+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 -
The deal is +P is over standard spec in both velocity and PRESSURE but there is no standard on HOW MUCH OVER is allowed . IMHO if you think a standard load is NOT ENOUGH then buy a pistol for a more powerful cartridge. Sort of like driving a car over RED LINE the car may not blow up the first time or even the one hundredth time but you can be sure it will not last as long as if you don't drive it over red line at all. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by perry shooter
The deal is +P is over standard spec in both velocity and PRESSURE but there is no standard on HOW MUCH OVER is allowed . IMHO if you think a standard load is NOT ENOUGH then buy a pistol for a more powerful cartridge. Sort of like driving a car over RED LINE the car may not blow up the first time or even the one hundredth time but you can be sure it will not last as long as if you don't drive it over red line at all.
Thanks guy,that tells it...0 -
quote:Originally posted by pwillie
Whats the deal with plus P ammo? I see where Sig will void a warranty if its used in their pistols...
+P ammo is fine with Sig. They do say that +P+ MAY void the warranty.
"+P Ammo manufactured to SAAMI/CIP/NATO specs is fine to use as a defensive round or for occasional range use. Continual use of this round will make it necessary for more frequent service on the pistol. We do NOT recommend the use of any +P+ round. This may void your warranty."
http://www.sigsauer.com/customerservice/faq.aspx0 -
Actually, there is a standard for +P ammunition in some few calibers.
I know of .38 Special, 9mm P, and .45 ACP.
+P corresponds to APPROXIMATELY 10% higher chamber pressure. If powder is well chosen, that will get you 5% more velocity and 10% more energy. If they don't get the powder right, you just get 10% more noise.
All .38 Super is labeled +P but that is relative to 1902 .38 ACP. There is no .38 Super standard pressure.
There is not a SAAMI recognized +P load level for .380, .40, or .45 Colt although you will see such ammunition advertised. It is simply overloaded to what they think will sell.
There is not a SAAMI recognized +P+ load level for anything. It is what the maker thinks the guns will stand and can usually get a waiver from the customer on. Originally meant for government contracts where worn out guns are replaced at taxpayer expense.
There is also a .257 Roberts +P category, about which I tend to foam at the mouth.0 -
First of all, SIG says explicitly on its website or at least used to) that **ALL** of its guns are rated as safe for unlimited use of +P ammo.
Since SIG sells guns for military use, and since the +P standard for 9mm and the NATO ammo standard are similar, this makes sense. There would be no military market for SIG's handguns if these were NOT +P compliant. Go fire all the +P ammo you like through any SIG gun.
In fact having looked into this in the past, I can tell you for certain that *ALL* of the 9mm guns currently made by EVERY major manufacturer are OK with 9mm +P ammo including: Beretta, Glock, Smith and Wesson, Ruger, and CZ, among others.
As to what is +P, that's a SAAMI ammo pressure standard. "+P" ammo is rated at 10% greater maximum operating pressure than standard (ie non+P) ammo.
In practice this means that +P ammo will shoot the same bullet a little faster, but at the "cost" of slightly increased wear and tear on an "ordinary" gun.
Where most gun makers (including SIG) may void a warranty is with so called "+P+" ammo. That's because there is no internationally accepted standard for this overpressure ammo, and the gun makers aren't willing to certify their guns against what amounts to an unknown pressure standard. How could they?
Even there, in practice, most makers guns will, in fact, hold up to +P+ ammo. How powerful the +P+ ammo is, varies from maker to maker, but typically this ammo is restricted for sales to law enforcement (not by law, but by ammo maker policy). Supposedly in practice, at least some of the +P+ ammo isn't **ANY** more powerful than ordinary +P ammo, the whole +P+ label is just a gimmick for marketing reasons.0 -
Perry shooter's comparison of shooting +P and +P+ to over revving an automobile engine is the best I have heard. 0
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