Marines Pick Colt for New Pistol
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  1. #1

    Marines Pick Colt for New Pistol

    marsoc-45-pistol-ts200.jpg

    Jul 20, 2012

    Military.com| by Matthew Cox


    The Marine Corps has tapped Colt Defense LLC to make more than 10,000 new Close Quarter Battle Pistols for the service's elite special operations troops.

    The July 19 contract, which has a total value of $22.5 million, brings an end to the Corps' exhaustive search for the top .45 caliber, 1911-style pistol to replace the fleet of worn-out Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, or MARSOC, M45 pistols.

    Colt Defense, based in Hartford, Conn., was the original maker of John Browning's revered 1911 design – a potent handgun that served all branches of the U.S. Military for more than 70 years until it was replaced by the M9 9mm pistol in 1985.

    Marine officials, however, say they didn't play favorites.

    "It was performance based. . . . We picked the best-performing pistol," said Charles Clark III, who oversees infantry weapons requirements at the Corps' Combat Development and Integration office in Quantico, Va. "There were three candidates that made the final round of consideration," but Clark would not discuss the competitors.

    In addition to Colt, Springfield Armory's Full Size MC Operator and Smith & Wesson's 1911 design were also contenders, sources tell Military.com.

    Marine testers placed a high priority on accuracy. The winner had to be capable of putting five-shot groups on target that "didn't exceed four inches by four inches at 25 yards" from an unsupported firing position, Clark said. Reliability and magazine life were other important factors in the decision.

    The new Close Quarter Battle Pistols will be very similar to the M45s they are replacing this fall. They will have a rail for mounting lights, a custom trigger, a manual safety, improved ergonomics and glowing Tritium sights for low-light conditions.

    The most visual difference is the Colt models will come in Coyote tan instead of gunmetal, Clark said.

    The Corps began issuing custom 1911 .45 pistols to its elite Force Reconnaissance units in the 1990s. Gunsmiths at the Quantico Weapons Training Battalion Precision Weapons Section hand built them from old 1911s that had been replaced by the M9 in the mid 1980s.

    The creation of the first MARSOC units in 2006 caused the requirement to grow from 400 pistols to 4,000 pistols. Finding enough surplus 1911s for the Precision Weapons Section's custom rebuilds became impractical.

    "We realized that hand building 4,000 guns was not sustainable," Clark said.

    Marine officials would not discuss the individual price for each new pistol. But the $22.5 million contract to Colt will allow the Corps to buy replacements for the new pistols as they wear out, Clark said. The contract also includes some money for spare parts.

    "The contract is built so we can re-buy the approved acquisitions objective three times, so we can buy 4,000 guns three times," Clark said. "These pistols will be getting used a lot; deployed a lot so the guns are going to get shot out."

    MARSOC operators stay on a rigorous deployment cycle, "so they fire a lot of rounds. It's a 15,000-round plus [training] work-up to a deployment," Clark said.
    "It's more efficient to replace the guns over time instead of attempting to completely rebuild them."
    © Copyright 2012 Military.com.


  2. #2
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    Nice .


  3. #3
    Marine Free Member DWG's Avatar
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    I've never understood why Baretta never came out with a .45 in the 92 model. I have the .40 and the 9mm, love both, but prefer .45s now that I've gotten old and my eyesight is not what it was; .45s and shotguns for me nowadays; need to put up what the army calls "a cubic wall of lead!" Love the Colt Gov. Model too, just can't afford Colt prices.


  4. #4
    i got the auto ordnance anniversary 1911,, i didn't know tho until recently that Auto Ordnance made some of the colts like the 1911 and tommy gun for colt during the 2nd world war,, because colt couldn't keep up with the manufacturing,


  5. #5
    I have a new Stainless steel 1911 Government 1991A1 series 80. It's great!
    Colt makes the BEST 1911 there is!


  6. #6
    hard to believe the the original design was by, i believe Leonardo Devinchi,(not sure of the spelling there) way back before the Chapel painting,


  7. #7
    It's about time the MC went back to the Colt 45. I tried to buy one last year, almost impossible. High demand item.


  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by advanced View Post
    It's about time the MC went back to the Colt 45. I tried to buy one last year, almost impossible. High demand item.
    Usually plenty of them at the gun shows. High cost keeps me from owning one; do have the 70 series, Gov. Model in .38 Super. Very sweet, unfortunately I carried it in a leather holster and got a ring wear in the bluing on the reciever. Never used leather since.


  9. #9
    That's the problem for me, the high cost, way out of proportion. I learned in the Nam, and later as a cop, to only carry stainless; far less problems. In the Nam we had a guy that cleaned our weapons for us for a buck, till he got hit.


  10. #10
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    Got a S&W 5906 I like a lot; just getting away from 9mm these days.


  11. #11
    It's about time that the Corps finally got their Head out of their Azz when it come to the 1911. Best damn weapon there ever was for close quarters combat! Period!


  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by DanBO View Post
    It's about time that the Corps finally got their Head out of their Azz when it come to the 1911. Best damn weapon there ever was for close quarters combat! Period!
    Amen,,Thumbs_up.gif


  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by DanBO View Post
    It's about time that the Corps finally got their Head out of their Azz when it come to the 1911. Best damn weapon there ever was for close quarters combat! Period!
    Excellent knock down power when loaded; fair club when empty!



  14. #14
    Sweet! I love it!!!


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