The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) has announced the acceptance of a new pistol cartridge for standardization. SAAMI—founded in 1926 at the request of the federal government—promotes firearm safety by creating standards that ensure safety, reliability, and interchangeability of firearms, ammunition and their components.
The 30 Super Carry was introduced by Federal Premium earlier this year with a 100-grain bullet traveling at a velocity of 1,250 fps. A 115-grain bullet travels at 1,150 fps and has a maximum average pressure of 52,000 psi.
Shooting Illustrated’s Daniel McElrath covered the self-defense cartridge in January, explaining, “The company created an entirely new cartridge that, while smaller than the 9 mm, skews heavily towards it in terms of power. Dubbed the 30 Super Carry, the new cartridge has a .312-inch bullet diameter, although it’s the same length as a 9 mm. The narrower circumference, though, means more rounds will fit inside a given frame, all else being equal. It also means that, in short order, we’ll be seeing guns specifically designed for the Super Carry that are smaller and lighter than current 9 mm pistols. In other words, we’ll have new guns of .380 ACP size, but with 9 mm muzzle energy.”
Smith & Wesson rolled out an M&P Shield Plus in the chambering early, as did Nighthawk Custom, giving Shooting Illustrated Ammo Editor Richard Mann a chance to test the performance two months later. “What we now have with the 30 Super Carry is a cartridge that competes very well with the 9 mm from a terminal-performance standpoint, but with about 16 percent less recoil in similar-size handguns. (Recoil calculations were based on advertised velocities.),” he wrote. “How important is recoil? I ran several multi-shot defensive-handgun drills with a 5-inch Wilson Combat 1911 in 9 mm and the 5-inch Nighthawk Custom 1911 in 30 Super Carry. On average, I was able to complete the drills with the 30 Super Carry 7.2 percent faster.”
