Army Picks a Replacement for the Standard Sidearm Beretta M9: The Sig Sauer P320

No word on whether they're sticking with 9mm or .45 ACP. Apparently the P320 can be had in either, as well as in .357 SIG and .40 S&W.

Actually, the pistol is modular, and this article suggests that the gun might just be available in different calibers.

This wikipedia entry says the P320 can be "adapted" to fire the four different calibers, but the word "adapted" seems vague to me.

The article also says that my previous belief that the .45 was superior may be in error, as police departments which had previously up-calibered from 9mm to .40 are now switching back.

Although the objective is for a round with better terminal ballistics, the argument for adopting a larger bullet has disadvantages. The FBI and certain police forces have reversed earlier decisions to replace their 9 mm pistols with ones chambered for .40 S&W because the heavier bullet and greater recoil caused excessive wear and frame damage. Law enforcement personnel have found that even marginally larger pistol rounds are still too underpowered to kill a person with one shot, and that smaller rounds allow for better shot placement when firing rapidly.

Meanwhile, a sniper killed three jihadis with a single bullet in Iraq, and no, it wasn't by hitting a propane tank like in Uncharted or Doom. The bullet went through one and then another and then dinged a third off a ricochet.

Thanks to Anonosaurus Wrecks for that last one.

posted by Ace at 05:50 PM

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