30 Super Carry Review

You may have heard of the new 30 Super Carry cartridge from Federal and wondered as I did, What’s all the hubbub, bub? Initially, like many, I started with the assumption that this would be another solution looking for a problem, ending in a new bright cartridge dying on the vine as many have in the past.

I had seen many different calibers come and go while teaching concealed carry and firearm classes since 2010 and wondered if this would go the way of many other commercially failed cartridges. Upon further review, I think this cartridge has the potential for a successful foray into the concealed carry pistol arena.

I was kindly provided 200 rounds of Federal American Eagle 30SC and 200 Rounds of Remington HTP 30SC and headed out to Inner 10 Weapons and Training, who loaned me a trio of Smith & Wesson Shield EZ’s in .380 auto, 9mm Luger, and 30 Super Carry to do some research. Thanks to GunMagWarehouse and Inner10 for the logistics support.

Background & History of the 30 Super Carry

Introduced in 2022, the 30 Super Carry was developed by Federal as a new caliber aiming at the self-defense pistol market. Federal states that the “30 Super Carry was fully developed from the ground up with no parent cartridge.

Utilizing modern materials and designs, it provides vastly superior performance to seemingly similar historic cartridges.”

While similar in dimensions to older cartridges like 7.65×21 Parabellum, 7.65×20mm Longue, and 32 Auto, it surpasses all of these in terms of performance.

30 Super WHAT! A 30 Super Carry Review

The Cartridge

The 30 Super carry cartridge from Federal is a new offering to the CCW/self-defense market.  It is a high-pressure cartridge (50,000 psi) traveling faster than both the .380 auto and the 9mm Luger.  Performing closely to 9mm and easily outpacing the .380 auto, it has all the chops to become a standard in the self-defense realm and possibly beyond.  30 SC  presents an alternative to 9mm in CCW pistols due to the smaller diameter cartridge facilitating smaller guns with increased capacity and comparable performance.

Let’s start with some stats on the three calibers for a quick comparison:

Physical Dimensions & Specifications

Specifications

.380 Auto

9x19mm

30 Super Carry

Bullet Diameter

.355 inches

.355 inches

.312 inches

Overall Length

.984 OAL

1.169 OAL

1.169 OAL

Bullet Weight

70 – 99 Grain

115 -147 Grain

100 -115 Grain

Velocity

1030 FPS

1150 FPS

1250 FPS

Energy

223 Ft-LBS

364 FT-LBS

347 FT-LBS

Magazine Capacity Measured in the S&W Shield EZ Platform

While capacity is not the holy grail of specs, having more is rarely a detriment.  Below you can see that the slimmer design of the 30 Super Carry gets two more rounds over both the 380 Auto and the 9mm.  I consider that a standout feature of the new caliber.

Caliber

Capacity

.380 AUTO

8 round magazine

9mm Luger

 8 Round Magazine

30 Super Carry

 10 round Magazine

Terminal Performance as Measured in against heavy clothing

Stats being what they are, the numbers make some things clear the 30 Super carry is an obvious contender in performance.  While ammo manufacturers keep coming up with new recipes in different delivery systems, it still seems plain that the skinny super carry has some niche benefits of its own.

Caliber

Bullet

Expansion

Penetration

380 Auto

99 Grain HST

.588 inch

9.95 inches

9mm Luger

124 grain HST

.571 inch

14.5 inches

30 SuperCarry

100 grain HST

.530 inch

15.5 inches

The ammo provided by gunmag warehouse used for this review

The Experience: 30 Super Carry vs. 9mm vs. 380 Auto

I took my newly arrived package of ammo from GunMag Warehouse and set out to my favorite blasting palace to get a feel for 30 Super Carry in comparison to the 380 auto and 9mm Luger. I got S&W Shield EZ  in all three calibers, providing a good comparison platform. I was intrigued to see how much of a difference the cartridges make compared to the same delivery system. I loaded up five rounds of each to get a general feel for the comparison and shot these one-handed, two slow fires, then three rapid fires with a complete two-hand grip. Starting with the .380 auto EZ. The ride was easy and enjoyable. The gun is light in the 380 Auto caliber, and the recoil is milder than the rest. This makes for a light pistol with a pleasant recoil impulse that would be easily controlled by a small framed or elderly shooter.

Next up, 30 Super Carry; I figured putting it in the middle would give me the best comparison to the other two calibers. This time around, the ride was a bit spicier. The gun is noticeably heavier but not what I would consider a heavy pistol.  The recoil reminded me of some of my other 9mm pistols, but not close to a 9mm fired from my Springfield Hellcat. I think the recoil impulse of 30 Super Carry is a bit more mellow than that of a 9mm.

Last up, the Shield EZ running 9mm. This gun felt lighter than the 30 Super carry model but still noticeably heavier than the 380. The recoil was similar to the 30 super carry, but the impulse felt a touch sharper than the 30 SC.

Overall the shooting experience of the three calibers from the S&W Shield EZ was an interesting comparison, mostly in felt recoil and muzzle rise. Felt recoil in order of least to most: 380 Auto, 30 Super Carry, 9mm Luger.  It was a close call between the 9mm and the 30 SC, but the 30 Super Carry is just a bit milder.

Muzzle rise followed the same order 380, 30 SC, then 9mm. Again, the last two were close, but the video I shot showed the 9mm had just a bit more upward travel of the muzzle.

Recoil

I made a nice little arts and crafts project to help visualize muzzle rise.  I shot a video of the three pistols against a striped target to see the difference.

The S&W Shield EZ paired with the Federal 30 Super Carry was a fine round with interesting stats. The recoil was more than the same pistol in .380 AUTO and similar to a 9mm but with a different recoil impulse, not more or less but different at least going by feel. The 380 Auto has had a much-welcomed increase in carry ammo performance lately, but the new 30 Super carry looks to have what it takes to give it a real challenge in that area of Self defense / CCW pistols.

Pistols that Run 30 Super Carry

As of this writing, two companies are making pistols chambered in 30 Super carry.

Smith and Wesson with the Shield EZ and the Shield Plus

Nighthawk Customs 30 Super Carry

Who Makes 30 Super carry?

Federal  – HST 30 Super Carry 100-grain HST JHP

American Eagle 30 Super Carry 100-grain FMJ

Gold Dot 30 Super Carry 115-grain Gold Dot HP

Blazer Brass 30 Super Carry 115 grain FMJ

Remington 30 Super Carry HTP 100-gr JHP & UMC 100-gr FMJ

Hornady 30 Super Carry 100 gr FTX® Critical Defense®

Where To Buy 30 Super Carry?

Many retailers are selling the Smith & Wesson 30 super carry pistols. You can find them at Sportsman’s Guide , Guns.com and many others.

I found the Nighthawk Customs 30 Super Carry available at Nighthawk Customs and OTBfirearms.com.

30 Super Carry Ammo can be found in many places here are a couple  GunMag Warehouse,  Lucky Gunner

Frequently Asked Questions

Will 30 Super Carry work in 9mm?

No. 30 Super Carry will only work in firearms chambered specifically for it.  The dimensions of 30 Super Carry will not properly chamber in either 9mm or 380 Auto.

Is 30 Super Carry worth it?

If the features of 30 Super Carry (higher capacity, high performance, etc. fit your needs, and you find a good 30 super carry pistol, it will be an excellent tool for all types of shooting, especially self-defense.

Final Thoughts

The 30 Super Carry round seems to be primed to replace the .380 AUTO as the preferred caliber for micro and compact pistols and to possibly compete with 9mm by allowing for higher capacity in the same amount of pistol real estate.  I look forward to seeing other manufacturers delve into this cartridge and what their new designs might be.

The diameter of the 30 Super Carry generally results in a plus two in total capacity.  That can be a big bonus in a little pistol and provide for some interesting carry pistol designs in the future.  Maybe Walther would be interested in upgrading one of James Bond’s old carry pistols like a PPK or PPK/S to a 30 Super Carry. Heck, even Mr.Bond’s first gun, the Beretta 418, could be interesting using modern engineering to become a tiny pocket 30 SC!

The 30 Super Carry Cartridge delivers quality performance compared to a 9mm Luger but is sized to bring superior performance and capacity to what traditionally would be the realm of the 380 Auto.

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Shawn Steiner is a longtime professional firearm and martial arts instructor. He has taught firearms classes and concealed carry training since 2007 and is certified by many national organizations. A longtime martial arts student, he has been Chief Instructor at his school since 2008. He holds continuing education a high priority and is always learning. He considers helping people learn and improve a rewarding experience.