Maybe the biggest SHOT 2022 announcement so far has been that of two new guns designed to use a brand-spankin’ new caliber: a Nighthawk 1911 and a Smith and Wesson Shield EZ chambered in something called 30 Super Carry (which is already being referred to as 30SC).
Ammunition offerings in the newly announced 30 Super Carry cartridge. So far all of them come from Vista-owned companies.
The interesting, if somewhat head-scratching, new cartridge is intended to give you more than a .380 does ballistically while taking up less space than a 9mm round, thus increasing the number of rounds you can fit in your mag. The ammunition manufacturers claim the new cartridge delivers a ballistic performance equivalent to its 9x19mm counterpart, which if true and consistent would (theoretically) make its use a no-brainer.
It’s far too early to tell if that’s an accurate assessment, however. We don’t have anything from SAAMI yet, nor do we have independent 3rd party testing to look at. That’s not to say the manufacturers are misrepresenting their own test results, but handgun ammunition is by definition defensive. Lives aren’t something to blithely or blindly caveat emptor about.
Here’s how Federal’s brand ambassador Jim Gilliland explains it.
The point is, we realize it all sounds counter-intuitive on the face of it. Using a smaller bullet with a smaller hollowpoint cavity to deliver less energy on target in trade for a couple more rounds?
Will 30 Super Carry owners wind up looking like 45 GAP and 40 S&W buyers in a few years? Or will they emerge triumphant? We’ll have to wait and see.
That doesn’t seem wise…but if (and it’s a big if) the 30 Super Carry does what they say it will, it could be a very Good Thing indeed.
After all, people still decry the 9mm round itself even though it allows greater magazine capacity than the .45.
Remnants of a Nazi gun turret shot to pieces by GIs of the 121st Infantry Regiment armed with Colt 1911s in August 1944. The bunker, located near the Breton town of Dinard, was a part of Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall”. It was defended by soldaten of Germany’s 266th Infantry Division, whose puny 9mm Lugers did not have sufficient knockdown-stopping power to defeat the Americans.
A Nighthawk 1911 chambered in 30 Super Carry. The model 1911 pistol has won two world wars, but only when it was chambered in .45 ACP. No other caliber 1911 has ever been completely victorious in a war. Well, maybe in a regional conflict, but never on a global scale. While the new 30SC could very well be the best thing in putting bad guys down since Sonny Crockett’s Bren Ten, it’s very unlikely it will see wide-scale military use.
We’ll provide additional information as we get it. Meantime, enjoy this news from abroad.
Nighthawk 30 Super Carry 1911
Here’s what the Hungarians have to say about the new Nighthawk’s 30 Super Carry cartridge.
A Smith and Wesson és a Remington, Speer, federal lőszermárkák új, kifejezetten önvédelmi lőszert alkottak az S&W Shield EZ pisztolyaihoz (melyeket nyilván más típusok is követnek majd), ez a .30 Super Carry.
Jim Gilliland – who in full disclosure is our friend (and not Hungarian) – shooting the Nighthawk 1911 in 30 Super Carry.
Vagyis egy 7,65×21 mm-es lőszer, amely az ígéretek szerint kompakt pisztolyokból tudja a 9 mm Luger torkolati energiájának úgy 90%-át, a nagy lövedéksebességek miatt .50-es kaliber fölé expandál testbe becsapódáskor, ugyanakkor kisebb a hátrarúgása és több lőszer fér a tárakba. A Shield EZ pisztoly esetében ez 8-ról 10-re való növekedést jelent.
Minden nagyon jól hangzik, de a 9 mm Luger egyeduralmának megtörésére alkalmatlan, és az utolsó valóban sikeres új maroklőfegyver kaliber, a .40 SW több, mint 30 éve született, és minden más ami közben jött, az gyakorlatilag kihalt.
SW Super 30 Shield EZ
Here’s what the Hungarians have to say about the new SW Super 30 Shield EZ
Véletlenül került ki az amerikai fegyveres médiába egy fegyverbolt azóta eltüntetett posztjából egy még hivatalosan nem is létező új Smith and Wesson pisztolyról szóló információ. Az S&W CSX egy alutokos mini M1911, külsőkakasos csak single action elsütőszerkezettel, tokbiztosítóval és billentyűbiztosítóval, 3″-es csőhosszal, cserélhető hátsó markolatpanelekkel. A fegyver 9 mm Luger kaliberű 10 vagy 12-lőszeres kétsoros tárat tud befogadni (valószínűleg az MP Shield Plus-éval csereszabatos).
9mm vs 45 in WWII: bullet size or capacity? We don’t know if this accurately reflects the upcoming 9mm vs. 30 Super Carry debate, we just wanted to put another 1911 meme in here.
It’s not in search of a problem. It is addressing a problem, though not a big one, that DOES exist. People want the smallest gun possible, in a caliber that is still effective, more so than the .380. .30 SC attempts to address that. Theoretically, manufacturers will be able to make handguns that are smaller than the micro-9’s that are currently dominating the market, but which still fire an effective round. It remains to be seen if this goal will actually be realized.
I’m all for new but….. I’m probably one of the few that has, and likes the 327 Federal magnum in a revolver. I can shoot multiple types of 32 caliber loads out of the gun so it’s versatile. I don’t see the 30 SC being the same and I come up with a big why. I’m not a big 380 fan and have always sold every 380 that I have purchased. From what I have read it’s a very high pressure round so will that add higher cost to each round? More wear on parts? I think I’ll stick to my 9mm and 45’s. I still come up with a WHY and agree with Matt’s comment about the 45 GAP.
Another specialty round solution in search of a problem. I’m sure the cost will be nowhere near 124gr 9mm Federal per round, either. Good luck to (I had to look back) Federal and whomever else. The .45 GAP awaits another player for its afterlife bridge game.