#Handgun

Today, the news broke that SIG USA has become the winner of the United States Army’s Modular Handgun System contract, making its P320 handgun the next standard issue sidearm for the United States armed forces. The new pistol, to be designated “M17”, is a smaller, lighter, more adaptable handgun than the US Army’s aging M9, made by Beretta.

Patrick takes a closer look at the new Creed and the hugely popular Q5 Match from Walther. The Creed is a bargan with an MSRP of only $399 and is ideal for new shooters, the Q5 Match on the other hand is perfect for all skill levels.

Century Arms officially announced the introduction of the Canik TP9SF Elite Compact pistol to the US market. This new handgun is similar to the original Turkish pistol, but in smaller package that may be more suitable for concealed carry.

Polymer80 is close to shipping its new 80% complete compact Glock pistol frames, and many dealers have begun to take pre-release orders.

The following photographs are from a conversion of a .40 S&W Glock 22 Gen 3, to a 9x19mm. Although most parts are OEM, bare in mind this is in no way representative of what a stock Glock is, and is an indication to be mindful when converting a .40 S&W Glock to fire 9x19mm rounds.

The history of modern small arms is in part so fascinating because of how many firearms have been developed even in obscure circumstances, and how many of those obscure small arms still exist in museums and private collections around the world. Even though I make learning about obscure modern small arms my hobby, I am continually surprised by the new and unique weapons I uncover both on the Internet and in real-life excursions to some of the aforementioned collections.

FN America announced the addition of a new color to the FNS-9 Compact line. The new guns have a FDE frame with a color matched slide. The company uses a PVD process to apply the color. The new guns will carry a suggested retail price of $599.

If the 5.7x28mm FN is the first successful modern PDW round, then the 4.6x30mm HK is the second, and its biggest rival. German firm Heckler and developed the microcaliber 4.6mm in the 1990s as a response to a NATO solicitation for a Personal Defense Weapon, to which they submitted their new HK PDW (later MP7) chambered for the new round.

The National Firearms Act really is a drag. Thanks to its legal restrictions on short barreled rifles, some of the lightest and handiest classes of firearms are substantially restricted from common ownership in the US. The police carbine ( semiautomatic short barreled pistol caliber rifles) and the PDW are two of the hardest hit classes: Both kinds of firearm are handy, easy to shoot, and inoffensive, but both are at their best with barrels under 16″, right where the NFA cuts them off.

What is the simplest gun you can possibly make? When you hear this question, the kind of gun that comes to mind is probably a simple zip gun, like the one below, which has a forward-moving mass, a trigger, a barrel, and not much else:

“It’s Over. Glock Won.” Hognose writes. What did Glock win? Total domination in the US Special Operations world, and (my speculation) possibly the Modular Handgun System contract as well, by extension. Hognose doesn’t explicitly say that the Glock is destined to be the next US Army service handgun, but go says just about everything short of it:

It appears that the last active duty component of the U.S. Military has retired the tried and true 1911. In an article by the Marine Corps Times, Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC), has officially announced that it is withdrawing the .45 ACP Colt Rail Guns (M45 MEUSOC 1911)from service while completely switching to 9x19mm Glock 19s. Earlier, the SOCOM entity had simply authorized the Glock 19 for limited use with the group. The article didn’t mention anything about the Marine Corps’ Recon battalions which also issue the Colt 1911, but I’m sure this will change in the future as well (Recon falls under a completely different chain of command than MARSOC does). Although these battalions don’t actively engage in operations overseas as much as MARSOC does (apart from a MEU), so it might take some time for the requirement to reach them.

Trident Custom Coatings is a company out of East Dundee, Illinois that specializes in firearms and some automobile coating jobs, but has recently gotten into customizing Glocks. Specifically the company uses Duracoat, Hydrodipping, Black Oxide, and Nickel Boron for their current coating process.

Black Rhino Concealment is a Kydex company that has been very successful in recent years. They have expanded from a small shop operation to a full time professional company, nowadays making mostly different styles of IWB, OWB, and hybrid holsters, more currently magazine carriers. At Bullpup Shoot they had on hand four new products they will be introducing to their current lineup.

Almost two years ago, Beretta announced a new striker-fired, polymer framed handgun, which they called the APX. Now, the APX has finally hit gun stores… In Argentina. User mithrils of The Beretta Forum uploaded photos and a short range review of his new pistol, showing the on-the-market Beretta APX off to the other members. A section of his review is replicated below: