27 thoughts on “Army Picks New Handgun”

  1. I think the Sig P320 is a fine pistol and it’ll get the job done.

    Though wasn’t this the one where the RFP was written specifically to choose the Sig P320? That part is still troubling.

    1. The FBI FRP seemed to be directly written choose the sig as it was the only current gun that met those specs, then Glock quickly worked up some new molds without the finger grooves.

    2. That sort of thing is pretty common. If a particular existing item has the features you want, you write for those features. As long as other companies have an opportunity to meet the requirements it’s no big deal and in this case, other companies did have that opportunity.

  2. That explains why Sig has recently and drastically reduced its involvement in the shooting sports. Now maybe Beretta will get more involved and fund some teams and events.

  3. The P320 is okay, Ruger got too the show way to late with its American, which I think is a better firearm, and is much less expensive, and made in the USA.

  4. I’m a big fan of the 320. Have a 320C and a 320RX. I’m several thousand rounds in shooting the 320C with cheap crap ammo without a malfunction…

  5. As much as I would have an impulse to cast a wary eye on military procurement, it seems to me that the SIG really is exactly what the Army was asking for. They have different grip modules and the internals can just plug and play into any of them. An armorer can quickly evaluate a soldier’s hand size, issue the correct size frame, and that’s that. From there, it’ll all be down to maintaining stock levels, but that’s a separate issue.

    1. I have occasionally wondered what would happen if the Army just said “Choose your own rifle and pistol; just make sure that it works with our ammunition and magazines”…

      As I started reading a review of the P320 from the NRA website last night, it occurred to me that with pistols they have decided to go that direction, albeit with a single model as the platform…

  6. Everything I’ve read says that the caliber is still up in the air (or at least unannounced). Do you have something that specifies 9mm?

    1. No…. it looks like they didn’t announce, but SIG submitted both 9mm and .40 S&W calibers to the competition, and it would seem unlikely to me they’d adopt .40S&W when the rest of the NATO supply chain uses 9mm.

  7. I think that an executive order specifying the Glock 21 would do more for morale than some Sig 9mm du jour. Pistols may be ultimately more about morale than efficiency, and a .45 ACP would do more for morale than a puny 9mm. It’s also about effectiveness over mere efficiency. Yeah, your bean counters will tell you that all you need to give your soldiers is a 9mm, but they need more than that. Give them a heroic weapon, so that they can do heroic deeds. Let’s get out of the Obama era. Our soldiers do not need commonality of pistol ammo with NATO. We can take care of our own.
    Frankly, we could win a war while issuing BB pistols to our troops, because handguns are not as decisive as they were when cavalry fought cavalry, as in the US Civil War, when it was a good idea to lose the saber, and carry 4 Colts.
    However, they do make a difference in morale, and esprit de corps, and that really does matter.
    And, quite frankly, I don’t want to see a Marine officer carrying a puny 9mm, as if he were merely some kraut with a crappy P38. That would be an insult to the Corps, and our American heritage as well.
    Glock was deliberately, and unjustly, screwed last time around, because of that evil crook from Crooklyn, Charles Schumer, and his hysteria over “plastic pistols”. Our military ended up stuck with that POS, fat butt, frame cracker, Beretta. They’ve gamed the requirements again to get what is politically correct. However, there is Glock, and there is everything else. Our people deserve the best pistol there is, and nothing less. Trump should be defiant, and order the Glock 21. Our troops would be proud.
    IMHO the .45 ACP is a pussycat cartridge. Very soft shooting with its low velocity, compared to the harsh on the nervous system, high intensity, vicious bark of the 9mm. So, how about a .45 ACP +P, for our standard pistol cartridge? Say, 10% higher pressure? Not your daddy’s .45? Might impress the troops, and their fathers. America should be America. I think that’s what Trump is saying, and I think that’s why he won. We should lead, not follow. Let’s do that. Let’s acknowledge the excellence of Glock, and of John Browning’s .45 ACP pistol round. Putin won’t like it, and China won’t like it, and Merkel won’t like it, and Rosie O’Donnell will have another meltdown, but when all the enemies of America hate what we do, that tells you that we’re on the right track. Let’s go that way.

    1. A cartridge adopted under Ronald Reagan is hardly part of the “Obama era,” or un-“heroic.”

      1. A lot of people can not control a 10mm. I have a Glock 40 longslide in 10mm. That Gun recoils like a .45 win mag. I had to greatly increase my hand strength just to get proficient with it. A 9mm just about anybody can handle. That is the original reason that the FBI dropped the 10mm.

  8. Funny, after 30 years of the M9, they have finally adopted a firearm that does what the M9 competition was supposed to do…

  9. I have three 9mm concealable handguns from three different countries. The Sig (229) is the one that finds it way into my holster virtually every day.
    It just plain flat works.
    Sig pistols are expensive and worth it.

  10. Law Enforcement is abandoning the .40 in droves so I’d expect it to be a 9mm. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see them go to an expanding bullet.

  11. All I carer about is that the US military surplus those M9 mags to the public and not crush them.

  12. I own pistols by multiple manufacturers, but my go to favorites and EDC are Sigs. I recently purchased their plastic striker fired gun, the full sized P320. I’ve never been a plastic fanboy, but the P320 really is one of the best out of the box handguns I’ve shot for under $600. For once the .gov made a good decision, and it’s nice to know parts will be available for years to come!

  13. This is a wonderful opportunity for the 80% receiver market. Every part for the p320 except for the receiver can be shipped right to your door no FFL, and the modular skeletonized receiver looks REALLY EASY to machine.

    It’s also a great way to own a pistol without having your name on the PA “non-registry” or having a 4473 form laying around some ATF warehouse with your name on it.

    Plus…. Carbine kits!

    Just sayin’……

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