SAAMI spec 9mm +p ammo and semi auto handgun damage/accelerated wear

[snubnose]

The pressure limit for 9mm ammo is 35001 (?) psi for +p there is a slight increase to 38500. To my knowledge all makers of sliders caution against routine use of +p stating that either the gun will be damaged or accelerated wear will occur.

Accepting that the makers of the semi auto most probably know what they are talking about I ask the experts here how can such an insignificant increase in pressure cause such concerns by those who have designed and manufactured the gun?

 

[Mesatchornug]

10% isn't really insignificant.

 

[Ultrarunner]

You'll spend exponentially more money on ammo in the life of the gun than it's eventual replacement cost after 195,000 rounds versus 200,000 rounds...

 

[Asaltweapon]

I was not nice to my 66 when I first got into shooting and reloading. Did a lot of high pressure mag loads.
Gun became very unreliable.

 

[MAGA99]

Regular 9mm doesn’t necessarily build max pressure, while +p likely approaches the limit, so the difference on average is likely greater than 10%.

I’m no expert on the matter but just think of how fotays beat themselves up compared to 9mms.

 

[xtry51]

Even if you loaded 9mm to the bleeding edge you would get tens of thousands of rounds out of a pistol. The cost of the gun pails in comparison to the cost of the ammo. So its negligible. A commercial +P load is nothing compared to how far you can push a reload and run them all day. I've put some ladder test rounds thru my G34 with Titegroup that were WELL above the max listed without even piercing a primer. The recoil becomes ridiculous before you even really start flowing primer cups.

 

[T-Unit]

It's not something I'd worry about, but 9mm +P isn't far and away faster than standard pressure to make me want to use it.

 

[drgrant]

Even if you loaded 9mm to the bleeding edge you would get tens of thousands of rounds out of a pistol. The cost of the gun pails in comparison to the cost of the ammo. So its negligible. A commercial +P load is nothing compared to how far you can push a reload and run them all day. I've put some ladder test rounds thru my G34 with Titegroup that were WELL above the max listed without even piercing a primer. The recoil becomes ridiculous before you even really start flowing primer cups.

This...

IMHO in any 9mm handgun worth buying, +P won't cause an appreciable increase in wear to a point where it's going to be some kind of life changing event... "Oh noes, you only got 130,000 rounds through the frame instead of 160,000 before it cracked! what will we do? woe is me!!!" You'll likely have fired a value of ammunition through the gun that is exponentially greater than whatever the gun cost to begin with... I mean maybe things like recoil springs will wear faster,
etc, but most of that is going to be lost in the noise compared to the cost of the ammunition that you're putting through the gun in order to achieve that level of
wear.

-Mike

 

[highlander]

NATO spec 9 mm is what would be considered +P so if you've a modern 9 mm pistol that's used by NATO troups you should be good to go.

 

[rocket500]

I think it’s more of an issue (and it still takes a really long time to show) in aluminum framed pistols like the Beretta 92 or the Sig P229/226. On the polymer guns where the slide runs on a steel chassis or on an all steel gun like a 1911 the service life is so long I wouldn’t even think about it.

 

[snubnose]

Glock apparently has a lot more confidence in their guns as the Gen 5 manual (or rather the manual I was able to find) no longer has any advisory regarding +p ammo-can anyone confirm that the ammo caution no longer exists ?

If I did read an accurate copy then Glock would be the only maker of semi handguns to adopt such a policy-impressive.

 

[not new guy]

Too much of the commercial 9mm out there is underpowered garbage. I'll take a little more wear and tear, particularly in my PCCs, over having to worry about them dying of boredom.