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Old April 28, 2013, 10:49 AM   #7
shouldazagged
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Join Date: February 17, 2013
Location: Louisville, KY, USA
Posts: 273
Quote:
I used to have an older model 640 in .38 special, I kept it loaded with +P rounds and fired a cylinder or two of +P's every now and then. It was before the +P designation really became a standard, but even through the gun was not marked +P it handled them just fine. In fact later models I believe were marked +P, and FBI models were marked +P+.
I have one of the 640's, a 1990 no-dash, laster-etched inside the frame, "Tested For +P+". I contacted S&W to ask about details of when and why they marked some guns that way, but they seemed not to want to talk about it--basically lawyered up and said they don't recommend using +P+, although I had stated and meant that I had no intention of doing so.

I can't imagine a steel J-frame not handling +P ammo (which is all I carry, by the way) safely. These little critters are pretty strongly built. I have no ownership experience of alloy-framed J's, but I think most people who like me have the .38 Special guns of either kind mostly practice with standard-pressure ammo and carry +P.
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