The governor of Utah made it official, the Browning M1911 .45 caliber pistol is the Gun of Utah.

I like the M1911A1.  Back when I was in the California Army National Guard (and later the Idaho Army National Guard) we used the M1911A1, and I always scored expert.  Then we switched to the Beretta M9, and I never scored expert again.

Utah has bragging rights because John M. Browning designed the gun, and he was born and raised in Utah.  The M1911, with .45 ACP ammo, came in response to a U.S. military search for a gun with the stopping power to bring down drugged up tribal rebels during the U.S. occupation of the Philippines, after the Spanish American War in the late 1800s (yes the United States has been an empire for a while now).  When you get knocked down by the .45 you don’t get up.

The U.S. military switched to the Beretta M9 in the 1990s. It uses a higher velocity 9mm ammo, and carries more rounds in its magazine.  The M9 has always had problems.  I’ve always wondered why I could not score expert with the higher velocity 9mm, but had no problem scoring expert with the lower velocity .45.

Despite my affection for the M1911A1, I have to question why state lawmakers would spend time trying to make an official state so and so.  Don’t elected officials have more important things to address?