Shooting for Shaw
The 20th Security Forces Squadron Combat Arms hosted the inaugural M9 pistol Excellence in Competition shooting event at the Combat Arms training range complex at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, Nov. 4-8.
The event is a U.S. Air Force Sports Branch sanctioned event open to all Department of Defense components over the course of five days that encourages warrior ethos and contributes to Airman readiness to support wartime operations downrange.
“We wanted to increase morale and cohesion while giving an opportunity to practice with their service pistols outside of the parameters of a standard Air Force qualification course,” said Staff Sgt. Troy Maycock, 20th SFS combat arms instructor.
Members from the U.S. Army and Air Force active duty, South Carolina Air National Guard and reservists from five installations throughout Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina attended the event.
The course was broken down into five elements: classroom instruction, a practice round and three phases of firing.
In class, each participant received a 20-minute safety brief, followed by 20 minutes of mechanical review and competition requirements. The event consisted of 40 rounds of live fire from the 9mm pistol. Continue reading
Modern Weapons: Newly Fielded M17s Used at Ranges
Eager Soldiers shared looks of excitement and awe under the watch of the immense New Mexico golden mesas as they awaited their opportunity to finally fire the newly fielded M17 pistol.
Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division fired the M17 pistol for the first time during a qualification range, October 10. Within 1AD, 3ABCT is the first brigade to field and fire the new weapons system.
“The M17 pistol is an adaptable weapons system. It feels a lot smoother and a lot lighter than the M9,” said 2nd Lt. Michael Preston, an armor officer assigned to 1-67 AR. “I feel like the transition to the M17 will benefit us greatly in combat. Just from being out here today I was able to shoot well and notice that it felt lighter.”
The M17 is a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, which offers a lighter weight than the previous M9 pistol, weighing 30.8 ounces. It has an improved ergonomic design and a more modern internal striker firing mechanism, rather than an external hammer firing mechanism, to reduce trigger pull and improve accuracy and lethality.
The striker design of the M17 is less likely to snag on clothing or tactical gear when firing than an external hammer and furthermore, the M17 has a capacity of 17 rounds, two more than the M9.
The M17 pistol is the full-sized variant of the Modular Handgun System which also includes the compact M18 pistol, designed to replace the M9 and M11 pistols.
Soldiers using the new M17 pistol will potentially have greater maneuverability and operational flexibility while in combat, due to the reduced weight and improved design compared to the M9 pistol.
“When we climb out of our tanks, less weight is good,” said 1st Lt. Shannon Martin, an armor officer assigned to 1-67 AR and native of Scituate, Massachusetts. “Every ounce that you shave off the equipment is less weight for Soldiers to carry. So for those infantrymen who are rucking miles at a time, it is good for them to have less weight that they’re carrying so that they can focus on staying fit for the fight and being ready to go.” Continue reading
U.S. Marine Corps Adoption of M18 Underscores Success of SIG SAUER Modular Handgun System Program
SIG SAUER, Inc. is honored to announce that the United States Marine Corps (USMC) is set to adopt the M18, the compact variant of the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS), as their official duty pistol.
“The Marine Corps announcement to put the M18 in service with the Marines is a very exciting development for SIG SAUER, and a true testament to the success of the MHS program,” began Ron Cohen, President & CEO, SIG SAUER, Inc. “The Marine’s procurement of the M18 brings the adoption of our Modular Handgun System full circle, as this means, beginning in 2020, either the M17 or the M18 will be officially in service with every branch of the U.S. Military.”
The M18 is a 9mm, striker-fired pistol featuring a coyote-tan PVD coated stainless steel slide with black controls. The pistol is equipped with SIGLITE front night sights and removable night sight rear plate, and manual safety. Continue reading
CMP Releases Details on 1911 Pistols
Prices, Purchase Procedures, and More
While the National Defense Authorization Act granted transfer of a maximum of 10,000 1911s per year to the CMP, the Secretary of the Army allowed only 8,000 1911s to be transferred to the CMP for sale and distribution this fiscal year. Some of those are anticipated to be unusual and worthy of being auctioned. The remaining number will be sold based on a computerized Random Number Generator.
The CMP does not know what next year’s allotment might be.
Procedures for Purchasing 1911 Type Pistols from CMP 1911
Every applicant will be treated as a new customer to CMP.
Previous purchases or relationships with CMP create no advantage or disadvantage to the customer.
CMP 1911 is an FFL governed operation and is a separate entity from CMP and has its own record keeping operation with no ties to the existing CMP records.
PLEASE DO NOT CALL, LEAVE MESSAGES OR EMAIL THE CMP 1911 CUSTOMER SERVICE/SALES DEPARTMENT (which will be functional 4 June 2018) NOR THE CMP CUSTOMER SERVICE/SALES DEPARTMENT. They have no further information at this time. However, all ordering information will be included in the 1911 packet posted 4 June 2018. The information contained in the packet should answer ALL QUESTIONS regarding the ordering process. ORDERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED BEFORE 4 SEPTEMBER 2018. ORDERS RECEIVED BEFORE THAT DATE WILL BE DESTROYED.
Thank you for your patience, understanding and support.
CMP1911 Customer Purchase Details
- CMP 1911 order form packet will be posted on the CMP website thecmp.org on 4 June 2018 for download – click on CMP 1911 icon.
- CMP 1911 customer service number is 256-835-8455 extension 461. (This number is non operational until June 4, 2018)
- CMP 1911 customer service email address cmp1911@thecmp.org. (Please do not email questions about the ordering process until the order packet is posted June 4, 2018. All information needed to order a CMP 1911 is in the order packet.)
- Only ONE CMP 1911 order form packet per customer may be submitted.
- CMP 1911 order form packet must be mailed to the following address. This includes USPS, UPS, Fed Ex, etc. Orders must be postmarked NOT PRIOR TO 4 September 2018 and NOT AFTER 4 October 2018. Any orders received postmarked prior to September 4 will not be accepted. Hand delivered, emailed and faxed orders will not be accepted. Only orders sent to the following CMP 1911 address will be accepted:
CMP 1911
1800 Roberts Drive
Anniston, AL 36207 - Customer names from complete CMP 1911 order form packets will be fed into a computerized Random Number Generator on 5 October 2018. The Random Number Generator will provide a list of names in sequential order through the random picking process. Customers will be contacted in the sequence provided by the Random Number Generator. The CMP 1911 customers will select their grade of pistol (Service, Field or Rack) from available inventory at the time of order notification. Customers with higher numbers may have fewer grades from which to choose. When this year’s allotment of 1911s is exhausted, the remaining orders will be held in the existing sequence for all future allotments of 1911s. The CMP does not know what future allotments might be.
The Corps’ Secret Agents Get Their Own 007 in New Glock
The Marine Corps is equipping Marines with a new weapon, providing enhanced concealed carry capabilities at an accelerated rate and lower cost to the Corps.
The Glock 19M—called the M007 by the Corps—replaces the M9 service pistol for personnel requiring a weapon that can be easily concealed.
The Marine Corps requires that all accredited Marine Corps Criminal Investigators, both civilian and military, be armed with a concealable pistol when on duty in civilian attire. This concealed weapon capability ensures those performing official duties—such as law enforcement or security personnel—are not readily identified as being armed.
“The M007 has a smaller frame and is easier to conceal, making it a natural selection to meet the Marine Corps’ conceal carry weapon requirement,” said Gunnery Sgt. Brian Nelson, Individual Weapons project officer at Marine Corps Systems Command.
In coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which adopted the weapon in 2016, the Corps fielded the M007 earlier this year to Marines and civilians in the Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division, as well as members of Helicopter Squadron One—also known as Marine One. Continue reading
Sig Sauer: The P320 is Perfectly Safe
Sig Sauer’s new P320 – which won the XM17 bids for United States Army and Air Force Modular Handgun Systems and has been adopted by a number of relatively high-profile law enforcement outfits – has been facing some online heat as of late. The P320, which beat out offerings from Glock, FN, Beretta, and others, will become the US Military’s new M17 pistol to replace the Beretta M9 and Sig’s old P228 variant, the M11. The XM17 competition results were hotly contested by other manufactures, most notably Glock, who have challenged the results multiple times.
Amid internet buzz that individual owners and law enforcement armorers are concerned about how drop safe the new pistols are and which departments may or may not be abandoning the platform, Sig Sauer sent out the following release yesterday evening:
SIG SAUER Reaffirms Safety of P320 Pistol
Striker-fired pistol exceeds safety standards of ANSI/SAAMI and U.S. military testing
In response to social media rumors questioning the safety of the P320 pistol, a variant of which was selected by the U.S. government as the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS), SIG SAUER, Inc. has full confidence in the reliability, durability and safety of its striker-fired handgun platform. There have been zero (0) reported drop-related P320 incidents in the U.S. commercial market, with hundreds of thousands of guns delivered to date.
The P320 meets and exceeds all U.S. standards for safety, including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc. (SAAMI), as well as rigorous testing protocols for global military and law enforcement agencies.
All SIG SAUER pistols incorporate effective mechanical safeties to ensure they only fire when the trigger is pressed. However, like any mechanical device, exposure to acute conditions (e.g. shock, vibration, heavy or repeated drops) may have a negative effect on these safety mechanisms and cause them to not work as designed. This language is common to owner’s manuals of major handgun manufacturers.
As a result, individual attempts to perform drop tests outside of professionally controlled environments should not be attempted.
“SIG SAUER is committed to producing only the finest products,” said Ron Cohen, President and CEO of SIG SAUER. “Safety and reliability have been and always will be paramount to the SIG SAUER brand.”
