Besides the misuse of ‘clip’ and ‘bullet,’ check out the comment at the end of the article.

Gun fight to arm 11,000 officers
Article from: Sunday Herald Sun
Liam Houlihan

June 07, 2009 12:00am

A GLOBAL “gun fight” is expected to break out over the lucrative Victoria Police .

Police will go to tender on Tuesday and international arms makers from across the globe could be in the running.

The contract’s specified requirement is that the semi-automatic pistol has a .40 calibre.

Austrian company Glock, Belgian gunsmiths Browning and US company Colt all make a semiautomatic pistol with that size bore.

James Bond’s favourite arms manufacturers, Beretta, from Italy, and Walther, a German manufacturer, also make a .40 pistol.

There is also a chance Smith & Wesson – which supplies the Victoria Police six-shooter revolver, but also makes a .40 magazine clip pistol – may get to keep, but vary, its contract.

Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland

Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland

Heckler & Koch, from Germany, and Switzerland’s SIG, are also contenders.

Chief Commissioner Simon Overland said: “There’s a range of issues around performance, reliability, safety and magazine capacity.”

Semi-automatics’ magazine capacities vary depending on the model, but clips contain up to 15 rounds – dwarfing the six-bullet load of the current revolver.

“The firearms will be fitted to suit left or right-handers and people with small or large hands,” said Acting Supt Terence Jackson, from the Firearm Replacement Project.

Experts said this could rule out the Glock which, as a self-cocking gun with articulated trigger safety, can technically be used with only one hand.

The contract is worth up to $18 million.

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