I wonder how true this statement really is? I'm not flaming or calling Bama21 a liar I'm just curious if the statement is factual or more of an assumption? Until recently I thought felt/thought the same way however, from what I've found in older manuals and on the internet "standard" ammo from 30+ years ago seemed to be loaded as hot or hotter than todays +P. IIRC the +P rating for .38 Special is based on around a 9% higher operating pressure than the "standard" offerings.

For example, the original .38 Special loads were around 850fps with a 158gr bullet. A standard load from Federal, (American Eagle 158gr LRN is listed at 770fps). A CCI brand 158gr TMJ +P is listed at 850fps. Anyone else find this to be the case?