.30 PICRA

The 30 PICRA (Pistolet à Cartouches Réglementaires Automatiques) is an experimental French semi-automatic pistol cartridge developed in 1936 by one of the weapon industry’s premier names: Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Châtellerault. The cartridge was designed as a service pistol cartridge for use within the French military, but ended up not seeing any adoption.The 30 PICRA operates at a relatively low velocity and has encouragingly low recoil for a centerfire pistol round, making it suitable for target shooting or self-defense applications. It does have reasonably good penetrative power however, so it can certainly be used for hunting small game animals such as rabbits and pigeons if desired.Ammunition for the 30 PICRA is quite hard to come by due to its limited production history but some ammunition manufacturers do offer rounds in various weights ranging from 65 to 80 grains depending on availability. These are typically full metal jacketed bullets though soft point variants may also exist depending on where they were made.