The Air Force is replacing its aging Beretta M9 pistol lineup with 125,000 Sig Sauer M18s.

Reptile

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A press released from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base quotes small arms program office senior logistics manager Merrill Adkison saying,


The Air Force bought the M9s back in the 1980s, and the design has not really changed since then. M9s are larger, heavier, all-metal pistols; whereas M18s are lighter polymer pistols with a more consistent trigger pull and adjustable grips for large and small hands.

 
Yeah. Because the Japanese overrun Air Fields in the US all the time. LOL

They could get a pocket full of rocks almost the entire time for their needs. USUALLY (virtually always, but. . . . ) the only problem SF has is some drunken spouse trying to run the blockade at the gate yelling, "Do you know who my husband is?"

That said, I'd rather them have Sigs. I've never liked the M9/92FS. And the DA/SA never EVER made sense to me. People would gush over how wonderful it was, but shockingly everything's gone away from it.

Of course their logic of the Sig being 1/3 the price of a new M9 is. . . not logical. If you have 125K M9's that have seen virtually NO use in 35 years, why do would you replace them with NEW M9's with virtually no use on them???

I'm always amazed at how young and slightly scared the folks at SF are on base. My son looks clearly older and more secure in his environment. He's only 24. They can't be THAT much younger than him. This goes all teh way back 5 years ago in SanAntone. Although I think some seasoned folks were on the gate there. The greener ones were inside.

Well, good for Sig and good for the SF guys that have to carry them. No boat anchors on the belt anymore.
 
so i guess this means that the post here a little while back that said sig was going belly up...it was only the european division and sig usa is alive and kicking.
 
I still think the 92 gets more of a bad rap than it deserves.

I can see that. It's not the epitome of evil. But it was never much of an improvement, either.

Does this mean there will be M9s coming through CMP soon? Will they qualify for C&R? [troll]

If so, you're welcome to take my share along with yours.
 
Both (M9 & M18) are great shooters, although I have to confess that I'm partial to the M9. I have a fair amount of trigger time with the Beretta and love that design, but I have to admit that I was pretty impressed with the M18.
 
I think the Beretta 92/M9 is a good gun but they do wear out in a setting like the military where they go through many hands over many years. Aluminum frames. Those frames will wear out with a steel slide riding on aluminum.

How long were the 1911’s in service? They didn’t make any post WW2 AFAIK and they served into the 80’s.

Modern polymer guns running on steel rails are both very long lasting and very modular. Any repairs are just parts swaps and take minutes. It really is a better mousetrap.
 
I like the 92 I have, but I'm looking forward to all those mil surp M9s hitting the market. I wonder if they will sell them through the CMP.
 
They're dumping the lesser seen M11's too, also to be replaced by the M18


Recently the US military adopted a new M18 compact pistol to replace the M11. The new weapon is essentially a compact version of the SIG Sauer P320. It uses the same ammunition as the M11 pistol. However the M18 was designed as a modular multi-caliber weapon. It can be adapted for .40 S&W, .375 SIG, .380 ACP and .45 ACP ammunition. SIG Sauer offers conversion kits for this pistol. Caliber conversions are performed simply by changing barrels, slides, frames and magazines. The M18 was adopted by the US Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Coprs. Its production commenced in 2017 or 2018. Within the next 10 years it will gradually replace in US military service the M11 compact pistol.

I'd take an M11 over the Beretta any day of the week.
 
Love the 92FS, second handgun I purchased and somewhat have trader’s remorse for exchanging it with a Sig P938, which I still enjoy but the Beretta was awesome...but now I kinda want an M18. Someone posted theirs in the June new acquisitions and it kind of just did it for me.
 
I still think the 92 gets more of a bad rap than it deserves.
The sa da action was a poor choice for the army. It takes practice to get proficient with the first round da.....practice is NOT what the army gives the vast majority of the folks that carry a side arm.

Now as far as the actual gun......reliable? Yup. Other than that.......meh.
 
I like the 92 I have, but I'm looking forward to all those mil surp M9s hitting the market. I wonder if they will sell them through the CMP.
Why would you want one of the surplus guns? The vast majority of m9 on the mil Inventory have bent front sights from being tossed onto desks in the motor pool when the maintenanc officer carrying it gets to work.....thrown into foot lockers with a dozen other pistols.....to be thrown on the back of a 5 Ton to bounce around the range roads on the convoy back to Garrison.......dropped on the floor a million times when a staff officer takes off his lbv and the pistol comes out of it's holster and slides accrosd the floor.

In short ..... Most of em are beat to shit. The m9 is not some holy grail of combat weapons in surplus. They are just worn out tools.....the VAST majority of which were never even close to being used in combat......
 
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I think the Beretta 92/M9 is a good gun but they do wear out in a setting like the military where they go through many hands over many years. Aluminum frames. Those frames will wear out with a steel slide riding on aluminum.

How long were the 1911’s in service? They didn’t make any post WW2 AFAIK and they served into the 80’s.

Modern polymer guns running on steel rails are both very long lasting and very modular. Any repairs are just parts swaps and take minutes. It really is a better mousetrap.

This is all absolutely true.

And classic Italian sports cars spend more time in the shop than in the road.

And I still love both. :)
 
No. The CMP’s congressional charter (36 U.S. Code § 40721) would need to amended.
I see they amended it for the 1911s, seems it should be as easy to do the same here.

Mostly, I was kidding. At the same time, I'd rather see them made available to Americans than destroyed...even if they are worn out.
 
I like the 92 I have, but I'm looking forward to all those mil surp M9s hitting the market. I wonder if they will sell them through the CMP.

I fired a milsurp M9 and found it scary. I remember I had just put a full mag in and was explaining it to a gun n00b friend. As I am talking, I tilt the gun forward and the slide drops and chambers a round. Pulled the mag and tried again, did the same thing. Slide stop was just worn enough.

And the slide rattled around, and the whole thing felt like it was going to shake itself to pieces. I get why people take issue with the military-issue firearms.

Even once they flood the market, I will probably steer clear. New ones are cheap enough. Just my opinion.

Now, some CMP 1911s.... yes please! :)
 
Has the AF ever shot anyone with a pistol? Shooting pistols out of little airplanes doesn't count it was still AAF then.

Gunman shoots and kills four people and wounds 22 at Fairchild Air Force Base hospital on June 20, 1994.

Meanwhile, Senior Airman Andrew P. Brown, age 25, with the 92nd Air Force Security Police Squadron, was patrolling the base’s housing areas on a bicycle when he received an emergency call on his two-way radio. He pedaled a quarter-mile to the scene and, while still some 70 yards away, spotted Mellberg shooting at scores of panic-stricken people in the parking lot.

Brown ditched his bicycle and ordered the gunman to drop his weapon. When Mellberg turned and shot at him, Brown dropped into a combat crouch and returned fire with his 9mm Beretta M9 semiautomatic pistol. He fired four rounds at Mellberg; two missed, one hit him in the shoulder and one struck him between the eyes, instantly ending his homicidal rampage. The drum magazine in Mellberg’s MAK-90 still held 19 rounds of ammunition.
 
I bought a 92f as I grew up on 80's action films.

I love it as a range gun. Its easy to shoot, ++ reliable and easy to maintain.

Do you double-blink on every shot??? Do you blow-dry your hair upside down to get the full body effect??? Drive a duelly???? If so, hate em back. LOL

Love the 92FS, second handgun I purchased and somewhat have trader’s remorse for exchanging it with a Sig P938, which I still enjoy but the Beretta was awesome...but now I kinda want an M18. Someone posted theirs in the June new acquisitions and it kind of just did it for me.

If I had one, I'd just give it to you to get rid of it. ;)

I have a buddy that LOVED his 92FS. He said it was the only pistol that he could set a 5gal bucket next to him while shooting and every piece of brass would drop into hte bucket. I didn't think that was a good enough reason to buy the gun but he wasn't wrong. It threw brass VERY consistently.
 
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