+P ammo thru non+P guns??

B

Biff Tannen

New member
I have several handguns, stamped with ".38 special" (a Ruger Police Service Six and a Cobra Derringer to be exact). They are NOT stamped +P, however...

When I asked around if they will shoot +P ammo, I was met with the following advice:

GUN STORE GUY said: "They should."

FRIEND said: "125 +P and 158 +P should be fine. Keep them heavy and slow."

COUSIN said: "It's okay to shoot +P through non +P guns, but only every now and then. Keep it loaded with +P for self defense, but don't shoot +P at the range."

CO-WORKER said "No! Never! The gun might be severely damaged and might possibly malfunction or blow up in your hand!"

ANY ADVICE, EXPERIENCE, THOUGHTS, & OPINIONS?
 
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If it is not rated for +P, I wouldn't. It may hold up, but they are tested at certain pressures and may not hold up to repeated firing of higher pressure rounds. With that said, if it is a Ruger, it is most likely over built like most all Rugers, and would probably be ok.
 
I concur with BFR, if it was not engineered for it, it should not be done. This is for the sake of your safety, the health of the gun, and most importantly, the safety of other shooters around you.
 
If you pour rubbing alcohol or linseed oil in your gas tank every now and then, it shouldn't blow up the engine.

If you do go fire +P rounds through a pistol that's not rated for it, please keep a video camera rolling so we can see the results on YouTube.
 
Food for thought: +P ammo existed long before any gun was +P rated.

Edited to add: this thread will probably be the proverbial can of worms. Will get some corn for poppin', just in case.
 
More food for thought:

Many a nice older gun has been ruined because folks listened to keyboard commandos and shot wrong ammo through their vintage guns and ruined them
 
Well, without sounding like too much of a smart a__ the answer is: you just don’t know and that is the problem.
 
Is it a secret just what guns you have that are stamped ".38?"

Smith & Wesson says that any steel framed .38 Special (are yours .38 Special?) with a model number marking (post-1957) is strong enough for +P ammunition. Personally, I am at the Cousin level for the J frames although I would not worry about more shooting in a K frame gun.

Back when Colt made DA revolvers, they OKed their steel framed guns clear up to .38-44 High Velocity which is pretty much +P+.
Mind you, I wouldn't DO that now, because Colt parts and gunsmiths are scarce and if you beat one up, it is going to be a lot of trouble to fix.
But if I still had my Police Positive Special, it would certainly be loaded with +P "around the house" or on my person, with enough fired for occasional familiarization. As per your Cousin again.

Taurus publically "rates" their steel and aluminum/titanium revolvers for +P, although not the magnesium framed model. Magnesium? Wow.

Rossi "rates" their small Chief's Special knockoff for +P.

All Ruger .38 Revolvers are cataloged as +P capable.

Charter Arms Undercover is cataloged for +P.

So there we are, company specifications from six different manufacturers. Nobody seems worried about +P ammunition which is, after all, only 10% higher pressure than the present very conservative standard.

The guns may not be MARKED +P but nearly all recent production revolvers are "rated" +P by their makers.

Of course if you have an old, off brand, decrepit, or altered revolver, best stick to the plain vanilla ammo.
 
It really depends on the gun. I'm sure some of the older S&W .38's can handle +P just fine. But, when you get into newer super-light weight 38's, if they are not designed for +P, I'd stay away.
 
Bill DeShivs
Here is the real can of worms-
Why does everyone think +P ammunition is so absolutely necssary in their .38 Specials?
Click to expand...

Because a regular pressure 38 Special cartridge will bounce off the BG. Heck, I believe one of the big-name-sages (name unmentioned for obvious reasons) in self-defense...etc...stated that the 38 Special is only good for target shooting these days. ;)
 
Standards for 38 special max pressures are 21,000 P.S.I. Currently 38 Special + P ammo is rated at 18,000 P.S.I.

If you don’t feel comfortable shooting + P ammo full time don’t. Do not hesitate to load + P ammo for self-defense. If you have to use a firearm for real, damaging your weapon with over pressure ammo should and will be the least of your worries.

I shoot standard pressure ammo in my 38 special Model 60, yet when I carry it it's loaded with 147Gr +P+ ammo.
 
I'm voting with the cousin, with a caveat:
What kind/brand of guns are we discussing? Assuming they are in serviceable condition and of modern manufacture you should be fine. Great grand dad's 1912 Colt probably wouldn't care for that sort of thing.
 
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Any modern gun could likely take a few rounds of +P even if it wasn't rated for it. With that said, I would not recommend it.
 
The line between a fine firearm and a hand grenade is fairly narrow.

If the gun is not listed as rated for +P ammo then you may be fine...right up until you aren't and something blows and you may not (probably won't) get any warning before failure either.

In short. I wouldn't do it.
 
Is it a secret what make and model guns you're talking about? Pictures would be helpful. Maybe somebody could really help you if they knew what you were talking about.

I'm suspicious that your "38's", as you say your guns are stamped, are 38 S&W's or some other type of "38". All of my 38 Specials are marked "38 SPL" or "38 Special". There is a big difference between a "38" and a "38 Special" even before you start talking about the difference between standard velocity ammo and +P ammo.
 
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