Okay to shoot +p .38 spl through this S&W

[Dr_2_B]

Hi. I'm virtually certain this is okay but I want to run it by you guys. My dad has a police trade-in S&W 38spl blued 4" revolver. He is not as much a shooter as I am, but he shoots with me on occasion. I intend to tell him tomorrow it's okay for him to replace the nyclads in it with +p 38spl. But please tell me if it's ill advised to shoot +p in this pistol.

I should know the model, but I don't. I'm guessing it's a model 10. I believe this is the same pistol as his:

Thanks for helping him out.

 

[george29]

A M-10 in operative condition is fine to shoot +P. If you are in doubt as to whether your dad's M-10 is in good condition, get it checked out before shooting anything in it.

There are those that contest that shooting high velocity lower weight bullets (e.g. 125gr JHP +P) from older K frames should be avoided or perhaps limited. These same voices say that these older K frames were not built to handle a constant diet of +P. They may be right, this is one reason S&W no longer produces the .357 in a K frame any longer. Could be that this does not apply to the .38 special +P.

 

[sidheshooter]

If you are indeed dealing with a later model 10 K-frame, then I'd not be too worried about +P usage. I've literally lost track of how much 158 +P ammo I've shot through mine, but it's way into the thousands of rounds.

In retrospect, it indeed *may* not have been the best idea (from an accelerated wear standpoint) to have used the same frame for unrestricted .357 magnum usage, but the fact that these magnum revolvers (13, 65 etc) are still out there used in large quantities says a lot about the K-frame's ability to handle the relatively mild +P .38 round.

Again, it might be worth double checking the model, but my 64 is about as tight as it ever was, and I've shot a good bit of +P through it in both class and casual settings. At this stage of the game, I'm pretty sure I'll tire of +P rounds before the gun ever does.

 

[SaxonPig]

Factory +P is loaded well below the maximum allowable pressure for the caliber. In fact, it really is a rather mild load with a 125 bullet at 925 FPS. This is not a hot load... it's not even a warm load. To me it's almost a good plinking load. I would never rely on a such a wimpy load for self defense. My "carry load" in my 38s is the same 125 bullet loaded to 1,150 FPS.

The +P label was created as a marketing ploy to make the uninformed think they were buying a powerful load. Some gun makers (like S&W) in recent years starting advising against using the weak and low powered +P in older guns on advice of counsel. In truth, back in the 1970s S&W sold ammo loaded much hotter than current +P that carried no such label.

Lawyers and lawsuits caused this shift in policy.

I would limit a gun like yours to no more than 200,000 rounds of +P just to be on the safe side.

 

[Old Fuff]

I should know the model, but I don't. I'm guessing it's a model 10. I believe this is the same pistol as his:

It might be a good idea to be sure. These day many folks call any K-frame / 38 Special / fixed sight revolver a "Model 10." They didn't make any model 10's until 1957.

Now I have what some would call a Model 10. It looks like a Model 10, and it feels like a Model 10, but in truth it's a Military & Police model, and 1 of 1000 that was made for the U.S. Army in 1901.

I don't shoot any Plus-P ammunition through it.

 

[Dr_2_B]

Two points that may be salient:
1. This is one BEAUtiful revolver in excellent shape.
2. It is no exaggeration to say these +p bullets will be fired a maximum of 10 times. Literally. 10 times. Dad will keep the +p stuff in it for home defense and will shoot target ammo at the range.

Sounds like it'll be safe. Thanks for the help.

 

[FullEffect1911]

Heed the Old Fuff... find out for sure if it's a model 10.

 

[Teuthis]

If that revolver was made before the 1970's you might refrain from using +P rounds. An excellent alternative for the 38 Special is the Federal, low-recoil self defense round. It expands well and has minimal recoil.

I believe that one should not use different power and performance rounds for practice than one plans to use for self defense. The fewer variables one has in the moment of self defense, the better.

 

[SaxonPig]

*Sigh....*

Here's my 1942 M&P posed with some of the 1,200 rounds of factory +P and my own +P+ (125@1150) that I fired through it on a lark. Note that this revolver was made long before the magic "model mark" that is popular with some as being safe with +P. Despite the gun having already fired countless thousands of rounds before I got it, the 1200 rounds in this test did absolutely nothing to the gun.

PS: I read on another forum where a guy put 1,000 +Ps through an older alloy Model 12 with zero effect. I would expect this since as I keep saying +P is NOT a warm load.

 

[Black Knight]

If it has a heavy barrel as the one you have shown then by all means fire +P's in it. The problem some folks are referring to occurs with some of the K frame 357 Magnum models and the light bullets in magnum loads. The model 10 with heavy will take the 38 Special +P with no problems at all. My 10-8 has had between 1000 and 2000 +P's in it. When my department got rid of our 64's with heavy barrels it was estimated that most of those guns had more than 20,000 rounds of +P. We traded "up" for Beretta 92FS (M9). Many of us wish we still had the 64's or at least could furnish our own.