Guns & Ammo/SIG SAUER P320 FCU “Never Forget 9/11 Tribute” Pistol
Shortly before September 11, 2020, the editors at Guns & Ammo magazine received a P320 FCU (fire control unit) for review in an upcoming issue. That's when Eric Poole, Guns & Ammo’s editor in chief, noticed the test unit’s serial number ended with the numbers 911, and suggested that it would make a fitting gift to someone who had served on 9/11. What followed was a series of phone calls and late nights all in honor of Jimmy McEniry, a Marine Corps reservist and New York Police Department’s last man out of the World Trade Center as the second tower fell on September 11, 2001.
“It was serendipitous that this serial number shipped out just a few short weeks before September 11th, to such a great partner of ours, the amazing team at Guns & Ammo,” said Tom Taylor, CMO, Executive Vice President of Commercial Sales, SIG SAUER. “The folks over at G&A called us up while they were doing photographs for a story on the FCU, and it just clicked for all of us, we had to do something special.”
Guns & Ammo writer Tom Beckstrand and photographer Mark Fingar had recently interviewed McEniry for an upcoming story in the magazine and immediately suggested him as the recipient of the 9/11 tribute pistol. But with September 11, 2020 only a few days away, it was crunch time and the pistol had yet to be built. That’s when SIG SAUER Product Manager Phil Strader suggested using Outlaw Ordnance, a custom firearms engraving shop located in West Monroe, Louisiana. Working for two days straight with no sleep, Outlaw Ordnance was able to complete the amazing custom finish work on the slide and shipped it back to Guns & Ammo on September 9.
“When we were approached to build a 9/11 commemorative pistol on such short notice,” said Strader, “Outlaw Ordnance was the obvious choice. They are renowned for their attention to detail and quality of work, and they have proven time after time that any deadline challenge can be met. Nakia Jackson and Chip Pierce are true artists and we have never been let down by their ingenuity, uniqueness, and craftsmanship. Turning this one-of-a kind pistol into a reality in less than a week was a ‘Mission Impossible’ turned possible, thanks largely to Outlaw Ordnance.”
"Through the cut and colored steel of the P320’s slide, the company honored the heroes of the New York Police Department, the New York Fire Department and the New York/New Jersey Port Authority Police with their departmental emblems, as well as the date, and the flight designations of the aircraft used in the attack, in remembrance of the innocent passengers. Finally, the words “Never Forget” are also emblazoned against a field of stars. The slide’s bronze Cerkote finish matches the aesthetic of the FCU and its trigger, and the pistol is completed by SIG’s factory-stippled grip frame. It is a beautiful and fitting tribute, though wholly unequal to the sacrifice and service of its recipient, and the lives it honors." (Joe Kurtenbach, Guns and Ammo)
Once the gun was completed and shipped back to the Guns & Ammo headquarters for photos, an "unveiling" was done live over video chat with McEniry and all parties involved.
Read the complete story and watch the unveiling at gunsandammo.com.
All images courtesy Mark Fingar, Guns & Ammo
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