+P Rounds in a Ruger P 95

[chucklpetty]

Is it OK to shoot +P rounds through a Ruger P 95. I'm assuming that it is, but I wanted to be sure. I know that a +P round can do some damage in a 38 that isn't rated. Can they damage a P 95?

Also, does a +P Round in a 9mm have that much more stopping power like it does in a 38?

 

[W.E.G.]

+P is OK in the Ruger.

No idea what is this "stopping power."

Bullets make holes in things.

Bigger bullets make wider holes.
Faster and heavier bullets make longer holes.

Holes in important things cause bigger problems.

 

[Steve C]

http://handloads.com/misc/stoppingpower.asp

The Ruger is tough enough to shoot all the +P you want though most shooters use lower cost standard velocity for practice and carry +P or even +P+ for self defense purposes..

 

[mgmorden]

The P95 is a very strong action. It'll take virtually any factory loaded 9mm on the market. IMHO it's probably the best value in a full/duty sized autoloader on the market.

 

[wasr10634unme]

read your owners manual!

 

[ku4hx]

+1 on reading the owner's manual.

 

[TimboKhan]

It will take it, but the manual tells you not to. I personally never saw the point in +p 9mm because proper bullets will do just about everything you want. And, strong enough to take it or not, i think they beat up the gun. But, if you want to shoot them, your gun will handle them.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Gary A]

Timbokhan said:

It will take it, but the manual tells you not to.

The manual for the P95 manual safety model says:

"The Ruger P-Series pistols are compatible with all factory ammunition loaded to
U.S. Industry Standards, including high-velocity and hollow-point loads, loaded
in brass, aluminum, or steel cartridge cases. No 9mm x 19 ammunition
manufactured in accordance with NATO, U.S., SAAMI, or CIP standards is known
to be beyond the design limits or known not to function in these pistols."

Where does it say not to?

 

[MCgunner]

I get 440 ft lbs from a +P 115 JHP from a 4.5" Ruger P85. I get about 325 ft lbs from a .38 +P 158 grain SWC HP from the four inch barrel of a Smith and Wesson M10. Yes, the 9 is a hotter load, considerably. Too, I trust it more than .38 based on performance in live hogs. It kills a 150-200 lb hog quick and the wound channel is impressive. The .38 kills...eventually. In pigs, 9mm seems to outperform a 255 grain flat nose .45 Colt at 950 fps. They die quicker and the wound channel is nastier. the .45 Colt penetrates better, but that doesn't translate into trauma in my experience.

That's just my experience and opinion and in no way is it scientific, just observation on killing actual animals and my opinions gleaned from it. Of all my handguns, 140 grain Speer JHP at 600 ft lbs from a 3" .357 magnum is the nastiest I've seen. I've not shot one with my 300 grain .45 Colt load at 850 ft lbs, yet. I don't doubt it'll be pretty amazing. All these shots are at point blank from outside the trap. I have no shortage of test subjects down here.

Now then, everyone quote me Fackler....

 

[tbone1964]

f i recall,and this may be just hearsay, its been a while, but during the design phase of the P -95 the gun was designed to fire 24000 rounds of +p ammo continuously with out a stoppage or breakage, if it broke during the design phase Ruger reengineered the part till it didnt. the polymer frame of the ruger using that zytel fibeglass re-enforced polymer has a tensile strength of 32000 psi, stong enough to make gears out of it. the entire gun is cast including the barrel and there is no metal in the frame at all. the slide rides directly on the polymer. the locking block is integrated into the recoil sprind assembly, something I dont think any other fire arms manufacturer has accomplished to date

 

[TimboKhan]

Where does it say not to?

Dang it.

Problem exists between brain and keyboard, and you are correct. I was thinking about hot reloads, and in my brain today at work (I posted that during my lunch) i just didn't think +p = factory loads.

My fault, forgive me for my sin.

 

[BemidjiDweller]

Shoot all the +P ya want, the P95 will eat it all and ask more more.

 

[smalls]

But isn't +P NOT within SAAMI specs?

 

[Zerodefect]

I shot +p and +p+ through a P95.

No extra wear or damage ever. 9mm is too wimpy to hurt a tank like the P95. +P should actually be more reliable than regular 9mm IME.

 

[Gary A]

But isn't +P NOT within SAAMI specs?

In 9mm there is a SAAMI spec for +P. It is 38,500 psi (or 10% over the SAAMI maximum for standard pressure 9mm of 35,000 psi). If I'm not mistaken, the only calibers that have a SAAMI +P spec are 38 Special, 9mm, and .45 acp. Can't think of another.

 

[smalls]

I must be thinking of +P+. Or am I mistaken there, too?

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

The manual for the P95 manual safety model says:

"The Ruger P-Series pistols are compatible with all factory ammunition loaded to
U.S. Industry Standards, including high-velocity and hollow-point loads, loaded
in brass, aluminum, or steel cartridge cases. No 9mm x 19 ammunition
manufactured in accordance with NATO, U.S., SAAMI, or CIP standards is known
to be beyond the design limits or known not to function in these pistols."

I read this as being rated for any ammo for which there is a SAAMI spec, which there is for "+P." There is so-called "+P+" out there, which may or may not be.

 

[Gary A]

I dont believe there is any official SAAMI spec for +P+. I wonder if some of the hotter loads as measured by those other protocols might not exceed +P and enter into +P+ territory, though (i.e. exceed 38,500 psi). Don't know, but the P95 is very strong, as were the P models which preceded it.

 

[JR47]

+P+ is a performance based standard. The agency requests a caliber, bullet weight, and velocity, and the manufacturer designs a round for them. They sign a waiver stating that they will not be held liable for additional wear on the firearm due to the rounds.

Most +P+ is actually at the top of SAAMI's +P rating, or slightly above. Bullets are today engineered for specific velocities, and nobody is going to order enough to justify a redesign just for a couple of million rounds.

 

[Robbins290]

Fyi, i shot alot of +p and +p+ ammo in my p95. And shot alot of nato rounds too. Never seen excessive wear or tear! Those are great backpack guns. Did alot of camping with that pistol. I gave it to my father in law after he had a break in

 

[highlander 5]

May not answer the question but when Ruger came out with the P85 their torture test was to take a barrel that had the chamber cut but with a solid barrel. The engineers then place a 9 mm round in the chamber bolted the pistol to something solid,put a string on the trigger ducked behind a wall and pulled the string. Upon firing the slide had a piece missing but other than that the P 85 stayed in one piece. I remember reading this in an article in Shooting Times 25+ years ago.

 

[easyg]

From Ruger's website, under the FAQ'a section on pistols:

What type of ammunition should I use in my Ruger 9mm pistol?

The Ruger 9mm pistols are chambered for the 9x19mm NATO Parabellum (9mm Luger) cartridge, compatible with the U.S. and foreign military or commercial 9x19mm loads manufactured in accordance with NATO, U.S., SAAMI, or CIP standards, including high-velocity, subsonic, tracer, hollow point, ammunition loaded in aluminum, steel, or brass cartridge cases, +P and +P+ ammunition.

Here's the link....

http://www.ruger.com/service/FAQs.html#Q53