I recently acquired a model 36 made in the late sixties. Is it advisable to shoot +P ammo in this gun???

I recently acquired a model 36 made in the late sixties. Is it advisable to shoot +P ammo in this gun???

Hi 44 magman and welcome to the Forum!

Of course its not advisable, however I've fired +P 158 grain ammo in my early 50s Chief's Special and carry it so loaded.

Hello to you, bmcgilvray and i'm glad to be a forum member. thanks for the advice. I just noticed this was addressed in this forum

My agency was issuing +P for my off-duty Model 60 late in my career, & having me shoot it up once a year in qualifying. I hated abusing my gun like that; eventually it's bound to loosen up the gun some.

I don't see why it is necessary today to put +P through a J-frame, although the argument could be made that a few rounds in an emergency is hardly going to ruin the gun. The problem is that you should regularly practice with the same ammo you are going to stake your life on, & that's where for me the concern is in terms of the wear inflicted on a gun that really wasn't designed for those pressures. In addition, I always found the flash & recoil a bit excessive with +P stuff in a 2" J-frame.

There are some excellent alternatives to +P now in regular .38 Special self-defense ammunition. Two that come to mind are Federal's Hydra-Shok 110g Low Recoil & Hornaday's new Critical Defense, which actully can be had in either normal or +P loadings.

__________________
SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

Welcome to the forum

Here's my standard +P answer.
Smith & Wesson states all model marked guns are safe for +P ammo. My advice is they are all right as long as you dont feed the gun a steady diet of them. You really wouldnt want to anyway, they are expensive and really not that much fun to shoot. Practice with regular old cheap(er) standard 38spl loads, but shoot enough of what you plan to carry in it that you know the difference in point of impact and handling the recoil

Smith & Wesson may well say that, but I would still never put any +P through a vintage Model 37, 38, or 42, & probably not a Model 12, either.

__________________
SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

Thanks to all for your comments and/or advice