably a major part of the decision (and price:image035. I love my 1911 but if I'm about to get in a fight I want my 19.

If I'm about to get into a fight I want a rifle, just saying

 

[wdbailey]

Glocks are so easy to maintain that even I can do it. Simplicity was probably a major part of the decision (and price:image035. I love my 1911 but if I'm about to get in a fight I want my 19.

If I'm about to get into a fight I want a rifle, just saying

 

[SIGP250]

Marines Choose 9mm Glock 19 Over .45 Colt 1911

Figured I would share this for the people on this forum who kept trying to tell me I was wrong when I said MARSOC was no longer using the 1911.

Interesting that a few Marine Special Ops units will be using Glock 19 chambered in 9MM. It says they will buy less than 2,000. That's not many by any standard. If you dig a bit deeper into the same website above you will see that the Marines Force Recon & MARSOC are buying 12,000 Colt CQBP's which is in fact a 1911 variant.

Official Announcement: Marines to Purchase at least 12,000 Colt M45 Pistols

 

[bubbatime]

Makes sense. The Navy Seals are carrying the Glock 19 now. And since the Marines are a department of the Navy (the men's department), they can just piggy back off the Navy Seals purchase.

Glad some head honcho finally figured out a way to cut through the red tape and get the troops the best tool for the job.

The pistol is a secondary weapon. The G19 is lightweight and durable. Just perfect for what a front line recon guy needs.

 

[WebleyHunter]

All jokes aside, I think it is reasonable for an elite unit to have a variety of handgun platforms, especially if clandestine utilization is part of the mission. For better or worse, the G19 is available worldwide, and, unlike the specialized Colt 1911, its use does not automatically indicate the origins of the operator. I detest pretty much everything about Glocks, but that is the one area where they have potential benefit.

 

[Chuck R.]

The MARSOC purchase of G19s is actually old news, here's a better article that describes the "why":

Marines Allow Operators to Choose Glocks over MARSOC .45s | Military.com

The Marine Corps has authorized MARSOC operators to carry Glock pistols, since many of the elite outfit's members prefer the popular 9mm over the custom .45 pistols the service bought them in 2012.

Young operators have had trouble with the 1911's beavertail grip safety, according to one former Marine weapons instructor who trained MARSOC members.

Many shooters wearing gloves tend to grip the 1911 too high and do not properly disengage the beavertail grip safety, so the pistol won't fire, he said. A lot of professional shooters who run custom 1911s will disable that beavertail grip safety to avoid this problem, he added.

The 1911 design is also known for feed-way stoppages, a malfunction caused when a round gets stuck feeding into the chamber, experts said. Horizontal and vertical stovepipes – types of malfunctions that occur when an empty shell casing gets caught in the ejection port – are also a problem with the 1911 design.

Chuck

 

[SouthernBoyVA]

A well known gun writer opines that the Glock 23 is the best combat handgun one can carry. Of course this is his opinion but I would tend to agree with this to the extent that the G23 is a fine fighting pistol as it is chambered for the powerful .40S&W cartridge. A hard combination to beat.

As was mentioned, simplicity is also very high on the wish list for a combat handgun. Few which have been pressed into service have this feature.

 

[ghost tracker]

The Beretta M4 supposedly replaced the venerable 1911 A1 to more "universalize" the 9mm as a NATO standard handgun caliber. The .45 acp was then generally negated to spec-ops applications. A couple of years ago, I watched & met a half-dozen SEAL Team members pick-up new Gen 3 G19s to take back to Iraq with them. I was carrying a Gen 3 G19 at the time, so I asked them why pick that particular pistol? They said it was because they were training Iraqi Defense Forces and wanted to instruct them using the same pistol that the IDF were being issued. They also preferred using the 9mm during operations because the spent cases didn't scream..."Americans Killed These Jihadists" quite so loudly as .45 acp hulls. :yup:

 

[DHart]

Glocks are so easy to maintain that even I can do it. Simplicity was probably a major part of the decision (and price:image035.

Not as simple and easy to maintain as a P320. Both are excellent pistols, though.

 

[Coconut]

I read a version of the story (sorry, I don't remember where) that said USMC actually wanted the Sig P320 (or the P320C.)

Then they wrote an RFP with specs that perfectly matched that pistol.

Glock saw it/read it, tweaked the G19 until it met all the specs in the proposal, then underbid Sig, substantially, and got the contract.

Bottom line: the Corps actually wanted the Sigs and, instead, got Glocks. In the end, they'll probably like them better, 'cause "Perfection" you know.

I don't know whether any of this is true but I did read it somewhere. And if I saw it on the internet, it MUST be true, right ?

I believe this was the FBI, not the Marines. The RFP contains language that pretty much excludes every existing pistol other than the SIG P320, but Glock created brand new models just for the FBI and got the contract. Bear in mind that even though the P320 is sold to the general public at about the same price, a Glock is actually cheap to make, so cheap that Glock still profits at around $300 price they give to the FBI. S&W SD9VE is as simple as a Glock and is profitable at $350 price point. No way SIG can beat this price, not with a removable fire control group.

 

[dV8r]

Marines Choose 9mm Glock 19 Over .45 Colt 1911

Figured I would share this for the people on this forum who kept trying to tell me I was wrong when I said MARSOC was no longer using the 1911.

More proof that the Marine Corp has changed... and not for the better!

 

[PhaedrusIV]

I believe this was the FBI, not the Marines. The RFP contains language that pretty much excludes every existing pistol other than the SIG P320, but Glock created brand new models just for the FBI and got the contract. Bear in mind that even though the P320 is sold to the general public at about the same price, a Glock is actually cheap to make, so cheap that Glock still profits at around $300 price they give to the FBI. S&W SD9VE is as simple as a Glock and is profitable at $350 price point. No way SIG can beat this price, not with a removable fire control group.

I stand corrected ! Now that you mention it, I believe it WAS the Bureau, NOT USMC. My bad ! :frown:

 

[Rhinoman]

Some of the factors that drove the selection of the Berretta were driven by the number of women in the military. They tended to have smaller hands and be more sensitive to the recoil. The committee also wanted larger capacity than the 1911. They wanted a weapon chambered in a NATO standard round. It's unfortunate when the choices are based on the lowest common denominator and not the mission requirements.

 

[5lima30ret]

I think that the G-19 will serve the Marines well! IMO it is head and shoulders above the M-9 especially in the typical third world battlefield environments that they are frequently operating in. Just my .02 worth!

 

[kerberos]

Lighter is better...

I know of very few Marines who ever used their pistol for anything other than qualifying.

Well, other than MP's obviously.

:hand15: