armed forces hand guns?

[trainwreck]

I have been thinking about buying another hand gun or two, but i want to make sure that i will be able to find ammo in the event of a shtf kind of thing.

So i was thinking of getting the same caliber of gun that the armed forces use.


Is this a good idea? and what gun would that be?




Thanks.

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[SavageGerbil]

9x19 (standard 9mm luger/parabellum) is the current military pistol caliber, which is really nice because its about the cheapest pistol caliber to snag up and extremely common

 

[terrylf72]

Military: 9mm and 45acp..
LEO's: 9mm, .40 short and wimpy, 45acp

myself pistol: 9mm, 10mm, 45acp, .357 mag, 44 mag, 45 colt
the 3 bolds are also usable in my rifles

 

[Crispy]

The M9 (Beretta 92) is the standard sidearm of the U.S., some circles use the M11 (Sig 228). On some occasions Glock 9mm.

 

[The Quiet Man]

I have been thinking about buying another hand gun or two, but i want to make sure that i will be able to find ammo in the event of a shtf kind of thing.

So i was thinking of getting the same caliber of gun that the armed forces use.


Is this a good idea? and what gun would that be?




Thanks.

My wife and I thought it a good enough idea (or excuse) to buy Beretta 92's. We already were/are well stocked with 1911's. I think any high quality 9 mm is a good choice, and one of the best bets as far as foraging ammo in a SHTF circumstance.

 

[Seabee Patriot]

I am also like minded in such matters. I have been purchasing what we call "NATO Standard" firearms for the SHTF scenario. We now have .45, 9mm, 223/556 and 762/308. We figure finding ammo would be easier in those calibers in such a scenario. Of course, we also include .22 in that even though that is not considered a military round but it is SO abundant that I think it would be easy to acquire also. Just my 2 cents.

 

[drew]

I am also like minded in such matters. I have been purchasing what we call "NATO Standard" firearms for the SHTF scenario. We now have .45, 9mm, 223/556 and 762/308. We figure finding ammo would be easier in those calibers in such a scenario. Of course, we also include .22 in that even though that is not considered a military round but it is SO abundant that I think it would be easy to acquire also. Just my 2 cents.

That's kind of what I unintentionally did. Guess great minds think alike.

 

[Riot]

The M9 (Beretta 92) is the standard sidearm of the U.S., some circles use the M11 (Sig 228). On some occasions Glock 9mm.

There it is....I don't know where some of you guys are getting .45 ACPs though. The 1911s have been out since just after WWII. The only time I saw a .45 ACP on a US serviceman's hip was for Special Forces.

Current issue sidearm for the US military is the Beretta 92FS. Then again, only high ranking officers, medics (Corpsman for Marines/Navy), heavy gunners and military police have the 92FS. Everyone else has a rifle (in the military you are a rifleman, first, and your specialty, second). Few specialty sections (CID, MPI) are issued the Sig Sauer or Sig P228 (don't quote me on that last part, they may have been Sig P229s).

For the pistol calliber- if you want something abundant due to simular ammunition and magazines I would find out what the common gun is your state and local police use (probably Glock 23 or Glock 22). Rifle I would stick with an AR-15 since the most of the parts, mags and ammo are the same...but only for the reason of abundance.


But then again, I would chose a rifle an pistol that you can comfortably shoot and shoot accuratly....and can fit your budget. Then (if you want familiar callibers around) I would adjust my choice of firearm from there to the specific calliber.

That's my 2 cents...

 

[The Quiet Man]

There it is....I don't know where some of you guys are getting .45 ACPs though. The 1911s have been out since just after WWII. The only time I saw a .45 ACP on a US serviceman's hip was for Special Forces.

Current issue sidearm for the US military is the Beretta 92FS...

That's my 2 cents...

A lot of us old guys still think of the 1911 as a US military handgun because we carried them while in the service. Apparently, many more MOS's were issued a handgun when I was in than when you served. The 1911 was the primary service handgun for 40 years AFTER the end of WWII. The M9 was not adopted until 1985. I think the OP was really thinking mostly of handgun ammo availability from military sources in a SHTF situation... and that gets us to the 9mm whether we like it or not

 

[biggie24420]

I would pick 9mm for my first choice and the .40 cal. would be my second choice as far as pistols go. As far as the riffle goes, well I have not had any experience with .223/5.56 but I guess that is a popular round so I would pick that for my rifle if I had to, but in all reality I have my AK-74 and i'm sticking to my 5.45 and I guess I just won't be shooting my rifle as much in a SHTF situation.

 

[Crispy]

Few specialty sections (CID, MPI) are issued the Sig Sauer or Sig P228 (don't quote me on that last part, they may have been Sig P229s).
.

The Sig M11 (P228) is normally reserved for smaller more specialized type units where the possibility of needing to concealment or size is concerned such as CID, Pilots and well anyone that can get one issued to them. Money is also a concern as the M11 costs more than a M9.

 

[ChicagoGuy]

There it is....I don't know where some of you guys are getting .45 ACPs though. The 1911s have been out since just after WWII. The only time I saw a .45 ACP on a US serviceman's hip was for Special Forces.

.45 ACP is making a pretty big comeback. Even though the Beretta is still the default, a lot of units are now requesting the 1911 again, and in fact the Marine Corps still uses armorers to rebuild and recirc 1911s.

Rumor (and it's just a rumor) is that all services are evaluating bringing back the .45.

And I have no proof of that to back my statement up. Just something I heard. But I did find this with a quick Bing search:

Joint Combat Pistol (JCP) System
The .45 is Coming Back to the Military

Looks like the links are a bit older, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it take a few years to work it's way through the system.

 

[QXSOUP]

The JCP was canceled. HOWEVER, several of the companies that supplied pistols for the contract run off have successfully been selling examples to us civilians.

FNP 45 Tactical
Sig P220 Combat
Etc...

 

[ChicagoGuy]

The JCP was canceled. HOWEVER, several of the companies that supplied pistols for the contract run off have successfully been selling examples to us civilians.

FNP 45 Tactical
Sig P220 Combat
Etc...

Last I heard was that this had been resurrected. Maybe not though.

Can't find anything recent to support it. Still, I'd have no issues with .45 in a SHTF scenario.

 

[nixuser]

well for my $$$ i will stick to the tt33 type comie bloc pistols and ammo 7.62x25 $130.00 for 1260 rnds of this ammo you can afford to practice a lot !
tt 33 - Google Search

 

[Riot]

.45 ACP is making a pretty big comeback. Even though the Beretta is still the default, a lot of units are now requesting the 1911 again, and in fact the Marine Corps still uses armorers to rebuild and recirc 1911s.

Rumor (and it's just a rumor) is that all services are evaluating bringing back the .45.

And I have no proof of that to back my statement up. Just something I heard. But I did find this with a quick Bing search:

You are correct...they were looking to replace the 9mm with the .45 ACp and the Colt M4 with another rifle as well. The US Military opened the floor to manufacturers (hence the invention of the H&K 416, XM8, FN SCAR, Robinson XCR, S&W M&P, ect.). I garantee that these gun manufacturers tried to jump on the US Military contract by inventing this surge of weaponry....even MagPul invented the Masada (most commonly known as the ACR).

Nevertheless, the Military renewed the weapon contracts with Colt (M4s), FN (M16s, M249s, M240s, ect) and Beretta (M9). So these gun manufacturers pretty much spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on expensive wall hangers (the only new rifle to be adopted was the FN SCAR by the US Special Forces as an option weapon).

XM8 Lightweight Assault Rifle

However, this research wasn't a TOTAL loss. Most Army snipers are now being issued a new .308 (7.62x51 NATO) rifle known as the XM110.



The XM110 is a Knight's Armament semi-automatic .308 sniper rifle with a detachable supressor. A HUGE step up from the old bolt-action M24 rifles.

The possibilty of the US new service rifle also opened the playing field for different rifles that are now available for civilian purchase...so their loss is our gain.

 

[NK777]

I was in from 1992-1998. I was there for the change over to that damn Berretta $#!*. Somewhere in like 1997 they replaced our beloved 1911 45ACP's with that dreadful POS in 9mm. Sorry to Berretta lovers everywhere to include my father but I've never liked the gun. To each there own. Additionally I'm not to found of most firearms in 9mm with the exception of the Subcompact XD 9mm (This was a sweat shooter).

Hello my name is Brian and I'm hopelessly addicted to 45 ACP. It gets worse because I reload it for cheap by the thousand.

 

[Buddhalux]

Your units didn't change them out till 97?? I was in Korea in 90 when we changed them out to the M9.

 

[gearhead]

Coast Guard switched from the Beretta (never cared for it either) to the Sig P229 DAK in .40. My only complaint is the heavy trigger pull, and that its too big for me to carry concealed. As a duty weapon, I love it. (I still think we should have chosen something with a polymer frame as we work in a saltwater environment, but that probably made too much sense for the government to consider it as an option)

 

[NK777]

Your units didn't change them out till 97?? I was in Korea in 90 when we changed them out to the M9.

Could have been 1996. US NAVY though. I believe we held onto the 1911 for the longest.