The barrel on my 442 is marked 38 special. It does not say +p. Is it safe to shoot +p ammo through my snubby even though it's not marked on the side of the barrel?

The short answer is: Yes, but it will accelerate wear and your Centennial will go out of time quicker.

Edited to add: I almost forgot! Keep an eye on the frame just below the forcing cone as well if you plan on shooting +P ammo extensively. It's not a catastrophic event when it cracks, but it'll put a damper on your day all the same.

Shoot a little +P at the range to test functionality, and carry the +P load. Practice primarily with a standard pressure load of the same bullet weight. This will minimize wear and tear on your little 442. It's not a "weak" gun, but the frame is alloy, and extensive +P shooting will reduce its service life.

Thanks for the info. I always shoot standard pressure .38 special in my snubby but I always wondered.

S&W says any .38 Special revolver that has a Model # can safely shoot .38 Special +P ammo. They can't make a barrel +P until +P ammo was available so that's why your revolver doesn't specify +P ammo.

Most +P ammo of today is no more "powerful" than the standard .38 special of years ago. You can safely shoot it in your M442 and that's not my opinion, it's a definitive statement from S&W.

Give Speer 135gr Short Barrel Gold Dot +P a try. It's what I carry in my M442 and it's accurate in my revolver. While that doesn't mean it will be accurate in your revolver there's a good chance it will be.

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The 442 is not particularly comfortable nor controllable to shoot using any heavier load due to its light weight. I would not use +P for that reason alone.

You wouldn't notice the +P in self defense.

I believe that only applied to steel frame guns.

Some version of this question comes up weekly, I bet. My answer remains the same. Check out Doc Roberts' recommendations, and see which of those is reasonably priced and you shoot well. For most purposes in a .38 snubby I would stick with a standard wadcutter target load or standard velocity SWC.

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Full wadcutters are a good bet.

Also, Remington Express 158gr. .38+P is a long-tested and approved round that penetrates sufficiently and expands well.

Remington Express 38 Special +P 158 Grain LHP Denim and Gel Test - YouTube

I think you are correct but the M442 is a fairly current design and most +P ammo of today barely reaches 18,000 PSI let alone the 20,000 PSI limits. Like I have said before, most current +P ammo is no more "powerful" than standard .38 Specials of the past when they were loaded to their limits. (pre-lawyer downgrades)

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