keeping our sidearms like they used to...

desertram800 · 03-10-2007, 02:55

My father just recently showed me his colt .45 that he was issued during the Korean war, and he said that he has my grandfathers pistol from when he was in the army. I hear about this kind of stuff all the time, where military members kept their sidearms. How come we can't do that anymore? I would love to have kept the Beretta M9 that I carried in Iraq! If we were issued a pistol and could keep it, I could have carried the same pistol throughout my 3 middle east deployments and then I could pass it down one day and it would have a story to go with it. Who else wishes they could keep their pistol???

SunDevil78 · 03-21-2007, 10:54

I'm not a vet but I think it is a shame you can't have your side-arms after you get back state-side.

I imagine there is some politically correct reason it is the way it is and whatever the answer may be I'd probably disagree.

I've seen and handled my great uncle's Colt 45 that was issued to him during WWII and it is very cool to think about what that pistol went though. It is a shame your progeny won't be able to do the same.

Regards

8

ravenkeeper98 · 03-22-2007, 22:51

In most cases the sidearm was to be returned. They were never ment to be kept. Most of the people that have the weapon that was issued to them or a trophy sidearm of the enemy were brought back against the rules. It was easier to get away with it back then than now. I heard of an A-10 Crew Chief that tried to smuggle 2 AK-47s back from Desert Storm. He safety wired them inside of one of the planes. After it got back to RAF Bentwaters, the plane was broke. While working to fix that plane, unfortunately for the crew chief, that panel that hid the AKs had to be removed.

RemSp10 · 04-03-2007, 09:24

I was in Viet-Nam in 1968-69.I was a machanic at the time and secured a .45,acp to carry ,not that it was required but felt a little more protected,also had M-16.When it came time to come home i inquired about taking the .45 home with me ,The CO said sure BUT the barrel had to be filled with lead.Well i thought why ruin a good pistol,so handed it down to a fellow trooper.I assume he got good use of it. Sort of wish I had kept it ,as new barrels are not hard to find and fit.
O'Well that is the way it goes.
THANKS TO ALL OF THE VETERANS FOR SERVING

Blitzer · 04-24-2007, 17:29

Replacement GI 1911 barrels were $10.00 at that time.

Lead can be melted and scrubbed from a bore with a little effort.

CaliMoon2005- L · 05-09-2007, 23:26

The weapon is a SENSITIVE ITEMS!! same as the PVS-7.....and so on...

IF ONE sensitive items is missing, everyone is lock-down till it is found or when cow flys.......

Not worth it!! I can just go to a gun shop on post and buy the same weapon with all the money save up from a over-sea deployment.

Flinter · 05-22-2007, 19:12

And who really wants that damned log handled M9 anyway. The US needs a better pistol, and MANY are available that have much better grips, then and now.

Dean · 05-23-2007, 17:48

All due respectto your overseas service, but don't fight Uncle Sam.
Let him have his gun back.
Get yourself a nice new G31 w/Crimson Trace.
Live a little.
Welcome home.

brownmajik · 06-16-2007, 21:00

Lol, I wouldn't want my 226 back, I beat the pi$$ outta that thing! I never really got attached to my sidearm like the boys from dubbya dubbya two seem to have. Different kinda war, I guess. I wouldnt mind having some of those gold plated AK's from the sandbox, though.

FM12 · 07-01-2007, 23:49

Geeze, I dcon't know...I was a torpedoman!

Bugs100 · 07-11-2007, 07:31

I got the 45 I had in Vietnam off a dead Lt..

After I got it I cleaned it and tried it out. You couldn't hit any thing more than 30ft from you with it. In fact it was so bad you would have a tough time hitting your foot with it. So I kept it with my gear.

But my new West Point Lt. had a good one that he was constantly playing with. But he was a real idiot. The first night out out on a ambush patrol he almost got us all killed and it was only a matter of time before he got some one killed or some one killed him.

So we took mine apart and fixed it so it would only fire full auto and swapped it with his. Well a day or 2 later he pulled it out to shoot at some cans and it went full auto on him.

So he took it back to the armour and said fix my pistol. About a hour later he was in the battalion caommanders office trying to explain where he got it and what happened to his.

Well I guess the old man figured out he was a idiot pretty quick and put him in charge of supply.

FM12 · 07-11-2007, 08:54

Hey, Bugs, I think he ended up in the Navy. Sounds like several Ensigns I was assigned with!!

chadb1019 · 07-12-2007, 21:14

The M9's they issue suck anyway. If I was able to keep it I would use it for target practice. I mean shooting gun instead of paper

desertram800 · 07-14-2007, 07:29

Wow, lets not turn this into ANOTHER M9 sucks thread. Thanks. I mearly ask because I would want it for purely nostolgic purposes only, something I can pass down to my (future) child and tell them that "this is the pistol your old man carried on the battlefield" kind of thing. I already own a new M9, just not the one I actually carried.