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1LtCAP

+P+ 9mm

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not really sure where this should go....so i'm just tossing it here for now.

 

 so.....i've heard of +P, but never heard of +P+. it's federal 9mm 115grhp. so.......is this something that'd be safe to run through a 92fs? or an fn forty-nine?

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Nobody with any sense will tell you that you'll be fine running +P+ through just about anything, except maybe a Thompson Contender.

For any given cartridge, SAAMI have specs for standard pressure and an second set of specs for +P pressure. The owners manual should tell you if +P is OK to use. If it doesn't say it is OK, assume that it is not.

+P+ means in excess of +P specs. There is no upper limit on +P+ so no manufacturer is going to say their gun can safely shoot it as they would be saying the gun can handle any pressure up to infinity.

From the 92FS manual on the Beretta website (emphasis added):

Quote

Using good quality ammunition combined with preventive maintenance will make the pistol perform flawlessly through years of service. To prevent malfunctioning always visually inspect each cartridge for external damage before loading. The pistol is designed and tested to withstand continued shooting with all brands and types of commercial ammunition manufactured to standard (C.I.P., S.A.A.M.I.®, etc.) specifications. We do not recommend extended use of +P, +P+ or submachine gun ammunition because the chamber pressure may reach or exceed proof load pressure decreasing the major components service life expectancy. The warranty does not cover the use of reloaded and/or hand loaded ammunition.

 

  • Agree 1

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Here's a video  https://youtu.be/oM5Am6rIu-s

I would not do +P+ on any pistol I like with the exception of SD ammo. I don't think any modern, quality pistol will explode in my hands, I do however think it pushes the limits of it's parts and will cause excessive wear!

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I have littlr use for +P+ and +P.

My only uses for it are:

1.  +P+ 38 special in a 357 magnum revolver.  K frame guns are easier to control.

2.  +P in K frame size 38 special revolvers.

That's it.

Never use either in a semiautomatic.  They are built for a specific pressure range.  There are those that will tell you it's okay if you use a heavier recoil spring.

They know more than the engineers that designed the gun?  The recoil spring has nothing to do containing pressure.  These heavy loads will accelerate wear.

Once you have created an entrance and exit wound in the target there's nothing that extra velocity dies.

+P and +P+ do little, if anything to improve terminal ballistics.  

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5 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

thanks. i've got some +P that was part of a batch of ammo i'd bought.

 

 what raised this question.....a friend gave me 5 boxes of ammo, and 3 of them are the +P+.

You could probably shoot 3 boxes in a quality 9mm and show no ill results.  Or you could trade them off to someone who's enamored with them, trying to make a 9mm into a 357 magnum.

  • Haha 1

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As noted, it's a standard engineering issue of "how much, how often" . . . I had a BMW 530 that would ping with anything less than 93 octane gas.  If one of my kids put a tank of regular in it, the pistons didn't burn right through.  I'd start topping the tank off with some premium until the pinging stopped.  There was never any damage done.  

At the same time, I just don't see any reason for +P much less +P+ . . . My father gave me a bucket of .38SP a year ago and I unloaded all of the +P rounds but I was putting them through an old Colt revolver.

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