Tomb of the Unknowns Guards Begin Use of Custom M17 Pistols

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I’m ok with the gun.

The extended magazine looks utterly out of place. Just awful.

The holster is another story all together. It looks like it’s injection molded plastic. Doesn’t fit the gun. Should be at the bottom of a pile of $1.00 holsters at a surplus store. Is that really a couple of holes worn in it?

The Tomb Guards are the epitome of polish and military bearing. That combination is the antithesis of everything I expect.

UGH the holsters. They look like they were manufactured by Bates out of surplus plastic cuttings leftover from making Corfram dress shoes. The traditional leather flap holster was the way to go with these.
 
IMO, that is one hideous sidearm and is not appropriate for the sacred duty it is used to perform. I saw something on this a while back, and I honestly thought it was a marketing ploy to sell another commemorative type gun to the masses. I was in the Army for a long time, but I have never been accused of being a spit-and-polish type. If anyone asked me what they should be carrying, I would say a serviceable M1911 (not A1) with a blued finish and checkered wood grips. Sometimes less is more. I think Patton said something about handguns like this- something about a New Orleans pimp.
 
I think Patton said something about handguns like this- something about a New Orleans pimp.

He didn't like pearl/mother of pearl handled pistols, but he did feel apparently feel that they should have flare. This coming from a man who carried pistols with personalized ivory grips, one that was silver plated and heavily engraved. He liked his flare.
 
He didn't like pearl/mother of pearl handled pistols, but he did feel apparently feel that they should have flare. This coming from a man who carried pistols with personalized ivory grips, one that was silver plated and heavily engraved. He liked his flare.
I know. I've seen his handguns too, and I think they were ridiculous. But I did like what he said about the pearl handles as a general statement about flashy pistols. That stuff just reminds me of gang kingpins with the gold desert eagles, or those stupid blinged out guns found in iraq.
 
The holster is another story all together. It looks like it’s injection molded plastic.

Assuredly it is "patent leather," which is typically a lower grade top grain leather (which is low grade leather which has had the surface grain repaired with plastic) which is laminated with a clear plastic top layer. Really common in this type of gear in generations past, as it has that high gloss appearance, and it KEEPS that high gloss appearance virtually forever (especially with more modern plastic laminate layers which have improved UV stability for color and plasticity). By far my least favorite type of leather for quality leatherwork, but it has its place - such as parade uniform which needs to look great every day, every year, with minimal maintenance.
 
A thought - what might you guys be commenting if the contract had gone to Glock and these Sentinels were running around with FDE plastic grip frames sticking out?
 
A thought - what might you guys be commenting if the contract had gone to Glock and these Sentinels were running around with FDE plastic grip frames sticking out?

Good call, I dont see Glock making a fancy shiny gun.

Maybe they'd have just gone with the 1911 afterall.
 
A shiny gimmicky toy like that seems inappropriate in that role, as does a gun manufactured by a foreign company.
 
I don't mind the pistols, they really don't look so out of place with the uniform and dress, and it could have been FAR worse. I do like the IDEA of commemorative, decorative pistols, and do like the idea of symbolism on these soldiers hips, even if it's a bit manufactured
Yep.

No one will ever agree on what they should or should not be carrying.

And since the Army has the Sig now......... meh, I like it.
 
A thought - what might you guys be commenting if the contract had gone to Glock and these Sentinels were running around with FDE plastic grip frames sticking out?
I have that weird tingling sensation in the back of my throat and a watering mouth, like I'm going to throw up shortly.

Honestly I think the extended magazine more than anything is what throws me off.
 
Also inappropriate, considering that country put US soldiers in the ground.
The CEO of Sig Sauer, Ron Cohen, is an American-Israeli. Actually, he was recently arrested by the German authorities on charges of trying to circumvent that country's arms embargo against Colombia.

Sig Sauer is an amalgamation of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG), a Swiss company, and J.P. Sauer & Sohn of Germany.
 
I actually don't have much of a problem with the gun itself. The high-polish black is nice and reminiscent of high-polish bluing. The extended magazines are kind of dumb. The XXI cocking serrations are also kind of dumb. And overall I don't think the pistol design lends itself to wood and dark polished steel in the way that a 1911 or even an M9 would.

But it's not the worst thing I've ever seen, it's just a not-great gun stuck into a godawful holster.
 
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