On the heels of the Army looking to replace the 9mm Beretta pistol as its standard sidearm, the FBI’s Training Division released a “new study” in May that was recently leaked to the public. The Study claims that the 9mm Luger pistol is the best option for law enforcement. Suggesting that departments shouldn’t switch their sidearms to larger rounds.
The FBI Study shows there are a number of reasons for their conclusion. But their rationale is laughable.
Looking over a copy of the FBI study I found their conclusions and assumptions to be rather simplistic. Among their justifications for the 9mm being a superior round are:
Law Enforcement Officers aren’t skilled enough to shoot a larger round nothing that they missed 80% of the time with a 9mm so to increase the caliber means increasing the miss rate
FBI Shooters shoot better with the 9mm Luger
You can hold more rounds with a 9mm magazine
There is no difference between damage inflicted with a 9mm and that of larger calibers
Stopping power is a myth
Using the utter lack of training and failure rate of LEO’s is not the most reassuring basis for choosing a pistol caliber. In fact, .22’s hardly have ANY recoil and it is used in the OLYMPICS where shot placement is vital. In a world where stopping power is a myth and shot placement is paramount, the .22 would seem ideal for the FBI’s conclusions.
The fact that FBI shooters prefer the Luger 9mm as basis for an FBI study recommending the Luger 9mm is a bit “fox guarding the hen house” no?
With the advances gun makers have made there are pistols that come in .40 that can hold 16 rounds standard which is only one less than the Luger 9mm magazine. And even double stacked magazines of .45 can hold up to 18 rounds.
There is a difference between the damage of a 9mm and that of higher calibers, even if its only the size of the bullet hole going in which means more stuff can come out.
Stopping power is a myth? Then let’s arm our military and police with .22 pistols that hold 30 rounds and have them aim REALLY good.
And yes, I know that shooting someone isn’t like in the movies and they go flying back like they were hit by an imaginary truck. But as for stopping power, my old Sgt. would tell us that the Beretta 9mm would stop someone…eventually but the 1911 .45 was a “DRT”…as in “Dead Right There”
I’m not going to turn this into a fanboy article about t.45 v 9mm v .40 but I do question the FBI’s motives.
Basically I think THIS reason that I gleamed from the study is the most telling reason why the Government wants the 9mm to be accepted as the sidearm of choice:
9mm Luger offers higher magazine capacities, less recoil, lower cost
It comes down to money. Just like they told us in the Army, our rifle is made by the lowest bidder so we best take care of it.
The rest of the “study” is just words to justify a bureaucrat’s budgetary decision.
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