P15PS00802_Pistol_Evaluation__4-8-15_FINAL.docx

Solicitation P15PS00802 United States Park Police Evaluation

EVALUATION - COMMERCIAL ITEMS

The United States Park Police intends to conduct a test of .40 caliber and 9mm, double-action only, semi-automatic pistols at the Anacostia Operations Facility in Washington, DC. The testing shall be conducted in phases as set forth in this Section before a selection is made.

Five submissions are requested from each manufacturer, which shall be tested as follows:

All submissions will be inspected by U.S. Park Police Service Pistol Committee members to assure compliance with specifications set forth in the specifications.

A. EVALUATION CRITERIA

The United States Park Police has established a Service Pistol Evaluation Committee for the purposes of the inspection and test firing the submitted weapons. The Chairman of the Committee would be the Acting Commander of the Training Branch. The Assistant Chairman would be the Force Firearms Custodial Officer. The Local Firearms Custodial Officers from the New York, San Francisco, and FLETC, Georgia Field Offices shall be included along with the members of the Training Branch Firearms Unit. Additionally, one official of the USPP Labor Union shall serve on the Committee.

The Committee shall conduct a selection process for a diverse group of Force members up to ten (10) officers to complete the Service Pistol Evaluation questionnaire during the test firing of the submitted weapons. The makeup of officers shall be seven (7) males and three (3) females. At least two (2) male shooters and one (1) female shooter must be left-handed shooters. During the test fire evaluation phase the officers shall fire the 50-round USPP Police Pistol Course, the 36-round USPP Reduced light course, and the 30-round USPP 100 percent course. The USPP 100 percent course shall be fired twice, once with gloves and once without gloves.

B. USPP Police Pistol Course

C. USPP Reduced Light Course

D. USPP 100 Percent Course

E. Upon completion of courses of fire, each evaluator shall disassemble, clean, and reassemble the weapon utilized.

The purpose of this test is to subjectively evaluate the weapon based upon items of the below listed evaluation criteria. Weapons submitted that are found compliant shall be comparatively evaluated based upon the following factors in accordance with their relative order of importance as described below:

Upon completion of this evaluation, the results recorded by the evaluators will be analyzed in concert with the Review of the Manufacturer's Certifications, and the apparent winner(s) will be identified.

1. Officers are expected to carry weapons for extended periods of time, both in a duty belt or a concealed holster in a plainclothes assignment. The overall weight of the weapon has a direct impact on the officer’s comfort throughout the various extended assignments.

2. Officers are expected to carry weapons in various assignments. The Motor Officer riding in the rain or the Marine Officer encountering continuous salt spray are a few examples of harsh environments that our officers are subjected to. Establishing the weapon grip is paramount in the fundamentals of marksmanship. The weapon grips must be in a finish that aids the officer’s shooting grip in various weather conditions.

3. Law enforcement is comprised of a diverse group of individuals. The weapon system must have the ability to tailor the grip to accommodate a wide variety of shooter’s hand sizes while still affording ease of pistol concealment when worn in a plainclothes capacity.

4. The magazine insertion during a slide lock reload is imperative. The officer must be able to reload the weapon in the quickest amount of time. The magazine well opening must be in a shape that is advantageous to fast reloads.

5. The officer must be able to reload the weapon with the slide forward in battery. The weapon must have the ability to fully seat the magazine in the magazine well with a fully loaded magazine.

6. The magazine release shall be located on the frame near the lower junction of the trigger guard. It is preferred that the weapon design permit the magazine release control to be readily changed to either the right or left side of the frame.

7. The magazine release shall be designed to permit positive release of the magazine when fully pressed by the shooter. The release shall also be in a design that is not easily activated inadvertently.

8. The slide lock/release must be easily manipulated by either the right or left hand when gripping the weapon. The slide lock/release control shall be designed such that it is unlikely that the shooter will inadvertently active or override the control during normal firing.

9. It shall be possible to manually lock the slide to the rear for visual and physical inspection of the pistol without a magazine inserted. The slide lock/release must automatically hold the slide to the rear after the last round has been fired during normal operation of the weapons. The slide lock/release must be easily manipulated to release the slide with a fully loaded magazine in the weapon by either a left or right handed shooter.

10. The slide shall have gripping surfaces located on the left and right sides of the weapon at the rear most portion. The gripping surfaces of the slide shall permit a firm grasp and reliable operation of the slide by the shooter under all conditions.

11. Black, non-reflective sights constructed of steel or similar material are required. Sights shall be of a design that limits glare in a variety of lighting conditions. The dimensions of the front and rear sights must allow the shooter to rapidly acquire sight alignment while not limiting drawing and holstering from commercially available duty and concealment holsters.

12. The front and rear sights shall be equipped with “Tritium” self-luminous material that allows the shooter to quickly and effectively engage targets in reduced lighting conditions. The proper sight alignment of the low level sights shall be consistent with proper sight alignment. The luminous portion of the sights shall not be visible from the muzzle end of the weapon. Officers shall shoot the USPP Reduced Light Course for this evaluation.

13. The weapon shall have a double action only operating characteristics. The trigger pull shall be consistent in both length and weight of pull for every shot. Trigger pull weight shall be no less than 5 pounds and no more than 7.5 pounds.

14. The weapon’s trigger reach shall be in a manner that aids in the ideal placement of the shooters trigger finger on the trigger face. Any trigger safety shall not interfere with the proper placement of the shooting finger on the trigger.

15. Shooters shall participate in the shooting phase of the evaluation. Each shooter shall fire the USPP PPC and the 100 percent drill with each weapon. A numerical value score shall be recorded on the front of this evaluation questionnaire. Shooters shall evaluate their subjective opinion of the overall accuracy of the weapon in the category.

16. Perceived recoil, what the shooter feels, is a highly subjective matter. It is influenced by many factors. One of the most important of these, in addition to gun weight, is the fit and shape of the grip and the shooter's personal hold. Evaluations will be based solely on the individual officers preference while shooting the Force issued Winchester 180gr 40 caliber and Winchester 147gr 9mm duty ammunition.

17. Officers are required to shoot one handed during the evaluation courses of fire to simulate situations where one handed shooting may be required. Officers must evaluate their shooting performance and ability to manipulate the weapons when shooting with one hand.

18. Officers are required to shoot with their support hand during the evaluation courses of fire to simulate situations where one handed support hand shooting may be required. Officers must evaluate their shooting performance and ability to manipulate the weapons when shooting with their support hand.

19. Officers are required to work in all types of weather conditions. The ability to manipulate and fire a weapon while wearing gloves is paramount. Officers must evaluate their ability to operate the weapon controls and safely fire the weapon while wearing gloves. Officers shall fire the USPP 100 percent drill while wearing gloves.

20. Officers are routinely expected to maintain a clean and serviceable weapon. Weapons inspections are required weekly. The pistol and magazines shall be designed to allow disassembly and reassembly for routine cleaning and maintenance without the use of specially designed tools. It is necessary that the pistol be composed of parts that cannot be readily assembled incorrectly in such a manner as to render the pistol inoperable or otherwise compromise reliability.

F. Price

The evaluated total price shall be the total of the unit prices as provided

G. Functional Reliability

G.1 All weapons utilized shall be evaluated for Function and Reliability during the firing for the Evaluation Questionnaire.

G.2 USPP duty ammunition (Winchester Q4355 and Q4364) ammunition shall be supplied.

G.3 Parts replacement shall only be allowed based upon the factory recommended maintenance procedures during testing.

G.4 Major component parts changes shall not be permitted (i.e., frame, slide, barrel, or magazine tubes).

H. Malfunction/Stoppages

H.1 A malfunction is defined as any stoppage or problem that occurs that prevents the pistol from firing, regardless of cause, or any condition that affects function and safety. Malfunctions include stoppages traceable or chargeable to an unserviceable part.

To further the definition, malfunction descriptions may include, but are not limited to:

a) Failure to feed

b) Failure to chamber

c) Failure to lock (if applicable)

d) Failure to fire

e) Failure to unlock (if applicable)

f) Failure to extract

g) Failure to eject

h) Failure to cock

i) Failure of the magazine catch or slide stop to function.

I. Ammunition-related malfunctions attributed to ammunition, shall not be counted against the pistol/magazine being tested. However, they shall be recorded and properly identified with supporting analyses. Ammunition-related malfunctions are defined as, but not limited to:

a) Inverted primer

b) Inert primer

c) Deformed cartridge case

d) Inverted projectile

e) Deformed projectile

f) Ruptured cartridge case

g) Squib load

h) Misfire

I.3 Operator error shall not be charged against the weapon if the operator can identify and articulate the error.

I.4 Malfunctions of the magazines shall be charged to the weapon system. Malfunctions occurring during live fire shall be documented on the Evaluation questionnaire.

I.5 A record shall be kept of every malfunction that occurs during the test. Should a malfunction occur, the operator of the pistol must not engage in any clearing drill, but must bench the pistol and allow the Committee representative to examine the weapon and identify the cause of the malfunction.

I.6 Should a malfunction occur that cannot be clearly identified as an ammunition malfunction, weapon malfunction, or operator error, the USPP reserves the right to require the officer or to fire an additional course of fire to determine if the malfunction reoccurs.

I.7 If the malfunction does not reoccur, the malfunction shall be disregarded and not charged against the weapon.

I.8 If the malfunction reoccurs, further testing shall cease until the cause is identified. The weapon shall be charged with one malfunction.

J. Cleaning

J.1 Each weapon may be cleaned, lubricated, and inspected after the test process.

J.2 Cleaning solvents and lubricant shall be available. (Any manufacturer may provide their own; however, all products utilized for cleaning and lubrication must be readily available on the commercial market.)

J.3 Function of the weapon shall not be dependent upon the use of special or unique lubricants. The solvents and lubricants presently used by the USPP are Miltec and MPro 7.

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