Posted: 5/27/2013 3:25:14 PM EDT
| I have shot +P 45 ACP in my Sig P220 for years and with never a concern since it is built very strong. But I have just purchased a Springfield XDs and am unsure about using +P in it. How can one determine if a pistol is built to use +P ammo? |
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The XD can handle it in fact it is rare that today any pistol can not handle it , they are well with in SAAMI specs
C/P According to the official Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives guidelines the .45 ACP case can handle up to 130 MPa (19,000 psi) piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every pistol cartridge combo has to be proofed at 130% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers. The SAAMI pressure limit for the .45 ACP is set at 21,000 psi (140 MPa), piezo pressure, while the SAAMI pressure limit for the .45 ACP +P is set at 23,000 psi (160 MPa), piezo pressure. Still I would not want to feed any gun I owned a steady diet of the stuff for two reasons Unnecessary wear and Cost |
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The XD can handle it in fact it is rare that today any pistol can not handle it , they are well with in SAAMI specs C/P According to the official Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives guidelines the .45 ACP case can handle up to 130 MPa (19,000 psi) piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every pistol cartridge combo has to be proofed at 130% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers. The SAAMI pressure limit for the .45 ACP is set at 21,000 psi (140 MPa), piezo pressure, while the SAAMI pressure limit for the .45 ACP +P is set at 23,000 psi (160 MPa), piezo pressure. Still I would not want to feed any gun I owned a steady diet of the stuff for two reasons Unnecessary wear and Cost Thank you for your reply... I saw where +P 45 is rated for 23000 psi, I just couldn't find what the pressure rating of the XDs is.... in particular the barrel. |
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The XD can handle it in fact it is rare that today any pistol can not handle it , they are well with in SAAMI specs C/P According to the official Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives guidelines the .45 ACP case can handle up to 130 MPa (19,000 psi) piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every pistol cartridge combo has to be proofed at 130% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers. The SAAMI pressure limit for the .45 ACP is set at 21,000 psi (140 MPa), piezo pressure, while the SAAMI pressure limit for the .45 ACP +P is set at 23,000 psi (160 MPa), piezo pressure. Still I would not want to feed any gun I owned a steady diet of the stuff for two reasons Unnecessary wear and Cost Thank you for your reply... I saw where +P 45 is rated for 23000 psi, I just couldn't find what the pressure rating of the XDs is.... in particular the barrel. King Kong is dead, why beat up the gun? |
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King Kong is dead, why beat up the gun? Since the XDS only has a 3.3" barrel, I want to use +P ammo for self defense round. This should bring the velocity back up to around the same performance that a 5" barrel is... ensuring reliable expansion. Speer also makes ammo specfically for short-barreled guns. I assume it uses faster burning powder, but that is just a guess. http://www.speer-ammo.com/products/short_brl.aspx |
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King Kong is dead, why beat up the gun? Since the XDS only has a 3.3" barrel, I want to use +P ammo for self defense round. This should bring the velocity back up to around the same performance that a 5" barrel is... ensuring reliable expansion. Speer also makes ammo specfically for short-barreled guns. I assume it uses faster burning powder, but that is just a guess. http://www.speer-ammo.com/products/short_brl.aspx Thanks for link, I know about the .38sp (recommended by DocR) didn't know they had a whole line. Interesting that the regular 9mm+P 124g makes 410 ft-lbs/1220 fps in a 4" barrel. The short barrel 9mm+P 124g only makes 364 ft-lbs/1150 fps in a 3.5" barrel. Surprised 1/2" makes that much diff and wonder what the standard 124g+P would do from a 3.5" barrel?????? That's an 11% loss in energy.... Interesting to see difference going to a 4 1/2" or 5" barrel |
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King Kong is dead, why beat up the gun? Since the XDS only has a 3.3" barrel, I want to use +P ammo for self defense round. This should bring the velocity back up to around the same performance that a 5" barrel is... ensuring reliable expansion. Speer also makes ammo specfically for short-barreled guns. I assume it uses faster burning powder, but that is just a guess. http://www.speer-ammo.com/products/short_brl.aspx Thanks for link, I know about the .38sp (recommended by DocR) didn't know they had a whole line. Interesting that the regular 9mm+P 124g makes 410 ft-lbs/1220 fps in a 4" barrel. The short barrel 9mm+P 124g only makes 364 ft-lbs/1150 fps in a 3.5" barrel. Surprised 1/2" makes that much diff and wonder what the standard 124g+P would do from a 3.5" barrel?????? That's an 11% loss in energy.... Interesting to see difference going to a 4 1/2" or 5" barrel Ballistics By The Inch; the 124+P Gold Dot for Short Barrels is among the 9mm Luger loads tested. Although the standard 124+P GD is not. |
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+p in the .45 acp is a solution looking for a problem
23,000 psi vs 21,500. That 7% higher pressure gets you about 20-30 extra fps. There is no situation in the real world where an extra 20-30 fps is going to make much of a difference. That being said, your XD can handle +p just fine. Edit to add: Speer's short barrel load uses the same powder and gives the exact same velocity as their standard load. (805 fps out of my 3" Kimber) The difference is in the bullet design. The hollow point cavity is squared off on the bottom, allowing it to open up at lower velocities. |
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I understand the want to "make up for barrel length" issue, I've dealt with that with both my 3" GP100 .357 mags and my 3.24" STI Elektra .45acp gun but here's what I've concluded. I've tried different ammo's in my GP and found that the "short barrel" ammo from Speer is an excellent choice for that gun instead of ammo designed for longer barrels because you can't really gain anything extra from more powerful ammunition in a shorter barrel. I've tried it, several times, and all that I got was a lot of unburned powder and, strangely, even less recoil and outgoing energy. For my compact .45acp 1911 I shoot standard Hornady "Best Defense" ammo and it performs extremely well both in penetration and expansion. No need for +P ammo because what I'm using is going to do the job all day, every day while +P in a compact gun you may actually suffer performance from unburned powder as happens with my .357 mag..
I'm not a ballistician and I don't stare at charts and numbers to make my choices. I know people who can do that and I find it amazing but that's not me, I go by the results from each individual gun I own. My 3" GP100 .357 magnum performs best with Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel ammo and my 3.24" .45acp STI performs best with standard power ammo, with Hornady Best Defense being my current choice. It works...very well and I have no worries about penetration or expansion because it will go in and open up everytime no question. Being a former police officer and a perfectionist I've shot many different guns and even more types of ammo so when I find a combo that works I stick with it. I've been super impressed with Hornady's Best Defense brand ammo to the point I'm using it in my .45acp 1911 and G21, my Beretta 92A1 and my S&W M&P40. Obviously if you're a skilled hand loader you can build your perfect loads but since I'm not, I shoot the Hornady Best Defense. I know that I sound like a commercial so I'll brag on one of my other faves and that's Corbon DPX which is another proven success in my guns and a good load when your carrying your gun as a woods gun. Long story short...more powerful ammo in short barrel guns isn't necessarily going to improve performance and can actually decrease performance. In your case OP I would highly recommend either Hornady Best Defense or similar and skip the +P. While this wasn't the case ten years ago there are too many modern excellent performing factory loads to use +P ammo in your situation. However if you just want to I have no doubt your XD will handle it just fine. |
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Agree with some of the above.
It's counterintuitive, but +P out of a short barreled pistol can be creating more issues than it is solving. Issue: the barrel is so short that all the powder may not burn. You get all the recoil, more muzzle flash with negligible increase in velocity. IMO it is part of the problem with these short-barreled .45s. You are taking an already low velocity cartridge and reducing the barrel length by 30% and trying to make up for that on the back end: cartridge selection. Best thing is to try various loads in different conditions and settle on one that works best for you and your gun. +P is does not by itself make a load more capable. In fact, it may make it less capable. 4073 |
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Ballistics By The Inch; the 124+P Gold Dot for Short Barrels is among the 9mm Luger loads tested. Although the standard 124+P GD is not. Nice link, thanks and bookmarked 
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Speer's short barrel load uses the same powder and gives the exact same velocity as their standard load. (805 fps out of my 3" Kimber) The difference is in the bullet design. The hollow point cavity is squared off on the bottom, allowing it to open up at lower velocities. Good info |
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I'd be more worried about +P in the Sig P220 if it's an older model with the folded slide and pinned breach block. and the steel slide riding on the aluminum frame  Not an issue if you keep it properly cleaned and lubricated but I have seen a couple wear through the anodizing.
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