Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
The only reason I'm showing the warning label is to point out the numbers on it not the wording
I understand. But another thing you have to remember is over the years SAAMI pressures have been lowered..... A LOT. The "warning" on your box of current production Gold Dots states, they are.... "22% Higher Than SAAMI Standards"..... OK, Which standards? Established when? This is an ever changing saga.
According to my old Speer manuals: SAAMI & the industry introduced "+P" ammo ratings as of 1975, .38 Special standard pressure was 18,900 CUP then. +P was 22,400 CUP. As of 1998 it was 17,000 PSI and 20,000 PSI. As of today, (some 19 years later), it is 17,000 PSI & 18,500 PSI. This is ever evolving in a lower direction.
So if you do the math, "+P" for .38 Special was 22,400 in 1975 when SAAMI first introduced the standard. Today "+P" is now 18,500. That is a whopping 3,900 PSI, or over 17% LOWER. Yeah, I get it that CUP doesn't correlate exactly into PSI. But you see where all of this is going. Down... WAY DOWN. I'm betting if you do a similar cross comparison with 9 MM, you'll most likely come up with similar percentages. This isn't unique to just .38 Special. So..... "22% over SAAMI Spec.", today isn't really. Especially if you subtract the 17% they've lowered their "standard". It's to the point that "+P" along with all of this "+P+" is somewhat becoming a joke. These "standards" hardly remain "standard" for very long. And when they change, they go lower... NEVER higher. Last I checked, my guns haven't weakened with age.