Federal has decided to shake up the concealed carry market with the introduction of a brand-new cartridge: 30 Super Carry.
Ever since 9×19 Parabellum became the de facto standard of concealed carry, manufacturers have been competing to make the best, smallest pistols for it that they could. The result was several very nice “micro-9s” as they’ve come to be called, but these were still limited by the geometry of the cartridge they fired.
Most likely born out of the belief that CCW pistols could be made even smaller with higher capacities without compromising on ballistics, Federal began work on the 30 Super Carry. The new cartridge is designed to offer the same lethality as 9mm while having a smaller diameter case, this allows for the guns that fire it to be smaller while still fitting more bullets inside their mags. If Federal’s claims about the cartridge are true, and if it proves popular enough to actually catch on, 30 Super Carry has the potential to change the game.
What 30 Super Carry Offers
Designed from the ground up to be a concealed carry cartridge, 30 Super Carry is a .312-inch diameter, 100-grain projectile that offers similar performance to 9mm. Available both as HST hollow points for defense and American Eagle FMJs for training, Federal describes the cartridge as being more effective than .380 while offering higher capacities than what is possible with 9mm.
As these charts from Federal’s testing show, 30 Super Carry outperformed .380 ACP across the board, and compared to 9mm it was only slightly outclassed in penetration, expansion and energy on target. While the new cartridge isn’t quite as effective as 9mm, it offers many of the same advantages that .380 does while sacrificing a lot less performance to get there. This opens up a lot more possibilities for concealed carry pistol designers, allowing them to make guns that are either the same size as current-gen micro-9s but with higher capacities, or make them as small as .380 pistols while retaining power similar to 9mm.
The New Guns
A new cartridge isn’t worth much unless there are some guns to shoot it with, so thankfully Federal has been working with Smith & Wesson and Nighthawk Custom to bring four 30 Super Carry pistol options along with the cartridge’s launch. So far the options include the S&W EZ, S&W M&P Shield Plus, Nighthawk Custom President and Nighthawk Custom GRP.
30 Super Carry is certainly interesting, but history proves that it can be very difficult to make a new cartridge actually become popular enough to change market trends. 9mm currently reigns supreme and it will be very difficult to dethrone simply due to how common its use is.
For more on 30 Super Carry, please visit federalpremium.com.
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this is an attempt to remake the .32 ACP. not that that is bad but as noted above bad timing
With the current ammunition supply issues for ‘common’ rounds, introducung a totally new round and diverting much-needed manufacturing resources to it, MAKES ZERO SENSE.
My own humble opinion: This has no good purpose in the market but to make gun makers and ammo makers more money. It has been proven time & time again that between 380 & 9mm there are enough options on the market for both the ammo and the weapon to suit the majority of the concealed carry population. They will get people to buy these but will it be enough ?? Personally, I do not see the real purpose. If someone wants a smaller frame they can absolutely go to a 380 with careful bullet selection and feel perfectly safe doing so and their own tests state the ballistics are slightly better than 380 & slightly substandard to the 9mm, so why, just why ?????
This cartridge will not catch on if it is in compact 9mm size handguns. The real market is to chamber .380 size handguns with this more powerful cartridge such as a 30 Super Ruger LCP II. If that is not feasible due to cartridge length or chamber pressure, then this effort will not have a real purpose. The need is for more power in the pocket size .380 market.
Is this a solution looking for a problem?
I predict this will not get far. MSRP of $39.99 for 20 for the JHP, that doesn’t offer that much more than a .380 acp. Even the practice ammo is $31.99 for 50. And with the current ammo shortages, I doubt you will find them for less than MSRP, IF you could find them. Add to that, you have to buy a new gun, not that many will run to their neighborhood ffl to buy one. And in states with a 10 round capacity limit, who will buy a new gun that could hold more?