GF
Member
We really need a "+P" sticky (answers) at the top of the forum page.
It comes up daily.
GF
It comes up daily.
GF
+P Ammo in a 38?
- Thread starter Scooby67
- Start date
tom turner
US Veteran
stiab
US Veteran
But whose answers are you going to put in the sticky? Opinions vary from the ultra conservative S&W position to the ultra liberal posters. And hardly ever does anyone who responds include the provision that the gun in question should be in excellent working condition, regardless of age, model marked, not model marked, etc., etc.
Art Doc
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
"excellent working condition"
Good advice for any gun or ammunition, no?
I still maintain that there is nothing special or high performance about +P. It is simply standard pressure ammo labeled as "+P" for marketing.
It is maybe the most successful marketing campaign in history given all the dire warnings issued regarding its use. After years of testing and research I am convinced that using +P in any quality made revolver is a non-issue.
Good advice for any gun or ammunition, no?
I still maintain that there is nothing special or high performance about +P. It is simply standard pressure ammo labeled as "+P" for marketing.
It is maybe the most successful marketing campaign in history given all the dire warnings issued regarding its use. After years of testing and research I am convinced that using +P in any quality made revolver is a non-issue.
stantheman86
US Veteran
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S&W marks the newest models like the 10-14 and 64-8 as "+P" just to make a selling point, since it makes the gun sound "stronger" if they label it a ".38 Special +P rated" than just a "..38 Special".
S&W started heat treating cylinders in 1920 or so, but I feel using the numbered models of 1957 as a cutoff is a decent "rule of thumb" for this whole +P debate. Most people probably don't use 1950's or earlier S&W's for HD or CC anyway, and if they do, I don't feel keeping them loaded with +P is a problem.
Again, in my non expert opinion modern 158 +P's are probably closer to what the old standard .38 158 LRN police load used to be anyway. Ammo makers download so someone doesn't blow up an old Colt Lightning or something and try to sue them.......+P has become it's own caliber designation, to the point where non +P ammo is almost seen as training or plinking ammo these days. MagTech .38 Special is so light it almost felt like gallery ammo.
S&W started heat treating cylinders in 1920 or so, but I feel using the numbered models of 1957 as a cutoff is a decent "rule of thumb" for this whole +P debate. Most people probably don't use 1950's or earlier S&W's for HD or CC anyway, and if they do, I don't feel keeping them loaded with +P is a problem.
Again, in my non expert opinion modern 158 +P's are probably closer to what the old standard .38 158 LRN police load used to be anyway. Ammo makers download so someone doesn't blow up an old Colt Lightning or something and try to sue them.......+P has become it's own caliber designation, to the point where non +P ammo is almost seen as training or plinking ammo these days. MagTech .38 Special is so light it almost felt like gallery ammo.
stiab
US Veteran
I basically agree, and you and I and many others on this forum could probably pick up a revolver, examine it, and have a good idea of whether or not it is a "quality made revolver". The problem is that many of the people asking the question cannot, through no fault of their own. Casual users need something more definitive and easily determined.
Stophel
Member
Unfortunately, a LOT of people couldn't tell the difference between a S&W and an RG.
They have a complete lack of discernment of quality or style.
They have a complete lack of discernment of quality or style.
Rawhyde
Member
Sad, but true....
kpm
Member
I think the model marked cutoff is nothing more than a "clean and clear" cutoff. They use the same point for allowing factory repair work. They needed to avoid the what about this one question.
Art Doc
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
A lot of people use that standard but it has no basis in reality. It means guys with guns made in the 1930s and 1940s and early 1950s labor under the misconception that +P ammo is unsafe in their guns. The factory uses the model marked standard for simplicity and to protect themselves from liability but again it has no scientific basis.
