SIG Sauer M17 Trophy Pistols: Why They Are a Really Rare Gun
The competition is a famous and grueling event in which the winning team gets a pair of special sidearms. This year those were M17s rather than the old 1911s.
First lieutenants Vince Paikowski and Alastair Keys, both from the 75th Ranger Regiment, each won a very special trophy. For this year’s U.S. Army Best Ranger Competition, New Hampshire based SIG Sauer created a pair of U.S. Army Best Ranger Competition M17 Trophy Pistols.
The custom M17 pistols, which are based on the standard sidearm of the U.S. Army, were designed and built by SIG Custom Works earlier this year. In years past, the winning teams received Colt M1911-style pistols, which were presented in a ceremony at the end of the competition. This year, to reflect the change in the standard issued sidearm, the winners received the M17s.
Best Ranger Competition, the Army’s Super Bowl, Returns to Fort Benning
Soldiers compete in the 2021 Best Ranger competition at Fort Benning, Georgia, on Friday, April 16, 2021. The three-day contest, considered among the Army s most grueling challenges, returned this year after the coronavirus pandemic forced its cancellations in 2020. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)
20 Apr 2021
FORT BENNING, Ga. – For three nearly nonstop days, some of the Army’s most-skilled soldiers overcame a lack of sleep to tough out brutal obstacle courses, miles-long runs and marches, and weapons and tactics challenges as they moved some 75 miles across Fort Benning for a chance at the title of Best Ranger.
75th Ranger Regiment lieutenants earn Best Ranger title, credit focused training stripes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stripes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By COREY DICKSTEIN | STARS AND STRIPES Published: April 19, 2021 FORT BENNING, Ga. – For three nearly nonstop days, some of the Army’s most-skilled soldiers overcame a lack of sleep to tough out brutal obstacle courses, miles-long runs and marches, and weapons and tactics challenges as they moved some 75 miles across Fort Benning for a chance at the title of Best Ranger. The grueling contest, which tests 52 teams of Ranger School graduates on a wide-range of skills, returned to the Army post in Georgia last week after a rare cancelation in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic stopped nearly all military movement last spring. In the end, a team of first lieutenants from Fort Benning’s own 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment walked away the winners of the 37th annual Best Ranger Competition.