.30 Super Carry: Worth the Trade-Off?

By now, you’re likely aware of the .30 Super Carry, a new defensive handgun cartridge introduced earlier this year by Federal. It’s created a lot of buzz since the slimmer cartridge equates to a higher magazine capacity. But how does it stack up against more established rounds like 9x19mm and .380 ACP? Well, in the video linked below, Paul Harrell lines those cartridges up head-to-head to try to shed some light on that very question.

.30 Super Carry 1911
Can 30 Super Carry Challenge the 9mm, .380 ACP, or even the .45 ACP? (Shooting Illustrated)

As always, Paul is as thorough and objective as possible, but he ran up against the reality that the 30 Super Carry ammo is still not widely available, nor are guns chambered in the new cartridge. He did find a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ in .30 Super Carry, so that’s what we get. He uses a Rock Island Armory “Baby Rock” chambered in .380 ACP and a Smith & Wesson M&P Compact for the 9mm. Paul acknowledges that isn’t perfect since, ideally, he would have identical guns, but that’s how it is. Each gun does have a 3.5-inch barrel, so that’s something.

.30 Super Carry cartridge next to other calibers
Where does the .30 Super Carry (center) fit in the realm of self-defense cartridges? (Paul Harrell YouTube Channel)

He was able to get some of the same ammo, but not across the board. He is clear about what ammo he’s using in each test, and I’ll list that below. Again, .30 Super Carry just hasn’t had time to be available on the scale of 9mm and .380.

Ammo Used in the Tests

.30 Super Carry

  • Federal American Eagle 100 grain full metal jacket
  • Remington High Terminal Performance (HTP) 100 grain jacketed hollow point
  • Speer Gold Dot 115 grain jacketed hollow point

.380 ACP

  • Federal American Eagle 95 grain full metal jacket
  • Remington HTP 88 grain jacketed hollow point

9x19mm

  • Federal American Eagle 124 grain full metal jacket
  • Winchester White Box 115 grain full metal jacket
  • Speer Gold Dot 115 grain jacketed hollow point
.30 Super Carry Cartridge Dimensions
(Shooting Illustrated)

Paul starts with velocity tests using a chronometer. The video includes all the shots taken if you want to see that. I’ll skip ahead to the results. Paul’s chart is partially washed out by the sun, so no photo of that. I’ll just lay it out. Some spots are listed as N/A because of different ammo brand availability. Energy foot-pounds only compares .30 Super Carry to 9mm, with the numbers shown as .30 SC/9mm:

Ammo

Velocity .380 ACP Velocity .30 Super Carry Velocity 9x19mm Energy Foot Pounds
Federal American Eagle 892 fps 1188 fps 1038 fps 313/296
Remington HTP 957 fps 1193 fps N/A N/A
Speer Gold Dot N/A 1125 fps 1140 fps 278/331
Winchester White Box N/A N/A 1125 fps N/A/323

Unsurprisingly, .380 ACP is clearly inferior to .30 Super Carry and 9mm in terms of velocity. Paul doesn’t calculate energy foot-pounds for .380 because of that. The Federal .30 Super Carry beats the 9mm, but keep in mind the 9mm is pushing a 115-grain projectile while the .30 Super Carry is 100 grains. When they both have 115-grain projectiles, with the Speer, the 9mm edges out the .30 Super Carry by a negligible 15 fps. Paul notes, however, that it seems most people who choose to carry a .30 Super Carry gun will be loading it with 100-grain ammo. Do with that information what you will.

The 9mm seems to deliver a bit more bang for the buck in energy foot-pounds. I encourage you to watch Paul break down the chart in the video, but his basic conclusion is that “.30 Super Carry is a lot more powerful than .380 ACP,” and that .30 Super Carry and 9mm are close. One may outperform the other depending on ammo choices. But how effective are they? Read on.

Effectiveness and the Meat Target

Paul’s “meat target” is a pretty good simulation of a human torso. It consists of a leather couch cover for skin, a layer of pork ribs, a bag of oranges to simulate lung tissue, another layer of pork ribs, 4 layers of t-shirt material front and back, and a high-tech bundle of folded fleece blankets to measure overpenetration. Four rounds of each hollow point load are fired at the meat target from seven yards. Here are the results:

Paul Harrel tests .30 Super Carry with meat target
How did each cartridge fare against Paul’s meat target? (Paul Harrell YouTube Channel)

.380 ACP Remington HTP 88 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point

The rounds shattered the front ribs that were hit, did “mediocre” damage to the oranges, and penetrated the back ribs, breaking those that were hit. All the bullets were stopped by the t-shit layer so there was no over-penetration. There was very little to no hollow point expansion.

 .380 expansion
The .380 Remington HTP performed poorly against the meat target, with little to no expansion. (Paul Harrell YouTube Channel)

30 Super Carry Remington HTP 100 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point

There was significant damage to the front ribs, shattering those that were hit. The oranges sustained a lot more damage than with the .380 and a little more damage to the back ribs. All were stopped by the t-shirt layer so, again, no over-penetration. Paul notes that bullet expansion was “pretty good, a lot better than the .380,” but not as good as he expected.

.30 Super Carry Remington HTP expansion
The 30 Super Carry Remington HTP performed much better than its .380 counterpart (Paul Harrell YouTube Channel)

30 Super Carry Speer Gold Dot 115 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point

“Pretty good” damage to the front ribs, again breaking those that were hit. “Pretty good” damage to the oranges and the back ribs have .30 caliber holes in them. Three of the projectiles were stopped by the t-shirt layer with the fourth penetrating deep into the fleece. The three stopped by the t-shirt layer had “poor” expansion and the one that went into the fleece had virtually none.

.30 Super Carry Speer Gold Dot expansion
The 30 Super Carry Speer Gold Dot was “pretty good” up front, but expansion was “poor.” (Paul Harrell YouTube Channel.)

9x19mm Speer Gold Dot 115 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point

The 9mm produced more damage to the front ribs than any of the other loads with significantly more damage to the oranges. The back ribs had 9mm holes in them and all projectiles were stopped by the t-shirt layer or the first couple layers of fleece. Three bullets had “very good” expansion with one being “mediocre.”

9mm Speer Gold Dot expansion
The 9mm Speer Gold Dot clearly outperformed all the others in the meat target test. (Paul Harrell YouTube Channel)

Odds and Ends

Paul test-fired eight rounds each from the M&P Shield EZ in .30 Super Carry and the M&P Compact in 9mm to compare the recoil. He said they were comparable and that, if he didn’t know beforehand which caliber he was shooting, he likely would not be able to tell the difference.

He also addressed the question of whether the .30 Super Carry is a “true” .30 caliber round. He admits he did not check with a micrometer, but online sources listed the bullet as either .311, .312, or .313. So, sources don’t always agree and, yes, it’s a little bigger than .30 caliber.

So, is the .30 Super Carry the Real Deal?

In the big picture, the short answer is “maybe.” We just don’t have enough information yet. The cartridge is brand new, and it remains to be seen whether it will catch on with the self-defense community. There aren’t yet many choices of brands or loads, or guns chambered for it. That will change if its popularity takes off, which brings us to…

Will individual shooters decide to trade a bit of performance for a couple of extra rounds of ammo?

That same question has raged since the widespread rise of the defensive handgun. 9mm? .45? .40 S&W? .380 ACP? And now .30 Super Carry. There will be lots of talk about it as we move forward, but, as in the past, it will come down to the judgment of each individual. We know that shot placement is king, so we’ll have to see how it plays out.

.30 Super Carry: Worth the Trade Off? Cartridge
It’s still early for the 30 Super Carry. Time will tell if it becomes a popular alternative for self-defense. (American Handgunner)

Paul, however, is willing to offer his preliminary opinion. He notes that .30 Super Carry is advertised as being comparable to the 9mm. Based on his limited test, Paul believes the new cartridge is a step down. “Is it worth that step down, and the hassle you may incur getting ammunition for it, to obtain more rounds?”

Paul then asks the question of how many rounds would you expect to fire in a legitimate citizen-involved self-defense shooting. How many rounds does the average citizen actually fire in that situation? Reliable statistics are hard to come by, but Paul says that he found, in the few sources he trusts, that the average citizen comes out of it having fired six rounds or less. That number is for self-defense shootings that came out in the citizens’ favor.

Paul Harrel mag change
Paul says the ability to quickly change mags in modern handguns mitigates the need for higher capacity. What do you think? (Paul Harrell YouTube Channel)

Paul believes that the average capacity 9mm handgun is more than sufficient to resolve such a situation, especially given the ease and speed of reloads with a little training and practice. He says that magazine capacity is important, but not as important as, “can you handle the firearm safely, can you shoot it accurately, is it in a caliber that’s going to be effective for whatever it is that you’re trying to do?”

Those are valid questions but, ultimately, it will be an individual choice for each person. Paul says he is loath to make predictions, but he believes the .30 Super Carry faces an uphill climb.  What do you think? Will the .30 Super Carry take its place among the more popular defensive pistol calibers, or will it be another niche cartridge that “might have been?” Let the debate begin.

William "Bucky" Lawson is a self-described "typical Appalachian-American gun enthusiast". He is a military historian specializing in World War II and has written a few things, as he says, "here and there". A featured contributor for Strategy & Tactics, he likes dogs, range time, and a good cigar - preferably with an Old Fashioned that has an extra orange slice.

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