Sadly the poor M9 got a bad rap from the get-go and had trouble ever overcoming those early issues. The P226 came in second place during the 1984 trials that resulted in the M9 selection. Beretta quickly fixed the issue, but the SEALs went with the SIG P226.
The M9 also suffered a significant setback in public perception when the slide on a pistol blew rearward into the face of a Navy SEAL while training. Although ‘stopping power’ has long been disproven as a concept entirely. Many believed that the 9mm didn’t have the ‘stopping power’ a 1911 and its 45 ACP round had. Lots of people, conversely, hated the M9. People loved the gun in the service and in the civilian world. The 1911 had seen use in both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and every other conflict, both big and small involving American troops since the year 1911.
The Beretta M9 replaced the famed 1911A1 pistol, and it was a tough show to follow.
