Quote:
Originally Posted by WR Moore
Overall a good article. However, being an old coot who lived through all the sturm & drang, the alleged fear of "militarization of the police" didn't exist back when +P and other than RNL bullets were being considered. In fact, one of the major objections by the ACLU and others was that use of expanding bullets "violated the Geneva Convention" (wrong) and were "cruel and unusual punishment" banned by the Constitution.
I don't recall when I was able to read one of the hold harmless agreements for the use of +P+ ammo, but it was interesting. It warned of accelerated wear and raised the possibility of injury or death if the firearm failed catastrophically. The lawyers were covering the corporate butts, but given the varying levels of firearm inspection and service in all the various entities, not a bad idea. When we adopted self loading service pistols, I checked with a pioneer in their use and discovered they had NO preventive maintenance program. They'd shoot 'em till they broke.
The limited amount of +P+ ammo I did manage to get my hands on was pretty much the same as +P. However, it might have been surplused as not meeting contract requirements.
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Yeah, a friend of mine started with the CHP in the late 70's, and his approved off-duty weapon was a M60. He was required to use the issued .38SPL 110gr +P+ load in his M60 for carry and Quals. FWIW, he carried .357MAG on-duty in his service revolver when he worked Field Offices where it was stocked, and the .38SPL +P+ load when that was all they stocked. He said that ammunition inventories could vary among Field Offices. For example, when the 10mm was an option for off-duty, he saw one Field Office who stocked Winchester 175gr STHP for the officers who wished to carry 10mm off-duty to use for both carry and Quals.
Anyway, since his older M60 wasn't listed as being rated for +P+ loads, I asked him how it was checked and maintained. He shrugged, and said that if he had a problem with it, he'd just have one of the CHP armorers service it. Last I knew, he was still carrying that old M60 in his retirement, and still using that 110gr +P+ load.
We had an early M640 Centennial snub which had the bottom of the frame's cylinder window marked with “Tested For +P+”. When we later happened to receive 20+K rounds of Winchester .38SPL 110gr +P+ from another agency who was transitioning from revolvers to pistols, and getting rid of their revolver ammo, I put a lot of it to good use running it through that older training M640.
Hybrid Mode
