rgaper

Agreed. To quote someone else... "you've turned that into a full blown AIDS cannon." The Ultimak + Aimpoint Micro is a solid combination and I think Mike has given a good representation of it. I've got one on a 5.56 AK and I like it. The downside to it is the weight that's added to the front end of the rifle, the heat may/will kill a lesser optic, and if you want to take your optic off (in the case of an R-1/H-1/T-1) you are whipping out an allen key. Another, relatively new option to consider is the RS Products optics mount. If your AK variant has a sideplate for optics mounting, this is one to definitely consider. AIM sells it for $250 with a Vortex optic. Personally, I would buy the mount by itself and attach an Aimpoint M2 or M3 RDS. Here's a video of a review...

The choice of G22 vs G23 and respectively, G17 vs G19 really comes down to personal preference and how you intend to use the pistol. Size-wise, as you mentioned, they're not that different. Some shooters prefer the grip of the 19/23 to the grip of the 17/22 and that's what does it for them. There are a good number of folks who like the sight radius of the larger pistol, don't like the "grip hump" that the 19/23 have, or don't like the larger frame. In those cases, they'll buy the 17/22 and have the grip cut down by someone like Boresight Solutions or do it themselves like my friend did (see pic below). This gives the concealability of the smaller gun with the benefits of the longer sight radius.

If you want to get your Aimpoint R-1 duracoated, there's a guy on ARFCOM who does them for $30. I had him do one for me and it came out great, looks just like my T-1s. Of course, spraypaint works too, just not as durable.

I can't see them introducing a new caliber and think any RFP/T&E will stick with either 9mm or 45acp, most likely 9mm. At the end of the day it's still "just a handgun" and we all know where the ballistics stand. Special units will continue to have the opportunity for other calibers just as they do right now when intended for offensive purposes. When it comes right down to the issue though, Big Green will do what they do best and consider the lowest common denominator and apply decision making accordingly. In other words, screw it all up. As stated already, the M9 is an obscenely large & heavy handgun for its capacity, and slide mounted controls prohibit the contemporary training methods most are used to. I would love for them to do away with the manual safety/decocker requirement, but this is something that the military just loves. Getting back to the size, the continued growth of femals in the military (and LE) has led to the adoption of multiple pistols by some agencies... such as the FAMs having the option of the P229 or P239. To some extent, we see this with the M9 vs M11 in the military, though I believe that's driven more by role & unit than gender/hand size. The M&P would be a great off-the-shelf choice that would seem to meet the bulk of the requirements. HK has shown its ability to navigate the political BS associated with .mil as well. I can't wait to see the final requirements though, and from there it will be very interesting to see what gets immediately disqualified due to a perceived "need" that's not met. Hopefully in a few years we won't all be talking about how they came to choose Hi-Point pistols with Uncle Mike's nylon holsters.

Hi all - moved to the Memphis area a little over a month ago, have been reading a few of the threads and thought it was time to join in. Originally from Philly, though I've lived in Virginia, and most recently Connecticut. Ironically, Memphis is slightly safer than the last city I was living in according to the latest FBI's statistics. I've been hunting and shooting all of my life; Hunting - grew up chasing Whitetails in the woods of upstate PA, and got quite a few deer over the years. Later, I moved on to hunting them in the Adirondacks. Fairly recently I retired from hunting Whitetails as I never really enjoyed it like I did with my grandfather. A favorite summer activity for many years was hunting groundhogs in the huge dairy fields in PA, and I didn't realize that there aren't any of them here in West TN. I guess armadillos are the stand-in. The type of hunting that I really enjoy the most and find the most challenging is predator hunting. I've got quite a a few stories from chasing the big coyotes in PA and NY and I'd like to keep up the habit here in TN. If anyone is in need of a caller/shooter with some blood on their rifles, let me know. I use FoxPro callers and 223, 22-250, or 243 depending on the scenario. Shooting - I'm exclusively interested in defensive pistol and carbine. A few years ago, I got the training bug and progressively advanced to a level where all of my shooting is with this mindset. What I've found disappointing so far is that I haven't been able to locate a club or range in the area that allows for the type of carbine shooting that has been commonplace for me - all of the ranges seem to be dedicated to off-the-bench shooters or gamers. Hoping someone on TGO can point me in the right direction. My standard CCW is a G19. Looking forward to interacting with you all... errr... y'all!