U.S.M.C

[Larry White]

The Corps just bought 22.5 millon bucks worth of these. Just goes to show rock&roll will never die.-----------Larry

[zhunter]

I saw that, gotta love the 1911

[Pat Miles]

The cream always rises to the top.

Pat

[Coach]

I hope that gun will hold up to the rugged use it faces.

[JakeMartens]

I hope that gun will hold up to the rugged use it faces.

I should hope so

12,000 guns for $22,500,000 is $1875 per gun......wonder if it is going to be engraved and have ivory grips

[392heminut]

The way I understand it, the contract included a lot of mags and spare parts too.

[JakeMartens]

The way I understand it, the contract included a lot of mags and spare parts too.

Yeah about 100 mags per gun.

[twodownzero]

I bet they're just as sloppy as the crap they sell to the public.

[JimmyZip]

I don't know about these, but if memory serves me right, Bar-Sto did some work on 1911s for the Marines in the past. I think some of their people have been using 1911s for some time. Not all mind you , but some. I wonder who is making these for the Corps.

[pbosik]

I thought i saw that Colt was contracted. 1911's rock, so rock on !!

[hankfan79]

The Glock, M&P, or XD would be a much better option in the circumstance. Since most Marines are within the ages group of 18-26, it would be easier to teach young Marines how to use and maintain a pistol that is just downright easier to disassemble. However, I know the Glock doesn't meet the military standards (mainly a thumb safety) but I think some thinking outside the box was in order here.

I love the 1911 pistol but for combat these days, there are some better options.

[Tom D.]

Yea, not to mention the magazine capacity of the tactical tupperware. Really, Marines, there is a time for tradition to yield to reality.

[Will_M]

Test guns are cracking after 12k rounds in the same spot.

http://soldiersystems.net/2012/07/20/marsoc-winning-colt-guns/

[tpcdvc]

I don't like how they did the front cocking serrations. Probably not a good idea to make the slide thin at the joint where the rail and the spring tunnel come together. Not sure how deep they are, but maybe that area should be avoided.

Edited July 29, 2012 by tpcdvc

[countryboy223]

The Glock, M&P, or XD would be a much better option in the circumstance. Since most Marines are within the ages group of 18-26, it would be easier to teach young Marines how to use and maintain a pistol that is just downright easier to disassemble. However, I know the Glock doesn't meet the military standards (mainly a thumb safety) but I think some thinking outside the box was in order here.

I love the 1911 pistol but for combat these days, there are some better options.

i completely agree. The usmc should have went with a more modern polymer pistol that holds more rounds, im pretty sure there are M@p's that come with a thumb safety. this would have been cheaper and i think a better route

[Chuck Anderson]

Test guns are cracking after 12k rounds in the same spot.

http://soldiersystems.net/2012/07/20/marsoc-winning-colt-guns/

Wow, 12K and the frame is splitting and the slide is breaking apart. And that with a low pressure load like the .45? That's really messed up. It's not that hard to make a 1911 that will run. I can't believe that is the test results and they still picked them.

[twodownzero]

The Glock, M&P, or XD would be a much better option in the circumstance. Since most Marines are within the ages group of 18-26, it would be easier to teach young Marines how to use and maintain a pistol that is just downright easier to disassemble. However, I know the Glock doesn't meet the military standards (mainly a thumb safety) but I think some thinking outside the box was in order here.

Much better for who?

If it were as easy to shoot a striker fired gun as it is to shoot a single action, our sport wouldn't separate them into different divisions.

[steel1212]

Yea, not to mention the magazine capacity of the tactical tupperware. Really, Marines, there is a time for tradition to yield to reality.

Since when does any branch of military send its warriors out with just handguns? If your using your side arm your rifle has taken a dump.

[Duke Nukem]

It looks like they were fired without recoil springs. I have never seen a recoil spring plug look like that.

If you look at the crack its where the front of the frame hits the slide it should never touch if the recoil spring was in it.

So many people on this forum shoot 10 pound springs and never see that happen even in 100k rounds.

Since no explanation is offered with those pics I think it was a deliberate shoot to destruction test without a recoil spring. If it went 12k without a recoil spring then broke that's awesome durability.

Test guns are cracking after 12k rounds in the same spot.

http://soldiersystems.net/2012/07/20/marsoc-winning-colt-guns/

[JakeMartens]

It looks like they were fired without recoil springs. I have never seen a recoil spring plug look like that.

If you look at the crack its where the front of the frame hits the slide it should never touch if the recoil spring was in it.

So many people on this forum shoot 10 pound springs and never see that happen even in 100k rounds.

Since no explanation is offered with those pics I think it was a deliberate shoot to destruction test without a recoil spring. If it went 12k without a recoil spring then broke that's awesome durability.

Test guns are cracking after 12k rounds in the same spot.

http://soldiersystems.net/2012/07/20/marsoc-winning-colt-guns/

Curious how a recoil operated handgun could fire 12k rounds without a recoil spring?

[RIIID]

I've often wondered why the gov't just announces the winner and sometimes second place finisher(Springfield in this case) and contract amount, but never gives the complete story. Specs for test weapon, what type of a test( this seems to be a destruction test), how the test was done and by whom, and all companies that submitted weapons. Just a short paragraph the lends itself to speculation and misinformation.

Rich

[digby7]

open/SS and limited are all 1911/2011 platforms and while i love them all - i also spend alot of time taking care of them so they run.

If I was going overseas to a desert environment - i'd probably want a M&P or even a glock - a tool that is reliable that I dont have to worry about cleaning/oiling - + 10 more rounds per magazine also doesnt hurt.

[ben b.]

I've heard it was easier to get new .45 pistols that are already an authorized design than hold expensive, lengthy, BS-paperwork-intensive trials for a new .45 design. They already had the trained armorers & mags & some parts, & the cash-poor USMC thinks the 1911 works fine (for a lowly pistol). These are probably for MARSOC guys; I wonder if they come threaded? MARSOC is already using 1911A1s but MARSOC is increasing in size and they can't keep re-habbing declining numbers of WWII-era pistols for increasing numbers of troops.

I hear mixed reliability on double stack mags subjected to sandy water/surf zone conditions, if they are doing maritime-type activity.

The slide issue might be a heat treat problem.

The .45 1911 is a good pistol. It's not the top choice from the modern field, but neither is the M14 and those appear to be seeing action again.

Edited July 31, 2012 by ben b.

[diablodawg]

I've heard it was easier to get new .45 pistols that are already an authorized design than hold expensive, lengthy, BS-paperwork-intensive trials for a new .45 design. They already had the trained armorers & mags & some parts, & the cash-poor USMC thinks the 1911 works fine (for a lowly pistol). These are probably for MARSOC guys; I wonder if they come threaded? MARSOC is already using 1911A1s but MARSOC is increasing in size and they can't keep re-habbing declining numbers of WWII-era pistols for increasing numbers of troops.

I hear mixed reliability on double stack mags subjected to sandy water/surf zone conditions, if they are doing maritime-type activity.

The slide issue might be a heat treat problem.

The .45 1911 is a good pistol. It's not the top choice from the modern field, but neither is the M14 and those appear to be seeing action again.

They had to hold all new trials; weren't just add-ons from a previous contract. Its a non-issue. MARSOC already uses whatever weapons they want to, 'approved' or not- don't forget they are part of SOCOM.

And no one to my knowledge is still using M14s these days. They were a terribly executed stopgap at their time anyway.

This pistol buy was short sighted and silly, quite frankly.

[Dr Mitch]

Colt has an advantage in being a historic military contractor. The DoD having a revolving-door setup with the military/industrial complex is no different than Wall Street's revolving-door setup with the SEC and Dept of Justice: Colt hires retired generals to run the company and make sure they get awarded small-arms contracts, which is probably why they haven't done anything right in at least 30 years. Their only stab at any kind of creativity and genuine interest in the private markets only occurred out of sheer desperation when they lost their last remaining contract for providing service rifles.