Selected Handgun Detail

Manufacturer
	Fabbrica D' Armi Pietro Beretta SpA More Info

About the Gun

Full-size polymer-frame, hammer-fired .45 Auto pistol with a double-stack magazine, interchangeable backstraps, and an integral accessory rail. Dark-earth or OD frame with a black Bruniton slide and a longer barrel that stands proud of the slide. Type F slide-mounted ambidextrous safety/decock lever. PVD-coated magazines and corrosion-resistant internals. Shipped as a kit in a waterproof case. Built as a tactical special-duty sidearm.

Production

Production began in 2008 and is currently ongoing.

Market value

MSRP is around $1,169. Current used market value for examples in good to very good condition ranges $650–$900.

Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge:	.45 Automatic
Alias:	.45 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP)
More Info

Analysis

The Special Duty is Beretta’s commercial answer to the Joint Combat Pistol paper USSOCOM posted in 2005. That solicitation merged the Army’s Future Handgun System with the SOF Combat Pistol into one buy: a ready-made .45 Auto system meant to give special-operations units—and, at first, a much larger conventional buy—something heavier than the 9 mm M9. The pistol itself was only part of the package. The paper also wanted a suppressor attachment kit, a rail, day/night sights, flush and extended magazines, a holster, and a cleaning kit. Two lockwork versions were specified, one with an external safety and one without. Reliability and salt-spray corrosion resistance were written in as hard tests, not options. In March 2006 the Army stepped out, the name shrank to Combat Pistol, and the planned quantity collapsed from hundreds of thousands to a SOF-sized buy. That fall USSOCOM postponed the requirement indefinitely and never issued the RFP. No service pistol came out of it. Beretta had already stretched the PX4 Storm frame for .45 Auto and built an SD variant to that paper: longer barrel for a can, dark-earth or OD frame, treated internals, PVD magazines, and a waterproof case with the extra parts. Prototypes were shown in 2006. Regular commercial shipments started in 2008. Type F was the factory lockwork. The gun never became an issue sidearm. Complete kits with the case and magazines are the ones that bring money; stripped guns sit closer to a black .45 Auto Storm in value..