A very reliable source has informed SSD that MARSOC is purchasing an initial order of 4000 Colt 1911A1 Rail Guns to outfit their troops. These will be the standard model in Desert Tan. More details as we receive them.
www.coltsmfg.com/Catalog/ColtPistols/ColtRailGun
Tags: Colt Defense LLC
Series 80 in da house.
God forbid they use HK45’s for a third of the price and 10 times the reliability…
How do you get a third of the price? HK .45 is a grand and Colt 1911’s are $1100. It’s the same.
A gun that’s been hand fitted by the Colt Custom Shop and has to be supported by a full time crew of 1911 expert armorers is only $1,100? Show me where and I’ll buy you one.
They are replacing their custom hand-fit 1911s with one that is COTS (commercial off the shelf).
I’m looking at a price list sent to me by Seth Bielucki at Colt (oversees the MIL/LE training and purchasing side of Colt) right now, and it shows the cerakote 01980RG model as costing $898.00. I’d be willing to bet that Colt might have cut a little more off the already lowered pricing due to it being a bulk order of 4,000.
I know you weren’t originally talking to me, but it’d be really nice of you to buy me one 🙂
Tell ya what sonny boy….when ANY HK is in production for 100 years continously, you can come out of mommy’s basement and brag. Until then try not to show the entire world your stupidity.
Most people do not have the requisite gorilla hands needed to properly shoot the oversized and overpriced HK’s.
Well the price on Colt 1911A1 Rail Guns just doubled and everybody and their brother is going to want one because MARSOC has them. 100 year old technology and reliability. way to go DOD. lol
The 1911 is still an awesome weapon. The reliability and the caliber make it unbeatable. Ever seen what a .45 does to a human head or the exit would it make in a torso when compared to a 9MM?
They should have bought sig 220 instead.
Just like the M-16/M-4 family, as long as the 1911 is properly maintained it’ll work just fine. Most failings are either due to out of spec builds, or operator/armorer error (true with both systems)… sh*t magazines staying in rotation are a common issue as well.
That being said, there’s a chance the source for this article is mistaken regarding the USMC’s purchase order.
Until there is confirmation, this is nothing more than “RUMINT”
Series 80? Why? No need for any of that extra junk. It should have been a Series 70.
yes the series 70, overrated. the series 80 has been around for a long time now and has proven itself. apparently the USMC fines nothing wrong with the series 80
Is there a lot of MIM in the Series 80?
no. colt does not use any MIM parts and unlike the SA it is made here with forged parts, not in Brazil
Wrong. Colt uses MIM sear and disconnector, among other parts.
Ummm, not sure why they wouldn’t just go with the HK Mk23 or Mk24… I fail to see why one would desire a failure-prone pistol for combat.
I have yet to have a failure with my Colt rail gun, and it gets abused. Probably somewhere in the 6-7,000 round count with 0 malfunctions. The mk23 is way to large of a pistol to be practicle, and the mk24 while good and reliable(i run one of these as well) gives the user no way to mount a fullsize tactical light(ie. x300). And finally, its not that big of a switch as MARSOC has been running 1911’s of several variations since time.
I’m fairly certain there exists an adapter base from HK rail to Picatinny.
The mk24 comes with a picatinny rail, but it is not long enough to mount a surefire x300. Only compact tac lights fit.
The Mk23 is a very large handgun that has never been successful outside of use by divers. It’s a hideously large handgun for what is nowadays equaled by much smaller guns like the FNP, M&P, Glock and many 1911 variants – all of which hold more ammo.
A handgun is a backup weapon. It should be easy to point and hold many rounds of a sufficient caliber to do the job. The Mk23 has caliber, sure, but it’s unnecessarily large and difficult to holster and carry around.
Plus, why would you buy an adapter for a gun with a proprietary rail when you can just get a handgun with a proper rial in the first place?
Because they have the support infrastructure to maintain it.
I agree with most of the previous comments.
Sure, it’s got great ergonomics and tradition. That’s it.
On the other hand, it’s the 100-yr old gun. Low cap. Heavier than necessary. Requires attentive maintenance to function flawlessly. Expensive. Then MORE expensive after they finish modding it. And perhaps the most ND-prone system around.
There’s far better out there, with better reliability, as good or better accuracy, almost as good ergos, double the capacity, lighter weight, faster learning curve, safer handling, that make more sense.
PS — don’t be fooled — operators DO have NDs. Just like other expert-level law enforcement gunfighters.
Most ND prone system around? Have you ever handled or carried a 1911?
He obviously has not nor has he taken into account they have more safety features than 90% of its competitors.
You know there is a reason this pistol has been around for 100 years and is still being made and bought everyday. It is the single most successful semi auto handgun ever made.
I know that you are very mistaken about the 1911 being” the most ND-prone system around” Check your stats. The Glock has the honor of having more NDs that any other pistol in America. The inherent risk of an ND with a “trigger safety” is far higher than a 1911. Ultimately it is the operator’s responsibility to not have an ND.
If they need a fullsize .45, why not HK45? Not the C model, however I prefer that. But they obviously wanted a fullsize pistol. So why not fullsize HK45?
“PS — don’t be fooled — operators DO have NDs.”
Sure they do.
It’s also the single fastest way off the team.
Seen it.
i wonder if any of the experts making comments have ever used a gun facing a gun or they learn all those numbers and alphabet letters to try and impress others with.when i bought my 1911it cost less than a 100$,after all those years it will still kill you with only one shot,the same a brand new (brag to my friends gun)will do. lmao
They could save a lot of our tax dollars by going Springfield instead.
1911 all the way baby. Just for shits and gigs. Glock 21
Having to use a handgun implies either last resort or close in fighting.
If you require a handgun, one that has commonality, ease of use, reliability are first considerations.
Is being tricked out going to make a difference in situations over someone who has 3rd grade education, no training, simple weapons, etc.
Aircrew went from .38s to 9mm. Nothing special needed for survival.
Choose the best item for now and future. Iron sights and power.
Not Hollywood, but reality. Kill the target. End of discussion.
Why not the FN 57 they cost around 1100 light weight high capacity and they are accurate as hell plus they shoot a nasty lil round.
You are just trying to rile us up, right?
A 40 grain bullet going really fast against a 230 grain bullet going fast.
Why not a Desert Eagle brand Deagle in .50 with tiger stripes?
Why not .454 Cassul?
Why not .500 s&w?
Why not Zoidberg?
Yes HK makes good products, but so do we. If we keep buying foreign products (oh say Olympic uniforms and Army Berets) what will/has our country come down too? Once upon a time everyone in the world wanted a U.S. made product, because of it’s quality (do you remember the Browning M2, still fielded by us and many other countries).
I was a M60 gunner in the Corps and carried a 45 as my sidearm. The last few deployments (7 of them) they handed me a M9 which I was not very fond of. There’s a lot more to this, but we the U.S. need to field our own weapons. This is ust my point of veiw. Moose
I
Some of the comments here have been hilarious to say the least. The Marines have purchased a fine handgun that will serve them well. The 1911 has been riding in MARSOC/Force Recon holsters for quite some time. It works, has worked and will continue to work. Despite internet reportings, 1911s continue to be used in military/law enforcement applications. There are various different users that call on the 1911 or are switching to the 1911 despite it being a 100 year old design.
Were there other options? Yes, there were but they were just other options. All of which have their own positives and negatives. This piece of machinery has served for over 100+ years and done so with quite some success. It has been in and out of our latest war zones (Iraq & Afghanistan) and continues to be called upon. If the platform was a failure, the Marines would have ditched it when budgets were massive when we were running both OIF and OEF. I’ll be looking forward to veteran desert tan Colts riding in MARSOC holsters 20 years from now.
Glock 21! You have 13 round ammo cap, rail mount, less expensive and reliable. Glock has also has been rumored to be used by us special forces in sandy conditions due to better resistance to sand. Could also get Tan or OD color frame.
Not sure why there is so much 1911 bashing. The USMC has decades of experience with it, so they know what they’re getting into. Plus, in a military role these guns are never going to feed the JHP that we know 1911s to be so picky about. John Moses Browning designed the 1911 to be 110% reliable with ball ammunition.
The 1911 is probably not the right gun for general issue, but we’re talking about MARSOC. They get to do whatever the fuck they want, and preferring a older model of handgun is… pretty minor, at worst. If the ergonomics, slim magazines and history of the weapon make it worth it, we’re hardly the ones to tell these guys otherwise.
During my last few months before EAS I worked with MARSOC. I taught unconventional weapons and explosives, homemade thermite etc. Most of the guys are idiots actually. 9 out of 10 are POGs and just wana be hi speed. It’s embarrassing actually, but luckily the smart ones picked up the slack most of the time. The one thing they were already using was 1911 variants. A switch in platform would mean a blanket retrain of everyone, and SOPs take forever to solidify. I have a Springfield 1911 and have never had a miss fire. I have never seen a miss fire with any of their 1911s either. The operator might be a boot, but THAT weapon will fire when the range is hot. If you guys want some other platform for these guys go tell them. Come up with SOPs and a way to implement them. Have at it! If not, stop throwing out opinions based on your time in call of duty.
It’s funny to watch the 1911 fanboys get all nerved up and come to the rescue of their antiquated pistol. Facts are oftentimes terribly inconvenient things, and it’s a fact that the 1911 is not as reliable as modern designs. Now, I only watch 100K rounds a year go downrange; and, I’ve only been a firearms instructor for 15 years; so what do I know? A couple of things, but I know the failure rate of 1911 exceeds any other pistols I’ve seen in 20 years carrying a firearm. THAT IS A FACT. Argue all you want about “it just needs regular maintenance,” but we all know that’s a verbal band-aid. A 1911 user needs to be a full-time armorer, period. That way, when the extractor loses tension, which it will, or the plunger tube snaps off, which it will, or the bushing shatters, which it will, or the swinging link snaps off, which it will, someone will be there to repair the old warhorse. Again, facts are facts, and I have a career’s worth of empirical data to back it up; but, if you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe experts in the field who have said the same thing, yes?
*Ken Hackathorn called the 1911, “The greatest CQB pistol ever built, and the king of feedway stoppages.” He and Larry Vickers, a prominent 1911 pistolsmith, approached HK about building the the HK45 series after recognizing the antiquated qualities of the 1911.
*Paul Howe of CSAT, while in Mogadishu, tried to take out an armed enemy soldier with his 1911, but it would not fire because of all the dust in the mechanism and under the hammer. He had to use another method. He no longer uses a 1911.
*Hilton Yam of 10-8 Performance, a very respected 1911 builder and trainer, recently held a 1911-specific training course with 20 1911 users. All 20 guns of various manufacture needed repair on day 1. Unacceptable. The article is available at Hilton’s website. That is a 100% failure rate with the “very reliable” 1911.
The fact is, the 1911 is an antiquated design. We are no longer using Spad fighter planes, driving Model T Fords, or using 1903 Springfield rifles. There are better choices out there today. If true, this is a bad move and one the DOD will ultimately regret.
Big waste of tax payer money. All that baloney about stopping power about the .45 being better than the 9mm is just that. Anyone that has been in real combat knows that if you’re using a pistol something has gone terribly wrong. I’d sooner carry a few extra rifle magazines, as opposed to a pistol for the trade off in weight.
Does anyone not pick up on the CEO of the Company is a Retired USMC G.O.? War is a racket. The very people that want to cut military pay & benefits for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines are the same people who are CEO’s in the Defense Industrial complex. Like the Car Company CEO’s, who want to maximize profits for THEIR personal gain, these CEO’s want to do to the same thing. Cut the pay and benefits for the guy doing the job, and we can get more bonuses and get richer.
Read Brigadier General Smedley Bulter’s “War is a Racket”. BG Butler, a two time Medal of Honor Winner nails it in his timeless book.