my take on +P loads....

[Knuckles]

I don't want the bark and kick of a magnum... but I don't want to shoot factory, weeny-loads either.
I'm comfortable right where the 45Colt/44spl/38spl starts to get sassy and that's it. I don't care for magnums 'less it's from a carbine... never did. :?

 

[WendyZXZ]

The only + P loads I have ever shot have been in .38 Special in .38 Special revolvers, but modern .38 loads are not very hot compared to decades ago.

 

[Sonnytoo]

You guys and your big engines... Yeah, I liked mine also.

But I like the pickup truck. 95% of the time the box is empty. But when I want to carry some broken-up concrete to the dump, I know the pickup will still handle the increased load just fine.
Same with my handguns. Light loads for the range; hot loads for the woods...depending upon what I'm likely to find in the woods.
ONE vehicle, MULTI-purpose. I don't need two pickups.
ONE gun, MULTI-purpose.
Sonnytoo

p.s. I see the same arguments over and over, with the same guns, same calibers. Maybe we should just post some links to our previous threads, so we don't have to type so much.

 

[ClintV]

The number one rule of gun fighting is to bring enough gun. I don't go elk hunting with my NAA .22 short revolver. However, I would surely hunt elk with factory, cast, 45 colt loads. I ask this question: If my j-frame is maxed out with +P 38 specials then why would I carry it?

Because it is far better to not need a gun and have it, than to need a gun and not have it.

If I am going to be limited to carrying my airweight, I want it loaded to it's full potential. I'd much rather carry my Kimber or Sig, but sometimes it's just not feasible, like when it's 90 degrees out side and I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt. I carry my firearms based on my ability to conceal them, and that is often based on my manner of dress.

When it comes right down to it, I'd rather carry a shotgun or a carbine if I knew I was gonna be in a gun fight........but they are kinda hard to conceal, even under my heaviest winter clothes. So, instead I'll use what ever I can comfortably carry, and hope I can buy enough time to get back to a real fighting weapon. 8)

When I'm hog hunting with my Blackhawk, I use the heaviest loads it will shoot accurately. Sure you can kill critters with lighter loads and perfect shot placement, but I am a realist and admit that I don't always make the perfect shot. And there are those times when a perfect shot may not present it's self, like when following a wounded animal. In those cases, it's better to have more power than needed to take that hard quartering away shot, than just enough to shoot broadside through the lungs.

For general practice, plinkin, and shooting holes in paper, I agree that there is no benefit in beating up your gun and yourself. But when the rubber hits the road, I believe in having enough traction to get the job done. No matter how rough the road gets. :wink:

 

[JimMarch1]

Oh for...

You cannot generically condemn +P. It's a caliber-by-caliber thing. 38Spl +P is perfectly sane in most guns, while 45LC +P is only safe in a few.

 

[jerry b]

The industry has established +P criteria for some cartridges like the .38 SP +P and .257 Roberts +P. Gun manufacturers build guns to house these industry standards. Other "+P" loads have not been established by the industry (.44 special, .45 Colt, etc.) although I wish they would.

Nevertheless, as is obvious in various established loading manuals, there are good data that give higher pressure than industry standard loads for particular firearms that are engineered or built robust enough to handle the increased pressures. These cartridges range from items like the 6.5 Swede to the .45 Colt in modern firearms. I see no problem with this. Many of these cartridges were invented long ago for firearms nowhere nearly as strong as modern arms. The industry has not increased pressure standards, I assume, because old firearms still exist, and we are a litigation-loving society.

Where, I think, we get off the straight and narrow is when we latch onto stuff we read so and so loads, whether on the internet or in a magazine. In this regard, ya pays yer money and ya chooses yer expert.

I tend to use +P loads in some firearms and standard loads in others, generally based on loading manuals and actual engineering of the firearm. For example, the Smith 624 is a more robust revolver than a Triple Lock for the .44 Special. The Ruger BH is a more robust revolver than a 1st Generation Colt SA for the .45 Colt.

There are no generalizations that apply in this as in most things in life.

But then, that's only an opinion, eh?

 

[WANT A LCR 22LR]

A bit of a side topic, A friends SW Airweight states someting like " Minimum 120 Grain Bullet ". It's rated for at least 38+P , might be 357. I'm guessing the min weight has something to do with the velocity to bore twist ratio. ( Perhaps a fast twist and a fast bullet will tend to strip the grooves ) Or is it that a lighter weight +P will have more poweder than a heavy +P ?

On another note, sounds possible to load a +P spec poweder charge in to a 357 case no?