[MisterMills]

I am in favor of +P and +P+, within reasonable usage.
A +P+ 9mm like the 9BPLE, has an excellent reputation as a man-stopper.

Note: You will see that my opinion is generally unpopular, but I don't mind.
This round has a 90% one-shot stop rate.

SG Ammo comment:
Federal 9BPLE ammo is a true classic in the law enforcement community and has been getting the job done right for decades.

 

[partdeux]

Which means it has a higher 'flash point' so the higher compression engines will not 'pre- ignite' it, AKA preignition/detonation, but the amount of 'energy' per unit is the same as the lower octane fuel.

Actually, higher octane has lower Btu, which is why a low compression engine will get lower fuel economy on "premium" fuel.

 

[Mercator]

When you want a heavy hitter round take a legit P+ from Buffalo Bore and such. You can count on them to load up at the SAAMI limit. Note how inexpensive the +P+ ammo often is, compared to quality P+ hollowpoints. That alone should make you think.

 

[SSGN_Doc]

I tend to go with heavier bullets in 9mm, 124 and 147 gr. My carry pistols have shorter barrels than full service sized pistols and would not gain me as much advantage of using +P ammo. I tend to stick with Federal HST and Speer Gold Dot ammo in standard pressure. They show good performance in controlled conditions in their standard pressure formats even from shorter barrels.

 

[Donn]

Paul Harrell has an interesting You Tube video on this subject. MHO? Standard pressure 9mm is plenty fast enough, but that's me.

 

[Ingramite]

If it fits, fire it.
I mean, what can go wrong?
Providing you're on the right side of the barrel.

Ok, I have been around a few minutes and I do remember Super Vel and Silvertips. I've shot magnum ammo so hot that the brass split in the cylinder and had to be pried out. Nobody died and the hole in the paper target was no larger than a hole made by a wad cutter.

So at the end of the day, I was left with the question....who is tougher? Me or the round I'm "testing"?

How much muzzle flash and recoil can I absorb before flinching and closing my eyes impacts my efficency? Oh, you don't want "that much" improvement in velocity and expansion? Just "a little"? See, that's the slippery slope you find yourself on once you start down the path of chasing a better round. It becomes like The Lost Chord.

 

[Rifling82]

I saw a video recently on +p 9mm, I'll try and find it and post it, but if I recall correctly the normal pressure 9mm expanded better than the +p

 

[Scott187]

I saw a video recently on +p 9mm, I'll try and find it and post it, but if I recall correctly the normal pressure 9mm expanded better than the +p

Interesting that would be hood to see

 

[SGWGunsmith]

Summertime carry involves this 9mm:

Seems there's always some sort of compromise when firing a smaller, lighter pistol. For me, I also like a bit heavier bullet, but then recoil can be a bit slower to recover from. The lighter bullets seem to be a bit "snappier", and I can get back on target a little quicker.
It's ALWAYS fun to try out various 9mm offerings, even the hardball stuff.

 

[SGWGunsmith]

When you want a heavy hitter round take a legit P+ from Buffalo Bore and such. You can count on them to load up at the SAAMI limit. Note how inexpensive the +P+ ammo often is, compared to quality P+ hollowpoints. That alone should make you think.

Being a member of SAAMI is a voluntary thing, it's not by any means mandatory. So, while it is nice to know that there is at least one outfit that tries to maintain sanity involving loaded factory ammunition, SAAMI still provides a tolerance range of +/- 90 FPS on what velocities they recommend.
Check out some of those who reload their own ammunition on You-Tube if you want see some funny stuff. It's hard to believe they even post their foolishness for the world to see.

 

[Wambli]

Summertime carry involves this 9mm:

Seems there's always some sort of compromise when firing a smaller, lighter pistol. For me, I also like a bit heavier bullet, but then recoil can be a bit slower to recover from. The lighter bullets seem to be a bit "snappier", and I can get back on target a little quicker.
It's ALWAYS fun to try out various 9mm offerings, even the hardball stuff.

I like the +P 185grain HP .45acp offerings because I believe the extra few FPS will aid in expansion out of the shorter barrel and this information came to me from some folks I trust. My feelings on recoil are NOT scientific but while I do find them “snappier” I also find it easier to recover for the next shot. I think what I’m feeling is just a faster cycle time on the slide but less muzzle rise because of the lighter projectile.

Anyway they work very well in my 3” Kimber UltraRaptor So I’ve standardized that load for all my .45 1911s so I can simplify my ammo buying logistics.

 

[SGWGunsmith]

I like the +P 185grain HP .45acp offerings because I believe the extra few FPS will aid in expansion out of the shorter barrel and this information came to me from some folks I trust. My feelings on recoil are NOT scientific but while I do find them “snappier” I also find it easier to recover for the next shot. I think what I’m feeling is just a faster cycle time on the slide but less muzzle rise because of the lighter projectile.

Anyway they work very well in my 3” Kimber UltraRaptor So I’ve standardized that load for all my .45 1911s so I can simplify my ammo buying logistics.

I agree with that summation. It just makes sense.

 

[partdeux]

If it fits, fire it.
I mean, what can go wrong?
Providing you're on the right side of the barrel.

Father in law had a snubby 38. He had a friend load some ammo, just short of "blowing up". In his words, GD gun is a POS, can't hit anything.

I took him to the range, and we stopped and bought some commercial target ammo, IRC, white box. Funny thing, it was shooting quite nicely.

 

[JimRau]

Father in law had a snubby 38. He had a friend load some ammo, just short of "blowing up". In his words, GD gun is a POS, can't hit anything.

I took him to the range, and we stopped and bought some commercial target ammo, IRC, white box. Funny thing, it was shooting quite nicely.

That is why I tell my students, especially those who are new shooters and/or will not get further training or practice much, to just carry the 148 gr Wad Cutters we trained with in their 38's (J-frames, Rugers, and other revolvers) for SD. It is a fact that a hit with the WC is better than the miss with the +P ammo! Not to mention the square shoulders of the WC do A LOT of damage in soft tissue.

 

[Ingramite]

+P+ for when I really want to get even with myself.

 

[microadventure]

if you understand that you have to defend yourself in 4 places:

the crime scene
the media
criminal court
civil court

you could read this:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...php?threads/the-peculiar-problem-of-handloads-in-self-defense-shootings.821474/

or you could read the tl;dr: commercial ammo is a known quantity. reloads are not. lawyers haggle over every fussy nit-picky little detail, as if they were paid hundreds of dollars an hour to do that. using known commercial ammo with characteristics documented in a database reduces that.

in civil court, the Holy Grail is deviation from standard. it can reasonably be argued that the standard way of doing things is the result of decades of experience, and deviation from that standard is the proximate cause of a problem. it is hard to argue successfully against that. ergo, minimize your deviation from standard by not using undocumented reloads from Bubba down to the feed store.

 

[SGWGunsmith]

If it fits, fire it.
I mean, what can go wrong?
Providing you're on the right side of the barrel.
Ok, I have been around a few minutes and I do remember Super Vel and Silvertips. I've shot magnum ammo so hot that the brass split in the cylinder and had to be pried out. Nobody died and the hole in the paper target was no larger than a hole made by a wad cutter.
So at the end of the day, I was left with the question....who is tougher? Me or the round I'm "testing"?

Makes sense. I've brought this up before, 9mm ammunition has come a long, long way from when it was first used in German pistols. I, personally like to test what I see that's NEW on the shelf before I jump in with both feet. I don't reload 9mm, only .40 and up.
My first priority with 9mm is 100% function in my only 9mm carry pistol. Next would be bullet weight and design. Only drawback is, I find no volunteers willing to allow bullet expansion testing on their carcass, which is understandable.
Shooting phone books, wet stacks of JUGS magazines, or newspaper doesn't do much in my mind. I have done/tried 9mm bullet expansion testing using pumpkins of human torso size diameter, but pumpkins have no bones, so I gotta find some other method that's comparable. Until that time I'm gonna settle for what the exit hole looks like on Mr. Jack-o-lantern.

 

[TheDreadnought]

Makes sense. I've brought this up before, 9mm ammunition has come a long, long way from when it was first used in German pistols. I, personally like to test what I see that's NEW on the shelf before I jump in with both feet. I don't reload 9mm, only .40 and up.
My first priority with 9mm is 100% function in my only 9mm carry pistol. Next would be bullet weight and design. Only drawback is, I find no volunteers willing to allow bullet expansion testing on their carcass, which is understandable.
Shooting phone books, wet stacks of JUGS magazines, or newspaper doesn't do much in my mind. I have done/tried 9mm bullet expansion testing using pumpkins of human torso size diameter, but pumpkins have no bones, so I gotta find some other method that's comparable. Until that time I'm gonna settle for what the exit hole looks like on Mr. Jack-o-lantern.

Come up with your own version of Paul Harrel’s “Meat Target.”

 

[JimRau]

Makes sense. I've brought this up before, 9mm ammunition has come a long, long way from when it was first used in German pistols. I, personally like to test what I see that's NEW on the shelf before I jump in with both feet. I don't reload 9mm, only .40 and up.
My first priority with 9mm is 100% function in my only 9mm carry pistol. Next would be bullet weight and design. Only drawback is, I find no volunteers willing to allow bullet expansion testing on their carcass, which is understandable.
Shooting phone books, wet stacks of JUGS magazines, or newspaper doesn't do much in my mind. I have done/tried 9mm bullet expansion testing using pumpkins of human torso size diameter, but pumpkins have no bones, so I gotta find some other method that's comparable. Until that time I'm gonna settle for what the exit hole looks like on Mr. Jack-o-lantern.

The use of the 'testing' methods you listed above can only be used to 'compare' various bullets/loads not to say just how they will work in a real world application, but we have to start somewhere!

 

[locutus]

What is the saami std on +P+

There is no SAAMI standard for +P+

however, I was told by two manufacturers reps at a SHOT show that the big manufacturers standard is 42K PSI.

So there is a standard. Just not a SAAMI standard.

BTW, all of my nines easily handle a steady diet of 9BPLE +P+