Ok, I post and discuss on the revolver pages a bunch, but my knowledge of S&W autos is still woefully inadequate. As I mentioned here a little over a year ago, I inherited a like-new Model 39-2 from my Dad. AFAIK, it has always been fed standard factory ball ammo with just a sprinkling of standard velocity JHPs. I’m seeing Winchester NATO ammo being offered in 100 rd bulk boxes at a very attractive price, but saw warnings elsewhere about using this (essentially +P by American standards) ammo in regular American-made nines. Where does my 39-2 fall in the strength spectrum and how should I proceed with this potential source of affordable ammo?

I know this question comes up on the revolver threads about daily, “Is it safe to shoot +P ammo in my Victory Model revolver that Grampa brought back from WW II” but I don’t see much about +P 9 mms.

TIA ~ Froggie

Back in the day (1980s) Nato (some or most)military 9mm was loaded hot to run sub-machine guns.... this was linked to the SEALS having locking block issues with early Beretta 92s.

For a family heirloom I'd stick to standard commercial ammo.......lots of good hollow point defense ammo..... remember shot placement is king. And lots of cheap FMJ at Wally's World.

Good excuse to grab another gun .... maybe a 3rd Gen 5906 or even..... dare I say it ......an M&P!!!!!!

I'll second the motion, the 39-2 is a beautiful old-school pistol with an alloy frame and I can't think of even one good reason to feed it anything spicy, especially when the secondary market is littered with a slew of other options.

The NATO 9mm loading is loaded to a slightly higher pressure than standard ammo, but less than +P ammo. It's about 5% hotter than standard ammo. Will it survive using hotter ammo? Absolutely! The Illinois State Police put tons of +P and +P+ ammo through their 39's, but it definitely increases the rate of wear on the pistol. Given all the good ammo options in standard pressure loadings, even self-defense loadings, I see no reason to subject older pistols to hot ammo.