Sig Sauer Will Put 5,000 Of The Army’s Slick New Handguns Up For Commercial Sale
By JAMES CLARK on December 18, 2017
Sig Sauer, the maker of the 9mm P320 semi-automatic pistol that the Army recently contracted as the brand-new M17 Modular Handgun System, is looking to spread some of that mil-spec love to civilians by making a handful of those new military-grade sidearms available for commercial purchase, according to Military.com.

While the P320 has been available on the civilian market since 2014, the company will offer up a cache of just 5,000 military-grade M17s that, so far, the soldiers who first fielded the sidearm on Nov. 28 claim they can’t get enough of.

“We are planning to do a limited release of about 5,000 of the Army variant of the M17 for the commercial market,” Tom Taylor, the chief marketing officer and executive vice president for commercial sales at Sig Sauer, told Military.com. “The timing is not finalized yet, but it looks to be late spring.”

The commercially-available version of the full-size M17 will be nearly identical to the Army-issued pistol, though the handguns won’t come with the “anti-tamper mechanism for the striker action” or special coatings on the handguns innards to “maintain lubricity under harsh conditions,” Military.com reports. There are some customization options, though: the M17s will be available with or without the thumb safety mounted on the frame that’s standard with the Army-issued variant, depending on the buyer’s preference.

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But more importantly, each commercially available M17 will have its own serial number (for those who want to live out some kind of perverse gear accountability fantasy), a matching coin, and a letter of authenticity from Sig Sauer’s CEO, which will help you flaunt the fact that, yes, you shelled out your hard-earned cash for the real thing.

How much each handgun will cost, however, is still up in the air. “It’s high in demand, but if we price it too high, they will say ‘I really want it, but it is just too expensive,” Taylor told Military.com

In January, it was announced that Sig Sauer M17 beat out versions of the 9mm Glock 19 and .40 caliber Glock 23 pistols in the Army’s Modular Handgun System Competition. In doing so, Sig Sauer won the Army’s 10-year $580 million contract to provide as many as 238,000 M17s to replace the tried and battle-tested M9 Beretta 9mm handgun as the branch’s sidearm of choice.

Though the other services are keen to get their own modular handgun, it’s unclear if they’ll follow in the Army’s footsteps. The Air Force, for its part, is currently putting the handgun through ejection seat tests to see if the M17 would be a suitable replacement for the its current issue of Beretta M9s and Sig Sauer P226s as a sidearm for pilots.

“We just wanted to make it really special,” Taylor said of the special sale. ”And once they are out there, the owners will be privileged to own the actual gun.”

http://taskandpurpose.com/5000...aa4708597e&bsft_pp=5

I am getting one! I've wanted a P320 but held off since I couldn't justify having another 9mm. This just did it.

Already posted in the Pistols section.

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/1450034434

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:

But more importantly, each commercially available M17 will have its own serial number (for those who want to live out some kind of perverse gear accountability fantasy),

What a novel idea!
Are you guys ready to get your fantasies on?

What did they use on the M17 as a lubricity coating?

I wish Sig put half as much effort into its R&D as it does into it's marketing campaigns.

quote:

. . .But more importantly, each commercially available M17 will have its own serial number (for those who want to live out some kind of perverse gear accountability fantasy). . .

What the hell are is the article's author, James Clark, talking about in the sentence quoted above?

Surely not the serial number that is on every legally manufactured and sold firearm in the USA?

Is the article saying that the fact that the government requires the gun to have a serial number makes its owner some kind of a nut who is living out a childish fantasy?

Fuck this guy. Anything he has to say is just so much bullshit.

At the bottom of the web page you'll find this:

quote:

James Clark is a staff writer for Task & Purpose. He is a former Marine combat correspondent and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan. You can reach him via email at James@taskandpurpose.com. Follow James Clark on Twitter @JamesWClark

james@taskandpurpose.com

If you're motivated, you can write to him at that e-mail and tell him what you think.

Yeah, I don't bother to maintain accountability of my firearms now...

Breaking News: SIG has leftover pistols from contract run, decides to sell them to public.

quote:

Originally posted by SapperSteel:

quote:

. . .But more importantly, each commercially available M17 will have its own serial number (for those who want to live out some kind of perverse gear accountability fantasy). . .

What the hell are is the article's author, James Clark, talking about in the sentence quoted above?

Surely not the serial number that is on every legally manufactured and sold firearm in the USA?

Is the article saying that the fact that the government requires the gun to have a serial number makes its owner some kind of a nut who is living out a childish fantasy?

Fuck this guy. Anything he has to say is just so much bullshit.

At the bottom of the web page you'll find this:

quote:

James Clark is a staff writer for Task & Purpose. He is a former Marine combat correspondent and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan. You can reach him via email at James@taskandpurpose.com. Follow James Clark on Twitter @JamesWClark

james@taskandpurpose.com

If you're motivated, you can write to him at that e-mail and tell him what you think.

I suspect that what they are going to do is either have a "unique" series of serial numbers for these guns, or they will have a x of 5000 roll mark on the guns.

I wants me some special lubricity.

quote:

Originally posted by Fenris:
I wants me some special lubricity.

.

Get some damn grease then!

$580 Million for 238,000 units works out to over $2,400 each.

quote:

Originally posted by ridgerat:
$580 Million for 238,000 units works out to over $2,400 each.

I'm sure the contract includes extra mags, holsters, training, spare parts, etc, which would drive up the unit cost.

Still seems high to me, however.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

quote:

Originally posted by ridgerat:
$580 Million for 238,000 units works out to over $2,400 each.

I'm sure the contract includes extra mags, holsters, training, spare parts, etc, which would drive up the unit cost.

Still seems high to me, however.

Its the government for god sake. You don't actually think they'd be frugal with our money, do you?

And I'll pass on owning one. The Sig's I have right now will do me just fine.