Colt Defense and Springfield Armory are both in the running to have one of their 1911 pistols adopted by the Marines as the M45 Close Quarter Battle Pistol. Military.com reports …

Colt Defense of Hartford, Conn., and Springfield Armory of Geneseo, Ill., sent samples of their latest 1911 pistols to acquisition officers this fall, company officials said Jan. 18 during the Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show and Conference, known as SHOT Show, in Las Vegas. The Corps is expected to seek proposals from the defense industry soon.

The M45 Close Quarter Battle Pistol is modeled after earlier versions of the semi-automatic 1911 pistol used since the 1980s by Force Reconnaissance units. The Corps could buy between 400 and 12,000 as part of a contract worth up to $22.5 million, according to Marine Corps Systems Command.

If you have a good memory, you may recall that Daniel Watters broke the news of the M45 on The Firearm Blog in September ’09.

[ Many thanks to Lance for emailing me the link. ]