Why the U.S. Marshals Went Against Glock (And Picked a 100 Year Old Gun)

Charlie Gao

Security,

A wonder.

For the majority of military and law enforcement users who carry more than they shoot, the more affordable and lighter Glock will continue to be the dominant choice.

As more and more federal agencies adopt various variations on the Glock pistol, the recent adoption of the STI 2011 by the U.S. Marshals Service Special Operations Group (USMS SOG) stands out. The STI 2011 is a double-stack 9mm variant of the venerable 1911 pistol—a design that is over 100 years old at this point.

But why did the SOG choose the 2011 instead of another Glock? The guns.com article suggests that the USMS SOG was working relatively closely with STI before the order, so in a sense, the USMS’s STI 2011 is practically a custom gun made to their request. The pistol is also replacing Springfield Armory 1911s. As the 2011 has practically the same manual of arms and excellent trigger pull as the 1911, adopting a 2011 would make the transition to the new gun easier than a transition to a striker-fired or DA/SA trigger.

The USMS SOG also appears to greatly appreciate the excellent single-action only triggers of tuned 1911s and 2011s, as “single-action pistols” were mentioned specifically in a statement given by a USMS public affairs official.

(This first appeared earlier this month.)

But the USMS’ 2011s represent a leap forward in many other ways compared to the legacy 1911s. Photos of them in use show them equipped with Leupold DeltaPoint Pro red dot sights, flared tactical magwells and extended baseplates for the magazine, which give users up to twenty-one rounds of 9mm ammunition on tap. Raised iron sights that are visible through the window of the red dot are also fitted to the USMS guns.

A concealed carry version of the 2011 was also procured for the USMS, which ditches the red dot sight and raised iron sights in favor of a low-profile set of sights, including a fiber front sight. All USMS 2011s also feature special finishes meant to resist saltwater corrosion, and have “USMS SOG” and the SOG team logo put on the slides.