Iconic 1911 Pistols Have Finally Been Retired From Marine Corps Service

[Ron]

I didn't even realize 1911's were still being used. Well, that was a pretty good run for the platform.

The U.S. Marine Corps has removed the last of its .45 caliber M45A1 Close Quarters Battle Pistols from service. The M45A1s, which are heavily upgraded variants of the venerable Colt M1911, have now been replaced by 9x19mm M18 pistols. The Marines had been the last major American military user of M1911-series pistols, though other versions remain in increasingly limited service in the U.S. special operations community.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/iconic-1911-pistols-are-finally-gone-from-marine-corps-service

[HankB]

I found one comment in the linked story interesting: " . . . the Marines found that the Cerakote finish, at least initially, was wearing off faster than expected . . . "

Gun rags generally praise Cerakote to the heavens . . . me, I always wondered about it.

As for switching from the M1911 to the Sig M18, I wouldn't feel under gunned if my sidearm was a 9mm so long as I was using the JHP ammo which has been approved for military use. (This was done after long & involved arguments about the Hague Accords, the US not being a signatory to all of them, use against other non-signatories like Afghan and Iraqui terrorists, etc.) The only thing is most SIGs don't have the "pointability" in my hand that many other pistols (including the M1911) do.