Colt M45 advantages?

[Walking Dead]

HighRoad, what would you say the advantages of this new Colt are versus say a Sig P220 or Glock G21? Not to mention versus the Beretta M9 or Sig P226. Since were not talking hollow point ammo I'm guessing compared to the 9mm it's just the fact that a 45acp makes a bigger hole. And with that being said, if hollow point ammo were an option would the choice have been the same? Seems like plenty of Navy Seals get by with the Sig P226 is all.

 

[Fishbed77]

Since were not talking hollow point ammo I'm guessing compared to the 9mm it's just the fact that a 45acp makes a bigger hole.

A bigger hole and a better trigger are two immediate benefits of the M45 over the 9mm Beretta M9 or Sig P226 (both of which are great pistols, by the way). Tradition and morale are also big (if hard to quantify) benefits of the 1911 platform as well. It's no secret that the MARSOC requirements were written in such a way to ensure that the winning pistol would be a 1911 design.

Seems like plenty of Navy Seals get by with the Sig P226 is all.

Per the book No Easy Day by "Mark Owen", while the 9mm P226 is the standard pistol of the SEALs, those that have the option prefer to carry the .45ACP HK45c.

 

[VetPsychWars]

Many people like the ergonomics of the 1911 platform and its relative flatness makes it easy to conceal. I carry a full-size 1911 and I've had a friend who knows I carry ask where the gun was... and it was on me all the time.

As for the Colt M45, for YOU there is likely not much there that you need. For carry, just about any 1911 will do. I personally carry a Remington R1S. I carry it because I know it very well, the grip was designed especially for me (my hands must the same size as John Browning's) and it disappears on me when I carry it inside waistband.

Tom

 

[JTQ]

The guys that bought the M45, currently use a similar pistol. Through this purchase they get to keep using the same ammo, same holsters, same magazines, many of the same spare parts (admittedly not all of them) and the users and armorers are familiar with the platform.

Whatever their use of this pistol is, and only those using them really know what works best for the task required, they had already come to the conclusion a 1911, in .45 ACP, with a light rail is the best tool for the job they need done. For this pistol purchase, all they really were deciding was what 1911 was the best for their needs.

Your, or my requirements for a pistol could certainly be completely different from what the Marines wanted. You may find a safety too complicated to operate, they may require one. You may need a double column capacity magazine, they may want the slimness of a single column magazine. You may like a lightweight polymer or aluminum frame, they may require all steel construction.

 

[tarosean]

Its basically the only pistol that has been in wars since its inception Who wants to argue with that pedigree?

 

[Fishbed77]

The guys that bought the M45, currently use a similar pistol. Through this purchase they get to keep using the same ammo, same holsters, same magazines, many of the same spare parts (admittedly not all of them) and the users and armorers are familiar with the platform.

Great point.

Its basically the only pistol that has been in wars since its inception Who wants to argue with that pedigree?

I can think of a lot of pistols that have been in wars. I guess you meant to include a number there.

Regardless, if the number of wars/conflicts it was used in was the best indicator of the quality/effectiveness of a firearm, the primary infantry weapon on the battlefield today would be the Brown Bess musket.

Time marches on, and so does technology. I think one of the beauties of the M1911 design is that, not only was the starting point so good, but that the basic design has been adaptable enough, that 100 years later, it is still a relevant combat firearm.

 

[Sapper771]

From what I understand , the MEUs have been using a mixture of different 1911s (Kimber, SA, and Colts). The M45 would do away with the mix of 1911s and it would be the standard issue MEU pistol. I guess that would ease maintenance/supply issues a bit.

As far as advantages go, they are all proven service pistols. The 45acp would be the advantage as far as caliber goes. Shot placement is king with any caliber.

 

[trbon8r]

The biggest advantage is the "shootability" of the 1911 design. The trigger is phenomenal, and the trigger pull is the same from the first shot to last. The 1911 points well. I shoot other guns, but can't shoot anything as well or as easily as a 1911. In my opinion it is the perfect defensive handgun.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Its basically the only pistol that has been in wars since its inception Who wants to argue with that pedigree?

Are you not counting the current military conflicts, where they are using the Berettas and SIGs, wars?

If you are thinking in numbers of military conflicts, I'd say that the FN P-35 has been used by more combatants...there is an advantage when both sides use the same gun

 

[tarosean]

^ its still being used by units. I realize the beretta and sig have a more widespread use now-a-days.

 

[9mmepiphany]

The Beretta traces it's linage from the M1922 and M1951 and has been used in wars around the world since it's inception.

Actually more wars than the 1911, as more country's armies have used it...although the P35 is still head and shoulders above both the Colt or Beretta, in the number of combatants who have used it in time of war

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

This thread needed a photo.

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[9mmepiphany]

The only two cosmetic objections I have to it are the rear sight and the forward slide serrations

 

[Fishbed77]

The only two cosmetic objections I have to it are the rear sight and the forward slide serrations

I would have to list baby poo brown, bar codes, and the dust cover rail way ahead of those things.

If a 1911 has to have forward serrations, at least the XSE-style ones are among the least offensive.

 

[0to60]

Is the M45 a series 70 or a series 80?

 

[JTQ]

Series 80