Since it replaced the M1911A1 more than 25 years ago, the Beretta 92FS/M9 has been shrouded in controversy. Unlike its predecessor, the M9's size, design, construction and caliber has always been under attack. Yet, the US military always ends up buying more.
I'm talking about my state's new Mentored Hunting Program, which permits children, 10 and up, to participate in state hunting opportunities without first completing a
hunter's education course and with their own gun, granted they stay within "arm's reach of the mentor" and obey your local hunting rules. On the surface this is a good thing (though I'm not sure about allowing children to hunt without verifying some sort of competency through a hunter's education course). What I don't like is
the age limit.
Sure a traditional 1911 will work nearly forever, and a Glock is easy to use and maintain, but the role of a combat sidearm is vastly different than a pistol for civilian or law enforcement use. For the former categories, the handgun is their primary weapon. For troops, pistols come with numerous limitations. They are short range, relatively weak, have limited capacity, are more difficult to aim, more difficult to shoot, and more labor intensive to become proficient with. Their sole
advantage is their portability and compact size - the proverbial "better than nothing." For an armed civilian or law enforcement officer with nothing more than a pistol for defense, they are a tool beyond price, but for a combat arms soldier they just on the better side of useless.
I will use my own son as an example.Two years ago I thought it would be fun to take my boy out pheasant hunting in North Dakota. My son has been hunting and shooting since age five but because of the recent agreements between that state and Wisconsin's DNRs, he needed to take a hunter's safety course in order to hunt out there. I thought, okay, fair enough. A little refresher course never hurt anybody. So I got on the horn and tried to schedule him into a hunter's safety course, approved by
Wisconsin's DNR.
And I did not get the response that I expected: because he was 9 years old at the time, most of the instructors refused to allow him to take the course. Their explanation for this was that since he could not hunt anyway (in Wisconsin at least), my son and I should bow out and allow kids who were aged 10 or above to take our space in the course. Even after I tried to explain that we would be traveling out of state and he needed the hunter safety course to hunt legally in other states, they did not budge.
The 9mm cartridge offers the advantages of an easy to master and very user-friendly recoil impulse for all troops, not just the ones who spend the majority of their time pulling triggers. Many troops have other jobs they need to devote their time to and the necessary training time to make everyone proficient in combat handgunning simply isn't there. Combined with high capacity this translates to higher hit probability. While I might prefer a different caliber, I'd much rather that if my IT uy has to shoot - he can at least make one or two hits out of 15 with 9mm FMJ than have him miss will all seven rounds of .45 ACP.
The general issue of ergonomics is basically size. The 92FS is a big pistol and no one contests that. While this is a problem for civilians who typically have to conceal carry, few military personnel are concerned with the concealing of their sidearm. However, the size and weight of the M9 make it a very easy pistol to use, and makes the already light recoil of the 9mm seem even milder. Also, full size pistols - while less desirable for civilians and under-cover LEOs - are generally more
reliable than their compact counterparts.
The M9 has been accused of being less reliable and less durable than other pistols in its class. This is simply not true. The open-top slide, while it may allow a lot of superficial dust and sand to "stick" to the weapon, is one of the features that makes it so reliable. It is much more difficult to "bind up" than other pistol designs. The M9's slide is "self-regulating" meaning during the firing cycle, some rather violent forces act to expel any trapped foreign debris in the action.
Now, I love to hunt and I love to shoot game. I've done it for years and have become somewhat proficient at it. But I, like many others out there, have limits on my time and therefore ability to get out in the field as much as I'd want to. I will happily sacrifice my time in the field for my children (and, actually, many other children) to help foster their lifelong enjoyment of the sport and continue a tradition of hunting and fishing in this country.
You might be saying, "So what if the cops do show up?" Well, I can't tell you how that particular officer will act since there are some cops who are pro-concealed carry and others who feel that citizens should not own firearms period. Who knows who you will get. I can only tell you that panicking isn't the right move and
running away will probably make it worse. It's just one of the responsibilities that you must face when you carry concealed.
I'm talking about my state's new Mentored Hunting Program, which permits children, 10 and up, to participate in state hunting opportunities without first completing a
hunter's education course and with their own gun, granted they stay within "arm's reach of the mentor" and obey your local hunting rules. On the surface this is a good thing (though I'm not sure about allowing children to hunt without verifying some sort of competency through a hunter's education course). What I don't like is
the age limit.
Sure a traditional 1911 will work nearly forever, and a Glock is easy to use and maintain, but the role of a combat sidearm is vastly different than a pistol for civilian or law enforcement use. For the former categories, the handgun is their primary weapon. For troops, pistols come with numerous limitations. They are short range, relatively weak, have limited capacity, are more difficult to aim, more difficult to shoot, and more labor intensive to become proficient with. Their sole
advantage is their portability and compact size - the proverbial "better than nothing." For an armed civilian or law enforcement officer with nothing more than a pistol for defense, they are a tool beyond price, but for a combat arms soldier they just on the better side of useless.
I will use my own son as an example.Two years ago I thought it would be fun to take my boy out pheasant hunting in North Dakota. My son has been hunting and shooting since age five but because of the recent agreements between that state and Wisconsin's DNRs, he needed to take a hunter's safety course in order to hunt out there. I thought, okay, fair enough. A little refresher course never hurt anybody. So I got on the horn and tried to schedule him into a hunter's safety course, approved by
Wisconsin's DNR.
And I did not get the response that I expected: because he was 9 years old at the time, most of the instructors refused to allow him to take the course. Their explanation for this was that since he could not hunt anyway (in Wisconsin at least), my son and I should bow out and allow kids who were aged 10 or above to take our space in the course. Even after I tried to explain that we would be traveling out of state and he needed the hunter safety course to hunt legally in other states, they did not budge.
The 9mm cartridge offers the advantages of an easy to master and very user-friendly recoil impulse for all troops, not just the ones who spend the majority of their time pulling triggers. Many troops have other jobs they need to devote their time to and the necessary training time to make everyone proficient in combat handgunning simply isn't there. Combined with high capacity this translates to higher hit probability. While I might prefer a different caliber, I'd much rather that if my IT uy has to shoot - he can at least make one or two hits out of 15 with 9mm FMJ than have him miss will all seven rounds of .45 ACP.
The general issue of ergonomics is basically size. The 92FS is a big pistol and no one contests that. While this is a problem for civilians who typically have to conceal carry, few military personnel are concerned with the concealing of their sidearm. However, the size and weight of the M9 make it a very easy pistol to use, and makes the already light recoil of the 9mm seem even milder. Also, full size pistols - while less desirable for civilians and under-cover LEOs - are generally more
reliable than their compact counterparts.
The M9 has been accused of being less reliable and less durable than other pistols in its class. This is simply not true. The open-top slide, while it may allow a lot of superficial dust and sand to "stick" to the weapon, is one of the features that makes it so reliable. It is much more difficult to "bind up" than other pistol designs. The M9's slide is "self-regulating" meaning during the firing cycle, some rather violent forces act to expel any trapped foreign debris in the action.
Now, I love to hunt and I love to shoot game. I've done it for years and have become somewhat proficient at it. But I, like many others out there, have limits on my time and therefore ability to get out in the field as much as I'd want to. I will happily sacrifice my time in the field for my children (and, actually, many other children) to help foster their lifelong enjoyment of the sport and continue a tradition of hunting and fishing in this country.
You might be saying, "So what if the cops do show up?" Well, I can't tell you how that particular officer will act since there are some cops who are pro-concealed carry and others who feel that citizens should not own firearms period. Who knows who you will get. I can only tell you that panicking isn't the right move and
running away will probably make it worse. It's just one of the responsibilities that you must face when you carry concealed.
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