When 38 bullets (actually .357 caliber, which is pretty much 9mm)
failed to stop its enemies, the U.S. Army went in search of a bigger,
better cartridge. The result was John Browning’s M1911 semi-automatic
pistol and the 45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) cartridge for which it
was designed.
As you can guess from the M1911 designation, the 45 ACP was adopted
into military service 103 years ago.
In 1985, the U.S. Army took a huge step backwards when it summarily
dumped the 45 ACP in favor of the underpowered 9mm Luger cartridge
(a.k.a. 9mm Parabellum). Irony: The 9mm is not quite as powerful as the
cartridge which the 45 ACP replaced about 75 years earlier.
Now, things have apparently come full circle. Citing combat experience
in Iraq and Afghanistan, authorities are once again recognizing the
advantage of using a more powerful cartridge.
True to form, the government won’t look back at what once worked well
and embrace it. Instead they plan to spend billions of our dollars
creating and adopting something they’re calling a Modular Handgun
System (MHS). And they’re not just tossing out the 9mm ammo and
firearms. They’re ditching whole heaps of gear, holsters included, and
starting over.
They haven’t yet settled on a caliber, and are looking just about
anything better than a nine. This would include a faster same-caliber
round (357 Sig) as well as larger-caliber cartridges like the 40
S&W, 10mm Auto, and 45 ACP.
Devotees of the diminutive 9mm Luger cartridge are going to have a hard
time swallowing the fact that their Precious has been found to be a
bit, er, weak. And there are those who assert that
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A HAPPY GIRL SHARES HER HAPPY
