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Last week I had an article about the Canadian military looking to replace its Second World War-era handguns.

Replacing the 1940s-era Browning handguns has been on the Department of National Defence’s procurement list for years. But now the purchase of new guns appears to be moving ahead.

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Still the Canadian Forces figures if the purchase is approved – and there are no delays – it won’t have the new pistols in hand and being used until the 2023-2026 period.

So what happens to the existing Canadian Forces general service pistol, the 9mm Browning Hi-Power?

The wear and tear on the Brownings have whittled numbers down to 13,981; of those 1,243 are in the process of disassembled for spare parts, in order to keep the other guns going until a replacement can be found.

It is unclear how many will be left by the 2023-2026 period when the new guns arrive. But there will certainly be some.

Readers have sent me emails wondering whether the Browning handguns might eventually be sold as surplus?