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Thoughts on +P+ ammo in SD9VE
- Thread starter scwv67
- Start date
JAREDSHS
Well-known member
i'm thinkin S&W says not to use +p+ in their firearms.......
beamon
Well-known member
SD ammo IS available, but sometimes you have to hunt a bit. Here's an excellent real time search engine.
In stock ammo, guns, magazines, and reloading supplies
In stock ammo, guns, magazines, and reloading supplies
If I had any question about it at all then I would not use it.
It's not like shooting at paper where you can take your gun & get it fixed if you break something. I assume this would be ammo you would have loaded for self-defense when your life could depend on the weapon working
The gun range / shop I use has a few to pick from. I always shoot half a box then keep the other half for SD loads.
Right now I have Hornady & Win. silver tip +P.
It's not like shooting at paper where you can take your gun & get it fixed if you break something. I assume this would be ammo you would have loaded for self-defense when your life could depend on the weapon working
The gun range / shop I use has a few to pick from. I always shoot half a box then keep the other half for SD loads.
Right now I have Hornady & Win. silver tip +P.
Trenchcoat Vampire
Well-known member
Its not as safe as shooting regular or +P, but in the interest of passing on harm reduction knowledge...I put 40 Buffalo Bore +P+ 147gr HPs through mine and all was well. It's not really worth it, but I courageously experimented for all my fellow SD9VE owners.
MOONDAWG
US Veteran
Natchez Shooters Supply has plenty of ammo available on line.
Most all the Big Box stores in my area are fairly well stocked too.
As to the +P+ ammo I can only speak for myself saying I've had no problem with it in any of my 9mm guns including my SD9VE's.
I'll also go a bit further and say in my opinion the whole +P and +P+ issue is just marketing hoop-la. Standard 9mm (or any other SD caliber) ammo works just fine in defensive applications without + or -'s.
Most all the Big Box stores in my area are fairly well stocked too.
As to the +P+ ammo I can only speak for myself saying I've had no problem with it in any of my 9mm guns including my SD9VE's.
I'll also go a bit further and say in my opinion the whole +P and +P+ issue is just marketing hoop-la. Standard 9mm (or any other SD caliber) ammo works just fine in defensive applications without + or -'s.
CGhelofxr
Well-known member
Why do you need +P+?
Modern 9MM ammo in standard pressures is more than sufficient to do the job. As for availability; Natchez, LAX Ammo, or AMMOSEEK have an abundance of defense ammo.
Modern 9MM ammo in standard pressures is more than sufficient to do the job. As for availability; Natchez, LAX Ammo, or AMMOSEEK have an abundance of defense ammo.
shawn mccarver
SWCA Member
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2005
- Messages
- 7,981
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My only thought is for everyone to stop thinking about it. S&W knows very well that +P+ is a staple among its agency customers. Federal 9BPLE and similar rounds by Winchester, Remington, Speer, etc. will not cause any sort of catastrophic failure. The only catastrophic failure you will experience is that of your wallet and budget if you shoot thousands of rounds of this stuff. Go enjoy your pistol and your ammo. Don't forget to save some for carry purposes.
PS - You don't say the source of your ammo, and my comments apply to factory 9BPLE, not some reloaded ammo packaged in the original cases and box. If the ammo in question is not factory ammo, or you have no way to verify, then better to pass than to put some unknown source reloads in your pistol.
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shawn mccarver
SWCA Member
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2005
- Messages
- 7,981
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- 7,022
In Federal 9BPLE, the "LE" stands for "law enforcement." 9BPLE is the LE version of 9BPLE. Therefore, by definition, it IS self-defense ammo.
Steve C
Well-known member
Understand that +P+ ammo is running at pressures beyond SAAMI maximum for +P ammo at an indeterminate amount. While S&W provides durable duty weapons for Law Enforcement ie. their M&P series I know of no agency or police force issuing or approving for duty carry the SV models or other cheaper models made primarily for the civilian market. The ammunition companies sell +p+ LEO ammo to agencies knowing that it will be used in well maintained and robust duty weapons, they provide no warranty to civilian users of this ammo.
Under standing the risk of using such ammo in your handgun, "eyes wide open", use at your own risk invalidating any warranty with the first shot. Not that it is necessarily damaging to your handgun with moderate use but a prudent person would not shoot much of it in any handgun. Even police departments practice with less powerful and expensive ammo and their guns are paid and maintained at taxpayer expense.
Federal 9BPLE +P+ is very good defense ammo. I personally restrict any +P+ ammo to service handguns used by LE that I own (Glock, Beretta, Sig) only for SD carry after a couple magazines of to test function and accuracy. I practice with standard pressure ammo and use standard pressure or +P in others.
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shouldazagged
Absent Comrade
Is the effectiveness of +P+ that much greater than that of +P? Has a documented study established that it is? Is the difference worth invalidating the warranty?
Those seem like the practical questions I would want answered very convincingly before using the higher-octane stuff.
I don't own a 9mm anymore, but when I did I felt quite confident carrying +P or even standard pressure ammo.
Those seem like the practical questions I would want answered very convincingly before using the higher-octane stuff.
I don't own a 9mm anymore, but when I did I felt quite confident carrying +P or even standard pressure ammo.
Steve C
Well-known member
Make your own conclusions and inferences. Relative comparison using Marshall/Sannow data. (these should not be construed as odds)
9 mm +P+ Stopping Power
9 mm +P Stopping Power
9 mm Stopping Power
LEO surplus ammo including +P+ is available at much lower cost per round than commercial self defense ammo and the +P+ is some of the most effective available in caliber.
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Cost vs effectiveness
It looks like the one-shot stop percentages are not very different from one load and weight to another. I would guess that in a real self defense situation, reaction to a threat, speed of response, and accuracy, are more important than the one-shot stop percentages.
As far as I'm concerned the cost of commercial self defense ammo is not important.
You buy a box of 25, shoot 10 of them on a range to be sure they work well in your gun, and then save the rest in your self defense magazine. If you have serious concerns, you cycle that box every year or so, still a small cost for anyone who spends more time on a range than shooting attackers.
Once satisfied that the SD ammo is good for your gun, you buy cost effective ammo for target shooting.
Your mileage may be different but I really don't want to be concerned about doing anything harmful to my gun.
It looks like the one-shot stop percentages are not very different from one load and weight to another. I would guess that in a real self defense situation, reaction to a threat, speed of response, and accuracy, are more important than the one-shot stop percentages.
As far as I'm concerned the cost of commercial self defense ammo is not important.
You buy a box of 25, shoot 10 of them on a range to be sure they work well in your gun, and then save the rest in your self defense magazine. If you have serious concerns, you cycle that box every year or so, still a small cost for anyone who spends more time on a range than shooting attackers.
Once satisfied that the SD ammo is good for your gun, you buy cost effective ammo for target shooting.
Your mileage may be different but I really don't want to be concerned about doing anything harmful to my gun.
MOONDAWG
US Veteran
We all have our favorite handgun calibers, but none are good man stoppers; there are no magic bullets & there are too many variables in a gun fight to make concrete statements about the best (fill in the blanket) gun/ammo combination.
Sgt. Tim Gramins of the Skokie, Ill PD religiously carried his .45 ACP GLOCK M-21 on duty.
He got into a gun fight where he shot his assailant 14 times none of which slowed him down. He was shot in return but eventually won the battle.
He now carries a 9 mm GLOCK M-17 with three 17 round magazines backed up by two 33 round magazines.
Read his account of the shoot out here on Police One...
Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job
Sgt. Tim Gramins of the Skokie, Ill PD religiously carried his .45 ACP GLOCK M-21 on duty.
He got into a gun fight where he shot his assailant 14 times none of which slowed him down. He was shot in return but eventually won the battle.
He now carries a 9 mm GLOCK M-17 with three 17 round magazines backed up by two 33 round magazines.
Read his account of the shoot out here on Police One...
Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job
