Are there recent-manufacture pistols that can not handle +P ammo?

[nooooobie]

Does anyone know of a manufacturer who explicitly warns against use of +P ammo in their firearm? I find nothing in any of my owners' manuals.

 

[Texan Scott]

The new Ruger LC380.

 

[Prince Yamato]

Rohrbaugh 9mm.

 

[firesky101]

EAA witness 9mm says no +P in the manual. Although I assume though it is just a blanket CYA as the chamber the same exact pistol in 10mm.

 

[William Boyd]

Ruger LCP

 

[Drail]

Even if a manufacturer claims that a gun is "safe" with +P ammo you are still accelerating wear and tear if you use it very much. It's just like hot rodding a car. Standard pressure loads are all that is necessary if you can hit where you need to. If you cannot then ammo choice doesn't really matter.

 

[Potatohead]

I think one of the walther pp's

 

[MAG-63]

Walther PPQ.

 

[BCRider]

Short term? Likely not an issue in a lot of cases. Long term? You're going to speed up the time towards a failure of some form.

Presumably the guns in question are tuned for standard ammo. You go and stick +P in them on a regular basis and you're going to see the slide hammering the frame with the extra power slamming the slide to the rear stop.

If you want to shoot +P on a regular basis you need to fit a stronger recoil spring that cycles well and locks back OK while still providing more resistance to the recoil of the slide to slow it down before it hammers the rear travel limit.

 

[HexHead]

I wouldn't shoot +P in a pistol that uses an alloy frame.

 

[dogtown tom]

Texan Scott The new Ruger LC380.
William Boyd Ruger LCP

Kind of difficult to rate a gun when there is no SAAMI spec for .380+P.

 

[hentown]

If you're shooting +Ps through Glocks, just be aware that you shouldn't expect your Glock to last over 500,000 rounds or so.

 

[Ankeny]

Kind of difficult to rate a gun when there is no SAAMI spec for .380+P.

That is exactly why Ruger recommends no .380 +P.

 

[HC_Jack]

I wouldn't shoot +P in a pistol that uses an alloy frame.

All Ruger 9mm's except for the LCP, including my alloy frame P94 are rated for +p and +p+ per the Ruger FAQ

 

[herrwalther]

Anything made by Diamondback.

 

[Radagast]

Diamondback DB9. There a couple of vids on Youtube showing these explosively disassembling when fired with PlusP.

 

[CajunBass]

If you're shooting +Ps through Glocks, just be aware that you shouldn't expect your Glock to last over 500,000 rounds or so.

Ain't that the truth? I'm so worried that my great-great grandchildren won't get to shoot my guns, so I won't use P+ in any of them.

 

[MedWheeler]

16 replies so far, in a revolver forum, and no one has mentioned any revolvers. I can't think of any, either.

Edit: I think Cobra might have a cautionary label against "extended use" of +P in the Shadow .38 Special revolver (a five-shot snubnose model.) But they do (or did; I cannot find an active web site for them) okay it for defensive carry use.

Edit yet again: The moderators have apparently moved this thread out of the "revolvers" section. I see the thread is also deteriorating (starting a few posts below this one) from the original question to simple opinions regarding +P ammunition and some makes of firearms, with no mention of those makers' recommendations.

 

[JohnBT]

Airweights. Of course, "recent" to me is anything after '80 or '90.

For instance, I bought a S&W 442-1 that's marked .38 Special. Shortly thereafter the 442 was marked for +P.

According to the factory, any 442-1, whether marked +P or not, is safe for +P.

It really doesn't make much difference to me, because +P ammo only adds a few fps. Even 9mm out of a 4" barrel is only 50 fps faster iirc.

 

[CraigC]

16 replies so far, in a revolver forum, and no one has mentioned any revolvers. I can't think of any, either.

That's what I was thinking.

 

[Drail]

OK, revolvers - take a Charter Arms revo and feed it a bunch of +P ammo - and watch it die. Feed it standard pressure ammo and it will last a long time. I still carry a Bulldog Pug from 1987 and it is still tight and 100% reliable. And potent. Most of the +P ammo on the market is snake oil IMO. It won't make up for poor shot placement

 

[CraigC]

OK, revolvers - take a Charter Arms revo and feed it a bunch of +P ammo - and watch it die.

You're telling me that an additional 3000psi will kill them???

 

[shafter]

Even if a manufacturer claims that a gun is "safe" with +P ammo you are still accelerating wear and tear if you use it very much. It's just like hot rodding a car. Standard pressure loads are all that is necessary if you can hit where you need to. If you cannot then ammo choice doesn't really matter.

But plus p ammo is standard pressure. What we call "standard pressure" is a watered down version of what used to be.

 

[CajunBass]

But plus p ammo is standard pressure. What we call "standard pressure" is a watered down version of what used to be.

Exactly. Which is why I don't worry a bit about it, one way or the other.

I can't imagine why anyone would pay more to shoot "P+" ammo enough to worry about it? Why pay more to punch a hole in a piece of paper, or to bounce a can?

 

[Drail]

I have seen (not read about) plenty of Charters and other lightly built guns die an early death because owners fed them a steady diet of +P. If you don't believe that it's OK with me.