S&W 39-2 and 439 ISP ammunition

[rogo123]

The Illinois State Police did not use Federal 9BPLE in the 39, but they did in the 439, I believe.
Since the guns are the same construction, why couldn’t I run a couple magazines 9BPLE in my 39-2, when the zombies are on the back porch?

 

[gmborkovic]

Mr. Rogo, are you afraid of breaking or cracking something? If they are on the back porch, its shotgun time. You must live in a tough neighborhood.
If they are on the back porch, run the clip and let us know how everything worked. Just charge the chamber from the mag. Mine eat anything.

 

[Doug M.]

No reason you can't, except may be there is now better ammo. I would not be bothered by running that ammo if you have enough. I wish I had bought more of the Winchester 115 grain +P+ back in the day, but I carried and shot it with confidence.

 

[stansdds]

I'm not aware of any structural difference or change in alloy between the Model 39, 39-2, and 439, so they are all equally strong. The use of NATO spec, +P and +P+ ammo will impart more energy to the slide during recoil, so there will be more wear on the receiver and there is no easy way around that. Back in the 70's through the 90's, you really needed high velocity to get jacketed bullets to expand in a reliable fashion. When the 147 grain JHP's were introduced, they quickly gained a reputation as being nothing more than a heavy weight FMJ 9x19 load.

But that was then and today's premium ammo is quite different. With modern ammo such a Federal HST, Remington Golden Saber, Speer Gold Dot, and Winchester Ranger T, you do not need +P and certainly not +P+ to have reliable expansion with any weight 9mm JHP. In fact, with these modern bullet designs, the 147 grain loads are often the best performers when it comes to that balance between penetration and expansion.

In short, there is no need to beat a 9x19mm pistol with +P or +P+ ammo today.

 

[rogo123]

You are indeed correct. In modern 9mm there is no need for “hot” 9mm ammo for defensive purposes. Those who carry a 9 for defense against dangerous animals really need a bigger gun, in my opinion.
I bought a bunch of 9BPLE on sale when I had my LE surplus 5906. No problem with plus p plus in that gun! My 39-2 is one of my classics and I don’t carry those. Just a limited test

 

[SG-688]

9BPIL

ISP did use Federal 9BPIL in about 1980.

Memories and oral reports differ, but it's at least +P if not +P+.

I found a contemporary report that the Federal .38E-IL from the same era is +P+, so that lends some support to the 9 also being +P+.

When asked, Federal customer service had no record of anything that old.

(Previously posted in other ISP ammunition discussions.)