.45 to 9mm

[Unregistered]

It would be my guess that the Sheriff himself could care less about what caliber, make or model we carry as long as it works. It’s the stuffed shirts between him and the troops that screw it up for those that it matters to. Ballistics between today’s 9mm’s and .45’s are so close it doesn’t warrant the weight and lesser capacity of the .45’s. 9’a kick less making them more accurate, especially for subsequent shots. And you can carry more rounds in a smaller gun (i.e. the Glock 19). Standard 9mm’s hold 15 rounds in a magazine. Some hold 17 to 20. And 9mm is cheaper than .45. It’s somewhat asinine we still have .45’s. Sadly that’s because people that do nothing but qualify with it once a year say so. And I would even question if the command staff actually qualifies or not.

[Unregistered]

Here is another story for you newbies.

When the agency decided to switch from the S&W Model 64 to a semi-auto 9 mm, Beretta and Glock bid for the contract offering the Model 92 and 17 respectively. Beretta's bid was about $30 cheaper per gun than Glock. Glock countered and matched Beretta's price but the decision makers used to the 92 when they were in the service selected it as our duty gun. Had it not been for them we would be carrying Glock 17s right now.

[Unregistered]

Your memory of history is flawed. We didn’t go with Beretta 92FS’s, which would have been the closest thing to the M9. We went with Beretta 92D Centurions. They were double action only pistols without the extended barrel that is notable on most 92’s. That was a fail proof semi-auto. You couldn’t jam it, stove pipe it or get it to fail to fire. And you still had the same options to buy your own like you do today. Glocks are not and have never been fool proof. If you limp wrist any Glock it jams. Glocks can also stove pipe. They’re great guns, but for the masses the 92D was actually a very smart decision. And all the little SWAT jocks bought Glock 17’s to be tacti-cool. One thing about Glocks, they seem to get better with time and use.

[Unregistered]

You are partially right - we got the double action Beretta but its only advantage was a double strike capability if the first strike did not fire the round. The double action only trigger pull sucked. Otherwise it would still jam if limp wristed just like any auto pistol. But it was not as reliable as the Glock under extreme conditions. Also ergonomically inferior, it felt like a brick in your hand. That's why Glock rules the LEO handgun market, because it is rock solid reliable.

[Unregistered]

You are partially right - we got the double action Beretta but its only advantage was a double strike capability if the first strike did not fire the round. The double action only trigger pull sucked. Otherwise it would still jam if limp wristed just like any auto pistol. But it was not as reliable as the Glock under extreme conditions. Also ergonomically inferior, it felt like a brick in your hand. That's why Glock rules the LEO handgun market, because it is rock solid reliable.

Did you even fire one of these? The Beretta 92 had the widest ejection port ever made. When the slide was back the breach is completely exposed. You could limp wrist it all day long and never jam it. Unlike any Glock. And the Beretta was one of the most reliable pistols ever. Hence the Army contract. How many US Military Contracts does Glock have again? Let me help you, zero. And ergonomically Glocks are bricks. Glock rules the police market due to cheap efficiency, ease of maintenance, and reliability. There are better guns out there, but you pay for perfection. And Glock is not the best. HK, FN, Sig Sauer, Kimber.

[Unregistered]

Did you even fire one of these? The Beretta 92 had the widest ejection port ever made. When the slide was back the breach is completely exposed. You could limp wrist it all day long and never jam it. Unlike any Glock. And the Beretta was one of the most reliable pistols ever. Hence the Army contract. How many US Military Contracts does Glock have again? Let me help you, zero. And ergonomically Glocks are bricks. Glock rules the police market due to cheap efficiency, ease of maintenance, and reliability. There are better guns out there, but you pay for perfection. And Glock is not the best. HK, FN, Sig Sauer, Kimber.

Beretta won the Army contract due to politics. It was a reward to Italy as an ally, it was not the best pistol available at the time but it was cheap. In Iraq and Afghanistan Beretta's performance was not particularly impressive. The FBI, Seal 6 and Rangers switched to the G19, along with 70% of the LEO agencies because Glock is that good. And the other brands you mentioned failed the Army tests. SIG won but had quality problems with took months to fix but Glock is still the better pistol for reliability and ease of maintenance. I experienced the S&W 64, Beretta 92 and Glock 21 as duty guns and own a Glock 19 and the 19 is by far the best of the three. The new Glock 45 promises to be the best for LEO duty so in my opinion we should switch to it.

[Unregistered]

Holy crap. I’m pretty sure during WWII that Italy was not an ally. Remember a guy named
Mussolini? And how would a contract to Beretta USA benefit Italy? Those guns had to be American made and Mil Spec to be used by the Army. I would venture that at the time the Beretta M9 was the best and most reliable pistol out. And the 92 model had been out since 1972. It was tried and true and an engineering marvel compared to semi-auto pistols of that era. Glock was used wisely in Austria until 1985. And the was the same year that DOD went with the M9. Your view of history is flawed. If there was ever a never fail pistol that was easy to maintain it was the Beretta 92.

[Unregistered]

Holy crap. I’m pretty sure during WWII that Italy was not an ally. Remember a guy named
Mussolini? And how would a contract to Beretta USA benefit Italy? Those guns had to be American made and Mil Spec to be used by the Army. I would venture that at the time the Beretta M9 was the best and most reliable pistol out. And the 92 model had been out since 1972. It was tried and true and an engineering marvel compared to semi-auto pistols of that era. Glock was used wisely in Austria until 1985. And the was the same year that DOD went with the M9. Your view of history is flawed. If there was ever a never fail pistol that was easy to maintain it was the Beretta 92.

In case you just arrived in a time machine from WW2, Italy and Germany became our allies after WW2. Italy hosts a huge air base and a navy base in Sicily (my son was stationed there) so it was rewarded with the contract. Beretta keeps the profits no matter where the guns are made, FYI. The Army disliked the 92 and the deputies disliked the double action only which was worse than the model S&W 64. Everyone was hoping we'd get the G17 but we got the brick Beretta. Then there was the slide problem which developed cracks after 5000 rounds, which Beretta had to fix. Glock never had that problem or anything remotely serious. Beretta lost to SIG in the latest Army trials so that's another poke in the eye to the Beretta fan boys. Glock refused to submit a modular frame, that is the only reason it lost the Army contract to SIG. Otherwise Glock would have won.

[Unregistered]

In case you just arrived in a time machine from WW2, Italy and Germany became our allies after WW2. Italy hosts a huge air base and a navy base in Sicily (my son was stationed there) so it was rewarded with the contract. Beretta keeps the profits no matter where the guns are made, FYI. The Army disliked the 92 and the deputies disliked the double action only which was worse than the model S&W 64. Everyone was hoping we'd get the G17 but we got the brick Beretta. Then there was the slide problem which developed cracks after 5000 rounds, which Beretta had to fix. Glock never had that problem or anything remotely serious. Beretta lost to SIG in the latest Army trials so that's another poke in the eye to the Beretta fan boys. Glock refused to submit a modular frame, that is the only reason it lost the Army contract to SIG. Otherwise Glock would have won.

I thought the Glock 19X was their submission. They even added the stupid lanyard ring as required. The decision to go to the Sig 320 was asinine. That’s a new platform compared to the Glock. The only thing that has changed on Glocks are minor cosmetic differences color and finish (was tenifer). I’d rather have a 17C with the 17 round mags. But that was an odd decision.

[Unregistered]

I thought the Glock 19X was their submission. They even added the stupid lanyard ring as required. The decision to go to the Sig 320 was asinine. That’s a new platform compared to the Glock. The only thing that has changed on Glocks are minor cosmetic differences color and finish (was tenifer). I’d rather have a 17C with the 17 round mags. But that was an odd decision.

It was a political decision to go with the SIG 320 as most weapon purchases usually are. Glock was the superior pistol proven over and over again. Someday this agency will switch to the G45 or the G17. The politics have to be right though.