9mm + .45 questions?

Jerecole

Is a 9mm + 9mm luger the same? Also whats the difference in a .45, .45acp, and .45+p ? What is the p for? Thanks.

fordsix

9mm =9mm luger =9mm parabellum ..+p = more pressure = faster feet per second

Jerecole

Thanks for the answer....In addition are the guns designed to take the addition pressure?

11b6r

45 could be anything- a generic referral to a firearm that shoots a bullet .45 inches in diameter (more or less) .45 ACP is the traditional .45 auto (ACP is Automatic Colt Pistol) not to be confused with .45 Auto-Rim (a revolver cartridge that more or less duplicates the 45 ACP) and there is .45 Colt- a longer revolver cartridge. Some folks call it the 45 Long Colt, which brings purists out of the woodwork crying "NO! It is the 45 Colt!" And there is also the .45 Magnum- a REALLY big auto pistol cartridge made for the Grizzly auto. The +P designation has nothing to do with caliber of the cartridge- it denotes a cartridge loaded to higher energy than standard. Typically, either the weapon is built tougher to shoot these on a regular basis, OR it will be subject to accelerated wear.

beantownshootah

quote:Originally posted by Jerecole
Is a 9mm + 9mm luger the same? Also whats the difference in a .45, .45acp, and .45+p ? What is the p for? Thanks.


There are MANY different kinds of 9mm.

Usually in the USA when people talk about "9mm" without any additional specification, they mean the 9mm luger round.

But you CANNOT assume that 9mm = 9mm luger (aka 9x19, 9mm parabellum) without more information.

Just because you see "9mm" on your gun, that does NOT necessary mean that the gun will take "ordinary" 9mm luger ammo.

For example, many European guns will be labelled as 9mm kurz (kurz meaning "short"), referring to the 9x17 round, known in the USA most often as ".380 ACP". The Sig 230 guns, for example, are labelled this way.

The 9mm makarov round is another nominal 9mm round that is becoming more and more popular in the USA due to a large number of surplus guns in that caliber on the market. Again, this round is NOT the same as 9mm luger OR .380 acp.

Likewise, with .45, USUALLY Americans are referring to .45ACP (the automatic pistol round) when they say .45 with no other designation. But there are a number of other .45 rounds in existence, including the .45 (long) Colt, which is a relatively popular revolver round, particularly in older "Cowboy" type revolvers.

The "+P" in ".45+P" refers to extra PRESSURE. That is, the round is loaded "hotter" than usual .45 ammo, to create a more effective (eg higher velocity) round.

.45+P rounds are supposed to be safe in any modern gun in good working condition, though the increased pressure will create a bit more slide-to-frame "battering" and can increase wear and tear on a gun if used in quantity over time.

Blairweescot

For clarification, when you see .45 ACP, it means:

.45 caliber, Automatic Colt Pistol

the other end of the spectrum from the 9mm 'kurtz' is the 9mm 'Largo' (long), and the 9mm Largo is also not a 9mm parabellum