I'm posting this because it actually made the news wire today, but I don't really see anything new
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., May. 15 (UPI) -- Smith-and-Wesson started shipping to retailers an updated .45-caliber pistol and is ready to supply the U.S. military if it decides it needs a new sidearm.
The military has been exploring the possibility of going back to a heavyweight .45 as a standard sidearm to replace the current 9mm weapon that has been in use since the 1980s. The 9mm pistol is considered by critics to be more of a welterweight.
"We are also aware that multiple branches of the military have expressed a desire to shift from their current 9mm weapons to either a .40- or .45-caliber duty weapon for greater stopping power," company President Leland Nichols said in a statement Monday. "We are now currently shipping both .40 and .45 calibers, as well as a 9mm, in the M-and-P (Military and Police) Pistol Series, and are fully prepared to address either requirement, should the U.S. military initiate a request for purchase."
The momentum toward a change in handguns seemed stalled when an Air Force request for a purchase of .45s was dropped from a supplemental defense appropriations bill so the Pentagon could study the idea further.
The new .45 produced by Smith-and-Wesson in New England is part of a line of polymer pistols launched in 2005 and is being shipped to retailers. The use of polymer reduces the weight of the gun and was made popular by Glock.
The new .45 comes with a 10-plus-1 magazine with an optional 15-shot available. There are interchangeable grips.
Del.ici
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., May. 15 (UPI) -- Smith-and-Wesson started shipping to retailers an updated .45-caliber pistol and is ready to supply the U.S. military if it decides it needs a new sidearm.
The military has been exploring the possibility of going back to a heavyweight .45 as a standard sidearm to replace the current 9mm weapon that has been in use since the 1980s. The 9mm pistol is considered by critics to be more of a welterweight.
"We are also aware that multiple branches of the military have expressed a desire to shift from their current 9mm weapons to either a .40- or .45-caliber duty weapon for greater stopping power," company President Leland Nichols said in a statement Monday. "We are now currently shipping both .40 and .45 calibers, as well as a 9mm, in the M-and-P (Military and Police) Pistol Series, and are fully prepared to address either requirement, should the U.S. military initiate a request for purchase."
The momentum toward a change in handguns seemed stalled when an Air Force request for a purchase of .45s was dropped from a supplemental defense appropriations bill so the Pentagon could study the idea further.
The new .45 produced by Smith-and-Wesson in New England is part of a line of polymer pistols launched in 2005 and is being shipped to retailers. The use of polymer reduces the weight of the gun and was made popular by Glock.
The new .45 comes with a 10-plus-1 magazine with an optional 15-shot available. There are interchangeable grips.
Del.ici
