+P ammo
what is +P ammo and what is is useful for??
New gun??? No, honey, I've had it for years.
New gun??? No, honey, I've had it for years.
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Hello can somebody please tell me what the +p ammo is plese i had somebody give me some personal protection 380 and they say +p and i dont want to shoot them till i find out what it means thank you 0 -
No on the Colt and yes for the Smith. 0 -
bbsoda,
There have been several discussions about this over the recent years on here. If you use the search, you can find those threads.
Generally speaking, it is dependent on the condition of your firearm if it is safe to use any ammunition in it. Firearms in good condition, can shoot the +P ammo, and the two you mention are surely robust enough to handle them. However, the +P will wear out any firearm faster than the standard pressure ammo.
It is my suggestion, to practice with the standard ammo, then make sure your firearm shoots the +P to the point of impact you require, and carry it with the +P ammo.
Best0 -
It will work for a while IMHO. Want 357 performance then get a 357. I'm not sure that in 2" barrels you would get much increase other than noise and flash. 0 -
I think you will find restrictions to std vel ammo on the lightweight Detective Special due to thin walls between cylinder cutouts and chambers on the six shooter. The 5 shot J-Frames don't have that weakness.
A steady diet of +P may loosen the Smith but conceivably burst chambers on the Colt.0 -
Thanks folks for the help. The Colt has fired maybe 50 rounds since new, and the Smith is still NIB. I'm asking this question because I can get some +P for free if I want it. 0 -
Well if it's free, I'd snag it.[;)] 0 -
Back in the days before there was a "+P" designation, the Detective Special was rated by Colt for the preceding high speed (greater than standard pressure) loads; this was because the Colt design placed the deepest part of the locking notches in the cylinder off center to the chamber diameter. 0 -
The Colt manual shows +P OK in the steel framed units like the DS or Diamondback but not the Aluminum framed units like the Cobra. They don't recommend a steady diet of them. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by bbsoda
Is +P ammo safe to use in a Colt Detective special and a S&W Model 60? Both guns circa 1980
In my opinion, its safe.
Assuming both guns are all steel guns in otherwise good mechanical condition (and is sounds like they are), fire away.
Some say that repeated use of .38+P ammo will wear out guns faster. While I'm sure that *IS* true (especially with the Colt, which has more fragile lockwork than Smiths), realistically snubnoses tend to be guns that are "carried a lot and shot a little".
The overwhelming majority of shooters will never come close to wearing out their snubnose revolvers from actual use during their lifetimes. I have yet to see the all steel Smith J frame that was worn out "early" from shooting +P rounds; these guns hold up to thousands and thousands of rounds and your finger will probably wear out first.
I've also never ever heard of any modern Colt .38 revolver "blowing up" from .38+P rounds. The most common problem is that the first generation ALUMINUM FRAME guns (Colt, and Smith) have fundamentally weak frames. Fire these enough (with any but the lowest power ammo) and the frames will distort, potentially locking up the gun or causing timing problems. +P ammo just makes this happen that much faster, and should be absolutely avoided, except in emergency situations. But this doesn't really apply as both the above guns are ALL STEEL (carbon for Colt and Stainless for Smith).
If you do what most do, and shoot mostly cheap .38 target loads for practice, but carry and occasionally practice with more expensive .38+Ps, you shouldn't ever have any problems and your guns should last a LONG long time. I don't know how many "free" .38+Ps you're going to get, but unless its a *LOT*, I'd suggest saving them for defensive use, and occasional serious practice, rather than general "fun/recreational" shooting.
In general, this subject comes up again and again.
BY DESIGN, +P ammo is supposed to be safe in any modern .38 special gun. Both of above qualify, and both of above come from the era BEFORE guns were commonly labelled as "rated for +P". . .that was just assumed!
Remember, .38 special is a relatively low pressure black powder era load designed in the 19th century. Modern guns fire smokeless powder rounds, which run at much higher pressures and are necessarily quite a bit stronger than contemporary guns from that time.
For example, people do get away with firing nearly .357 magnum pressure loads from older (pre 357 magnum frame) Smith J frames, and .357 magnum operates at 35,000 PSI pressure. IMO its unwise and unsafe to do that. . .before too long those type of rounds will crack the guns forcing cones, knock the gun out of timing, or cause other problems. . .but it does give you some room to think about margin of safety. Again, don't do this in a Colt. . .not only is the lockwork weaker, but the guns themselves are more collectible!
As comparison, "ordinary" .38 special has a max pressure rating of 17,000 PSI, and .38+P only 20,000 PSI. With only 15% more pressure, I don't think you're going to "blow up" either make with .38+P loads. I've always maintained that if a given .38 special gun is unsafe with .38+P, its probably unsafe with "ordinary" .38s.
Lastly, some of the so-called ".38+P" ammo probably isn't, really. IE, it shoots the same weight bullets at similar velocities as "ordinary" .38s, or maybe only a *little* bit more. A "good" .38+P will give about another 50-70 fps from a 2" snubnose (from about 750 to 810 fps). I suppose every bit helps, but this is really not a very big performance boost.
The biggest advantage of .38+P probably isn't the slightly higher velocity. . .is the fact that .38+P rounds are typically loaded with premium expanding bullets.0 -
Just use standard loads with better bullets. Don't punish your hands or the firearm over close range shooting. 0
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