Project Reality Forums

Don't the marines still use the good old 1911?? Less ammo but more firepower. I heard they don't like the 9mm. But maybe they changed their mind...

I thought only their Spec Ops got issed the MEUSOC 1911's. Everyone else had to pick from the pool of M9's.

I think the M9 is standard issue among all regular units. I can't remember the details but the only reason they use it is because of some deal with Beretta when they were buying some other weapons from them. They "threw them in" for cheap and gave them production rights or something for the production rights of something else.

Enforcer1975 wrote:Don't the marines still use the good old 1911?? Less ammo but more firepower. I heard they don't like the 9mm. But maybe they changed their mind...

Tacamo is correct. Only the Maritime Special Purpose Force direct-action component (attached Force Recon direct-action platoon) of a MEU(SOC) get the M1911 MEU(SOC) Pistol, which is assembled from military stock, commercial off-the-shelf and in-house, custom-made components by USMC Precision Weapons Armorers. The Marine detachments to USSOCOM recently were issued a new M1911 near-match-grade pistol produced by Kimber, which they have designated the ICQB (Interim Close-Quarters Battle) Pistol, since the MEU(SOC) Pistols are almost 20 years old.

Enforcer1975 wrote:I think the M9 is standard issue among all regular units. I can't remember the details but the only reason they use it is because of some deal with Beretta when they were buying some other weapons from them. They "threw them in" for cheap and gave them production rights or something for the production rights of something else.

The M9 is the standard issue sidearm under most circumstances. The M11 [SIG-Sauer P228] is available to Military Police Criminal Investigations Division and counterintelligence personnel. Aviators used to be issued with .38 Special revolvers until enough M9s made it into the inventory.

Some USSOCOM units may have other options, such as the SIG-Sauer P226N, Mk-23 Offensive Handgun Weapons System aka "SOCOM Pistol" (which has been a major disappointment) or H&K USP .45 Tactical. SFOD-D supposedly uses an in-house or commercially customized (Kimber or Wilson) M1911 variant.

The Beretta model 92 variant submitted was the winner of the XM9 trials in the 1980s, beating out the SIG-Sauer P226; mainly because of per-unit cost, as I understand it.

What's with Delta? I know they were using the 1911, and they seem to have switched to the M9, too. Right? I'm only asking because of reenactment stuff i wanted to do. And some SF do use foreign weapons like AKs...?

It depends where they're going. If they're going where AK's are common they'll use AK's, or weapons that take the same ammo (for some reason they made an M16 that could fire the AK-47 7.62 x 39mm for "ease of operation" yet they didn't make the things take AK mags... handy).

Thought I read somewhere that they wanted to go with SIG's submission over Beretta's, but cost was the sticking point.

Supposedly SOCOM is looking for another .45 pistol, and have merged their program with the regular Army's acquisition program. Would be surprising if the regular Army goes back to .45.

Enforcer1975 wrote:What's with Delta? I know they were using the 1911, and they seem to have switched to the M9, too. Right? I'm only asking because of reenactment stuff i wanted to do. And some SF do use foreign weapons like AKs...?

Well, what SFOD-D actually uses as their standard sidearm in various situations is their business, and nobody who as real, first-hand knowledge is (or should be) talking about it. It could be any of the sidearms I mentioned already, or might even be none of the above.

Army Special Forces (and US special operations forces in general) do train to use foreign small arms, especially the AK variants, and other weapons common to their group's/team's geographic area of operations. Army SF 18B weapons sergeants get to play with them even more. When operating with indigenous forces in an unconventional warfare capacity they may use the weapons common to those forces.