This caught me off guard. I was browsing Wideners and found this, Winchester 9mm NATO… https://www.wideners.com/handgun/9mm-ammo?manufacturer=3 It’s 124gr FMJ, nothing special there, but it’s this that really got me curious, from Wideners, “SAAMI defines two different max chamber pressures for 9mm ammunition: standard, which has a limit of 35,000 psi, and +P, which has a limit of 38,500 psi. But there’s yet another pressure classification for 9mm that you may not yet be aware of: NATO, which has a pressure limit of 36,500 psi. That makes this ammo a great middle ground if you’re looking for a flatter trajectory but don’t want to seriously accelerate wear and tear on your favorite 9mm firearms!”
But when I go to Winchester’s website, I don’t see any mention of it being over SAAMI specs… https://winchester.com/Products/Ammunition/Handgun/USA/Q4318 Even the photos of the box don’t state it as being over SAAMI specs. I find that to be troubling. One would think if an ammo company’s loading their ammo above specs they’d say so.
My Glock 34 Gen. 5, is only stamped “9×19”, no “+P” or anything is found. The manual is very vague about ammo, just the typical don’t shoot hand loads, don’t shoot re-manufactured ammo etc, and if you do it’ll void the warranty. It also says the typical use ammo that meets SAAMI, CIP, and… “NATO” specs. “NATO”?
I looked and looked and couldn’t find mention of whether or not it’s +P rated. The manual says just about everything else, and in just about every language at that.
It doesn’t matter, I was only curious. I don’t use “hot” ammo. I’m not a believer in it. If the specs of SAAMI for “regular” ammo, which ALL the gun companies and ammo companies, their engineers, CEO’s, lawyers, EVERYBODY could agree is max specs, I’ll stay within it. If I need more power, I’ll use a bigger caliber. I don’t need to take thousands of rounds off the life of the gun, any gun, by using +P or this NATO ammo which is above normal, but below +P. I’ll stick with regular ammo… Now can I find a brand/type that’s consistent and not BELOW spec? https://2awhiterook.com/thoughts-and-observations-from-the-woods-vol-3/
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