Is +P / +P+ really that effective or is it just hype?

[snubnose]

Is +P Ammunition Really Necessary? - The Truth About Guns

&#9664Previous Post Next Post▶ When it comes to defensive ammunition, a lot of people opt for +P loads as a matter of course. It’s certainly not a bad idea on paper; many police departments and federal agencies carry +P or +P+ in their duty guns. The additional powder load nets an increase in...

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[In God We Trust]

I loaded a mag once with low recoil .45, regular and plus p. There was a slight difference in the low recoil, no noticeable difference in the other to in regard to recoil or point of impact.

 

[Artifact]

Nah, it doesn’t matter. However we need about 20 more pages to get to the bottom of it. Keep those posts coming.

 

[Uzi2]

This stuff rocks in the Uzi. Bought 16 cans of it way back when, wish I bought pallets of it.

 

[Rockrivr1]

Nah, it doesn’t matter. However we need about 20 more pages to get to the bottom of it. Keep those posts coming.

Killjoy!

 

[Spanz]

well, yeah, its the amount of gunpowder, so you need a gun that can handle the pressure!

 

[AHM]

Four out of five kinds of .257 Roberts ammo available from TSUSA
is +P, even though +P is too splody for vintage rifles.

 

[allen-1]

Nah, it doesn’t matter. However we need about 20 more pages to get to the bottom of it. Keep those posts coming.

in.

 

[StevieP]

FWIW, here are Speer's numbers. I look at muzzle energy vs just speed. Note the +P is in a 2" vented bbl and the others were from 4".



115gr regular 9mm seems to be in a pretty good spot wrt muzzle energy, speed, and most importantly, availability.

 

[NavelOfficer]

There are legitimate +P and +P+ loads in certain calibers, not all. As to whether a reloader will find load data for these, that is the question. There will always be those that want to get .500 S&W Magnum performance in their .380, so I suppose +P+P+P+P+P+P+P... is always a possibility somewhere down the road.


View: https://i.imgur.com/9FHo0rL.jpg

 

[snubnose]

The flatter shooting and slightly more powerful +P really does make a difference but only for professionals, law enforcement/military- with full size service pistols.

For civilian applications the use of over pressure ammo returns nothing but increased costs, felt recoil, vastly more dramatic visual/audible displays and significantly increased wear to certain platforms namely the master blasters-the flatter trajectory is a non issue at roughly an arms length distance.

There really is a great deal to discuss regarding hot loads and why the ammo is better suited for perhaps hunting with long barrel revolvers, far more than an additional 20 pages would be needed to thoroughly cover the topic.

A revolver with standard loads is all that is necessary for the vast majority of -us-.

 

[StevieP]

Hornady XTP w/ same 124gr bullet.

"Regular"





vs +P:




339 vs 380 ft/lb of energy is a big difference.

 

[Parker Schreiber]

339 vs 380 ft/lb of energy is a big difference.

It's big enough so I think something else must be going on, such as a different propellant. In 9mm, the difference in pressure between the standard SAMMI pressure limit and the +P limit is only 10%, and the quoted figures differ by more than 10%.

But once you start trying to compare across brands, though, you see even larger differences. In 9mm 147gr +P:
Winchester Ranger Bonded -- 346 ft. lbs. @ 1030 fps
Speer Gold Dot -- 384 ft. lbs. @ 1050 fps
Underwood -- 413 ft. lbs. @ 1125 fps (This is often supersonic).

 

[Road_Clam]

View attachment 581121 View attachment 581122 This stuff rocks in the Uzi. Bought 16 cans of it way back when, wish I bought pallets of it.

Im assuming L7A1 is some stout stuff ? I have to load my 124g 9mm ammo definitely on the "warm" side as i have a Vector model A Uzi as well. It gets fussy with cycling your typical store bought 115g factory ammo .

 

[drgrant]

Im assuming L7A1 is some stout stuff ? I have to load my 124g 9mm ammo definitely on the "warm" side as i have a Vector model A Uzi as well. It gets fussy with cycling your typical store bought 115g factory ammo .

Hirtenberger is stupidly hot, its +P+++++++++. Over 1450ish fps out of a 16” pcc….good stuff for that application.

 

[Uzi2]

Hirtenberger is stupidly hot, its +P+++++++++. Over 1450ish fps out of a 16” pcc….good stuff for that application.

Yes, it is pretty fast stuff.

I've tried some in my Ruger PC.....it works and probably fine but it's a bit hot to just plink with (and I'll not be able to replace that ammo easily ) so I prefer not to feed it a steady diet of it and reserve it just for the subguns.

 

[snubnose]

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