Posted on 08/06/2002 11:54:12 AM PDT by demlosers
CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa — Not everyone in the U.S. military carries Beretta’s M-9 9 mm handgun. A small group of Marines still carry .45-caliber pistols — but they’re a far cry from Grandpa’s World War II gun.
Marine Corps officials keep about 500 .45-caliber pistols, based on the Colt M-1911A1 frame. They’re called MEU (SOC) .45s, specially designed for applications within the Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Special Operations Capable missions.
They’re issued to Force Reconnaissance Marines as secondary weapons to submachine guns for their role as the Maritime Special Purpose Force. This gun shoots up close and personal.
Marine Capt. Jeffrey Stower, project officer for the MEU (SOC) .45 at Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va., said the .45 is essential to Marines’ direct-action missions as a secondary weapon. It’s so important, in fact, that the Marine Corps plans to upgrade the weapon.
The Corps now builds its own specialized version of the .45-caliber pistol from existing M-1911A1 frames still in inventory.
Armorers at the Marine Corps Weapons Training Battalion in Quantico refit the guns. They install new slides, barrels and internal components to what is called “near match” or “combat accuratized” specifications. Each weapon costs about $600 and is good for 30,000 shots before it needs to be refitted.
The planned improvements won’t affect the .45’s appearance or make it shoot faster or more smoothly. But they should make it more durable.
Stower said the Marine Corps wants to put in “hardened, drop-in parts, which would enhance the reliability and endurance of the weapon, as well as lower the echelon of maintenance.”
“The two biggest reasons we carry the .45 pistol,” said Marine Maj. Tracy Tafolla, “is a single-action loader is a little faster for the Marines to use when conducting close-quarters battle.”
“We get faster, stronger and more accurate shots that we just wouldn’t get with a double-action pistol,” said Tafolla, head of the Special Missions branch, III3rd Marine Expeditionary Force Special Operations Training Group. That means Marines can get off a first round faster, smoother and more accurately.
“Another reason we use the MEU (SOC) .45 is because of its ability to incapacitate a hostile person with one round,” Tafolla said. “We’re much more likely to do that with a .45 than with a 9 mm.”
Tafolla said the M-9 9 mm is a good weapon with good attributes. He said the safety of double-action triggers, high-capacity 15-round magazines and the fact it’s the same round used by other NATO allies makes it a natural fit for standard issue. He labeled the M-9 as a “good personal self-defense weapon.”
In fact, the same Marines who carry the beefy .45s also carry MP-5 submachine guns that shoot 9 mm rounds. But when firing those submachine guns, they shoot “double-taps,” or two squeezes on the trigger, to ensure an enemy soldier is hit with a massive amount of lead. Special Operations Training Group instructors teach a single shot to the head for the .45.
The MEU (SOC) .45 also is better able to survive harsh battlefield environments, Tafolla said. It can fire in dirtier conditions that would gum up the M-9; its heavier frame can take more abuse.
“Look at how many decades we’ve been using the .45,” the major said. “It’s a proven weapon.”
Tafolla said Marines using the specialized .45-caliber pistols expect to be fighting within steps of their enemy, “with very little stand-off room.” The time needed to get off a second shot can be the difference between life and death.
“They need a weapon that will be able to put somebody down now,” Tafolla said. “It all comes back to the energy you deliver to the target. Although the 9 mm is faster, the .45 is able to deliver more energy and achieve greater penetration. That’s what you have to have.”
I think that the 1911 is one of the most beautiful and well-constructed firearms ever devised. It is simple yet elegant.
If not, does anyone have a recommendation on currently available versions of this weapon?
I wish I knew. You probably can get a nice accuratized .45 somewhere.
The Marines have it right, the 9mm is a pooch.
As I understand it, a double-action is when you pull the trigger which cocks the hammer and fires the round, and for single-action is a manual cock of the hammer.
On a double action pistol, pulling the trigger cocks the hammer and drops the hammer. On an SA (single action) pistol, the trigger does not cock the hammer. On a DA/SA, the trigger typically cocks the hammer on the first shot, while subsequent shots are SA (I say typically because you could decock after the first round for another DA shot, or you could have something like an HK USP, which can be carried safely in SA mode on the first round, or decocked in DA mode).
Another type of action is the Glock type action, which uses a striker that exists in a sort of half-cocked state, so that the trigger pull is lighter than DA but longer than SA.
Double-action Only (DAO) means you have that long trigger squeeze to pull back the hammer every single time you want to fire.
MEU (SOC) Pistol
Primary function: Modified .45 caliber pistol
Builder: Specially trained armorers at the Rifle Team Equipment (RTE) Shop, MCB Quantico, Virginia
Length: 8.625 inches (21.91 centimeters)
Length of barrel: 5.03 inches (12.78 centimeters)
Weight:
Magazine empty: 2.5 pounds (1.14 kilograms)
Magazine loaded: 3.0 pounds (1.36 kilograms)
Bore diameter: .45 caliber
Maximum effective range: 164 feet (50 meters) for specially-trained user
Muzzle velocity: 830 feet/252 meters/second
Magazine capacity: 7 rounds
Unit Replacement Cost: $600
Features: This weapon is a modified M1911A1 .45 caliber pistol sometimes referred to as "near match" or "combat accuratized." The MEU(SOC) Pistol is the designated "backup weapon" of Marines armed with the 9mm MP5-N Close Quarters Battle weapon. The M1911A1 was chosen for this role (and its modifications generated) because of its inherent reliability and lethality, and because the MEU(SOC) modifications make the M1911A1 design more "user friendly."
The unique characteristics of the MEU(SOC) pistol are: commercial/competition grade ambidextrous safety, precision barrel, precise trigger, and rubber coated grips, rounded hammer spur, high profile combat sights, and an extra-wide grip safety for increased comfort and controllability (which aids in a quick follow-up second shot). The issue magazines are replaced with stainless steel competition-grade magazines with rounded plastic follower and extended floor plate.
Inventory: 500
Background: The weapon modifications were designed in 1986 to meet the requirements of the MEU(SOC). Each pistol is hand-built by specially trained armorers at the Rifle Team Equipment (RTE) shop, Quantico, Virginia.
There is much said about the 15 round capacity of the Barretta, but why are we not using the double stack magazine on the 1911? Para-Ordinance originally came out with the wide frame, but it is available from many companies now (including Wilson's)
Except that Kimber, in its bid to satisfy the P.C. gods have saddled JMB's creation with a Series II safety, which is prone to failure.
Stupid Kimber, no cookie for you.
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