+P: Increases Reliability?

M

Model12Win

Moderator
Does +P ammo in semi-autos pistol increase reliability?

I've heard it causes the slide to move back faster which can make it kick the shells out and feed better, just gives the slide more power to do it's job.

Thoughts?
 
It's more power for sure.
Does it increase reliability? I suppose that might be a logical assumption if the gun has more power going thru it would seem like would have extra umph for it's job.

Honestly I don't know, I would not shoot +P under this assumption though.
On some calibers like 38spl there is a very real benefit but Im less convinced on things like 9mm.

I try to stick with standard pressure usually, I do have some HST's in +P, I did not really want them but they where a good price and standard pressure was sold out.

I don't think it's something you can really prove.. I mean if the gun is reliable with standard pressure how are you going to know it's MORE reliable with +P?
I guess you could torture test the gun.. but a gun that's 100% reliable (or seemingly so) how are you gonna know it's now 110% reliable?
 
Model12Win wrote:
Does +P ammo in semi-autos pistol increase reliability?
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What do you mean by "reliability"?

I'm not being facetious. If you mean that a higher powder charge generating more recoil is more likely to force the barrel back, crisply unlock from the slide, and have enough energy for a clean ejection, then, sure, it will do all of that.

But, if you're talking about whether it will keep doing that a thousand or two, or three down the road the road after the springs have been subjected to the maximum force they were intended to bear, the chamber has been stressed and the slide beaten against the steel insert of the plastic frame, then you might find that using a definition of reliability that includes more than the next magazine, the gun ceases to be reliable.
 
Semi-auto rifles and pistols are designed to work within a fairly narrow range of pressure. Too much, or too little pressure generated when fired and the gun won't cycle reliably.

There are lots of factors to consider. If a handgun is set up with a heavy recoil spring or slide it might function more reliably with ammo that generates more pressure.

If the gun is set up to work with lower pressure loads then +p could also lead to unreliable function and even damage.

Guys who shoot a lot of hot loads often change out the recoil spring to something heavier. It really depends on the gun and how it is designed.
 
No not really. If you are shooting standard pressure rounds that work well then no for sure. If you are shooting under powered stuff that is causing malfunctions then of course.

Take something like 9MM Federal HST or Speer Gold Dots and IMO there is nothing to gain going to +P for reliability reasons.
 
May effect ejection of brass.
Example: Glock 19 shoot 115 FMJ then shoot 124 +P or 147 +P and see if brass doesn't eject differently (more "positive").
 
The same could be said for using heavier bullets. 124 or 147 gr are recommended for my Kimber solo and some of the other mini 9s that have less mass in the slide and stronger recoil springs. The momentum boost helps the action cycle more reliably. It probably depends on what round the gun is designed for.
 
Ammo like 9mm WWB (Winchester white box), 115 gr, would be more prone to limp wristing than Winchester NATO, 124 gr. Both are known as target/range ammo.
 
Model12Win said:
Does +P ammo in semi-autos pistol increase reliability?
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In general, no.

Possibly, in a defective pistol that has problems functioning with the normal-power ammunition it was designed to fire.
 
Thoughts?
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My thoughts are that quite a few people will replace their springs with heavier ones to help counteract the effect of the higher pressure.
That's going to cut into the increased slide velocity.

Even so...

Just for giggles and grins, one time I downloaded a whole bunch of .45 acp ammunition.
My goal was to see at what point it would quit cycling the action and loading a fresh round.

Normal operating pressure for the .45 acp is 21,000 psi.
I estimated the final loads I shot - that still worked - to be somewhere around 11,000 psi.
I really couldn't tell much difference between the slide velocity at that low point.

Anyhow - I'll just chalk up the idea of +P making a gun more reliable alongside the idea that if you spin around while you shoot, you can make the bullet curve :).
 
"...It's more power for sure..." +P is about pressures. Nothing to do with 'power'. And no it does not increase reliability.
The slide moving faster can damage said slide too.
"...shoot 115 FMJ then shoot..." Apples and oranges comparison.
"...Winchester NATO, 124 gr..." Is not target ammo. NATO ammo is considered to be +P by some.
 
It would mostly depend on the recoil spring in the gun. I know that the CZ75B comes with a light spring and is known to have problems with hot loads unless the spring is replaced with a heavier one. More pressure is not always a way to make a gun function reliably. The metallurgy of the barrel and related parts is another consideration. If the gun was not made with =P loads in mind it might fail prematurely or catastrophically with +P ammo.
 
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