The U.S. Army is planning to transfer up to 10,000 surplus 1911 pistols to the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) as early as 2018, according to the Army Times. The .45 caliber pistols would then be put up for sale to civilians who qualify to purchase them from CMP. The move comes as part of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would order the sale of the handguns, and which only awaits the approval of President Trump to come into effect.
The Army replaced the 1911 back in 1986 with the M9 Beretta 9mm pistol, according to Army Times. The Beretta is now in the process of being replaced by the Sig Sauer P320 “Modular Handgun System,” which will be known as the M17 (full size) and M18 (compact) in U.S. Army nomenclature.
It seems, then, that the U.S. Army is finally ready to be rid of its stores of surplus 1911 handguns. CMP is a logical recipient of the weapons, as the nonprofit organization educates the public in responsible firearms use, and conducts marksmanship competitions across the United States. It also receives military surplus firearms to sell to support its mission, according to Army Times.
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The U.S. Army is planning to transfer up to 10,000 surplus 1911 pistols to the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) as early as 2018, according to the Army Times. The .45 caliber pistols would then be put up for sale to civilians who qualify to purchase them from CMP. The move comes as part of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would order the sale of the handguns, and which only awaits the approval of President Trump to come into effect.
The Army replaced the 1911 back in 1986 with the M9 Beretta 9mm pistol, according to Army Times. The Beretta is now in the process of being replaced by the Sig Sauer P320 “Modular Handgun System,” which will be known as the M17 (full size) and M18 (compact) in U.S. Army nomenclature.
It seems, then, that the U.S. Army is finally ready to be rid of its stores of surplus 1911 handguns. CMP is a logical recipient of the weapons, as the nonprofit organization educates the public in responsible firearms use, and conducts marksmanship competitions across the United States. It also receives military surplus firearms to sell to support its mission, according to Army Times.
So, just how would such a sale to the general public work? According to the CMP website, as of December 5th, 2017, the following guidelines would be adopted by CMP if the 1911 handguns were in-fact provided for sale to the public:
Finally, you can sign up to receive email updates from CMP on the potential sale of 1911s here.
The whole process is a bit complicated, and there is the whole issue of knowing that you will be assigned a number by the random number generator that will dictate your place in line, but all in all, this is a good opportunity to own a piece of U.S. military history. There is no doubt that the demand will be high, and the handguns will sell out quickly.
Good luck!
Featured image courtesy of Wikipedia.
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