Federal 9BPLE +P+ in a S&W M&P 9c?

[dawoq]

I recently inherited an older case of Federal 115gr 9BPLE HP (older law enforcement rounds) ammo. I would like to use some of them in my M&P 9c since I have a whole case now, but some say it may be unsafe. I'm looking for opinions. Thanks in advance!

[crosseyedshooter]

Here’s what’s in the Smith & Wesson owner’s manual.

90170

[RevolverRob]

In general use of +P+ is fine, but if it is specifically forbade in the Smith Manual, I would expect use of it may void your warranty.

I think many of us (myself included) have used 9BPLE in the past without issue.

[psalms144.1]

I've lost count of how many rounds of 9BPLE I've shot over the last couple of decades. Most of that was through Sigs or Glocks, though.

My rule of thumb is if it's SPECIFICALLY prohibited by the manufacturer, I tend to follow those rules.

[FNFAN]

Gotta find some of that .40 & .357Sig +p+ for….. a friend.

[RevolverRob]

Gotta find some of that .40 & .357Sig +p+ for….. a friend.

That's called 10mm and 9x25 Dillon, man.

[FNFAN]

That's called 10mm and 9x25 Dillon, man.

Man, when you’re right, you’re right!😁

[spyderco monkey]

I recently inherited an older case of Federal 115gr 9BPLE HP (older law enforcement rounds) ammo. I would like to use some of them in my M&P 9c since I have a whole case now, but some say it may be unsafe. I'm looking for opinions. Thanks in advance!

9BPLE is not a real "+p+" - typically around 42kpsi - but rather a full power +P at around 38.5kpsi. It's perfectly safe to fire and has been for decades.

Corbon/Undwerwood/Buffalo Bore 115gr +P and the new 115gr M1152 FMJ 'NATO' load have equal or higher velocity at +P pressure, whereas a true +p+ 115gr 42kpsi load would be around 1450fps.

Fire with confidence.

[fatdog]

I always get a laugh at the manufacturer's claims and this ammo will void your warranty, or the silly Glock "using reloads" voids your warranty. Short of a kaboom come apart, there is no way for them to prove you have been using over pressure ammo or reloads.

[Rock185]

I don't have an M&P, but have used and chronographed a fair amount of 9BPLE over the years in a variety of other pistols and revolvers. This would include Ruger and S&W revolvers, semi-auto SIGs, Colts, Glocks, S&Ws, HKs, etc. Also chronographed it in a couple carbines. Nothing scary or even unusual to report.

FWIW, The old CorBon 115 grain JHP ammo, labeled as only +P, routinely produced velocities as high or higher than any Winchester or Federal 115 +P+ I ever chronographed.

[Spartan1980]

I'm pretty sure that my G17.5 manual forbids +P+ too. But I can tell you that Win 127 +P+ Ranger shoots lights out from it. :cool:

[Rock185]

The owner's manual that came with my HK USP Expert sanctioned the use of +P+, but indicated something to the effect that wear might be increased. Our PD years ago received a packet from Glock that indicated, "The Glock pistol is designed to fire NATO or SAAMI specification ammunition. Ammunition such as Samson IMI black-tip carbine, +P+ ammunition or any commercially manufactured ammunition may be fired in the Glock pistol." I realize the PD packet we received from Glock differs from the regular commercial owners manual and it's admonitions reference use of +P+ ammunition. We were issuing Gen 2 Glocks back then, and I'd be surprised to learn that succeeding Glock generations are more fragile than the guns we were issuing.

I've always found it interesting that ISP was using 9mm +P+ in their S&W Model 39s back in the day, and if there were reports of damaged and/or blown up aluminum famed model 39 pistols, I never heard about it. I believe many more recent pistols are more robust than those model 39s, at least I've never had any trouble in using 9mm +P+ in the pistols I mentioned in my earlier post.....YMMV

[fatdog]

TISP was using 9mm +P+ in their S&W Model 39s back in the day, and if there were reports of damaged and/or blown up aluminum famed model 39 pistols, I never heard about it.

When I think about the field breakage levels in a group of police service pistols I always remind myself how little those guns get shot. In some cases a couple of hundred rounds a year as the average for the entire service life before the agency switches platforms every 10-12 years. One of the reasons LE trade guns often look like hell on the outside but are mechanically just fine.

I think this entire business about don't use overpressure ammo, at whatever level, is really about accelerated wear and parts breakage. Will +P+ accelerate all those? Yes, for sure, regardless of the platform or what the manufacturer said. Frame cracks in metal pistols, broken locking blocks or their pins in polymer pistols, recoil springs wear out faster, if the barrel lugs are weak they may crack or shear at some high round count level, all sorts of parts break faster, etc. No doubt in some older weaker designs like the BHP those will happen much much faster than a more robust design like a Glock or modern HK.

Thing is, I don't believe most users are going to put 10K rounds or for that matter 2-3K rounds of the +P+ stuff through their pistol. It is more like less than a case of the stuff over the life of the pistol, with most practice being done with standard pressure ball ammo of some sort.

I believe fear of the commercially available high pressure rounds is over blown. No doubt some designs will fail faster, but I don't believe any modern service pistol is so fragile to really fear limited use, as Rock185 has cited.

[TCinVA]

I've been shooting NATO spec 124 grain ball through a 9C lately. I don't expect it will blow up the gun.

[CraigS]

One other thought would be this. Practice w/ standard ammo but carry +P+. If you ever actually use your carry gun I doubt that a mag or 2 of +P+ will do much damage.