+ P ammo

[Guest Jvanhoosen]

As I posted before I picked up my PK380 last week. I fired 55 rounds through it and thought about getting some + P ammo for it for increased stopping power. But prior to purchasing any + P ammo I decided to send an e-mail to Walther America and find out if the gun was rated for + P. Needless to say the PK380 IS NOT rated for + P ammo. I don't know if any of you have a PK380 and are currently using + P ammo but just wanted to share with you that it is NOT rated for it.

[Guest mds3d]

I have a PK380 as well. It's a really good handgun. Even the instruction manual you got (if you got a new one) mentions not using +P ammo. If you are looking for defensive ammo, I run the Winchester Supreme Elite JHP in mine. I have put somewhere around 60 rounds of it through my Walther with no issues whatsoever. Whatever you choose, make sure you take the time and money to test at least 20 or 30 rounds of it in your handgun. The PK380 can be VERY picky about how it handles ammunition and no one's seems the same. For example many people have problems with the PMC bronze or the Remington UMC but mine shoots both quite well.

Enjoy your new weapon.

[MphsTiger1981]

Gentlemen, if i'm not mistaken, I don't think the SAAMI specifies a .380 round in a +P rating. I believe Buffalo Bore is one of those who has an extremely hot load which they might be advertising as +P, but I'm not sure such an animal currently exists. You're doing the prudent thing to avoid it. Even if it works fine, a steady diet of it might not be good for the long term for your PK380.

[Guest mds3d]

Right, as far as I understand it there is no SAMMI rating for 380+P. So that means that it is just higher than the normal standard without any information about how much higher. Think like +P+ for other calibers that do have a +P rating.

[Guest yzfMrLee]

I had a pk380 for a little while. Still have some 380 ammo that I bought when I got it. It ate all the fmj that I fed it, but I never even got to try the hollow points in it. It was a sweet shooting little gun though.

[daddyo]

From Stephen A. Camp's Blog:

Saturday, October 02, 2010

What About .380 ACP +P Ammunition?

Questions concerning using +P ammunition in one's defensive .380 ACP pistols turn up now and again on Internet firearm forums which is fine except that .380 ACP in a +P version does not exist.

It never has.

SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute) set the rating guidelines by which a specific load's operating pressure is rated as standard or +P. They have been around since 1926. One of their responsibilities has been to publish information on firearm and ammunition-related standards. Several popular handgun calibers definitely do have SAAMI +P ratings, but the 380 just is not one of them.

Several years ago an ammunition manufacturer known for handgun ammunition having higher-than-usual velocities ordered thousands of new .380 ACP cases. Since previous brass orders from this company had always included "+P" on the headstamp along with the caliber designation, the .380 ACP cases were mistakenly marked the same way and sent to the ammunition maker. The cases were used but subsequent orders for unfired brass made sure that the mistake was not repeated. Today the same load does not bear a +P designation but chronographs the same as the old mis-marked load.

Several popular handgun cartridges can be had in +P versions including .38 Special and 9mm but not .380 ACP. The reason is that the vast majority of semiautomatic pistols chambered for it are straight blowback designs and the standard-pressure loadings are toward the top of the pressure envelope that this design can safely handle and some loads do generate higher velocities than others and possibly higher accompanying pressures but they are not necessarily operating within SAAMI specs.

Some using this cartridge favor expanding loads while others recommend FMJ to insure adequate penetration but regardless of where you might stand on this issue, understand that currently-produced .380 ACP bearing a +P designation is simply incorrect information.

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