For a long time, I carried both an M16A4 and an M240 machine gun. However, the Marine Corps rarely follows those rules closely (with a limited number of pistols, they tend to find their way into the hands of officers and senior enlisted troops). My experience with the M9Īs a machine gunner, I was supposed to be issued an M9 as a secondary weapon to my machine gun. M9A1s did not fully replace the M9 and were somewhat rare to come across in the service. The M9A1 came with an accessory rail, a PVD-coated magazine, more aggressive grip checkering, and a beveled magazine well for faster reloading.
The M9 went on to receive a minor update in 2006 and became the M9A1. The barrel also cools faster, but this isn’t a big deal with a handgun. A lightweight slide means less mass moving rearward with each shot fired, and this helped reduce recoil. The ejection port is essentially the whole of the slide, and this ensures failures to eject are extremely rare.Īn open slide means reduced weight, which is also good. First, there is very little slide for a round to find itself caught. One of the most important elements of the Beretta pistol is its open slide design with an exposed barrel. A combination of safety and decocker adorned the frame and they were easy to use with a bit of practice. This means the first shot fired utilizes a long, heavy trigger pull, but subsequent shots would be a lighter and short single-action trigger. We also got a double-action / single-action design. The M9 offered the United States Military a modern fighting pistol that featured a 15 round, double-stack magazine. Over time there were minor issues with magazines in sandy environments, but this was quickly fixed, and the M9 would go on to be relatively controversy-free during the Global War on Terror. Testing included saltwater corrosion tests, high and low-temperature tests, repeated drops on concrete, and burial in mud, sand, and snow. The Beretta 92 model beat out entries from SIG Sauer, Smith and Wesson, HK, Walther, Steyr, and FN and became the M9 after some minor changes. Marines with 2nd Marine Logistics Group are participating in MEFEX 21.1, a MEF-level exercise consisting of approximately 1,200 Marines and sailors across the eastern United States. Marines fire M9 pistols during a qualification range as part of Marine Expeditionary Force 21.1 on Fort Drum, New York Nov.
However, once more in 1988, another pistol trial began. In 1985, the gun saw its official adoption. In 1984 a new set of trials were hosted, and again Beretta rose to the top.
It started in 1979 with a series of trials in which the Beretta 92S-1 succeeded. The pistol was single action only, and the remaining examples were beaten to hell after their decades of heavy use.Ī competition was launched for a modern 9mm pistol to equip the United States Military. The 45 ACP round combined with the weapon’s single stack magazine ensured your capacity remained low–at 7 or 8 rounds (with one in the chamber) total. The 1911A1 had been in service for over 70 years at that point and was painfully outdated as a military pistol. In 1984 the United States military was looking to modernize and join NATO in adopting a standard 9mm sidearm. Much like the M16, the M9 went on to serve with distinction as America’s first 9mm, double-stack general issue handgun. Sadly the poor M9 got a bad rap from the get-go and had trouble ever overcoming those early issues. The P226 came in second place during the 1984 trials that resulted in the M9 selection. Beretta quickly fixed the issue, but the SEALs went with the SIG P226. The M9 also suffered a significant setback in public perception when the slide on a pistol blew rearward into the face of a Navy SEAL while training. Although ‘stopping power’ has long been disproven as a concept entirely. Many believed that the 9mm didn’t have the ‘stopping power’ a 1911 and its 45 ACP round had. Lots of people, conversely, hated the M9. People loved the gun in the service and in the civilian world. The 1911 had seen use in both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and every other conflict, both big and small involving American troops since the year 1911. The Beretta M9 replaced the famed 1911A1 pistol, and it was a tough show to follow.