SR9 +P capability

[22/45 Fan]

You have to be very careful comparing pressure specs from various sources. Older data used either CUP (copper units of pressure) or LUP (lead units of pressure) based on copper or lead crusher pellets. Normally this was expressed as CUP or LUP but was sometimes given in psi units.

Newer data is based on piezo electric pressure transducers and is express in psi. However, the correlation between piezo pressures and CUP/LUP is quite poor.

Also SAAMI and the various European testing bodies use different test protocols so even their piezo transducer data isn't directly comparable.

 

[wingspar]

Well, this has been an interesting learning subject for me. I've only recently taken guns out of my closet for the first time in years. Probably close to 20 years. I have a Marlin Camp 9 that I shot last year, and a few times this year for the first time in a very long time. I was using ammo I bought a very long time ago. After reading about ammo shortages, and taking the gun with me on a camping trip a couple of weeks ago, I counted the shells I had left. 15. I decided to hold off till I could get more ammo. I ordered the Winchester NATO ammo, and was told by someone in another forum that he thought all NATO was +P. I can not shoot +P in the Camp 9, hence my interest in learning some of this stuff, so that I make sure I get the correct ammo in the future. I always thought 9mm was 9mm. I now know that it is not.

If the following is correct;

SAAMI 9mm Luger 35,000 psi
9 mm NATO 36,550 psi
SAAMI 9mm Luger +P 38,500 psi

I wonder if the NATO would be ok to shoot in the Camp 9?

No big deal. I have a couple of boxes of the correct ammo coming some day. It is on back order, and probably be towards the end of the month before I see it.

No worries on the NATO ammo I have, as an SR9 may be in my near future, and it will take the NATO ammo just fine. I still have an interest in learning and understanding NATO, +P and +P+ stuff, even tho I may never purposely order any again.

 

[wingspar]

The data on standard, NATO and +P pressures was given on page 1 of this thread. Here it is again:

"SAAMI 9mm Luger 35,000 psi
9 mm NATO 36,550 psi
SAAMI 9mm Luger +P 38,500 psi

9mm Luger +P+ ???? no defined standard."

Note that the NATO pressure spec is somewhat higher than standard pressure but not as high as +P.

Got my box of 9mm NATO, and on the back it says that average pressure is 10% higher than industry standard pressure for 9mm Luger. Not sure you can read the back of the box that I photographed today. With a little calculation, using the SAAMI 9mm luger 35,000 PSI, I come up with 38,500 PSI for the NATO ammo. Still not going to shoot it thru my Camp 9.

 

[Ruger9mmFan]

i bought a box of Corbon 125 gr +p ammo its gonna be my main carry ammo from now and hornady CD in the winter time.

My SR9 can handle any kind of ammo i put in it -its a very solid gun!

 

[NixieTube]

Hey, let's lighten up a little. Who cares if +P+ doesn't really have a definition. So few things other in this life do, why bother worrying about whether your gun will explode in your face?

Wanna try that new hot +P+ load your buddy down at the Old Homestead worked up for your SR9? Well By God man, give it a try! Personally, what I do with my SR9 is that when I pull the trigger, I'll use any old +P+ and I also exhale against the back of the slide to help push the bullet out faster. :roll:

+P by a reputable manufacturer shouldn't be any trouble at all. +P+ by someone like Corbon or Winchester shouldn't cause any trouble either. If you doubt whether it will work in your Ruger SR9, call the ammunition manufacturer and ask. If they have any hesitation or qualms or provisos or any serious worry about how their cartridges will perform in your gun, don't use them. The people who manufacture ammunition in large quantities are smart enough to understand the physics and they also test their ammunition carefully, and with a wide variety of guns, so they should know. And you, as a gun owner, have a duty to yourself and others to find out as best you can what you can use safely. These are simple questions to ask and easy things to understand.

+P+ by someone's buddy "Jake" down at the local watering hole on the other hand, I'll leave to someone else to range test.