+P Ammo & Walther P99

[swordsman]

Can Walther P99, in 9mm cal,  handle efficiently +P ammo such as the CORBON 115 grain +P JHP? Any effects on the gun itself in the long run?

[DougCarden]

As long as the recoil spring works properly and the magazine spring is strong enough to put the shell up fast enough for the slide action it should be fine.  You might need to replace the recoil spring much sooner running the hotter ammo, or use a stronger one.  Hard to say, obviously.  I would be surprised if it wasnt built to spec for NATO ammo, and it is almost +P by our SAAMI specs.  Only way to tell is to try it.  You will probably need to replace the recoil spring more often, but it should be ok.  Check the manual as well.  Hope some of this babbling helps....doug

[Carlos]

My thoughts: plus P under the SAMMI spec is not all that hot compared to what is shot in Europe where they use the CIP soecifications and 9mm Major has been alowed in open forever.  The hotter European limits on sporting ammo explain why early Vihta Vouri reloading manuals had hot 9mm data which was later watered down for the litigation-happy US market (and that is coming from a lawyer!). Ask Clark about this - he has done destructive testing on amny guns and can tell you that you have a wide safety margin within SAMMI specs.  Europe seems to recognize that you can use hot 9mm all day long in a modern gun of good quality such as a European Walther P99 (not sure about S&W's version) or a Glock 9mm.  Bad candidtates for hot 9mm would be the US made Hi-Piont cheapos or the old Astra 600 9mm blowbacks sold all over the US by Sarco among others. I have an old 400 in 9mm Largo that I load for - with appropriate ammo for an antique gun. Others might not be so cautious.

Our US spec plus P is safe to use in your gun. Will it ever break someday? Shoot enough of ANY ammo and it will eventualy break. Ijn the mean time, just shoot it.