The cream always comes to the top

[chew 'n' spit]

Hence this decision by the Marines.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/28...liber-pistols/

[Mike]

[Truckman]

Some reports suggest Marines are not happy with their main Beretta M9s for their lack of accuracy and stopping power.

Since its adoption by the US Army 101 years ago, nobody has been able to improve John Browning's basic design...The only reason they went to the M9 was to match the ammo of their NATO allies...I said from the beginning of the argument that the rest of the world needed to step up to a real cartridge......Ben

[DanH]

Hooray! A good .45 hole in a dude is a tried and true prescription.

[Dave Grubb]

Anybody think the Marines would settle for a weapon that needed 500 rounds through it to be sure it functioned properly

[Truckman]

Anybody think the Marines would settle for a weapon that needed 500 rounds through it to be sure it functioned properly

A Mil-Spec gun should be expected to function properly right out of the box...But for $1875.00 a copy, it better...But I also don't know any Marine that would strap one to his hip and jump into battle without putting that many rounds (or more) through it first......Ben

[chew 'n' spit]

I will leave the choice of this weapon to the experts........

[Dave Grubb]

A Mil-Spec gun should be expected to function properly right out of the box...But for $1875.00 a copy, it better...But I also don't know any Marine that would strap one to his hip and jump into battle without putting that many rounds (or more) through it first......Ben

It would be interesting to know the full history of those weapons. I know I wasn't the first to be issued the one I carried and suspect wouldn't have been the last.

[Mike]

On March 3, 1911, the Army began a torture test. Each pistol would be fired 100 times, then allowed to cool for five minutes. After each 1,000 rounds the pistols would be cleaned and oiled. After 6,000 rounds, the pistols were tested with deformed cartridges, some with bullets seated too deeply, others not seated enough. The test pistols were soaked in water, mud and even acid. Browning’s design passed every test without a single failure—the first of any firearm to survive such a 6,000-round test.

LINK

[Truckman]

For those who like to read and absorb the knowledge of others (like Dave and me), I once again highly recommend getting your own copy of "Hatcher's Notebook" written by Julian S. Hatcher...General Hatcher was a fountain of information covering the development process of firearms and ammunition for the military, and he blessed us all by putting much of what he knew in print...He wrote many books, but his most widely read was his "Notebook"...

It begins in the period of the Spanish-American War when the Army first realized its need for better weapons for its infantry...My copy contains his last revisions, and I now have it in rotation order for a thorough re-reading...If you don't have a copy, get one...You will not regret it......Ben